New podcast about Manics

[Tim]

Certainly a sister album to this is my truth but with a maturity that only comes from age and experience i suppose and i will take an album like rewind the film over another postcards any day because at least it's trying to do something different even if it doesn't fully succeed. Though i'm still shocked michael sheen never picked anything of this album considering it's loaded with welsh meloncholia and the absolutely storming 30 year war which should be right up his street - it's rare the manics have ever been that directly political in a track.

The major problem i have with it is james taking a bit of a backseat to guest vocals and as good as i think these are i want to hear james on a bloody manics album; i seem to remember something james said about being bored with his own voice around this time and this carries on into futurology.

It is right that you bring up the david axelrod rip because i believe they do the same thing on tokyo skyline* which is... well, it's not great is it. Long standing forum people though are well aware of all this, it'll be in one of the threads if they still exist. Funnily enough, axelrod is credited on the wiki page. Can't remember if he is credited on the album sleeve as well.

I honestly think that the trilogy of films for rewind the film, show me the wonder and anthem for a lost cause improve my enjoyment of those tracks, there's a nice little thematic link through them about the rise and fall of the valley's mining communities, even if the tracks aren't directly about that. Public service broadcasting would explore this very satisfyingly on every valley.

It's a shame you don't talk more about the b-sides and extra tracks because again they push that more experimental side on the brilliant oddity that is t.e. lawrence on a bike.

*Citation needed for this though because i still can't find anything, unless i imagined it.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Tim

Certainly a sister album to this is my truth but with a maturity that only comes from age and experience i suppose and i will take an album like rewind the film over another postcards any day because at least it's trying to do something different even if it doesn't fully succeed. Though i'm still shocked michael sheen never picked anything of this album considering it's loaded with welsh meloncholia and the absolutely storming 30 year war which should be right up his street - it's rare the manics have ever been that directly political in a track.

The major problem i have with it is james taking a bit of a backseat to guest vocals and as good as i think these are i want to hear james on a bloody manics album; i seem to remember something james said about being bored with his own voice around this time and this carries on into futurology.

It is right that you bring up the david axelrod rip because i believe they do the same thing on tokyo skyline* which is... well, it's not great is it. Long standing forum people though are well aware of all this, it'll be in one of the threads if they still exist. Funnily enough, axelrod is credited on the wiki page. Can't remember if he is credited on the album sleeve as well.

I honestly think that the trilogy of films for rewind the film, show me the wonder and anthem for a lost cause improve my enjoyment of those tracks, there's a nice little thematic link through them about the rise and fall of the valley's mining communities, even if the tracks aren't directly about that. Public service broadcasting would explore this very satisfyingly on every valley.

It's a shame you don't talk more about the b-sides and extra tracks because again they push that more experimental side on the brilliant oddity that is t.e. lawrence on a bike.

*Citation needed for this though because i still can't find anything, unless i imagined it.

Tokyo Skyline seems to use a track by Max Richter for the ambient noises in the background - I'm not sure if Sean re-created it or they sampled it directly, but in my view it's not really the same thing at all as recreating all parts of a multi-part song like the Axelrod one for RTF:

Tokyo Riddle Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RtjM5k0wg
Funnily enough the album it's on is called '24 Postcards in Full Colour' So there's a bit of a Manics link there too.

I agree with you on the videos for those tracks, I think they're great, AFALC is especially effective I think.

Loved the RTF podcast! Probably my favourite since the Lifeblood one.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by Porco

Tokyo Skyline seems to use a track by Max Richter for the ambient noises in the background - I'm not sure if Sean re-created it or they sampled it directly, but in my view it's not really the same thing at all as recreating all parts of a multi-part song like the Axelrod one for RTF:

Tokyo Riddle Song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RtjM5k0wg
Funnily enough the album it's on is called '24 Postcards in Full Colour' So there's a bit of a Manics link there too.

That's the one! I was looking for that everywhere.
To me it sounds like a reworking of it with rewind being a direct sample but who knows. Maybe i'm being too harsh because so much music has sampled other stuff but it should be credited at least.

[Librarian On Fire]

I'm not 100% sure but I think the violin on "Tokyo Skyline" is a Erhu.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhic2cE57iM Which is a Chinese musical instrument. Have a listen to see if it sounds like Tokyo Skyline.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by Librarian On Fire

I'm not 100% sure but I think the violin on "Tokyo Skyline" is a Erhu.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhic2cE57iM Which is a Chinese musical instrument. Have a listen to see if it sounds like Tokyo Skyline.

Yes, that was the conclusion I came to when the album was released too. I think it’s just samples/virtual instrument, I think I remember them talking about it being a studio creation or something like that. I used it in one of my tracks a while ago too, it's a lovely thing IMHO.

BTW, the new bonus podcast with Terri Hall is fantastic everyone!

[Tim]

Kudos for getting a terri hall interview, i can't recall her ever being interviewed but certainly not at length so it was a delight to hear all her stories of the manics leaving makeup everywhere, nicky scrubbing the skirting boards and spray painting their shirts while she does the dinner. I'm reminded of the story that philip would know the manics were home because there'd be four pairs of wildly different sized washed white jeans drying on the radiators. Her recollections absolutely fit with what we know of the band when they were not being confrontational and incendiary with music hacks or performing onstage - four very pleasant young men that were polite, well spoken and courteous to their hosts.

So you've spoken to greg haver, martin sheen, simon price and terri hall... you're getting close! I'm sure one of those has put a good word in for you with james at least and he's all zoomed up these days so it can only be a matter of time.

[chieftan mews]

Originally Posted by Tim

Kudos for getting a terri hall interview, i can't recall her ever being interviewed but certainly not at length so it was a delight to hear all her stories of the manics leaving makeup everywhere, nicky scrubbing the skirting boards and spray painting their shirts while she does the dinner. I'm reminded of the story that philip would know the manics were home because there'd be four pairs of wildly different sized washed white jeans drying on the radiators. Her recollections absolutely fit with what we know of the band when they were not being confrontational and incendiary with music hacks or performing onstage - four very pleasant young men that were polite, well spoken and courteous to their hosts.

So you've spoken to greg haver, martin sheen, simon price and terri hall... you're getting close! I'm sure one of those has put a good word in for you with james at least and he's all zoomed up these days so it can only be a matter of time.

We've had some mad guests, haven't we? All feels a bit surreal. I know that James is aware of the podcast. I have no idea how he feels about it.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by chieftan mews

We've had some mad guests, haven't we? All feels a bit surreal. I know that James is aware of the podcast. I have no idea how he feels about it.

Sean probably mentioned it to him one of the times he was supposed to be on.

You really have had great guests, it’s been a wonderful bonus to what was already a brilliant podcast.

Maybe the Manics could do a podcast listening to your podcasts, going episode by episode to ask the question: does context make a difference to how you enjoy a podcast... they could call it Do We Love ‘Do You Love Us?’ Like ‘Do You Love Us?’ Love Us (If They Do In Fact Love Us)?

Sean = a big fan of the podcast, obviously, as he has nearly been on it so many times
James = Aware of it but not a great deal, only heard a few clips
Nicky = No idea really, has just seen it mentioned online, assumes it’s a podcast about gardening from the BBC, presented by Monty Don.

[hummingbird]

Mondays. Best day of the week in 2020

[Librarian On Fire]

I'm looking forward to a interactive podcast series in 2021. Can we call in? "Go ahead caller".

[Tim]

Originally Posted by chieftan mews

We've had some mad guests, haven't we? All feels a bit surreal. I know that James is aware of the podcast. I have no idea how he feels about it.

You're all handling it very well, i must say.
I would fall completely to bits, lock the front door and close the curtains.

[ron the little seal]

Top class as per usual, in my top 5 podcasts atm even when you run the running jokes into the ground then bury them, dig them back up and run them into the ground again. I'll miss it post RIF!

[Tim]

I didn't fully engage with futurology at the time but it's one that has improved in my estimation over time, much like lifeblood. I can't really compartmentalise this and rewind the film though, they both feel a part of the same package to me with a lot of overlap like the view from stow hill. It's a remarkable thing to be a band on their twelfth album and up for pushing the boat out but it's frustrating that non-fans only really consider them as being this anthemic mor rock act when they have stuff like this in the bag. Surely the manics track that sounds least like the manics is the last time i saw paris? I love it but it's the least manics thing i've heard them do so far.

Again though, i love that they try weird stuff even if it doesn't always work but when it does it's sublime like misguided missile in particular - the out of sync verses and chorus all coming together into a glorious whole towards the end. It's unusual to have a weak opener from them but the title track is my least favourite on there, it has grown on me but doesn't compare to most of their opening tracks. SPLAM! is just ridiculous though. I'd happily chuck SPLAM! off there and replace it with the far superior empty motorcade - still top tier manics for me.

That quietus interview nicky did for the promotion goes into some really interesting detail about how much influence the modern art movement, brutalism and futurism etc has on this album, over and above the music he was listening to - "I've just fucking exhausted all my old records so much". I remember his curmudgeonly complaining about modern music having nothing to offer him. Thing is, this album is only really looking forward from the past as he lays out in that interview - it's the paleofuture! There's no great contradiction with this album and their subsequent nostalgia tours really because the album is inspired by the promise of a future that never was.

I would say my fandom also waned somewhat between this period and resistance is futile and i might also put that down to them becoming the thing they said they'd never want to be and that's a nostalgia act. My desire to go see them live drastically diminished during this time with no really great need to buy all the reissues either. Predicting what this band will do is a fool's errand, i mean we love them for their contradictory nature but not giving this album the proper tour it deserved (at least in the uk) is another daft decision to be added to the pantheon of manics daft decisions.

[Porco]

The new episode with Dave Eringa is so good! What a great guest, I loved listening to him talk about both his work and life with the Manics in such detail.

I really hope we get to hear his unreleased version of TBTGOG one day, sounded like a really cool alternative.

And he was asked ‘th- question’! Kudos Adam for asking, and for asking so respectfully!)!.

Wonderful podcast.

[chieftan mews]

Dave is an absolute dude.