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  #16  
Old 04-06-2009, 08:34
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I agree that KYE caused damage that was felt afterwards. I stuck around for a while afterwards, and eagerly listened to 'Door To The River' and 'There By The Grace Of God', and there wasn't enough in those songs to lift me from the impression that they were a shadow of their former selves. In my opinion anyway.

I still brought 'Nixon' singles out of some misguided habit, and I was so nonplussed that Lifeblood was released for a long time before I was even aware of it. SATT put the Manics back on my radar because of the radio play and then came the announcement of using 'Richey's lyrics' for the next album.

I remember being excited in the making of Know Your Enemy that they'd said they were returning to their 'punk' roots of Generation Terrorists; but of course a bunch of 30-somethings trying to be 'punk' is always going to be a disaster. I was excited by something that was musical folly. So to hear of them 'doing the Holy Bible' (in early press) with the latest album, I was admittedly scared of something that was a cartoonish parody and attempt to resurrect former 'glories'.

I needn't have worried, because right now, the Manics are finally justifying their continued existence, and JFPL is, in my opinion, a standalone work of musical art. What next? Many have said 'lets hope they come up with another Everything Must Go; and whilst that sounds exciting, I hope they've learned their lesson from trying to recreate history.
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  #17  
Old 04-06-2009, 09:09
Jotown Monk Jotown Monk is offline
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Originally Posted by sinisterimage View Post
I hope they've learned their lesson from trying to recreate history.
Here, here- and i think JFPL is proof that they have
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  #18  
Old 04-06-2009, 10:28
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Anyone who follows a band with the intent of comparing every album with a past effort, or to whichever record is deemed the most critically acclaimed is missing the point of them producing independent albums.

Of course you can compare and contrast, but to persistently expect something to better or surpass a former work is futile and unrealistic. Each Manic Street Preachers album I have been present for the release of has been received in the spirit it was intended, not with some anticipation of it being a "Part 2" of anything. That is of course the reason for Nicky's playful suggestion that Journal For Plague Lovers would be called The Holy Bible Part 2, because with the direction they were moving in, people would automatically desire that, in some cases. Whilst the use of Saville's artwork and the deliberate track numbering and typography would suggest a tangible link with the former album, I see that more as a bridge between the writing team that created them both, rather than an implicit musical connection.

The recent rise in the band's popularity, as I suggested in a recent thread, is less about Journal For Plague Lovers, and more because Manic Street Preachers are one of the last bands of their age to be operating as vibrantly as they are in the British musical landscape. They have had their changes, certainly, but there has been nothing to compare with the indulgences and mistakes made by other bands that would have been considered their contemporaries, or equals, when the Manics were considered most culturally viable. They have all either become watered down, or disbanded, or fucked around for enough years that people have lost interest, whereas the Manics have continued to move along, at their own pace, doing the things they want to, for themselves. People will subconsciously cling to consistency, because there is so little of it in modern culture. The mythology of the group, and their accumulated personality and ethos is one that has been created, over the years, through perseverance, hard work, and in some cases, tragedy. You can't make that sort of thing up, it has to just occur, and people will gravitate towards authenticity, it reassures them that they aren't being lied to.

Those are my thoughts, as requested.
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  #19  
Old 04-06-2009, 11:26
PaulTMA PaulTMA is offline
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Why 'Lifeblood's singles were 'hits': like TBTGOG, they offered new tracks over three formats, not remixes/live versions of hits we've heard a billion times. Manics fans are dedicated enough to buy all 3 if they are offered all new tracks. Just think about what the chart positions for TIMTTMY and KYE singles could have been if this had happened in place of the mostly unloved remix CD2s.

Why Lifeblood went in at 13: the general public didn't like TLORN. I didn't like it, my friends didn't like it. A frequently overheard sentence 'round my way was: "New Manics single - crap, isn't it?" The fans rushed to buy all 3 formats with new tracks (some copies autographed) so it got a number 1 midweek, but everyone else wanted nothing to do with it's parent album. A real shame as I reckon LB was the best album since EMG. (I confess I didn't pay for a copy at the time, only to buy it for £3 in 2006.)

I know EMG offered remix CD2s as well, but that was an era when the public was devouring CD singles, the Manics certainly no exception.
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  #20  
Old 04-06-2009, 11:38
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Originally Posted by deadmartyr View Post
Very proud to be a fan at the moment. I just hope the next album is a continuation of their resurgance.
I am too and the feedback I'm getting from friends and people I know who are late teens-early 20's is brilliant. There is such a positive feel about this album that I really hope they can continue in this way with the next. I also know that whwtever they do I'll always find something to love.
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  #21  
Old 04-06-2009, 11:50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S.D. View Post
Anyone who follows a band with the intent of comparing every album with a past effort, or to whichever record is deemed the most critically acclaimed is missing the point of them producing independent albums.

Of course you can compare and contrast, but to persistently expect something to better or surpass a former work is futile and unrealistic. Each Manic Street Preachers album I have been present for the release of has been received in the spirit it was intended, not with some anticipation of it being a "Part 2" of anything. That is of course the reason for Nicky's playful suggestion that Journal For Plague Lovers would be called The Holy Bible Part 2, because with the direction they were moving in, people would automatically desire that, in some cases. Whilst the use of Saville's artwork and the deliberate track numbering and typography would suggest a tangible link with the former album, I see that more as a bridge between the writing team that created them both, rather than an implicit musical connection.

The recent rise in the band's popularity, as I suggested in a recent thread, is less about Journal For Plague Lovers, and more because Manic Street Preachers are one of the last bands of their age to be operating as vibrantly as they are in the British musical landscape. They have had their changes, certainly, but there has been nothing to compare with the indulgences and mistakes made by other bands that would have been considered their contemporaries, or equals, when the Manics were considered most culturally viable. They have all either become watered down, or disbanded, or fucked around for enough years that people have lost interest, whereas the Manics have continued to move along, at their own pace, doing the things they want to, for themselves. People will subconsciously cling to consistency, because there is so little of it in modern culture. The mythology of the group, and their accumulated personality and ethos is one that has been created, over the years, through perseverance, hard work, and in some cases, tragedy. You can't make that sort of thing up, it has to just occur, and people will gravitate towards authenticity, it reassures them that they aren't being lied to.

Those are my thoughts, as requested.
excellent post
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  #22  
Old 04-06-2009, 11:52
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Originally Posted by wireobsessed View Post
I am too and the feedback I'm getting from friends and people I know who are late teens-early 20's is brilliant. There is such a positive feel about this album that I really hope they can continue in this way with the next. I also know that whwtever they do I'll always find something to love.

me too, I'll always be a fan but it's nice that others especially the younger generation are starting to discover them
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  #23  
Old 04-06-2009, 12:39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulTMA View Post
Why Lifeblood went in at 13: the general public didn't like TLORN. I didn't like it, my friends didn't like it. A frequently overheard sentence 'round my way was: "New Manics single - crap, isn't it?" The fans rushed to buy all 3 formats with new tracks (some copies autographed) so it got a number 1 midweek, but everyone else wanted nothing to do with it's parent album. A real shame as I reckon LB was the best album since EMG.
This is a good point. I'd always wondered how TLORN got so high in the chart when it's a pretty weird song that I'm sure didn't appeal to a large mainstream audience.
And I totally agree that LB was the best album since EMG. I understand why people say that the low point in the Manics' career was KYE, but for me (and a fair few others) the rot set in with TIMTTMY. After EMG had managed so successfully to produce really decent pop/rock songs that were catchy enough to appeal to a broad audience, TIMTTMY took it too far and I felt the Manics became a meaningless pop band. I just find the whole album uninteresting and I don't get why people like it.
Then came KYE, which could have been acceptable if it was someone's first album but was such a step backward in terms of quality for the Manics that it disappointed too many people.
So by the time LB came out, many of us no longer cared. The bizarre choice of singles didn't help. I only bought LB after SATT came out, and I was shocked by how much I loved it. There are some amazing songs on that album so choosing Empty Souls to showcase it seems insane to me.

I know a lot of people around here aren't keen on SATT but I'll never forget how happy I was when I first listened to it and, for the first time in years, I thought: this sounds like the Manics.
JFPL has now pissed all over it a bit, but I'm still a fan of SATT nonetheless.
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  #24  
Old 04-06-2009, 16:28
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excellent post
*tips cap*
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  #25  
Old 04-06-2009, 16:58
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Radiohead's last un was a belter too. Nice to see the old boys still pissing on all this modern stuff that is crap to me because i'm an ageing bastard and have seen it all before.

Oh, and Jarvis has done another good un too.
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  #26  
Old 05-06-2009, 21:16
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Radiohead's last un was a belter too.
Left me cold.

For me, I can find something of genuine worth on every Manics album. Even the "low" of KYE has some personal favourites of mine on it. For some reason, I've been listening "Wattsville Blues" quite a bit.

I liked Lifeblood in that it does not sound like anything else in the Manics canon, yet there are traits there that are pure Manics; James' voice, the references in Nicky's lyrics, it's still a Manics album to me. "1985" should have been the first single, I think. The problem if any, seemed like they were trying not to sound like "Manic Street Preachers" in an odd way. There was that quote that they had supposedly "Banned the power chord" from the music. Almost like they were imposing unnecessary restrictions upon themselves.

"Send Away The Tigers" to me sounds like the band just letting rip again, and just doing what they do. It has a certain confidence to it that had been missing for a while.

Having lived with "Journal For Plague Lovers" for a while, I love it. Most of the attention was always going to be on the fact that that it contains Richey's last lyrics, but (and this is the key), they're set to some of the best Music the Manics have recorded. They've taken these words on paper and made them into a collection of great songs.

I'd have been interested to see how JFPL would have been recieved had it followed a "flop" like Lifeblood. Would people have been receptive to the idea of using those lyrics at that point? Would the album itself have sounded any different? Would it have been percieved as a cynical ploy by the band to be "relevant" again?

The big question now is, how do they follow it? If the music itself is as good as it is on JFPL, I'll keep listening.
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  #27  
Old 05-06-2009, 21:18
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Just another inter-backlash lull in hostility.

Who cares if they're popular, so long as they're good? Their reliance on the NME is really galling, imo. They should know by now they need that rag less than the NME needs the band.
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  #28  
Old 06-06-2009, 01:41
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they will black-up for the next album.
and quote jim davidson on the set lists.
then re-enact that scene from hellraiser and tear sean apart with bits of rat .
then nicky will blame sean for their 'casual' racism from the last year, stating that;
"our good friend sean went through a very dark time and began to eat his own filth.......he said it was art. i suppose we believed his vision at the time,..............i can see now that he was simply a massive gg allin fan,and a bit of a wrong'un"
james will reveal himself as the rightful king of win
Probably the best post this board will ever witness.
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  #29  
Old 06-06-2009, 09:52
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Their reliance on the NME is really galling, imo. They should know by now they need that rag less than the NME needs the band.
I don't see how the band are "relying" on NME? It's a pile of shit, of course, but for what the band do musically and the demographic they appeal to, it's just the location you'd expect them to be featured in.

I know they were in Kerrang! quite often in the mid to late nineties, but the structure of the magazine has changed now, and they wouldn't really translate. Besides that, you have Rolling Stone, Q and Mojo as the larger music papers. I don't think there would be much point in Rolling Stone, but they're still in the other two, in fact, they are on the front page of the websites of both at present.

I understand the sentiment, but if the content is suitable, it doesn't really matter which magazines they choose to be covered by.
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  #30  
Old 06-06-2009, 10:26
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Originally Posted by SequinFacade View Post
I know a lot of people around here aren't keen on SATT but I'll never forget how happy I was when I first listened to it and, for the first time in years, I thought: this sounds like the Manics.
JFPL has now pissed all over it a bit, but I'm still a fan of SATT nonetheless.
Good point. If I had to be rude about any album it would be SATT for its cheesiness, but I too still remember when I first played it. I didn't like YLAINE so wasn't expecting much, but when the intro to SATT began and James had to yell 'There's no hope in the colonies so get yourself a lifeline' in one breath, I just sat there beaming, knowing that the Manics were back in business.
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