Album 15

[ForeverDelayed.com]

Originally Posted by Marconi Delorian

You mean the bit where they segue in to Words by The Bee Gees?

Thank you for solving that mystery for me, I knew it reminded me of something. I still don’t know if it’s Words, or something else. Fair to say it’s a melody I’ve heard before. But this may be what I’m thinking. (The na na na bit especially)

But yeah, I fucking love that part of the song.

[someone, somewhere, soon]

what bothers me most about Dear Stephen is, why the paraphrase? why not delivery the whole "it takes guts to be gentle and kind" line? then "to paraphrase one of your heartbreak lines" grinds as well - why not "heartbreaking" lines? that double whammy of irritations does the song in for me.

[Tish]

Dear Stephen is the song that's grown on me the most, at first it passed me by but then the tune wormed its way in and I realised I was humming it to myself without even knowing it.

I don't really know what Nicky is trying to say with it though, the way he's described it in interviews, as being about his own failure to move on from the past, seems completely at odds with the lyrics themselves, which seem to just be having a pop at Morrissey for not being "kind" , in complete contradiction to the lyrics of Critical Thinking, which mocks the whole "be kind" culture.

It does seem that the world of cancel culture and self censorship is a running theme in the album, Critical Thinking, Deleted Scenes and One Man Militia all make mention of it. Morrissey is the ultimate British example of someone who has supposedly been cancelled, but who is still very much in the public eye, regularly selling out tours and having his every word reported in the press.

I do wonder if Nicky is a bit envious of the freedom that Morrissey, as a solo artist with no family, has to say and do whatever he likes, safe in the knowledge that his hardcore fanbase will love him anyway? Whereas Nicky is presumably very aware that any ill advised comment he makes will effect James and Sean, his kids, his brother, and the whole little army of people who rely on Manic Street Preachers Inc for their livelihoods.

I imagine it gets quite frustrating, artistically, to always have to reign yourself in from saying what you really think and speak in riddles all the time.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Tish

Dear Stephen is the song that's grown on me the most, at first it passed me by but then the tune wormed its way in and I realised I was humming it to myself without even knowing it.

I don't really know what Nicky is trying to say with it though, the way he's described it in interviews, as being about his own failure to move on from the past, seems completely at odds with the lyrics themselves, which seem to just be having a pop at Morrissey for not being "kind" , in complete contradiction to the lyrics of Critical Thinking, which mocks the whole "be kind" culture.

It does seem that the world of cancel culture and self censorship is a running theme in the album, Critical Thinking, Deleted Scenes and One Man Militia all make mention of it. Morrissey is the ultimate British example of someone who has supposedly been cancelled, but who is still very much in the public eye, regularly selling out tours and having his every word reported in the press.

I do wonder if Nicky is a bit envious of the freedom that Morrissey, as a solo artist with no family, has to say and do whatever he likes, safe in the knowledge that his hardcore fanbase will love him anyway? Whereas Nicky is presumably very aware that any ill advised comment he makes will effect James and Sean, his kids, his brother, and the whole little army of people who rely on Manic Street Preachers Inc for their livelihoods.

I imagine it gets quite frustrating, artistically, to always have to reign yourself in from saying what you really think and speak in riddles all the time.

Great post Tish.

On this idea that the “be kind”s are in contradiction, I would once again remind everyone that the band repeatedly described the album as one of opposites. There are numerous contradictions, if one wants to characterise them as that, but they don’t read to me as some careless accident, I think they are the point.

In People Ruin Paintings we are told “I just don’t care about the framing”, whereas elsewhere the framing, or context, is vital in understanding the meaning. To me that is the poetic, enigmatic genius of much of the album and what makes it tick.

Hiding in Plain Sight discusses the mirror being “a trap that fails” and seeing “a portrait of myself”, despite people ruining paintings. Later in Deleted Scenes, Nicky writes “I prefer the mirror to the screen…”. These are ostensible contradictions, but they are informed by the subject matter and context around them.

“Be kind” in the title track is part of a list mocking empty generalised phraseology, criticising that which Nicky presumably perceives as frustratingly reductive and shallow. “Be kind” in Dear Stephen is a heartfelt yearning from his past that has genuine and specific meaning.

The album is chock-full of opposites, duality and alternative views of similar (sometimes the same) concepts, sometimes in the same song, sometimes inviting to be compared and/or contrasted with other songs. The opening track asks “what happened to your critical thinking?” and even that phrase, the title of the album, can be interpreted multiple ways - in terms of who the question is being asked of, in terms of being framed within statements in an apparently mocking tone, followed by genuine expressions of frustration (and on another level one could analyse exactly where the line between genuine criticism of the substantive subject matters and the criticism of the empty jargon-ising of even well-meaning concepts begins and ends).

I think Nicky went out of his way in every interview to avoid any confirmation that Dear Stephen was intended as a patronising, finger-wagging plea to Morrissey to stop being so problematic, even if that is a very reasonable surface reading that he must be aware would likely occur. But I think it’s much more interesting than that. I would like to know if the mis-spelling of Stephen is intentional, but either way I think it kind of works in the song’s favour, that Nicky is addressing a heroic, idealised version of someone he wishes he could return to, who could be called Stephen, Steven, Stefan, or anything really… as much as he wants to “let the light to return” and “be in love with the man I used to be in a decade I felt free” — I think this nostalgic Stephen (and Larkin) he yearns for are externalised versions of the same impulse he feels for the nostalgic internal version of himself, as much as anyone else.

[Routine Builder]

Originally Posted by Tish

I don't really know what Nicky is trying to say with it though, the way he's described it in interviews, as being about his own failure to move on from the past, seems completely at odds with the lyrics themselves, which seem to just be having a pop at Morrissey for not being "kind" , in complete contradiction to the lyrics of Critical Thinking, which mocks the whole "be kind" culture.

Itl.

Again though the lyrics for Critical Thinking the song are at odds with what Nicky says in interviews , where he says it's about people not thinking about slogans and not actively rejecting or accepting them. I think he's off the mark again because people do think about these slogans, you could argue Critical Thinking itself has become an empty slogan employed against ideas you disagree with rather than what you personally hold to be true. He's also acknowledged there is hypocrisy here because himself and Richey built a lot of the band's initial image on sloganeering, Speak Yr Truth and all that.

The lyrics are muddled everywhere on this album, people ruin paintings is actually about people ruining places and was inspired by wildlife photography rather than a painting. It's a shame really because as a whole CT has some of the better lines and verses of the last decade. Could do with some more discipline and finessing.

[rosetree]

I think that would be too clear and doesn't ask anything about the song. I think Nicky questions himself in the songs, about objectivity and evaluating because it lapses into subjective which isn't critical thinking. I feel that the lyrics are intended to be like that.

[Scarecrow]

Belatedly I heard the piano sessions tracks.

Being Baptised and People Ruin Paintings work well, I like the piano sound.
Late Day Peaks still makes it sound like an '80s song.
Hiding in Plain Sight really shows how there's barely a tune there.
Critical Thinking sounds like something a college student came up with for an amateur drama production/interpretative dance bollocks.

[Tish]

Originally Posted by Porco

On this idea that the “be kind”s are in contradiction, I would once again remind everyone that the band repeatedly described the album as one of opposites. There are numerous contradictions, if one wants to characterise them as that, but they don’t read to me as some careless accident, I think they are the point.

I hadn't considered that, about the description of it as an album of opposites, I'd assumed they were just talking about the differences between Nicky's quite dour lyrics and James' more optimistic ones, as well as their very different singing styles, but you're right, the whole album is littered with contradictions. I suppose its a continuation of that idea of not believing in absolutes anymore, that as you get older life becomes more confusing and the black and white certainties of youth fade into grey.

I have noticed that Nicky seems to be increasingly irritated by interviewers describing Dear Stephen as a criticism of Morrissey, but surely he must have realised that's how people would judge it? Though saying that, I've seen the band being slagged off as both woke Britpoppers and apologists for racism as a result of it, so I guess some people will just read their own opinions into anything!

[Son of Stopped]

Happy World Poetry Day!
I'm out at an event that's just popped up this afternoon. Be after eight when I get back home.
If someone could do the honours of checking where the album is in the physical album chart, I'd appreciate it.
Also Futurology spent six weeks on the charts. The brilliant RTF did not even a quarter of that.
So CT is still doing a bit better than most of their recent albums.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

Happy World Poetry Day!
I'm out at an event that's just popped up this afternoon. Be after eight when I get back home.
If someone could do the honours of checking where the album is in the physical album chart, I'd appreciate it.

Happy World Poetry Day
Here’s chart positions (in the UK)
Don’t know what else there is to say
I’m not too bothered, but be: you may.

21st March 2025 -27th March 2025
Critical Thinking
Physical Album Chart: 58
(Album Sales Chart: 59)

[Son of Stopped]

Originally Posted by Porco

Happy World Poetry Day
Here’s chart positions (in the UK)
Don’t know what else there is to say
I’m not too bothered, but be: you may.

21st March 2025 -27th March 2025
Critical Thinking
Physical Album Chart: 58
(Album Sales Chart: 59)

Many thanks but then it sank
The album still counted by Top 100
So then physical means a lie
Just a wheel to spin inside
To afford the genocide
Society byproduct of
I saw with own eyes
Critical Thinking could end up being
Biggest chart week collecting
Since Everything Must Go
But no
Just one week that's as far know
Well I'm being chained to a stake
Logs in petrol no seriously mate
Just because I say one week
Is not the story of new intake
Article recommend Ai create
How not as successful new album hate
The computer spouts data faked
Critical Thinking on physical weeks
Survation incomplete
Well that's gagged and differences
Know I'll burn all weekend
Given the posting history
New series of American Dad amazing.

[Librarian On Fire]

My brevity of thoughts on "Critical Thinking" and other musings.

I love the album. I find myself humming the songs days after listening.

I really love the triptych of "People Ruin Paintings", "Dear Stephen" and "Being Baptised".

"Being Baptised" is to me the best song on the album

The track listing is spot on.

Clocking in at close to 42 minutes the album would have fitted nicely copied onto a C90 cassette.

I love the sentiments of "Late Day Peaks".

To me there is from Nicky's songs that whole realisation of aging. I find it the most melancholy of all their albums.

Perhaps they have painted themselves into a corner with the book format release and demos. Does album 16 get released like this?

The interviews have been quite refreshing this time around. The band don't seem quite so po-faced about being the Manics.

And from those interviews. Will we ever see Sean's photos? I loved the comment from Nicky talking about each others behaviours and Sean being on a "whole different page".

James had two Boxer dogs? Wow that's a handful

That front room with the net curtains where James and Nicky discussed the tracks. It appears very tidy.

I agree with Nicky that some of us never shrug off that cultural absorbent that we undertake in our teen years. I might go away for awhile, but it resurfaces. The imprint never lifts.

Nicky's writing a memoir. I look forward to it. I try to steer clear of musical biographies and auto-biographies. Being a writer of lyrics does not necessary mean that you are a writer in general. It will be nice to read more about the early days of the band. How do you write about Richey?

Big plans for 2026? At least I know to start saving money. I really would like to see a b-side, radio session compilation. Others know more but there must be enough songs to release a compilation album by now?

After every new Manics release I'm thankful that they released another album and I always secretly hope that there might, just might be one more album. And so that feeling continues with album 16.

[someone, somewhere, soon]

been lots of interviews with this one, but surprisingly few acoustic sessions... usually by this point we've built up a little repository of tv appearances and radio sessions, so far i think we've had PRP acoustic on Sunday Brunch and that's it?

[everlasting]

Surprised they didn't get any TV footage at all bar Jools and that was like 5 months ago or something daft. Oh well

[rosetree]

They were on Sunday Brunch some weeks ago where they did mention quite a bit and James did PRP acoustic at the end. He also mentioned Honeyglaze who are supporting them at Manchester. Possibly they are practicing more for the tour now. Hopefully the setlist will include songs from Critical Thinking,THB, LT, etc.