Last night I listened to the Manic Street Preachers
Everything Must Go as I went to sleep. This isn't really something most people would consider as music to fall asleep to, but I find that this album ends up pissing me off if I play it at any other time. I've heard critics of the Manics complain that their lyrics, especially in their recent work, are too wordy. I used to believe this, but I'm beginning to think that the opposite is closer to the truth. If anything, the Manics are guilty of trying to get too much mileage out of half-baked slogans and attempting to write verses that make a powerful statement through simplicity, but ultimately come across as being a bit too forced. Because of this, post
The Holy Bible, the Manics' songs have been littered with awkward phrasing, which has resulted in James Dean Bradfield's vocal delivery becoming even more stilted than before.
On Everything Must Go, that's basically the entire problem. The clumsy vocals are enough to interfere with what would otherwise be a wholly pleasant listening experience. "The Girl Who Wanted To Be God", a "Motorcyle Emptiness" rehash, would be almost as grand as the song it rips off, if only it were easier to overlook embarrasing moments like, "But see through the future and forget all the lie-ie-ie-ies / Black out the words for the blind have eyyyyyyyes". Boy is that ever terrible. It's probably even enough to get most listeners to forget about what comes soon after, an absolutely thrilling accelerating guitar line that launches into a blissful, string-filled climax. Similarly, the song "Everything Must Go" sounds far too earnest. Though this is partially because Bradfield isn't a a vocalist who can extend himself effectively, I have difficulty believing that ANY vocalist could pull off the "memory, MEMORY!" or "happy, HAPPY!" thing without looking completely foolish. It's a shame too, because the song has such excellent momentum and again, the strings hint that this could have become something great. Even the songs that I actually like quite a bit, "A Design For Life", "Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky", and "Australia" are not particularly articulate or fluid from a vocal standpoint.
That's why listening to this album while half-asleep is the only way to go. The Manics' music has an energetic recklessness about it that appeals to me, but it is something I can't really appreciate unless stripped of the more cringe-worthy moments. It's only in the most unfocused listening environments that I can dig to the real heart of the music without being bombarded by the amateurish sloganeering. I guess the funny thing is, aside from a handful of moments, I'm still not sure exactly WHY the music appeals to me enough that I'd go out of my way so much to like it. I suppose that's something I can try to figure out and write about at another time.
