Am I the only one who thought PFAYM was a bit pants?

[hummingbird]

GATS is great. 3 of their best singles plus sleepflower. What's not to love?

[Dancing Kirby]

Originally Posted by Marwood

I think there's a lot of truth in this, yeah. I think the backlash against 'Postcards' did begin as soon as we first heard about it, and the second I read the word 'horns' in a recent interview, I knew what the response would be like online. There's a whole lot of comments elsewhere on FD criticising the new album for it's acoustic direction and the use of horns when, really, we know bugger all about how they're used at this point (and the Manics have a track record for less-than-representative descriptions of upcoming material anyway).

Am I the only one who completely missed this FD backlash over the use of horns on the next album?

I even missed it when I did a search for any evidence of it moments ago.

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Am I the only one who completely missed this FD backlash over the use of horns on the next album?

I even missed it when I did a search for any evidence of it moments ago.

Haha I'm glad it's not just me who did a search Results showed a handful of posts, mostly quoting magazine tit-bits and apart from one post saying they were a bit concerned about the horns/brass, the rest wasn't remotely negative.

Honestly, I think a lot of this 'FD does nothing but slag the band off' attitude is imagined a lot of the time, or at best hugely exaggerated. For evey fan who thinks a track/album is the best thing since sliced bread, there's someone who dislikes it. That's the nature of human beings; we are prone to a difference of opinion now and again and both stances are equally valid.

[hummingbird]

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Am I the only one who completely missed this FD backlash over the use of horns on the next album?

I even missed it when I did a search for any evidence of it moments ago.

The backlash is in this thread. The new album thread is positive in the main. We're even starting to see FD'ers thought long gone coming back to see what the news is. Whatever people thought of postcards doesn't really matter, they're interested in what's coming next

As for my view of Postcards i don't know any more Every time someone mentions a song I think *oh yeah that's not bad..quite liked that one*

Time for a re-listen methinks.

[starstruck]

i am always going to be interested in hearing what the band has to say, and with no expectations of what i or anyone else but them think they should be saying.

PFAYM and SATT both have uber-shit sandwiches that are entirely made out of shit on them, in particular that one where the tall one goes on about the shit of Godfather III. and the fucking haircut song. awesome clangers that would perhaps sink just about any other band, but i find there's still enough quality on both to say "not pants".

sadly they remain kings of fucking themselves over. no single from JFPL was a big, big mistake. Richard Nixon instead of 1985 as a single was a total clusterfuck, the fortunes of the band woud have been so, so different. compare, if you will, The Stone Roses. when they returned in 1994 they unleashed Love Spreads on the world, which kinda terrified us waiting for more of the same. all that time they had Ten Storey Love Song sat in the vault, a song more in the mood of the times, that would likely have been a much bigger hit. instead they released it as the second single when few could give a fuck by then.

[Porco]

I did say the following:

"Talk of brass and horns worries me slightly. But still looking forward to hearing something new."

Insanely critical I know. And I love PFAYM anyway! And I would be shocked and alarmed if I didn't like Rewind The Film, or whatever they call it.

[starstruck]

Originally Posted by Porco

I did say the following:

"Talk of brass and horns worries me slightly. But still looking forward to hearing something new."

Insanely critical I know. And I love PFAYM anyway! And I would be shocked and alarmed if I didn't like Rewind The Film, or whatever they call it.

Moore likes guns, yeah? and he likes horns too? well then fuck it, have horns on the thing, if nothing else it avoids a messy trial next time Wire goes to the bathroom at 3am and "scares" Moore, and also means we don't have to worry about why exactly Kelly Jones is at the obligatory memorial gig.

[Marwood]

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Am I the only one who completely missed this FD backlash over the use of horns on the next album?

I even missed it when I did a search for any evidence of it moments ago.

Fair dos, I can't find much either. What the fuck have I been reading then?

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Originally Posted by Porco

I did say the following:

"Talk of brass and horns worries me slightly. But still looking forward to hearing something new."

Yep, that ONE post was the sum total of the FD 'backlash' to the horns

[hummingbird]

Originally Posted by starstruck

i am always going to be interested in hearing what the band has to say, and with no expectations of what i or anyone else but them think they should be saying.

PFAYM and SATT both have uber-shit sandwiches that are entirely made out of shit on them, in particular that one where the tall one goes on about the shit of Godfather III. and the fucking haircut song. awesome clangers that would perhaps sink just about any other band, but i find there's still enough quality on both to say "not pants".

sadly they remain kings of fucking themselves over. no single from JFPL was a big, big mistake. Richard Nixon instead of 1985 as a single was a total clusterfuck, the fortunes of the band woud have been so, so different. compare, if you will, The Stone Roses. when they returned in 1994 they unleashed Love Spreads on the world, which kinda terrified us waiting for more of the same. all that time they had Ten Storey Love Song sat in the vault, a song more in the mood of the times, that would likely have been a much bigger hit. instead they released it as the second single when few could give a fuck by then.

JFPL wouldn't have sold any more with singles. They released Jackie Collins to radio.. Peeled apples was played aswell..there was loads of promo with the richey link. Tescos banning the cover was a stroke of genius. There was nothing wrong with that campaign

[Littlesue]

Also 1985 would'nt have sold anymore than Richard Nixon.

[starstruck]

Originally Posted by Littlesue

Also 1985 would'nt have sold anymore than Richard Nixon.

i would argue that more people would have liked it and been more interested in the album.

[hummingbird]

the lifeblood singles got to number 2. Low sales but they still got there. Only one of the postcards singles made the top 40. Or was it 2? Whichever it was that's shit.

[Marwood]

Originally Posted by starstruck

i would argue that more people would have liked it and been more interested in the album.

I personally think Nixon is the more commercial and interesting track. You can't really 'argue' it either way though, it's entirely subjective.

I've always felt that 'Lifeblood' failed because the Manics were always going to fail in 2004. Nicky often talks about how all their contemporaries have split up, reformed etc and it's become a bit of a joke, but as usual he is (or was, originally) making a good point - the Manics have never really gone away so the public have never had a break from them. I think that to a lot of people in 2004, the Manics were an 'old' nineties group who they'd seen enough times before. And to younger people they were something infinitely worse - a band their hated older siblings or cousins might have liked a few years earlier. I really think they could have put out anything in 2004 - EMG, SATT, whatever - and it would have tanked, because people were just bored of them at that point.

That, and a complete lack of promotion, which is something they've suffered from ever since really.

Whenever I brought up 'Lifeblood' in conversation in 2004, the response was always either a confused expression and the words "oh... do they have another album out?" or a grimace and the words "oh... do THEY have another album out?".

They needed a failure and a few years off for people to take to them again, they really did.

[hummingbird]

you have a point..couldn't happen these days though. One failure = End of Career