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  #1  
Old 19-12-2013, 18:47
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Bobafettish Bobafettish is offline
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Is Everything Must Go a Britpop album?

Well, the manics have often occupied a space away from britpop, more that kinda alternative area that Radiohead were occupying in the early 90s. They talk in I think the THB 10th anniversary interview about enjoying being separate from the whole movement.

But with EMG, they do go mainstream, and the themes going through the album do share some similarities with that view of British life that other bands at the time have. Elvis Impersonators I suppose is the most glaring example on the album, ADFL also being deeply rooted in British working class culture. Enola/Alone obviously sounds a bit like Oasis, and although very introspective, there's lines about the statue of liberty on tv, walking on the beach etc, all very britpop... and Further Away is the cheesy love song mixed in. Mr Carbohydrate is also reminiscent of themes of lazy days in etc

It's just been so easy to see the manics as separate from the key players of the scene, but were the manics, for this brief spell at least, part of Britpop? Thought it was an interesting idea...
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Old 19-12-2013, 19:06
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Not for me.

I don't really hear any of the main influences on Britpop on EMG, like post punk, Small Faces, Kinks etc.

I don't think there's much romanticism of British culture either (or the tedious irony of something like Girls and Boys by Blur); Elvis and ADFL are pretty scathing and pessimistic really.

Britpop was just deeply horrible on so many levels.
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  #3  
Old 19-12-2013, 19:23
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I'd disagree - I'd think it's 'of the time' and will forever be lumped in with what was happening then, in much the same way as The Stranglers were seen as a punk band, as were Wire, that Nirvana were grunge.

It'll forever be part of that mid-90s glorification of British music. Blur themselves were critical of society, as were Pulp and Suede, all of whom are of the same era.
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Old 19-12-2013, 21:08
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Yes it was.
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  #5  
Old 19-12-2013, 21:21
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No.

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Old 19-12-2013, 21:43
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EMG is the anti-Britpop for me! I was trying to escape from Oasis and Blur at the time but the Manics flew under my radar somehow in 1996 until I picked them up in 1998!
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Old 19-12-2013, 21:55
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It walks Britpop. But doesn't talk Britpop. And that's why the Manics are still going today. Ocean Colour Scene are still releasing records. They don't seem to be getting the coverage the Manics are getting. (For all the good that does them with their singles!)
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Old 19-12-2013, 22:18
marrs-guitar marrs-guitar is offline
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It's an album with their most radio friendly guitar driven rock/pop songs so in that sense it does have the aspects that below whatever "ideology" the NME were trying to attach, were intrinsic to "Britpop bands". In common with most albums of the Britpoppers, the production and guitar tones are very clean and push the hooks of the songs to the fore.

EMG's main difference to the bulk of Britpop acts was of course that the sound was not so obviously indebted to 60s and early 70s British music, which soon sounded the deathknell (or at least a draining of their powers) to many of those groups who strictly adhered to that Beatles/Kinks/Glam template by the turn of the Millennium.
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Old 19-12-2013, 22:49
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No.

Brit pop incorporated a time and a place

More than the music it was a collection of bands tied by a romantic view of England, new labour and fashion and the manics still had a very English quality but it was more resigned than a celebration and rather than embrace new labour and go about kissing the babies with tony like blur and oasis did they viewed new labour as the better of two evils - a d while embracing elements of the fashion there is still something different - would bone head or the gallaghers don a dress like wire did during that period such as nynex.
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  #10  
Old 19-12-2013, 23:11
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Depends on your definition of Britpop really. As a sound - no it's not. As a period of British music - then yes it is a Britpop record. Either way, it certainly captialised on the success of Britpop.
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Old 19-12-2013, 23:15
marrs-guitar marrs-guitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andy View Post
while embracing elements of the fashion there is still something different - would bone head or the gallaghers don a dress like wire did during that period such as nynex.
I found the Manics' appearance in the EMG era was very much that of the typical British musician of the day. There were no military uniforms, no barechests, no long hair, no DIY spray t-shirts, James and Sean at least donned very much the same attire and haircuts as Liam Gallagher or Damon Albarn.
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  #12  
Old 19-12-2013, 23:20
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The change in clothing was more to do with it being after the disappearance of Richey and being unsure of themselves identity-wise at the time rather than wanting to be particularly linked with the Gallaghers I think!
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  #13  
Old 19-12-2013, 23:32
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I think its a great British pop record, but not necisarily a Britpop record.

Plus I couldnt really imagine any Britpop bands singing "Harvest your overies - Dead mothers crawl"
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  #14  
Old 19-12-2013, 23:34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andy View Post
the manics still had a very English quality
British, perhaps?
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  #15  
Old 19-12-2013, 23:49
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I do see your argument Bobafettish, but I'd say that Everything Must Go was more of a continuation of the polished guitar rock sound of GATS, which I guess links to what Gutless was saying of them being unsure of their identity following Richey's disappearance. It certainly catered to the Britpop fan crowd, but only because it wasn't them trying to sonically re-create another The Holy Bible.

As for the lyrics, well, thankfully there are no references to tea on Clapham Common or champagne at the Derby or whatever.
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