MANIC STREET PREACHERS @ THE CULTURE SHOW PT1 :: BACKGROUND

Current mood: REFLECTIVE
Category: REFLECTIVE Music

The first time I saw or heard of the Manic Street Preachers was on some late night yoof culture music program in the early 90s. It was called something like Naked City. The Manics played the show out. They were all dressed in arted up camo and balaclavas and they had POWER...

At the time I would have been trying hard to get out of Heavy Metal via rap and was wearing a balaclava to work on a regular basis. It was proving heavy going on all fronts and I couldn't get 'Indie' at all.

Indie lacked power and intensity. There was no edge - It was all 'La la laardy dedah lah' It was cool and meaningless cider sceney group mentality marketed youth dirt pop. It was doctor martens lazy and knowing so...

As for dance and electronic music, I barely knew it existed...

So, I removed the balaclava for long enough to buy Generation Terrorists on double vinyl but wasn't hugely impressed. There was too much guff separating the wannabe cock rock and i already had plenty of that stiffling me as it was...

The only thing that caught my eyes was the quotes on the inner sleeve. Each track had at least one: Lines from writers like Henry Miller, George Orwell, William Burroughs and Guy Debord. I knew nothing of any of them but I was ravenous for new avenues and by way of Generation Terrorists, The Manics gave me a bunch of them...

You see at that point in life I'd come out of a tight Methodist upbringing and thrown myself into a protest movement. I'd been arrested a few times, was suing the police a few times and generally struggling. I was being followed by detectives private and otherwise. The Department of Transport had tried suing 68 of us for £1.4m - I'd got the High Court Writ, together with my 'Action File' (from which came the photos below) through the letter box on my 18th birthday : Welcome to adult life..





Well, 15 or so years later, I've been arrested a few more times, successfully sued the police twice for a combined total of £7000, avoided paying my share of the £1.4m excepting £500 costs but am bakrupt all the same. I've divorced myself from protest movements clean and pure and live in a yuppie flat, but I still like The Manics.

I'm not one who thinks the early stuff was all good because they had a man dying in the band. On the contrary I admire tham hugely for conintuing without him...

Indeed musicwise, it took until The Holy Bible for me to get it. But that record hit the fucking nail bang on and would be in my top ten - I can't think of another record that has that kind of intensity. It sounds like a heavy mental breakdown and evidently it was....

So Richie disappeared....

What next??

Everything Must Go: A classic album of redemption I reckon..

And since then it's mostly been tracks here and there...Each disc has a few and I liked JDBs solo record.

So why the staying power?? Why do I even care??

Well, the thing with the Manics is there's always been so much more alongside the music: The grand statements, the will to continue, the posturing, the ranting and rudeness. The refusal to become paradoies of themselves, becoming paradoies of themselves. The duff tracks, the great tracks, that ridiculous meeting with Castro and still they go on...

Which brings us to pt 2 and this weeks Culture Show...

Currently Listening : Send Away the Tigers (Hk) By Manic Street Preachers Release date: By 10 May, 2007

11:23 - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Sixshot	"Indeed musicwise, it took until style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Holy Bible for me to get it. But that record hit the fucking nail bang on and would be in my top ten - I can't think of another record that has that kind of intensity. It sounds like a heavy mental breakdown and evidently it was.... So Richie disapsize=2>peasize=1>red.... size=3>What next?? style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Everything Must Go: A classic album of redemption I reckon.. And since then it's mostly been tracks here and there". I couldn't agree more, I think its just a shame the band don't seem to value The Holy Bible from any recent interview I've read and its brought up. Posted by Sixshot On Friday, May 04, 2007 at 01:53 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	Funny you should mention that...When the camera or lighting people were dicking around and the band were waiting to play again, Nicky Wire went into the bass line from Die in the Summertime...The fans got excited 'If only' one of them said... I was thinking about it then and I reckon the reason they steer clear is because it hurts to much to play it now. The memories and the knowing that as they were recording and touring it, they were watching their best mate die must be a hard thing to deal with.. That said, if there's one LP I'd like to see played LIVE from begining to end it would be that one... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... On Friday, May 04, 2007 at 02:05 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	MOG	Never Been a fan. Don't mind the odd tune and at the time I thought richey was a bit of a guitar hero, Probably one of the last. There new single is pure shit Posted by MOG On Friday, May 04, 2007 at 15:19 [Remove] [Reply to this]

The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...

I played the new album yesterday and found it to be a bit ignorable...It's been touted as some kind of return to form, but i think that's probably what the press release says.. I don't mind some of it, but i don't think it's essential in any way shape or form... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... On Friday, May 04, 2007 at 15:23 [Remove] [Reply to this]