The Manic Street Preachers.
Not because they're Welsh..
Not because they're more successful than my favourite bands...

But because they're a fat bloated bunch of sell-outs.

What happened to making a great punk record and then splitting up?
What happened when they became that which they said they'd formed to overturn?

What happened to the "This portaloo is for the exclusive use of the Manic Street Preachers" at Glastonbury?


Fuck em in the bin....
(caescarna Hell's Roomba, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:07, 27 replies)

Totally agreed
The only good thing they did was Generation Terrorists, and everything - everything after that was completely contradictory hypocrisy. Anyone who likes anything after that is not a fan, but rather just likes pretty, vacuous tunes and as such may as well sing the praises of Pete Docerty and all his faux-punk ilk.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:09, closed)

I class Pete as more of a 'folk' artist
You'd hate me for what I was going to type here but it was going to be a comparison to another, lesser well known singer that we both know and love.

By that I mean that both artists solo efforts differ from the band efforts and that I would class Pete's effort as more 'folk' and babyshambles as a sort of'indie-punk' hybrid......of sorts.

Please don't hate me.
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:13, closed)

Money.
Send me a lot - really - a LOT - of money - and I will forgive you.

Otherwise, prepare for dry punishment bumrape with extra hatred.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:19, closed)

How about a hug?

( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:26, closed)

I don't like repeating myself.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:36, closed)

sorry
:o(
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:45, closed)

Well.....
What happened to making a great punk record and then splitting up?
They made a 2nd, rather good, album follwed by lots of 'same old, same old' stuff. A bit like Snow Patrol

What happened when they became that which they said they'd formed to overturn?
Shhhh. Don't ask question.

What happened to the "This portaloo is for the exclusive use of the Manic Street Preachers" at Glastonbury?
I believe Billy Bragg dared to defile it but I may be mistaken. Apparently they were also paid close to £1,000,000 for performing that year.
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:12, closed)

I'm not a huge fan of the later Manics stuff
but even a vague comparison with Snow Patrol is far too far. No decent band deserves that.
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:21, closed)

What I mean by that is
Snow Patrol hit big time with whatever single it was, and every album since then sounds exactly then same athough with different words.

Manics hit big with 'Design for life' and every album since then sounds exactly the same although with different words.

The first two albums by each band are rather good.
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:23, closed)

Fairy muff
My biggest issue is, ahem, I kinda like the Design For Life / TIMTTMY kind of stuff for a bit of easy listening. Admittedly everything after has been pretty much the same, but consistently downhill.

Snow Patrol, I didn't even LIKE their first album, and every album since has been getting cheesier, more clichéd, more stadiumish, more Radio1 friendly, more T4 friendly with every release. It's like candy floss being funnelled into my ear.

"Light up, light up / as if you had a choice" FFS!!!!

Perhaps a more worthy comparison would be Oasis?
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:32, closed)

Ah, but
I like Oasis
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:49, closed)

Jesus bloody Christ.
I can see our work is cut out here.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:07, closed)

I wouldn't say that The Holy Bible sounds anything like any of their other albums
The Holy Bible is a hate-filled, blood streaked album. They peaked with that one, it's been a steady downward trajectory since then. They really did lose their soul when Richey killed himself, it's been safe indie rock ever since.

If you thought Gold Against The Soul was their high point, then I do suggest revisiting The Holy Bible. Yes, PCP and She is Suffering piss all over their other songs from a very great height indeed. Cunt is uttered four words in to the first song, not the kind of behaviour you'd expect from Snow Patrol or the latter day MSP.

As a wise man once described it, it's a triumph of art over logic.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:34, closed)

The Holy Bible
Superb record.
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:39, closed)

Indeed it is
A cultural high water mark in literate rock n' roll. The Stooges, Sylvia Plath, JG Ballard, Joy Division, Stalin, Mao and Kit Kats. Very troubling to listen to, no wonder Richey went mental and suicided. They should have just left This Is Yesterday off it though, it nearly ruins it.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:50, closed)

agree entirely
apart from the fact that the holy bible is an amazing album - start to finish. it is so good in fact that it doesn't sound like the manic street preachers.

generation terrorists was good. gold against the soul was embarassing and the rest is just pish
(Alphabet Soap boshboshboshbosh, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 16:32, closed)

I do love the
"sell out" argument for bands, I mean, how dare any band write an album so good that a lot of people who have never been into their stuff listen to it and go "man, this is some good shit" and tell their friends, who tell their friends etc etc and end up selling by the bazillion, how dare they?

Shocking.

Anyway....I'm sure there are a few very good reasons, such as Ritchie vanishing, its very difficult to be angry young men when minted,it is very difficult to get off a moving train when its successful, you enjoy it and it puts food on the table, and you know that it was the management that setup Glastonbury, they probably wanted to play and the management company made a fortune on it from both sides, because that is what they do.
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:08, closed)

Well it does kind of gall
when their general schtick is anti-capitalism and all the righteous rage that goes with it.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:13, closed)

hmm true
although the bigger your target audience, the more likely that some people will get the message. (plus there is the old, using the system to abuse and highlight the hypocrisy and idiocy of the system argument)
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:19, closed)

True,
But changing your style and sound purely to sell records is definitely selling out. Pendulum did it- no longer welcome in DnB circles, someone's already mentioned the Black Eyed Peas as having done it, lots of bands and singers have done so.

Where there's a difference is when a band or artist that have been plugging away for years find themselves massively popular, without having changed a thing, like Pulp in the 90s. To use snow Patrol as an example, they were just another middling indie band that started off well (labelmates with Mogwai) but went anthemic to capture that bit of the market. Utter utter pish. To damn with faint praise indeed, they are a poor man's Coldplay.

And the Manics can be excused the portaloo thing. Right from the start they always said that they reserved the right to become Prima Donnas.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:20, closed)

then
it boils down to Ritchie, how much of his influence drove the band musically and stylistically? with that gone they have never quite been the same. some bands simply don't have the talent to continually innovate and re-invent themselves and settle into a sound and vibe they are comfortable in, don't forget, first and foremost these people put in the blood sweat and tears to write songs for themselves so there must be a point of "this is what we want to do, if people like it then more power to our elbows" in being of a certain sound.

(the same with Metallica, they have written about 6 decent songs since Cliff Burton died)
(Halfy By light alone, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 17:24, closed)

It wasn't so much that the Manics' were deemed to have "sold out" by any external commentators, more that they sold themselves out by announcing the end of rock n' roll as it stood and becoming icons that they themselves had vowed to kick over...

That's the irony y'see...
(caescarna Hell's Roomba, Wed 10 Feb 2010, 8:12, closed)

if you stand up like a nail
then you will be knocked down
(Raol Duke, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 21:13, closed)

For sale, dumb cunt's same dumb question
All virgins listen, all virgins are liars honey
And I don't know what I'm scared of
Or what I even enjoy
Gonna get money back, nothing turn out like you want it to
And in these plagued streets of pity, you can buy anything, for £200 anyone can conceive a god on video.

He's a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock, tie his hair in bunches, fuck him, call him Rita if you want.

Not the kind of thing you'd hear on daytime Radio 1, is it?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Tue 9 Feb 2010, 23:41, closed)

I still quite enjoy their music
Although Generation Terrorists and Holy Bible are certainly the best two albums.

Best Welsh band around these days is Future Of The Left, though.
(oball needs Satan more than he needs me, Wed 10 Feb 2010, 2:50, closed)

And the best Welsh band before Future Of The Left was MClusky, thank the Gods that Andy Falkous didn't just give up...

I miss MClusky...
(caescarna Hell's Roomba, Wed 10 Feb 2010, 8:13, closed)

I picked up FOTL's live album and Travels after a friend recommended them a few months back and instantly fell in love - I've not heard much mclusky beyond a couple of songs on Youtube, though. I'll have to see if the local CD store has any of their albums. Which is their best?
(oball needs Satan more than he needs me, Thu 11 Feb 2010, 3:28, closed)