Revol
Oh dear. This is worrying. Or disturbing. Or something else entirely, I'm not really sure. Certainly, it's highly morbid and abnormal.
First of all: I don't think I'm the only one who finds the titles pretty LOLable - something which can, of course, be good, but which the Manics, at their best, were certainly very far from. Moreover, the relentless cold assault that backed up the lyrics of The Holy Bible is very much not what they deliver these days; try to imagine 'The Intense Humming of Evil' backed by rote pub-rock. The fact is that, if the Manics are trying to reclaim the cred they gained from The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go - and the Jenny Saville artwork and contextual framing of the album suggests that's exactly what they're doing (Holy Bible 2: Revenge of the Holy Bible, to steal a joke) - they are pursuing a fool's errand. They are now far too invested in the world, the business of living (hell, Nicky Wire has kids!) to have anything to do with the hopeless misanthropy of that album. It's literally a case of listening to middle-aged men reliving their youth. Moreover, the world is now in an entirely different place: we no longer need assaults on social complacency, but a soundtrack for the dissolution of socially-determined reality. And the ethics of allowing lyrics out into the public domain posthumously
(Also amusing were the comments on the margin: "I'm so upset, I can't go to any of the gigs as I have GCSE exams!" I had no idea that anyone under the age of 30 still followed the Manics these days.)
First of all: I don't think I'm the only one who finds the titles pretty LOLable - something which can, of course, be good, but which the Manics, at their best, were certainly very far from. Moreover, the relentless cold assault that backed up the lyrics of The Holy Bible is very much not what they deliver these days; try to imagine 'The Intense Humming of Evil' backed by rote pub-rock. The fact is that, if the Manics are trying to reclaim the cred they gained from The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go - and the Jenny Saville artwork and contextual framing of the album suggests that's exactly what they're doing (Holy Bible 2: Revenge of the Holy Bible, to steal a joke) - they are pursuing a fool's errand. They are now far too invested in the world, the business of living (hell, Nicky Wire has kids!) to have anything to do with the hopeless misanthropy of that album. It's literally a case of listening to middle-aged men reliving their youth. Moreover, the world is now in an entirely different place: we no longer need assaults on social complacency, but a soundtrack for the dissolution of socially-determined reality. And the ethics of allowing lyrics out into the public domain posthumously
(Also amusing were the comments on the margin: "I'm so upset, I can't go to any of the gigs as I have GCSE exams!" I had no idea that anyone under the age of 30 still followed the Manics these days.)
posted by Dan at 8:13 AM
3 Comments:
Judging by what I've heard from the last few years, I'd be surprised if anyone above the age of 30 would feel comfortable listen to the Manics.They have few good songs, in my opinion, and they're all 2 minutes too long. One of which is 'Motorcycle Emptiness' which Super Furry Animals nicked the riff for 'Ice Hockey Hair' and made a much better song.
"Judging by what I've heard from the last few years, I'd be surprised if anyone above the age of 30 would feel comfortable listen to the Manics."
As far as I could see, the 'Jools Holland'/Mojo crowd were the only people who really stuck around after 2001 (the same people who had, a decade before, been writing '4REAL' in permanent marker on their forearms). And I can assure you that they have at least (*counts*) 20 good songs, many of which I would happily listen to for longer.
Since you've said this, I gave 'The Holy Bible' and 'Forever Delayed' a listen, and hated almost every song apart from 'You Love Us'. But I don't think James Bradfield particularly cares about what I have to say.
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