Currently in obsessive play stage. It's a great sunlight album isn't it?

Yes it is.

I think being (or attempting to be) a completist for the Manics became impossible a long time ago, even the band themselves cannot own everything they’ve released… maybe there’s some kind of comfort in that, that whether one collects multiple versions of everything they can or strictly one copy of each album or whatever amount in between, we all have incomplete, imperfect collections.

Think I love the mix of underlying rage, tearjerking heartbreak and beats you can dance to along the way with this one. It's with Lifeblood and SATT somewhere for me I think. I hate attempting to list them as I can never decide which one to put at the bottom of the pile!

just wanted to say that the piano version of people ruin paintings is stunning. Thanks to the kind person that allowed me to hear.
It really is a beautiful song, perhaps the best on this album, but what a version.

I think you're overreacting a little. The album reached number 2, which is good for any band, ever, and was only beaten by one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now; also, this is their 12th album not to reach number 1, have you felt the same about the rest? I can't imagine it's bothered them that much. Maybe if it reached number 51...

I mean, he’s got a point. And I’m pretty sure everyone understands that his point is aimed towards the casual fan, or listener. Most of us here obviously bought multiple versions.

Even if they got to the TUVL sales, I think they’d make it to the top. And I’m not even saying anything 10-15 years ago. The game has definitely changed. I think there was legitimately a chance to have a number one album, which may not mean a lot to us, but he definitely means something to the band, and as long as that keeps them going, then I’m OK with chart success and stuff.

It's not real chart success though. It's a deception, a fraud. It's like boasting to the world about how you made your partner orgasm 15 times when you know that they faked at least 7 of them to impress the neighbours who may be listening through thin walls.

If chart success was all that kept them going then I would honestly prefer the band break up that keep plodding on, lying to themselves about the impact/popularity of their new music and fleecing the fans that pander to such bullshit in order to appear more relevant than they are.

Don't check the site for a few days and now I hear I missed out on the piano versions!! So annoying!

If there's one thing I've taken from the past decade and their songwriting mode that produced RIF, TUVL and CT, it's that around I once thought they had reached their nadir and couldn't sink any lower and they've managed to prove me wrong.

There are some songs I really don't like on PFAYM but also some I do genuinely love, and listening through the last three albums recently made me realise that I'd probably rank them lower than that album now.

Look at it this way, the band tried their very best to delay the album long enough and put it out on a week where they had a really good chance of getting to number 1. I don't think it was a coincidence that the first "production delay" happened when another artist moved his album by a week. They should have done a lot better and beaten an album that had already been out for months at this point, even without a deluxe edition release being the reason it went back to number 1.

For a band that have been around for over 30 years, and are still selling out mid size venues and arenas as well as headlining decent size festivals, selling around 20k copies of a new record that's had very good reviews overall, even if they didn't get to number 1 must be a kick in the teeth. In terms of unique buyers, the actual number of fans that bought it will be a lot lower - which brings me back to my point, a lot of people have either just given up on the band or the promo campaign was just not good enough. A bit of both perhaps but back to my original point of translating concert sales to album sales would have easily seen them back at number 1. Four singles being released before the album's release (and the first being released 5 months before the album) and the tour selling out almost immediately - they should have all been positive signs.

Just like I wouldn't give up on my football team, who I've been following for 35 years, I wouldn't give up on the band I've been supporting through thick and thin for the last 25 years, even when they've churned out shite like PFAYM, which is still better than 99.999% of stuff released by other bands these days. New Manics music excites me more than live stuff, in all honesty, partly because I really can't be *that* bothered with gigs any more.

As the old terrace chant goes: "Where were you when we were shit?"

Yep, that's exactly what I was trying to say as well. Thanks man! A number one album means a lot to me as well because it validates the band's existence and drives them to create more and it means I can boast about it as well :D

Aside from the collectors and the lapsed/casual fans, I would imagine there will be plenty out there who still love the Manics, attend every tour, still listen to them, but have simply stopped buying physical copies of albums (by any artist) and don't care where they get in the charts.

I started noticing some friends getting rid of their music collections in favour of streaming and downloads over a decade ago, add to that those who don't have room in their homes or they have less disposable income, times have changed really. For me, it would be spending money I'd rather put towards other things, only to have a vinyl I never play gather dust on a shelf. These days I sell more than I buy.

It would involve a change of album title. But what if both Migraine were swapped with Critical Thinking? Ah it's not the same musicians.
It's a good album for raining until it isn't raining as well.

Yep. Splashed plenty of cash on this band; CDs tours and stuff, and the final physical album I bought was JFPL. That said, this is true of other bands I like also, and this makes me wonder if it's anything to do with much other than the tech than any level of fandom. Though having said that, you'd think if any generation would buy CDs it would be this one.

I first subbed to Spotify in 09. And like iTunes and iPods before it, streaming and downloading started to make more sense in the early 2010s, which hits all music sales. You don't get a CD player in your new car around this time, so you stream off your phone don't you? I reckon that shift to the phone being the dominant tech in the 10s changes everything because it's your CD player, your camera, your alarm clock etc, so most people naturally choose the easy option which is to ditch the music purchases and stick to streaming.

Every time I move house, I stare aghast at boxes of CDs that I never play and wonder why I ever bothered. Suppose it was once fun to spend time browsing music shops (Hull was excellent for this at one point), I did find it enjoyable to find that one rare release I'd been searching for or take a chance on a new album. Happy to leave it behind me though, probably not alone in that either, I just don't have the space, money or inclination now.

I do get FacelessSenseOfVoid's point about supporting like it's a team though. Right now, Manics have made a third consecutive album I find dull and uninspired, but it doesn't mean I'll never listen to them or see them again, like the lapsed fans who jumped ship. I've still loved a lot of songs they've made this century and I've seen some absolutely phenomenal gigs. That's why it's so frustrating when they churn out something so effortless and colourless, or played a half-arsed gig, they can do better!

100% all of this. Like I said in a previous post, it's a 'nice' album but when was the last time they did something exciting? Or different? Releasing the same album 3 times in a row isn't going to inspire more sales.