Know Your Enemy is 18 years old today

[Symmanine]

Originally Posted by Marconi Delorian

I think Found that Soul was streaming on the website after SWSS was played on the radio - Jo Whiley mentioned some song titles and he (or someone) managed to work out the file locations and download the songs. Then we all got banned from Napster!

Those were the days!! <3

18 years.. wow!

[tomd2103]

Originally Posted by handsome_devil

An interesting record - some of their very best stuff, but also some of their very worst. I guess to be expected on an album of that length. Personally, I would have liked a ten track rock record, given to David Holmes to do his thing on, but that's just me. I'm sure we've all got our own personal KYE tracklists.

I've always felt that a really good album of that type is within KYE. It is the kind of album they probably should have made at that point, but as has been pointed out on here many times, the somewhat confused nature of the album probably reflects the conflicting feelings they had as a band at that time (the desire for continued commercial success against the desire to return to a more raw sound).

[someone, somewhere, soon]

completely forgot about the Napster ban following those tracks leaking. only time i've ever felt like "the man" was capable of getting to me for my illicit downloading activities.

[James]

Ahhhh the days of my youth...

Got banned from Napster for downloading it.

First Manics album I bought, had the Tolerate and Masses singles but this was the start of my journey to being a full-on Manics fan (obsessive?).

Recorded the Channel 4 version of the Cuba documentary on VHS and watched it over and over...still have it somewhere (nothing to play it on, mind).

Copied the album onto Minidisc, would walk around 6th Form with KYE as a constant soundtrack. I loved that Mindisc player, had loads of ‘Mixdiscs’ I made.

Did my History A-level coursework on the Cuban Revolution, wonder where the inspiration came from there???

My friends didn’t ‘get’ the Manics, except for one! We did a couple of road trips for the FD tour in Dec 2002. Still got the t-shirt. KYE one I ordered from the official website sadly destroyed in play fight at 6th Form.

Loved FTS, IA, SWSS, LRS, FOSWFMC at first listen. Convalescencant was a fave for the excellent wig-out outro. Royal Correspondent has become a latter day fave - love that thick distorted guitar sound that almost sits in the background of the song.

Great era for B-Sides: Fear of Motion, Masking Tape, Groundhog Days, Just A Kid, Locust Valley....only Little Trolls that I found weak but amusing lyrically.

I have all the singles, including the cassettes. My mum had my Ocean Spray one in her car for years (so she had the ‘pleasure’ of Little Trolls!).

Feels like a ‘summer’ album to me, in sound, feeling...and some additional nostalgia about the best summers of my youth with a great group of friends.

[Son of Stopped]

https://youtu.be/vnTwDFWwm88
Found that on YouTube but it hadn't been posted in this thread.
Awww, I remember when camcorders used to make that "3EEEEEEEEEEEEE" sound in the background!

[Dac X Lee]

How do you like my design? ♥

[LA ex]

Nice! Do you wear it out much?

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Dac X Lee

How do you like my design? ♥

Hah, that’s cool

And a vacuum cleaner in background... Nicky would approve... Funny coincidence or intentional attention to detail?

[Dac X Lee]

Originally Posted by LA ex

Nice! Do you wear it out much?

It arrived just yesterday, but yes, I intend to wear it often. The idea to choose this song came from being mistaken for an American all these years living in Korea.

Originally Posted by Porco

Hah, that’s cool

And a vacuum cleaner in background... Nicky would approve... Funny coincidence or intentional attention to detail?

Eheheheheh
It's a coincidence. Small home.

[Marat Sar]

Amazing I imagine A LOT of design R&D went into it.

[Dac X Lee]

Originally Posted by Marat Sar

Amazing I imagine A LOT of design R&D went into it.

Thank you! ♥
What's R&D, though? ^_^"

[IrelandCalling4]

I appreciate KYE more with each passing year; it simply makes more and more sense to me and I love the sprawl of it. So many great tracks; no tracks I'd call 'bad', some are better than others but overall a work of high quality with some absolute standouts.