ManicsThoughts

The Best of the Manics

Okay, so maybe this isn't a list of the Manics' best material. Actually, it's not really a list at all. It's just some of my favorite stuff that they've done, along with some free color commentary, in no particular order.

The Holy Bible is probably my favorite album. That may be a cliche to say, but it's true. Many people go on and on about how "dark" it is, and how "disturbing," and I guess to a point, that is true. But the truth is, it is such a well-crafted album, so brilliant lyrically and musically, that I enjoy listening to it, over and over.

My favorite songs are Faster, Motorcycle Emptiness and If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next. However, I think that Yes and P.C.P. are probably Richey's best work as a a lyricist, and Ready for Drowning is Nickey's finest piece of writing. Yes is brilliant in the way it works on parallel levels-a clear, sobering view of a prostitute or the richer, more likely symbolism of the metaphoric prostitution of self, either specifically the Manics or with all of us. This same beautiful paralleism can be seen in Small Black Flowers That Grow in the Sky, a song that works perfectly as a description of the horrendous life of zoo animals, or as a metaphor for Richey's (or anyone's) mindset/life at the time of writing. P.C.P. is nearly an assault on your ears, as James spits out phrase after phrase, but if one reads the lyrics without listening to the song, the power of the words is even stronger, and the structure even clearer. Ready for Drowning is Nicky's best poetry because of the incredible way he weaves in nearly three separate themes into a unified, cohesive song. And, of course,all of these songs are aided by the music of James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore.

I have often thought that the Manics' albums had different focuses. For example, Generation Terrorists was a full-banbd album, the focus/participation seemed equally shared. No one aspect of the band sticks out stronger than the others. Gold Against the Soul is James' and Sean's album-the music absolutely upstages the lyrics. This is not to say that there aren't great lyrics on that record, but the music is so intricate and so amazing that it is much stronger than the words. The Holy Bible is obviously Richey's album, as he wrote nearly all of the lyrics and the press attention was so strong on him. Everything Must Go, is clearly focused on James, Sean and Nicky, as Richey was gone by then. And finally, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours is Nicky's version of The Holy Bible. All the lyrics are astoundingly personal and focused inward. Of course, in reality, is is foolish and really needless to classify the albums in this way-it doesn't really prove anything. But this is TrinLand, where reality does not exist as we know it...

My favorite B-sides are Donkeys, Love Torn Us Under, Ain't Goin Down, Too Cold Here, Sepia and really, lots of others.

My favorite James guitar solos: Nostalgic Pushead, Found That Soul, Donkeys and Ain't Going Down

My favorite James vocal performances: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, Tsunami, Life Becoming a Landslide, and any of the acoustic versions he's done of the band's songs.

I really love the song Roses in the Hospital. That song and From Despair to Where are very special to me as they were instrumental in helping me get out of some problems I had been dealing with at one time.

My favorite Manics' look: now this is hard...well, clearly, it's either the Generation Terrorists look or The Holy Bible look, although the Gold Against the Soul look *does* have Nicky's fab red trousers and great spiky hair. Plus, that's the time he seemed to wear the most dresses. But I guess I'd have to go with the eyeliner, leopard print and hairspray of the GT era. The combat look of THB is a close second, and to its advantage, the guys had really great hair then because they all let their odd GATS haircuts grow out. But of course, the GT and THB era were the only time they were really wearing a "uniform," as the Wire himself has pointed out-and that may be why fans also indentify with them as either glam punks or rebellious faux military types.

Now, what to make of Nicholas Jones, aka Nicky Wire, aka Nick Jones, aka Miss Nicky Wire, aka the Wire? Well, I was having a discussion with a fellow fan who really gets upset by his politics and his big mouth. I would like to offer a personal theory on the Wire's character and public persona. Now, mind you, I have never met the man (pity for that!), but this is all drawn from what I have seen and read about him from reliable sources. So, why has Nicky made himself the champion of the underclass? Why does he go on and on about imperialism and monarchy and the "americanisation" of the world? Why are the Manics about to be the first western band to play in Cuba? I think, in reality, he may be just overcompensating. I mean, I do truly believe that he feels truly and strongly about all these causes, but he seems to err on the side of extreme left-wing politics, while still living in a more or less free democracy in Wales, whie still making plenty of money (althought he certainly does not live and extravagant life by all accounts) and while still enjoying his privacy and freedom at home. I think that perhaps this all due to guilt on the Wire's part. He comes from a very strong working-class background. He saw his father and other families struggle during the Miner's Strike of 1984, and that background and the notion of being working class is very important to those people. It is a source of fierce pride. Now, Nicky himself has never had a real job. He went to university (with no financial trouble, I might add) and then struck out for his dream with the rest of the boys in the band. Both Sean and James held real jobs. Richey did not, from everything I have read. Now, I would never criticize Nicky for attacking his dream and following it-so few people get to do what they love, and I think it's terrific. However, his lifestyle appears to clash with his working class roots, and I wonder if this makes him feel guilty or something. He could coast by on his working-class background, and let Richey, who was more adroit with the press, address any problematic issues, if he wanted. But now with Richey gone, perhaps Nicky feels more pressure to be the "working class hero," to not be a fraud. Therefore, he rails against all things capitalistic, or rather, American capitalistic, and praises the likes of Cuban society, which has had zero American input. Now, this is all personal conjecture-I am probably completely wrong on all counts. But it's a possible theory. I hope that Nicky can prove me wrong, as I think he's a great talent and seems like a very intelligent, very nice peson in his own right. I also appreciate that he is so political, and that the Manics' music is so political-bands that actually have something to say are often the best ones. I also appreciate his ability to speak his opinion, and the fact that his heart seems to be in the right place most of the time, anyway. Do you agree? Or am I completely full of it? Lemme know on my message board!!!!!!

Know Your Enemy is the Manics' sixth album. As James has said, it marks an odd juncture for them, as they've now done 3 albums with Richey and 3 albums without him. Although, if you count just Richey's input, then they've only made two albums completely without him. It is not their best album. Actually, they will never, ever make an alubm better then The Holy Bible, and the band knows this. KYE is really a return to the form of Generation Terrorists, in all its messy, unfocused double-album glory. However, the messiness of KYE is a lot more glaring, perhaps because the artists are no longer raucos 21-year olds with designs on taking over popular music and looking fabulous. The sad thing is that the good stuff on KYE is so very very good, and the bad stuff is so very very bad. Found That Soul is now one of my favorite MSP songs, ever. And Ocean Spray, So Why So Sad (which seems to be about Richey, from the lyrics and a commnet James made), Let Robeson Sing, The Convalescent, and His Last Painting are really standout tracks. The rest I can take or leave, tho I think Baby Elian is brilliant musically, less so lyrically, and intravenous agnostic is fun to listen to-great guitar and Sean pounding like I've never heard before. The lyrics are like some bad Richey imitation, tho. Which hurts me to say, as I'm sure that wasn't the intent, nor does Nicky have to attempt to copy him, either.
What i find oddest about this album is that for all of Nicky's screaming about how they disliked what they ended up recording for TIMTTMY, and how angry he was now, ready to tackle everything with his bass and his mouth, etc, and premiering it in Cuba...KYE is essentially still a lot of navel-gazing by the Wire. Not that I think that's bad in and of itself, but I've always felt that "My Little Empire" summed up a lot of what he wanted to say about himself and how he saw the world personally. On KYE we get songs about his room (The Convalescent), his home and lack of social skills (Wattsville Blues), his paranoia and insignificance (My Guernica), his lack of honesty and desire to be heard (His Last Painting), his inadequate feelings and own weaknesses (Epicentre). So I think the album is actually less political than they made it out to be. It has more in common with TIMITTMY than it does with GT. But it *does* have that great disco track, Miss Europa Disco Dancer. I just love that one. And, as usual, James turns in a terrific vocal performance. The combination of his voice and really good Wire lyrics can be found, here as elsewhere on the album, in The Convalescent. When James sings, "get my body straight/cuz nothing fits like it used to fit", I get goosebumpd every time. That one moment out of all 16 tracks is worth it.