Official tracklist revealed

[Son of Stopped]

Originally Posted by sculptureofabloke

Makes a change for there to be no title track. Couple of cringey titles in there but there always are anyway. What rhymes with algorithms?

Bro-ken al-go-rithms
Like The Beatles Roadie Maaal Evans
Who got shot in America that prisonnnn
Mal's manuscript for Beatles biography went miss-ing
Watch The Winged Beatle Movie on You-Tube
Bro-ken al-go-rithms
As dangerous as glue from Air-fix

(None of you have heard it so it's canon)

[Flint]

Originally Posted by sculptureofabloke

What rhymes with algorithms?

Funky rhythms!

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Flint

Funky rhythms!

Al Gore schisms

[Automatik]

Originally Posted by FacelessSenseOfVoid

Nicky confirmed it in an interview when IB came out.

Ah, hence your 'actually'.

Didn't see the interview.

[sculptureofabloke]

Anyway, on a more serious note a couple of the titles are a bit vague. Summat with a title like The Left Behind could be another 30 Year War or it could be some introspective nostalgia.. Since the last album there's been some massive stuff you might expect em to write about or at least nod towards - Brexit*, Trump, Grenfell being the main ones off the top of me head and they give you.a fuck load of asides too. There's not much in that tracklisting to immediately suggest they are addressing the big issues... Maybe People Give In is about people believing Farage, Gove and Johnson represent their best interests, maybe the victims of Grenfell are The Left Behind. Maybe I'm just plucking at straws. 15 years ago, you'd expect them to cover this shit.

*bet Wire voted Leave.

[UEF]

Originally Posted by sculptureofabloke

Anyway, on a more serious note a couple of the titles are a bit vague. Summat with a title like The Left Behind could be another 30 Year War or it could be some introspective nostalgia.. Since the last album there's been some massive stuff you might expect em to write about or at least nod towards - Brexit*, Trump, Grenfell being the main ones off the top of me head and they give you.a fuck load of asides too. There's not much in that tracklisting to immediately suggest they are addressing the big issues... Maybe People Give In is about people believing Farage, Gove and Johnson represent their best interests, maybe the victims of Grenfell are The Left Behind. Maybe I'm just plucking at straws. 15 years ago, you'd expect them to cover this shit.

*bet Wire voted Leave.

They almost never talk about current politics. Always wait 50 years then go, "well I know what you should've done!"

[Son of Stopped]

I am expecting the least political album they've done. But then, do people still need songs like that?
After propaganda revealed about frequencies and studio trickery and subconscious triggering is the answer to look for more propaganda?

And by typing that I realise this album could be their most dateless both in time and social activity!

Memberberry Street Preachers!

[Glyn]

Always a danger of taking what Wire says too seriously but he has repeated the point a few times now that the central theme of this album will be the things that inspire him. Reasons to be cheerful in a meloncholy manner.

Seems to be titles relating to poetry (Larkin, Dylan Thomas ) ,art (Yves Klein), music (Bowie) and photography (Vivian Maier) so chuck hoovering, R.S Thomas and dog walking in there somewhere and I think that'll about cover it

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Glyn

Always a danger of taking what Wire says too seriously but he has repeated the point a few times now that the central theme of this album will be the things that inspire him. Reasons to be cheerful in a meloncholy manner.

Seems to be titles relating to poetry (Larkin, Dylan Thomas ) ,art (Yves Klein), music (Bowie) and photography (Vivian Maier) so chuck hoovering, R.S Thomas and dog walking in there somewhere and I think that'll about cover it

You know, as long as Dave Eringa and Jimbo haven't gone too mad with the production, and it's not as shit as PFAYM, I'd be happy enough with that!

[Automatik]

It wouldn't surprise me if Resistance Is Futile was the working title of the album, that stuck.

As Europa Gluten Free says above in reply to Glyn, if it's a list of things that inspire Wire, and if the usual JDB/Eringa work is solid, and if it's not as dull as PFAYM was, I'll be satisfied.

I'm excited by the choice of most of the topics we've identified and as someone pointed out in another thread, I was afraid that Nicky might go overboard on the A-Level politics, particularly given how trendy politics has become.

Frankly, I'll be pleased if this is an album about 'reasons to be cheerful in a melancholy manner' rather than cringeworthy, short-sighted, ephemeral sloganeering.

[sculptureofabloke]

Originally Posted by UEF

They almost never talk about current politics. Always wait 50 years then go, "well I know what you should've done!"

Ah they're not that far off the pulse! Probably more now than they were, mind... Suppose typically it's been more apparent in interviews but stuff like Ifwhiteamerica, SYMM, Baby Elian, Golden Platitudes, 30 Year War have been quite relevant at the time. Just find it a bit frustrating, Wire's always had this reputation of being outspoken acid tongue bloke, there's probably more to be pissed off about now than there was in 1992. Summat like Grenfell in particular, would've thought that'd be summat that'd peak the band's interest, that they'd have something to say about it. I mean, how political can it get, a load of poor people dying in an inferno overlooked by millionaires, under a council that wouldn't spend money on sprinklers.. it's the 30 Year War in action.

Still, Wire will probably be slagging off Reef soon or some other Shine compilation band that nobody's given a shit about for 20 years.

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

I am expecting the least political album they've done. But then, do people still need songs like that?
After propaganda revealed about frequencies and studio trickery and subconscious triggering is the answer to look for more propaganda?

And by typing that I realise this album could be their most dateless both in time and social activity!

Memberberry Street Preachers!

Could well be. Still, not read many clues on the content matter besides these titles. As a title, Resistance Is Futile.. eh could be surrender or defiance, death or glory. Maybe that's where they feel they are at the moment, who knows. Whichever way, it's a powerful title. Fuck knows what to expect..

[Routine Builder]

Originally Posted by UEF

They almost never talk about current politics. Always wait 50 years then go, "well I know what you should've done!"

But when Nicky does write about current politics, he's accused of getting it wrong or being too old fashioned (i.e. Don't Be Evil). The Manics just can't win this, you can't make everyone happy.

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Automatik

Frankly, I'll be pleased if this is an album about 'reasons to be cheerful in a melancholy manner' rather than cringeworthy, short-sighted, ephemeral sloganeering.

I just want a nice collection of nice songs that run well so you don't have to skip any. Not too loud or brash or bright or loads of horns or orchestra. (I'm getting old, aren't I!!!)

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

But when Nicky does write about current politics, he's accused of getting it wrong or being too old fashioned (i.e. Don't Be Evil). The Manics just can't win this, you can't make everyone happy.

Yep, this is my feeling too. I can just imagine how 'cringeworthy and embarrassing' some people would find lyrics directly referencing Trump or Brexit. I think they're damned if they do and damned if they don't on politics, which is probably why they keep quiet a lot of the time.

Plus, I think of the Manics more as general culture vultures (I tried hard to avoid saying 'culture sluts' there ) than overtly political anyway; they are as much about literature, poetry, art, history, film, travel etc. as their political opinions. I don't think it means they don't care about what's going on in the world right now; perhaps they find it too overwhelming and depressing like I do sometimes and writing songs about other topics is a form of escapism.

[b_man]

I'm going to guess "Distant Colours" will be the next single. Based on nothing.