MANIC STREET PREACHERS Best Album Poll

How in the hell could you ever think these lyrics, especially on the Holy Bible, are sincere? Was the part of your brain that detects irony cut out through your nose or something? The lyrics are so typically 90s "screw the world and system! humans are animals!" type shit.

It's like listening to Crass - Penis Envy and thinking they're all dowdy, uber-conservative traditionalist women.

Well that's me told

burt stanton straight to the point

burt stanton never suffered from teenage angst

Generation Terrorists is the only one I've ever heard, so I guess I'll vote for it.

Whatever else the Holy Bible's politics are — extreme, experimental, confused, sometimes nuts — they're not ironic. Remember it was in part inspired by visiting Auschwitz, so there's a sincere fascination with stark moral choices, retribution for hideous crimes, and the potential for anyone, under certain circumstances, to do repellent things. The band have talked about reaching the point where extreme left-wing ideas meet extreme right-wing ones. It's not meant to be comfortable or even entirely coherent but it sure as hell isn't ironic.

"Fuck the Brady Bill" is pretty risible.

again, misinterpreted I think. The full lyrics go

"Fuck the Brady Bill / Fuck the Brady Bill / If God made man they say / Sam Colt made him equal"

The "they say" is integral to understand that it's not his own opinion; he's criticizing the irony of America's puritanical values and its religious and moral high horse, and how it contradicts with the apparent attitudes of the people who supposedly espouse those beliefs.

"Yet your morals only run / as deep as the surface"

In other words, Americans talk about being high-minded and deeply religious, but ultimately those religious values are ones that people wear like clothing and wield like weapons. Ultimately, they do not 'trust' God and his plans like they claim to; instead, they believe in their own justice that they can administer themselves through their guns. Any attempt to curb that right to guns reverts American life to the unsettling world that God made, whereas the guns-- in their minds-- provides the equality and justice that their God never could.

Some of the tracks on Generation Terrorists were better in their earlier ep form

Yeah, to me it was all about their early 12" EP's. The album was kindof overblown and overdone, though it had a few good tracks. I quit paying attention to them after GT.

"Everything Must Go" is the most consistent although "This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours" contains the best songs and is easily the most underrated one.

"The Holy Bible" is the worst, in spite of some great lyrics. "She Is Suffering" is great tho.

HB is the worst?? You're nuts! Every song on that is fucking amazing.

They lack the anthemic quality that Manics at their best have.

Geir Hongro is the resident controversial opinionist. Anyway, I think people are misinterpreting what irony means.

Yes Geir bringing the challops. Incorrect in this case though.

TIMTTMY is the worst Mondeo Pop album of all time

It's not that bad but it does have one of the worst songs ever made The Everlasting

That's not even the worst song on that album (hi dere SYMM)! I'd go for the Holy Bible as the closest they've made to a really good album, but I don't think they've ever made a wholly consistent one.

"The Everlasting" is the best song on the entire album, and possibly the best Manics song ever. A fantastic singalong anthem representing 90s Britpop at its very best!

"She Is Suffering" is, on the other hand, the only track on "The Holy Bible" with sufficient singalong qualities.

Yep, singalongability is exactly what I look for in my nihilistic songs about the holocaust, anorexia, etc too.

I don't look for nihilistic songs. Period.

LIFEBLOOD is 50 % amazing. there's a cult of people who think it's in their top 3 albums. i'm in that cult!

holy bible is great but the debut it is

gt is kind of a masterpiece -- a lot of it is awful, but its sheer ridiculousness stood out at the time (and really would prob stand out at any time). gats has a couple of good songs but aged pretty poorly. holy bible is still surprisingly gritty and exciting as music (james bradfield surely gave his best ever vocals here), and a lot of the lyrics ("yes," "die in the summertime") even stand up as poetry, or something closer to it than most pop lyrics. i never listen to EMG but most of it probably still holds up. liked know your enemy a lot at the time, haven't heard it in years.

Trust Geir to have as his fave manics song the one i hate most.

LIFEBLOOD is 50 % amazing.

can you list the songs you think this of?

It's not that bad but it does have one of the worst songs ever made The Everlasting

whoa, whoa, whoa.... that song's great! the first few times I thought it was forced, but now I find it to be among their best songs, and one of their most affecting.

IF YOU STAND UP LIKE A NAIL

fUCK YOU

God, I remember thinking "I've been too honest with myself, I should have lied like everybody else" was the greatest thing I'd ever heard. I was WAY old enough to know better at that point as well.

There are no bad tracks on the 1st three ablums, I'm gonna vote GT to balance out the contrarianism a bit.

I don't look for nihilistic songs. Period.

WHY THE HOLY FUCK ARE YOU LISTENING TO THE MANICS THEN?

Ailsa otm

I'm a bit amazed at how popular this band seem to be here

but you're delighted about it?

Couldn't be less delighted

These guys sell out arenas in Europe, right? Cause in America they're completely obscure.

I don't pay attention to their lyrics very much, and could care less about their politics. But Know Your Enemy is a great rock album, particularly Epicentre.

I don't pay attention to their lyrics very much, and could care less about their politics.

Yeah I feel this way about the Democrats.

Are they big in mainland Europe or just here in the UK? (stan m to thread?)

i like the way Sean looks in that photo. He looks like he's about 12 years old.

V big in Thailand apparently.

Funny you should say that, as I was in Thailand several years back and heard one of their songs playing out of someone's car. at the time, I thought it very odd.

I remember reading an article about them about 14 years ago with them visiting Thailand and mass hysteria and arm cutting occurring amongst their fans. Pretty fucked up.

And Richey visiting a prostitute

yes that's right ham shandies all round!

Even better is how Nicky looks like Shirley off EastEnders in that photo.

dunno who that is

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Carter

It is pretty uncanny:

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:JfT_AndWpk4K7M:http://static.whatsontv.co.uk/images/0836_103919_116883.jpg

x-post!

i see the resemblance

nicky's way cuter though. i saw them in concert once and nicky made both me and my female friend swoon!