As news filters through that James, Sean and Nicky played Everything Must Go in its entirety last week at their studios, the rumour mill begins scheduling dates for the oh so inevitable #EMG20 tour of 2016, culminating in a closing gig at a flagship Miss Selfridge’s store getting rid of stock before the next season.
And while I face divorce in the course of planning something to do with you guys next (a weekly Manics quiz night anyone?), for now I continue to impart a continuously wonderful collection of #UltimateManicsAlbums presented by a clutch of you wonderful #Manicsfolk. And I wonder is it really annoying to read hashtagged phrases outside the context of a tweet? #letmeknow
Today we have a vintage blogger with a Richey quote heading his site; an intelligent young lady who recently aged to adulthood and a special guest feature album by a regular correspondent’s relative! But steering the Blog Ship today is one of society’s virtues. A carer. A mother. And self confessed bit of a Manics Fangirl. It’s….
Claire @clarahopscotch
Your Magic Manics Tracks: too many pairs!
Includes: 8 singles
1 The Everlasting (from This is My Truth Tell Me Yours)
A longing for the freedom of childhood or disappointment of the adult word. Orchestral and grand.
2 Futurology (from Futurology)
Probably my favourite MSP album opener. Starts as it means to go one. Lyrically and musically rich. Layers of sound and meaning.
3 From Despair to Where (from Gold Against the Soul)
I like the way this song starts with ‘quiet paranoia’ which escalates to ‘screaming desperation’.
4 Ocean Spray (from Know Your Enemy)
Beautiful and personal song about watching someone you love die and the hope that you cling on to.
5 Your Love Alone is Not Enough (from Send Away the Tigers)
A defiant return. Impossible not to sing along to and a lovely Nina Perrson duet. Razorblade lyrics wrapped in musical cotton wool.
6 A Song For Departure (from Lifeblood)
About having how sometimes we have to pretend to be someone we’re not. A bleak yet warm song.
7 This Joke Sport Severed (from Journal for Plague Lovers)
Richey’s lyrics about not fitting in given the cinematic soundtrack experience. Such a breath taking track .
8 Everything Must Go (from Everything Must Go)
A watershed. When you need to go forwards before you can look back.
9 Little Baby Nothing (from Generation Terrorists)
Subversion is a large part of what attracted me to MSP. They didn’t write songs like anyone else and Little Baby Nothing is an early example. While it will be argued that feminism has been sung about for decades, it is a rarity for it to be understood and written about by men. To then get an ex-porn star with a bubblegum voice to duet was a genius stroke.
10 Golden Platitudes (from Postcards From a Young Man)
Emotionally charged song. To me it’s about when your political ideologies don’t match up with those on your ballot paper.
11 Faster (from The Holy Bible)
Loud, punchy and bold. Makes no attempt to hide the fierce intelligence which has always been at the core of the band.
12 30-Year War (from Rewind the Film)
A track almost out of keeping with the rest of the album. A masterpiece about class and privilege.
Monkey @MonkeyPicks
Your Magic Manics Track: Track 2
Includes: 8 singles
1 Found That Soul (from Know Your Enemy)
2 Peeled Apples (from Journal for Plague Lovers)
3 If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next (from This is My Truth Tell Me Yours)
4 The Love Of Richard Nixon (from Lifeblood)
5 Underdogs (from Send Away the Tigers)
6 Show Me the Wonder (from Rewind the Film)
7 Life Becoming a Landslide (from Gold Against the Soul)
8 Everything Must Go (from Everything Must Go)
9 Golden Platitudes (from Postcards From a Young Man)
10 Between the Clock and the Bed (from Futurology)
11 Stay Beautiful (from Generation Terrorists)
12 PCP (from The Holy Bible)
Molly @4ever_delayed
Your Magic Manics Track: Track 12
Includes: 6 singles
1 The Everlasting (from This is My Truth Tell Me Yours)
2 From Despair to Where (from Gold Against the Soul)
3 Your Love Alone is Not Enough (from Send Away the Tigers)
4 Some Kind of Nothingness (from Postcards From a Young Man)
5 This Joke Sport Severed (from Journal for Plague Lovers)
6 Europa Geht Durch Mich (from Futurology)
7 Little Baby Nothing (from Generation Terrorists)
8 Faster (from The Holy Bible)
9 Solitude Sometimes Is (from Lifeblood)
10 No Surface All Feeling (from Everything Must Go)
11 30-Year War (from Rewind the Film)
12 Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed My Children (from Know Your Enemy)
Mrs Lipthorpe @Pyfbrown’sMum
Your Magic Manics Tracks: Track 1 and 4!
Includes: 8 singles
1 The Everlasting (from This is My Truth Tell Me Yours)
2 1985 (from Lifeblood)
3 (It’s Not War) Just the End of Love (from Postcards From a Young Man)
4 La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh) (from Gold Against the Soul)
5 Your Love Alone is Not Enough (from Send Away the Tigers)
6 Motorcycle Emptiness (from Generation Terrorists)
7 Enola / Alone (from Everything Must Go)
8 So Why So Sad (from Know Your Enemy)
9 Journal for Plague Lovers (from Journal for Plague Lovers)
10 Anthem for a Lost Cause (from Rewind the Film)
11 Dreaming a City (Hughesovka) (from Futurology)
12 Faster (from The Holy Bible)
Pieces of Sleep 