Manics on Twitter

[The Gutless Wonder]

I don't think they would have felt comfortable being part of the closing ceremony of the Olympics. Watching is one thing but participating in it is quite another. I take no notice of what Wire rants about most of the time anyway!

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Bryter Layter

Cuba was a publicity stunt gone wrong. Still think they did a good thing bringing some live international music to Cuba, but I never believed they did it for altruistic reasons.

I love the way some fans still think the Manics are a deeply principled band who are taking a stance against the corporate bastardization of the Olympics. Weird how that perceived activist spirit doesn't extend to taking money from festivals with corporate sponsorships or playing arenas owned by large conglomerates or going on commercial television etc etc. lyrics aside, when have the Manics ever really 'stuck it to the MAN'? Ha!

They should have played the closing ceremonies if they were asked. It was a silly call on their part.

I don't think they played Cuba for "altruistic reasons" either. I think they played because they felt like it, and because they like fancied doing something a bit different. Made sense with some of the songs on KYE too.

Being paid at a music festival, i.e. a standard thing for any band to do, whether it's with or without sponsorship, is totally different to playing for a nominal amount at an opening ceremony of something else. If you can't see why, I think you've missed the point. Outside of normal gigs and promotional appearances they have a long history of picking and choosing where they play and what they are willing to license their music for that I think is fairly hard to argue is more about money than their beliefs. So they'll happily play for the Hillsborough campaign, but not for a gig where royals are present. They'll let the Welsh tourist board use a track in an ad, but they'll (allegedly) turn down offers from lots of other ads.

It's not about "sticking it to the MAN", it's just about exercising their right to not play when they don't feel comfortable being associated with something. Or just not feeling like it. Whatever. It's not even necessarily "deeply principled", it's just 'casually principled'... it's not like they going to starve or be without a roof over their head because they decided, for whatever reason, 'nah, you know what, I don't want to play at the behest of the organisers of the Olympics, too much nonsense'.

So I say good for them. Good luck to all the artists who decided they do want to play. Quite apart from the music and lyrics, I'm not such a mega-fan of those other artists... maybe the two things are vaguely connected, maybe not. I guess maybe a little bit, for things like this, and others.

Originally Posted by Bobafettish

I don't think any manics fans feel that. I think most fans just accept that they're just a good band musically, they've never been coherently political. Nicky is the only one who takes his ever increasingly erratic views seriously. The reason they probably turned down the games was that James and Sean were nervous, rather than any idiotic leftist tripe from Wire.
How dare Wire, a man who infamously slurped Coca Cola in Cuba, have a strop about the corporatism of sport? He's just an ignorant hypocrite at times.
Rant over, sorry Wire

All he said was 'the nonsense' wasn't it? I've been assuming/guessing it's the same 'nonsense' I hate surrounding the Olympics, but I don't think he's specified. It might just be the royals being present. He might just not feel like it. He might be over mass communication now. Hardly a "strop", they have every right to choose not play, for whatever reason.

[hummingbird]

they turned it down cos deep down they really wanted Macca's slot and are offended they got relegated to the closing ceremony. They would've played Revol for the crowd response. They're crying now. Nicky's just making excuses.

[The Gutless Wonder]

Well said Porco. Why should they have to go running every time the establishment snaps it's fingers? 'We'll ignore you for the majority of the time but hey, wanna play this shindig?'

[Takk]

Yeah, because that's really how it is...that's a reasonably ungrateful attitude towards it - they were offered an opportunity, not told to do it. I don't see how they are ignored, but if they turn stuff down when they are offered it, it's not surprising.

[Flint]

Had 3 golds down today but it might be 4-how long can this betting run go on-more lucrative than rocknroll!x

[Flint]

Brand new post because it's not sports filler.

Found a mega demo of nat-west-reissue of GT-looking very very good-demoes+alternate versions of all tracks-xx

Mmmm, goodies.

Although this means it looks like we won't be getting the b-sides with the reissue with all this extra material taking up the space.

[The Gutless Wonder]

Originally Posted by Flint

Brand new post because it's not sports filler.

Found a mega demo of nat-west-reissue of GT-looking very very good-demoes+alternate versions of all tracks-xx

Mmmm, goodies.

Although this means it looks like we won't be getting the b-sides with the reissue with all this extra material taking up the space.

Good stuff!

I'd be careful with all that betting Wire! Don't wanna end up broke!

[Flint]

Totally brilliant jon savage piece on david bowie in new mojo magazie--truly great writer on a truly great artist xx

[nocultureicons]

Originally Posted by Flint

Brand new post because it's not sports filler.

Found a mega demo of nat-west-reissue of GT-looking very very good-demoes+alternate versions of all tracks-xx

Mmmm, goodies.

Although this means it looks like we won't be getting the b-sides with the reissue with all this extra material taking up the space.

It might end up being 3 discs, maybe more! A SHOEBOX!

[Dancing Kirby]

"Alternate versions of all tracks."

A wild Sean Moore appears! (Or more likely Zack the Manics' secret American drummer is back.)

Back to other topic, something else to bear in mind other than Lizzie in da front row is that from what they've said they would have had to cancel their headline spot at the Korean festival to trawl through ADFL in front of some people looking other way. No, the Korean slot might not lead to any record sales but they should enjoy themselves more there as long as Nicky has a TV handy (so he can watch and tweet about the closing cermomy).

[The Gutless Wonder]

It would have been unfair on their Korean fans to cancel in favour of the Olympics. Now moving on to these GT goodies they are promising.....!

[AK47]

I wonder if the alternative version of "Damn Dog" is actually a good version?

[Ermintrude the Cow]

Originally Posted by starstruck

then perhaps the band should extend their interpretation of "international" beyond Europe then. i would suggest if i did a wild survey here, the only song people would recognize or name at once is "Design For Life". "Kevin Carter" tends to get random radio play here, perhaps because the DJs like Sean Moore's trumpet, perhaps because hidden away in the song is a word that you would get into a good deal of trouble for using down here.

Originally Posted by NasalScarecrow

Is that "kaffir"? I had no idea until recently that it's a racial slur in some areas. Did it used to have a different or more neutral meaning? I know Richey wasn't a racist or anything but if it's as much of a racial slur as some more common words, I'm surprised he used it at all, even if it may be contextual.

I always thought it was meaning a Keffiyeh, as in he wore one to protect his face from the heat while taking pictures *facepalm*

EDIT: Tbf, for years I thought it was "Kevin Carter can fall over forever", so there's no surprise I was confused!

[raven]

Speaking of Kevin Carter, sort of, there was a piece in the Guardian last weekend ... not about him specifically but about the questions he put to himself about the rights and wrongs of the bystander, of placing a camera between you and people you should maybe go help .... though exactly how raises more questions http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/inte...who-didnt-help I think that was Richey's or the song's interest rather than South Africa itself

The first time I came across the word Kaffir was way back when I came across the fantastic autobiography of Mark Mathabane Kaffir Boy about growing up in apartheid South Africa and which he followed up with Kaffir Boy in America. Not Manic relevant as such only if by any chance Kevin Carter has sparked interest then those are 2 biographies well worth tracking down. And Steve Biko's writings and Donald Woods biography of him. I'll shurrupnow