Hello to the deepest recess of my mind, where all the scary thought are. Just thought I'd let you in on a few recent ones.
I haven't done one of these for ages, probably because so much has been going on! First the single, then the gigs, then Paul being ultra-nice on R1 (it was a shock for the system I can tell you), and before that, let's not forget CD:UK. So I'll chronologically. CD:UK was brilliant, the review can be found here, I'd like to say how strange Paul looked in the Melody Maker interview, it scared me, but it is official proof that he is very unphotogenic, unlike Stove. I was hoping that Paul would be singing live but no luck, I hope it is at One Big Sunday coz it seriously might aswell be a tape for those poor folks at home...
The interview: did anyone else notice Steve Lamacq almost die laughing at a kind-of-funny-but-not-that-funny joke made by Paul Draper about a Korean Tour (he the man!). You got the impression that Mr D wasn’t that interested in the footie, but it was a tenuous excuse to get him to talk about the new single. But still no explanation as to why Little Kix. The theories will just have to keep flying. I can’t wait until he does the co-presenting, it’ll be so cool and it’s bound to be better than the one Ian ‘I’ve got no personality whatsoever’ Burgess did…
And going back to the song, sorry single:), imagine the emotion that could be put into it when on tv (and gigs, obviously, but that comes as standard), a cross between the Legacy TOTP and the Six on CD:UK would be very nice. And LIVE singing everywhere please…
The bsides were weird. I had the strange feeling, and a rather eerie one, that they didn't do the same to me as previous ones coz they were too commercial. But after thinking about it, and listening to them lots, I realised that it might just be a psychological thing. I've been hearing so much shit about them going commercial, not in a sellout way, just as a progression, and that kinda made me have preconceptions before even listening to them that they weren't going to be as special. I've learnt that's bullshit. Many of the old bsides are as poppy, if not more, as this lot and even if they aren't, who cares? As long as they're good tunes who cares if they're classified as poppy. My fave, today, is My Idea Of Fun even though I am slowly becoming attached to Golden Stone...
The gigs were undeniably ace, but forget about another review, i wanna discuss clothes. Note Stove's pink Charlie's Angels tshirt, that is from Topshop. Note Stove black top as worn in the picture used in the Lyrics thing from MM with the naked women, that is also from Topshop. Note Andie's tshirt from Colchester (no pictures available coz he was so far back) the red one with the studs, that is also from Topshop. My questions are, did they go shopping together in Topshop and did they try them on in the women's changing rooms?...
Steve Lamacq has a magical quality about him that brings out the best in Paul. I don't know what it is but it should be sold by the pound to interviewers around the globe. I laughed so much at everything, the myths and the stories; Chad's hair, I thought it was a myth, not a fact, and Harlow Square. Brilliant. That's the good thing about the phases, they can go from being moody to being friendly and you still believe in them...
The word ‘Convention’ seems quite ironic when used positively to describe something about Mansun, but it was certainly more than the average meetup, which are usually small affairs that are hardly publicised. I know I’ve already done the review of the convention but this is different so read on. This is about how we, as hardcore Mansun fans, rule! Not to make our egos any bigger or to elevate ourselves higher than everyone else in music type things, but the convention showed how there is actually very little bitchiness between us fans, it’s all words on the internet that are never realised. We know how to have a good party, I’m not saying that other fans don’t but that the Mansun family allows us communicate and organise such a thing. Hopefully the reviews in Melody Maker and NME, if there are any significant ones, will be positive, all the interacting Mansun fans had a good time, and I hope that just coz they don’t *get* Mansun as much as we do they won’t put that it was a pile of toss. Instead of fans kinda knowing each other over the internet, we get to meet them face to face, and others, it is such an excellent idea and I found that it was definitely worth travelling over oceans and deserts to get there (well not actually but that’s what it felt like)…
Another issue is if this is going to become an annual event. However much fun it was I think that we can all agree that it’ll be difficult to beat it and that after a couple of years it will turn into an ordinary meetup. I think the best idea would be to perhaps make it biannually or just whenever Mansun are about to release an album (maybe as a combined launch party). Also, I think it should be a travelling thing, especially for those who couldn’t make it on Sunday coz of the distance side. Maybe one time in London (even though it would mean a more expensive one, maybe in the West or Wales, or even maybe in Birmingham (the ‘centre’ of England). I’m just concerned that many people are left out, I might not be able to afford it next time (the horrors)…
Who heard the Evening Session?? Didn’t it just reaffirm your faith in Mansun? *sigh* So, the new track, what can I say except for bloody ace! I listened to it really loudly this morning and it gets you boogying, who needs the remix. The beginning sounds like the music-box version of the interlude in Being a Girl (which I am listening to now incidentally), and is it a piano or guitar? Who cares. I reckon Paul will slowly but surely turn into Elton John doing the singing and playing piano at the same time, unless they get the weird bloke with the perm who did the keys at TFI Six again, but that would go against the whole principle of Mansun, surely. Stove plays a part: gimme bass, man! The singing is fantastic, but we already knew that from the remix, it’s one of those songs that, when you listen closely to just the vocals, you melt, know what I mean? Like The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail. Then there’s Chad doing some more God-like guitaring with the best peddle, it’s what I would refer to as watery, kind of swirly with the notes all melting into each other, ace for doing riff-singing to (we all do it, ok). The backing vocals are v. well harmonised as usual and the ‘la la la la la’s are so cute, but shocking when you first hear them. What happened to the line “some bitch is hassling me”!! One of the best, and don’t say censorship, hellao! Missy Elliot did the song ‘She’s a bitch’, Meredith Brooks did ‘Bitch’ and Louise uses it every other word (quit your bitchin’ bitchin’ bitches). What else… the way that it’s rearranged verse, middle, verse, verse rather than verse, verse, middle, verse. *So* Mansun. And there’s the riff that is very reminiscent of several other songs including Shotgun. But, yeah. It’s all good…
Hey! Just get over it. Who wants to carry on sulking when we have dates for releases and warmups:) And the ace thing is that we have a couple of days to get the album fully engraved on our minds before the various gigs. I'm so happy. So ICODU is one of 5 eps, I bloody well hope so after the time we've waited. The downside is that I'll be on holiday round about the time when they'll be playing the video on Mtv, so whoever gets to see it first, please tell me about it in GREAT detail.That's it for now...
Japan are so lucky:( Sulk sulk sulk. I want to hear the new album NOW! I really don't know why they are releasing it there first, but I have a suspicion that it's coz of the festival they're playing there. They want to get it out before so that they can showcase some of the newies, which is good news for us; Little Kix will be out before V2000 and they'll play new songs. And i also suspect that they'll have to practice playing the new track live, therefore WARM-UPS. hee hee. Turn negative into positive etc...
The main thing on my mind, and on yours I should hope is the whole I Can Only Disappoint You thing. The song is fantastic, even if it is the remix. I mean, the Taxloss Lisa Marie Experience one was pants, soooo pants, but this rocks. Sorry, that should be rawks. A big thank you to Suzi M and then Dave N for providing the mp3. I have been listening to it so much recently, I think it’s engraved on my brain now coz during my geography exam I had it going round and round all the way through subconscientiously, in other words I was listening to it and concentrating on what I was writing at the same time...
All my worries about them coming out of the studio looking really shite have been dispelled after seeing that gorgeous picture in the Parlophone Flavour Of The Label mag. If you haven’t seen it go here. And the article itself reveals a lot. I feel more inclined to believe the Parlophone rumours than NME for example coz they probably get accurate info and stuff. So it looks like the album is called Little Kix. Oh. My. God. I just don’t want to tell anyone the name without there being a valid reason behind it, and there should be…
What else have I been thinking about? Oh, yes, the many, many groups and clubs Mansun have. If you’re on the Smartgroups one you will have noticed (you can’t miss them) the arguments that have been thrown about advertising different groups on the messageboard. E.g.- Dave Natts ‘advertised’ his E-group ones on Suzi Meredith’s Smartgroup. I dunno what all the complaining was about, probably that there were so many that could have been in ‘competition’ with each other. Surely this is all a load of shite that has arisen just because everyone thinks that Dave wants to expand his empire, but E-groups isn’t part of Natts.com. And even if it was it’s another way of Mansun fans finding out information first. I’m on most of the ones I know about and I haven’t chosen the ones I’m on just because of the person that set it up. Us Mansun fans are meant to be the ‘Mansun Family’ but there is so much bitchiness, hostility and rivalry going on that it seems that it’s an extended family i.e.- family against the in-laws. Stop, for f***’s sake stop! It’s so unnecessary…
Remember everybody, V2000 is coming up:) As is the Convention (I got my ticket thru today). Just to remind you of the good stuff. Does anyone know if they are going to be there? I have an inkling that Stove or Andie might turn up as a surprise, just because it’ll be very nice if they do and Paul and Chad seem a bit unlikely to do that sort of thing…
My new little thing which I enjoy is playing Hearts on the computer against Mansun. I know it’s not actually them but it’s fun and you get to be one of the too. I find that Paul loses most of the time and that Andie is really good. I tried it once with the characters, so that was Fatima, Penelope, Claudia and Skinima (or sometimes, Albert Taxloss, Mavis, Vicar and Scruffy) but it really isn’t as exciting…
Usually when the boys go into the studio they come out thinner than before, but at Oxford Pauly-dear was looking on the podgeyside so it's a gamble this time. They could of course be stuffing themselves stupid a la James Deam Bradders and have to buy a whole new wardrobe and a need a bigger stage at TOTP...
And I've been thinking alot about them recently too, seeing as today it is exactly 100 days til v2000, I am so excited, but whenever i think about it it's not 100 days until I next see them coz I'm hoping for warm-ups, please...And all this thinking usually means that I dream about them more than usual. Like last night for instance, I dreamt that I phoned Dave Natts, for no reason, but it was his ansaphone so I just left a message and the next thing i know I'm at the studio coz "he was going anyway so he thought I'd like to come along too". So there we were, me being shit scared, and along comes Chad looking bemused, probably thinking what the fuck I was doing there. And then along come the rest, I'm made a cup of purple tea and suddenly some music starts. Everyone shuts up so I think it's a track from the new album but then Mel C starts singing and it's just the radio...
And I've also had dreams about new songs, and it's so annoying when you hear a song in your head that you've never heard before and think, must remember this must remember this, and you wake up, and you've utterly forgotten. Fuck. Like I "heard" one once which was fast kinda like Being a Girl but it was more punchy and called something like Dot or Dit or something...
I'm thinking at the moment that it would be ace if they released everything at the same sort of time as they did for Six, that's first single end June, 2nd end August, album beginning Sept etc. That way, when they tour and do the album, it will sort of coincide with V2000 and it will out of the way of the exams so fans can devote themselves better. I know I would have killed myself if they had decided to tour during my exams. Grrr. But thankfully they didn't...
And have you ever wondered how long Mansun will last. Like in my memory they'll last forever coz they're the sort of band I can see myself liking for that long, but album-wise. Paul says that he just keeps getting ideas so maybe we can see a Blur future when they just go on...and on...
