#2146
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Glowing review:
Postcards From a Young Man is a wonderful album; the sound of a band practically bursting with justified confidence in themselves and in their songs. http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010...m-a-young-man/ |
#2147
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Another generally positive review:
The long and short of it is that Postcards From a Young Man is a microcosm of the band’s career, rich in glorious successes, pitted with the occasional mis-step, often contradictory, but ultimately completely life-affirming. http://musosguide.com/manic-street-p...oung-man/11672 |
#2148
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#2149
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I was expecting it to sound a lot more like 'Send Away The Tigers' but it doesn't. I feel I can hear bits of 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', 'Know Your Enemy' and 'Journal For Plague Lovers'.
I actually like every track on Postcards From A Young Man, an enjoyable listen with plenty of varied styles.
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#2150
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I think it's just clicked with me, I feel like playing it twice in a row which has yet to happen. It' gone up to a 7.5 instead of a 6.5.
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European Spoon, European Moon |
#2151
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PFAYM thoughts from a new guy
I've been reading these forums for a while now, especially since Postcards, and I felt the need to sign up share my opinion (whether or not I'm taken seriously). Let me explain first that I'm a newcomer to Manics - when Plague Lovers came out, I heard the buzz around the British music press that I read (I'm an American and British press tends to get right everything that American press doesn't get at all). Then I delved into their back catalog. I developed a deep and abiding love for Manics once I memorized all of their songs. This is the first of their albums that I've been fortunate enough to anticipate.
I remember the very first time I heard Motorcycle Emptiness. Where I was sitting, even the position I was sitting in. I remember not understanding exactly what the song meant, but I felt deeply moved by the profound melancholy of the repeated "under neon loneliness - motorcycle emptiness." There was the impression that, whatever that meant, I've FELT that way before. My brother was going through a bad breakup and I said, you have to hear this song. You know how one song can become an anthem of a period of your life? That was, and is, his anthem after losing his fiancee. Anyway, I digress. I understand people not liking a record, being underwhelmed by it, feeling generally unmoved. If you think that this is a lackluster record, that's perfectly fair and understandable. Perhaps you've plumbed an emotional depth with Nicky, James, Sean, and Richey; and perhaps I don't have access to what you feel about the band. Maybe I'm just a... noob. However. Postcards from a Young Man is, in my estimation, an absolute masterpiece. Is it better than Holy Bible, Everything Must Go, Journal? No - because it's a totally different album. Those three records are the holy trinity of Manics albums as far as I'm concerned, and choosing a favorite from those three is tantamount to choosing whether to spare only my twin brother, my fiancee, or my mother from certain death if I were forced. Postcards fits right in with those albums in terms of sheer evocativeness - the problem is, everyone's analyzing the hell out of this Manics record by making unfair comparisons to past masterpieces. Is there a Motorcycle Emptiness on this album? Again, the answer is no. Motorcycle Emptiness meant a particular thing to us at a particular time, and that time is gone. Imagine Manics writing a very similar song: fuzzy, swelling guitar lead, giant echoing snare hits, a catchy chorus of a few seemingly incongruous words, a political message that stands up to multiple interpretations. It would seem contrived, wouldn't it? If we wouldn't accept a do-over of Motorcycle Emptiness, why do we need another Holy Bible, EMG, even Journal? Because this record tells me that "these things I've seen brings tears to my eyes - live with me through the threat of our lives!" Anthemic, melancholy, touching. Isn't that stuck in your head? Didn't the pulse-pounding repetition of "I will not give up and I will not give in" send chills down your spine? How about the ABBA scheme of freaking Ian McCulloch's voice intertwining smoothly with the throaty thrills of James's? They way they trail off, almost mournfully, at the end of that chorus? Did the solo in It's Not War cause anyone else to bolt out of their seat? The harmonizing guitars on Hazelton Avenue? How about the discussion-warranting reflections on the Manics' past political statements on Platitudes? James's flawless execution of that falsetto leap from "pleasures, pleasures, pleasures virtual" leading into the chorus of Balconies? What I'm trying to say is this: Manics have always, to me, represented a moment. One moment at a time. They've caused me to think and reflect, feel alternately angry and melancholy, to relate their music (however haphazardly) to my own life. What this album does, and several past Manics albums have honestly failed to, is to make me FEEL. It's a slightly overproduced but nevertheless extremely honest and refreshing bit of pop for a band that has never been afraid to change, and has honestly remained consistently good throughout their career. They're the only band I can think of for whom that can be said. Some of the lyrics are uneven, but Manics lyrics always have been. Some of the choruses and chord progressions are predictable, which is actually fortunate for a band playing britpop-by-way-of-metal. Maybe Nicky's voice isn't as good as JDB's. But I honestly can't think of ONE track off this album that doesn't evoke some sort of response from me, whether it's my heart skipping a beat or my fist pumping in the air. My guess is that this album will be critically praised, not panned, and readily accepted as a companion to Journal. Some will call it a return to form (as though Manics have ever had form), others will dismiss it as an obvious and well-made attempt to write radio hits (which they achieved handily), and a few will probably hate it for being too vague-kitsch-boring-overproduced, &c. The latter group, in my estimation, should try to remember why they started listening in the first place. Because even if I never bought that first Manics record, damn - I'd sure as heck be listening now. |
#2152
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Brilliantly put keatsandyeats. Totally agree.
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#2153
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I don't rate the new album, but that was a great read. Nice to see someone really articulate their passion.
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#2154
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Who the fuck let Keatsandyeats in?
Are how much are they paying you? |
#2155
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Keatsandyeats, thank you. I share many of your sentiments, including the chill-down-the-spine of the end of the title track. All Manics albums have too resonated with me in some way. It may not be each song, but there is usually one song on each album that is perfect for my own moment in time. The album is very, very good.
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#2156
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Well Pete, Keats and Yeats were both poets; the former a Romantic and the latter a Modernist whose works reflected the Romantics. While they happen to be two of my favorites, I actually took the nake Keats and Yeats from the song Cemetry Gates by the Smiths.
As regards your aptly worded question, "are how much are they paying you?" ... It would be pretty sweet to get paid to write about Manics, but at the moment I'm behind the desk at my day job, which is Media Specialist in the creative services department for Carlisle Construction Materials. Which is markedly more boring. |
#2157
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My website's review (MisforMusic.com)
http://www.misformusic.com/2010/09/p...eet-preachers/ Please leave comments on the review good or bad, the reviewer is a big Manics fan and would like some feedback if poss!
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♪Yes, there's love if you want it... Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord♪ http://www.misformusic.com |
#2158
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#2159
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dunno, probably the same people who don't want another "PFAYM is actually KYE!" thread
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#2160
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i agree with your review Keatsandyeats and how can you compare this album to a band who created such amazing albums as the holy bible or everthing must go or journal i do think we need to take their albums at face value and not compare them to the greatest albums coz theres no need, if it's a great album it's a great album end of.
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