History Lesson: Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers

Original video located here. Accessed 15th March 2012

And so in 1998, I left High School and made the step up into college. Music in this period of time was pretty much defined by the Tea Party, the Cure and these guys, the Manic Street Preachers. At the time, everyone listened to the Living End or Grinspoon. In fact I, along with my pal Josh, were the only people I knew who listened to them! Once again, it proved my belief that sometimes the minority may be onto something that the majority may not know.

I got into the Manics through This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, which was during their Britpop phase. Yet looking back, it seemed like a natural progression from the punk-influenced years in High School. Here was vitriol in the guitars and venom in the message but at the same time it was smart and a rage contained. That may sound like a flaw in punk music but here it worked. It was a silent revolution: here was band that knew their stuff but were taking their message with the subtlety of a sniper bullet (as opposed to the bluster of a battle tank). I liked this way of thinking and have applied to my way of thinking ever since. After all, messages can be drowned so easily in a torrent of swearing.

Key Album: The Holy Bible (1994). Nasty, uncomfortable, bleak, uncompromising. Oh and awesome. Their best album and a textbook example on how to talk about the grotesque aspects of humanity. Often overlooked by the metal crowd I feel that this has a lot more venom and brutality that could teach a thing or too to the many metal bands doing rounds at the moment.