The Boy with the Arab Strap

The Boy with the Arab Strap
Studio album by Belle & Sebastian
Released	7 September 1998
Studio	CaVa Studios, Glasgow
Genre	Indie pop chamber pop
Length	45:28
Label	Jeepster Matador
Producer	Tony Doogan
Belle & Sebastian chronology
If You're Feeling Sinister (1996) The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998) Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
NME	8/10[5]
Pitchfork Media	0.8/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Spin	8/10[9]
The Village Voice	A−[10]

The Boy with the Arab Strap is the third studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. The inspiration for the album's name came from the band Arab Strap, who are also from Scotland and briefly toured with Belle & Sebastian. An Arab strap is a sexual device for retaining an erection, a fact unknown to Stuart Murdoch at the time.^[11]

Arab Strap were reportedly less than pleased with their inclusion in the title of the album. When questioned about it, Arab Strap's leader/singer, Aidan Moffat, said "They have a sense of humour." Malcolm Middleton, the band's instrumentalist, added, "Because Arab Strap is quite an interesting name. The words go well together. That's why we chose it as a band name. We're friends with them, but there's a limit to putting someone else's name on an album. They’re taking away something from us." He also mentioned that the album had been confused as a collaboration between the bands.^[12]

The album features several lead vocals by members of the band other than Murdoch. Stevie Jackson sings lead on both "Seymour Stein" and "Chickfactor", Stuart David gives a spoken word performance on "A Space Boy Dream", whilst Isobel Campbell sings lead on "Is It Wicked Not to Care?" and duets with Murdoch on "Sleep the Clock Around".

In October 2011, NME placed the title track at number 130 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[13]

Track listing

Personnel

• Stuart Murdoch – vocals, guitar, keyboard
• Stuart David – bass, vocals
• Isobel Campbell – cello, vocals, guitar
• Chris Geddes – keyboards, piano
• Richard Colburn – drums
• Stevie Jackson – guitar, vocals
• Sarah Martin – violin
• Mick Cooke – trumpet
• Ian MacKay – bagpipes on "Sleep the Clock Around"
• Neil Robertson - bass on "A Space Boy Dream"
• Gail Anderson, Claire Campbell, Eilidh Campbell, Euan Forrester, David D MacKay and Sarah Wilson - the string section on "A SpaceBoy Dream" and "Dirty Dream Number Two"

Appearances in film

The instrumental of the title track "The Boy with the Arab Strap" was later used as the theme tune for the television show Teachers. Though the title track was not played, it was referenced in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer. Part of the song "Seymour Stein" is briefly featured in the 2000 film High Fidelity. The track was also in the movie Definitely, Maybe starring Ryan Reynolds and Isla Fisher. In the episode Return of the Shirt of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, several references are made to Belle and Sebastian, including a shot featuring the CD of The Boy with the Arab Strap.

In 2011 "Sleep the Clock Around" was used in the AMC (an American cable TV network) series "The Killing" (season 1, episode 4, "A Soundless Echo"). The scene depicted actress Kacey Rohl playing the role of Sterling listening to music from an iPod in a high school hallway.

Also featured on "Pretty Little Liars" Season 2 Episode 21 - "Breaking the Code" where Spencer played by Troian Bellisario is sat in a bar and meets her sisters ex-boyfriend by coincidence.

References