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  #1  
Old 14-07-2014, 13:17
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Marat Sar Marat Sar is offline
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Can't believe how good they're doing!

Man, are they getting some good press or what?! Admitted, I've followed the news very intently, turning my fb feed into a manicsbook. But still - how come you guys ain't more psyched about how GOOD they (we!!! ) are doing?! None of the reviews go lower than 7, and there are loads of them this time. And plenty 9s and 9.5s too - and massive goodwill all around. It's like they are treated as heroes now, univocally, and I get this feeling that they've kinda... well, just "won."

They sure are doing a lot of interviews too, which make it to front pages online, and those interviews are really good, in depth stuff. ("Drowned in Sound" just did the best one I've ever read from them, I think)

It's like Joe Public has grown up and gone and done something else and everyone in a critical position at least respects them. Like, really respects them. Wheareas they used to always be kind of a joke, like every time something positive was said about the Manics, it was tongue in cheek, or just "hey, c'mon, look at how cute they are!" or "THE HOLY BIBLE WILL NEVER BE MATCHED!" (Honestly, FUCK The Holy Bible.)

Plus, the nr 2 spot, which, truth be told, is really really unexpected!

And it's not just the press! The album itself is truly fucking magnificent too!

So, how are guys feeling?

Let's get POSITIVE in here!

Last edited by Marat Sar; 14-07-2014 at 13:22.
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Old 14-07-2014, 13:58
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I think this forum may be reacting rather too optimisitically based on a #2 album and a smattering of good reviews.

Ask your friends - the man on the street - if they're more interested in the Manics today than they were a month ago. I can guess their response
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  #3  
Old 14-07-2014, 14:08
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Marat Sar Marat Sar is offline
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Originally Posted by UEF View Post

Ask your friends - the man on the street - if they're more interested in the Manics today than they were a month ago. I can guess their response
The man on the street in motherfucking Estonia ain't interested in jack shit, and he never been. (He does, however, appear to really hate the russkies, though) As to my friends, I would say - surely: yes. (In the SATT-PFAYM era no one cared except the fans, who were just baffled as to how shit they'd gotten.) I'm not saying they've done some kind of comeback, I'm saying they have cemented their place in history as much more than they were before RTF.

Last edited by Marat Sar; 14-07-2014 at 14:32.
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Old 14-07-2014, 14:25
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Ask your friends - the man on the street - if they're more interested in the Manics today than they were a month ago. I can guess their response
As Sid Vicious once said when asked whether he made music for the man on the street, "No, I've met the man on the street, and he is a c**t."
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  #5  
Old 14-07-2014, 15:02
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Marat Sar Marat Sar is offline
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Yoy know, stuff like this (and there's a lot of it out there)

http://therockingvicar.com/?p=5392

This is straight out canonisation, a push for it anyway, endorsements slowly moving onwards.

Last edited by Marat Sar; 14-07-2014 at 22:28.
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  #6  
Old 14-07-2014, 15:29
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"THE HOLY BIBLE WILL NEVER BE MATCHED!" (Honestly, FUCK The Holy Bible.)
The Holy Bible is widely considered one of the best indie/rock albums of the 1990s and from its continuing presence in critics’ lists, the anniversary edition, reception when they play a track from it live and the high placing in most fans’ lists of preferred albums it would appear that it has stood the test of time pretty well.

For me Futurology is a good album, at times more than that, but I doubt that in 10 years time it will be held in anywhere near the same regard, outside of the fan base, as The Holy Bible is, if it is even regarded at all. I think it’s great that the critics and fans have given it a good reception, but I don’t get the impression that the general public really give a shit beyond how they felt before. Also it doesn’t matter; Joe Public regularly demonstrates a collectively fucking appalling taste in music so their approval isn’t really something to be sought out.

It would probably just be best not to mention The Holy Bible, but when a band make an album of that quality it is impossible not to hold them to those high standards. For me, they have never even come close again, but they’ve still made some very good records and Futurology is definitely one of them.
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  #7  
Old 14-07-2014, 16:03
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Marat Sar Marat Sar is offline
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Since the mid 2000s I've had this dirty feeling that critics just like to namedrop THB, because it is the path of least resistance, it almost comes instinctively. When taste is your moneymaker (mine is) you become desperate to associate yourself with everything that makes yours better than the competition: realer, more authentic, more stylish in the long run. To a critic this is important, not only as a means of making a living, but for maintaining a false sense of self worth, from which the audacity to be a critic springs in the first place. (It sure doesn't spring from educaton, since there is none for music wanks) THB does the critic that favor and they, in return, do it the misfavor of trying to fuck the band who made it, by overpositioning it in their canon. (I could easily defend the position that Lifeblood is the more exceptional and rarer achievement) Besides, critical love for THB hits that perfect mainline pop tradition of exploiting ruined youths and aggrandizing the tales of their sad, unfortunate and unnecessary destruction. A sordid practice. The Manics are about so much more than that. By now, I think their main narrative is Kodawari. Endurance, dedication, obsessively never giving in. The last torchbearers of protest music. In the end, their longevity will be more important than their highlights.

And Futurology is instrumental in sealing that longevity. No one considers them failures any more, except for Nicky.

Last edited by Marat Sar; 14-07-2014 at 22:30.
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  #8  
Old 14-07-2014, 20:30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marat Sar View Post
Since the mid 2000s I've had this dirty feeling that critics just like to namedrop THB, because it is the path of least resistance, it almost comes instinctively. When taste is your moneymaker (mine is) you become desperate to associate yourself with everything that makes yours better than the competition: realer, more authentic, more stylish in the long run. To a critic this is important, not only as a means of making a living, but for maintaining a false sense of self worth, from which the audacity to be a critic springs in the first place. (It sure doesn't spring from educaton, since there is none for music wanks) THB does the critic that favor and they, in return, do it the misfavor of trying to fuck the band who made, by overpositioning it in their canon. (I could easily defend the position that Lifeblood is the more exceptional and rarer achievement) Besides, critical love for THB hits that perfect mainline pop tradition of exploiting ruined youths and aggrandizing the tales of their sad, unfortunate and unnecessary destruction. A sordid practice. The Manics are about so much more than that. By now, I think their main narrative is Kodawari. Endurance, dedication, obsessively never giving in. The last torchbearers of protest music. In the end, their longevity will be more important than their highlights.

And Futurology is instrumental in sealing that longevity. No one considers them failures any more, except for Nicky.
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  #9  
Old 14-07-2014, 20:49
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Originally Posted by Marat Sar View Post
To a critic this is important, not only as a means of making a living, but for maintaining a false sense of self worth, from which the audacity to be a critic springs in the first place. (It sure doesn't spring from educaton, since there is none for music wanks) THB does the critic that favor and they, in return, do it the misfavor of trying to fuck the band who made, by overpositioning it in their canon.
In fairness, the vast majority of fans on here, judging by the rate the albums threads (of which there are many) would also put it as their number 1 so I'm not really sure that it's the critics over positioning it in relation to their albums. There isn't any conspiracy against the band's later work, it's just an exceptional record.

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(I could easily defend the position that Lifeblood is the more exceptional and rarer achievement).
It's a terrible shame the band don't like it. I don't hold out a huge amount of hope for hearing anything from it played live again.
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Old 14-07-2014, 16:48
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Originally Posted by Bathtub View Post
It would probably just be best not to mention The Holy Bible, but when a band make an album of that quality it is impossible not to hold them to those high standards. For me, they have never even come close again
I'd say they have, twice, and dismissed both albums.

Lifeblood and Journal for Plague Lovers. Right up there with the very best.
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  #11  
Old 14-07-2014, 16:09
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It's all good for me because I love THB and live where nobody gives a flying fuck about the Manics, including journalists.

B)
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  #12  
Old 14-07-2014, 16:17
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The band was mentioned in a recent National Post (Canadian national newspaper) article about music sales longevity. Interest is minimal in Canada and mostly confined to the major music markets of Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.
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Old 14-07-2014, 21:19
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would it have gone straight in at 2 had it been released in April /May as originally planned?
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Old 15-07-2014, 06:21
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would it have gone straight in at 2 had it been released in April /May as originally planned?
I don't think it would, they had a very fortunate week with little to no noteworthy new releases.

It'll be interesting to see how many copies this week's number 2 sells.
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  #15  
Old 15-07-2014, 09:31
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It'll be interesting to see how many copies this week's number 2 sells.
Apparently Morrissey's new one is out this week, so will be interesting to see how he does. He's in a similar situation to The Manics I suppose, established artist, doesn't get much radio play any more but has a hardcore fanbase...
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