what is motorcycle emptiness about?

[socialist cook]

Apologies for being so damned ignorant but its a thing thats been bugging me for years. What is Motorcycle Emptiness actually about?

[Platypus]

My friend asked me this a while ago, and it made me think for the first time, what IS it about? But he thought 'I nutty nonetheless' was the chorus (and he actually sang that at the Birmingham show), so this may take less effort:

There's so many lyrics in that song, with no wasted words at all, that it does seem a very obscure song. But boiled down, I think it's about being disillusioned with the modern society surrounding the writer that basically projects so many false ideas and lies ('Your joys are counterfeit/This happiness corrupt political shit'). It leaves him feeling particularly lonely, 'under neon loneliness'.

The line 'Motorcycle Emptiness' itself I take to mean there's no fuel, which is an allegory for the great capacity in humanity (or the writer) for art and culture, that is wasted with nothing to stimulate it. There is only the bland 'wonderful world of purchase power' and little else, leaving the writer 'living life like a comatose' and only 'sucking on air'.

As for the 'all we want from you are the kicks you've given us' line, it does stump me a bit but I thought it might be addressing the fans, not sure how that relates to the song though.

[Void]

I think the song refers to breasts.

[Joe]

I think that's a good analogy Platypus, you're probably right for the majority of it. :)

[Terminal Young Thing]

I think "all we want from you..." is a message to authority of some sort.
As in, there's nothing more you can do for us, fuck off.

I know what I mean, I'm just useless at articulating thought.

[Matt_o_Mac]

Ah i tried to think what it meant, but i gave up, i just class it as a excellant song, my dad likes it, this means its passed some test:)

[Motorcycle Emptiness]

I have some overriding thought that the song is about the American motorcycle culture and the "rebel without a cause" stuff.

But then again, I am useless at this kind of analysis...

[Sheraz]

" I think it's about being disillusioned with the modern society surrounding the writer that basically projects so many false ideas and lies ('Your joys are counterfeit/This happiness corrupt political shit'). It leaves him feeling particularly lonely, 'under neon loneliness'. "

agreed but i think the lyric - under neon loneliness is making a particular point about living in a high tech era, but how depsite this advancement pple in many sences, well are further aaprt then ever before... (general mistrust, contmempt, break down of the community)

" The line 'Motorcycle Emptiness' itself I take to mean there's no fuel, which is an allegory for the great capacity in humanity (or the writer) for art and culture, that is wasted with nothing to stimulate it. There is only the bland 'wonderful world of purchase power' and little else, leaving the writer 'living life like a comatose' and only 'sucking on air'. " wouldnmt have thought of any of that but it makes sence.

" As for the 'all we want from you are the kicks you've given us' line, it does stump me a bit but I thought it might be addressing the fans, not sure how that relates to the song though. "

i thought this line referred to certain expectations that pple had, u know the sterotype modern lifestyle that we are all supposed to apsire to - and how in reality well, most pples lives arent ever going to match up to that, leading to a sence of almost desperation as u realise that u have somehow failed, hence the repetition of the line over and over to signify this...

[manic_black_flower]

i thought the "motorcycle emptiness" line was a literal pisstake of motorcyclists (usually middleaged men who think they're cool), and how shallow their lives are (ie they ride under the neon loneliness of the street lights) and this all doubles up as a criticism of the frivolity and emptiness of modern life in general.

[amaranth]

Am I an idiot or is something to do with the film Rumblefish? (I've never seen it so I wouldn't know, but I'm sure I read it somewhere)

[Joe]

I love this song analysis idea, it's nice to hear how everybody views the song :D

[Terminal Young Thing]

Originally posted by amaranth
Am I an idiot or is something to do with the film Rumblefish? (I've never seen it so I wouldn't know, but I'm sure I read it somewhere)

Yer, that's what I heard, but I haven't seen it either.

[Rachey]

i don't know if it is or not. the films's lead character is 'the motorcycle boy' who used to be leader of a street gang whom all the kids in town respected but he gave it up as a waste of time. the point of the film was basically saying that you can have the ability to do anything but you might not find anything you want to do- 'you're bron on the wrong side of the river'. draw your own conclusions cos it's quarter to ten and i've only just woken up!:)
rachael

[Susan Jones]

well...what's bothering me for a while, is that I don't understand the line 'life lies a slow suicide' it could be because I'm not English...but could anyone explain it??? I deeply appologise if this is a stupid question:o

[Afraid and Cold]

Motorcycle Emptiness ("Generation Terrorists")

James Dean Bradfield: It was the first song that Nick and Richey wrote as a fifty-fifty partnership and I remember thinking, "God, this is really going to work." When it came to recording our first album our producer Steve Brown said that I needed to put a "dime store riff' on it - a riff that would become the signature of the song. The song metamorphosised into something that we never realised that it would and that was down to Steve Brown, the producer.

Nicky Wire: the ultimate early Manics statement of longing for something you're never going to get. There's a slight sense of melancholic hope, accepting defeat and making something of it. It was one of the first songs we [Nick and Richey] sat down at the table and wrote together which was pretty special. It still gives me goose bumps thinking about it. There are so many lyrical ideas in 'Motorcycle Emptiness' you almost get swamped in it: too much of everything. Even today it sounds like no other band.

Dunno if that gives you some ideas...
Em xx

[amaranth]

So basically there are so many different lyrical ideas that we can't understand it?

[Mattness]

I think Albert Camus' concept of absurdity has a big part to play in ME.
Just the dull repetition of every day life. A routine. The same thing over and over again.
"Drive away and its the same, everywhere death row, everyone's a victim."

[Terminal Young Thing]

Originally posted by Mattness
I think Albert Camus' concept of absurdity has a big part to play in ME.
Just the dull repetition of every day life. A routine. The same thing over and over again.
"Drive away and its the same, everywhere death row, everyone's a victim."

Argh! Myth of Sysiphus (or whatever) hurt my head.
The story form of it (The Outsider) was good though...

Didn't Nicky dedicate it to Camus in the Everything Live video?

[theraven1979]

I think everyone has pretty much hit it on the head. This was the first Manics single I bought on day of release.

I think the reference to the Motorcycle Emptiness is not that there`s no fuel in the motorcycle I think it means that a motorcycle is something that`s a real kick to ride, real excitement but in this case it`s boring cos nothing excites any more. It should be a real buzz but it`s dull like everything else.

Prolly completely wrong but that`s part of the fun.