Journal for Plague Lovers
Encyclopedia
Journal for Plague Lovers is the ninth studio album by the alternative rock
band Manic Street Preachers
. It was released on 18 May 2009, and features posthumous lyrics by Richey Edwards, who vanished on 1 February 1995, and was presumed deceased in 2008. It is the only Manic Street Preachers album in which the lyrics for every song were written solely by Edwards. The album cover is an original painting by Jenny Saville
who also contributed artwork for The Holy Bible
.
, Marlon Brando
, Giant Haystacks, celebrity
, consumerism
and dysmorphia, all reiterating the genius and intellect of Richard James Edwards.". Wire, who is usually the band's de facto lyricist, had begun contributing musically to the songwriting process on Send Away the Tigers
, and was thus able to write some of the music for Journal, stating "“I did write quite a bit of music...I wrote all of ‘William’s Last Words’, I wrote pretty much all of ‘Marlon JD’, I wrote the chorus for ‘Peeled Apples’, the verse for ‘She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach’".
The lyrics are taken from a folder of songs, haiku
s, collage
s and drawings Edwards gave to bassist/lyricist Nicky Wire
a few weeks before he disappeared. Edwards also gave photocopies of the folder to singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield
and drummer Sean Moore
. The band have described the Rymans folder as having a picture of Bugs Bunny
drawn on the front emblazoned with the word ‘OPULENCE’. In promotional interviews for the album, Bradfield and Wire have revealed that the folder contains around 28 songs. Four of these appeared on the 1996 album Everything Must Go
: "Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier", "Kevin Carter", "Removables" and "Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky". Of the rest of the folder, Wire stated: “There’s probably between eight and ten maybe that were too impossible. Some of them are little haikus, four lines. "Dolphin-Friendly Tuna Wars", that’s one, "Alien Orders/Invisible Armies", that’s one [the band have recorded an instrumental that takes its title from this lyric]. "Young Men", which is quite Joy Division
. They just didn’t feel right. We’ll probably put them all out in a book one day. There’s not gonna be a Journal for Plague Lovers Two. The special version of the record does come with the original version of the tracks on there. So you can see the editing process, if there is any”.
Several tracks refer to Edwards' time in a couple of hospitals in 1994. Among them is "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach," of which James Dean Bradfield said to the NME
: "There're some people he met when he was in one of the two places having treatment and I think he just digested other people's stories and experiences."
The final track, "William's Last Words", has been compared to a suicide note, and although Nicky Wire rejects this suggestion, Bradfield observes "you can draw some pretty obvious conclusions from the lyrics." Wire, who admitted finding the task of editing this song "pretty choking", eventually composed the music and sang lead vocals after Bradfield found himself unsuited to the task. The album features several cultural references, including a passage from the film 'The Machinist', which features in the song 'Peeled Apples' and a passage taken from the film 'The Virgin Suicides' also features in the song 'Doors Closing Slowly'.
and an acoustic version of the title track.
Opening track "Peeled Apples" was played for the first time on Zane Lowe's
BBC Radio 1
show on 25 March 2009. During an interview with Lowe, Wire said there would be no singles released from the album. "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" was aired on XFM
and Kerrang Radio on 30 March. It was also embedded on the band's official website. The top four UK supermarket
s stocked the CD in a plain slipcase, as the cover has been deemed "inappropriate". Bradfield regards the decision as "utterly bizarre" and has commented: "You can have lovely shiny buttocks and guns everywhere in the supermarket on covers of magazines and CDs, but you show a piece of art and people just freak out."
of the band British Sea Power
has remixed the song "Me and Stephen Hawking." Andrew Weatherall
has produced a remix of "Peeled Apples", which he has described as sounding like Charlie Watts
playing with PiL
. The Horrors
have remixed "Doors Closing Slowly". New Young Pony Club
have remixed the song "Marlon J. D". The EP also features remixes by Patrick Wolf
, Underworld
, Four Tet
, Errors
, Adem, Optimo
and Fuck Buttons
.
Additional personnel
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
. It was released on 18 May 2009, and features posthumous lyrics by Richey Edwards, who vanished on 1 February 1995, and was presumed deceased in 2008. It is the only Manic Street Preachers album in which the lyrics for every song were written solely by Edwards. The album cover is an original painting by Jenny Saville
Jenny Saville
Jenny Saville is a contemporary British painter; best known as one of the Young British Artists. She is known for her large-scale painted depictions of naked women.-Life and career:Saville works and lives in Oxford, England...
who also contributed artwork for The Holy Bible
The Holy Bible (album)
The Holy Bible is the third studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 29 August 1994 by Epic Records and was the last of the band's albums released before the disappearance of lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards , on 1 February 1995.Edwards was...
.
Background
The Manics posted the following message on their official website: "All 13 songs on the new record feature lyrics left to us by Richey. The brilliance and intelligence of the lyrics dictated that we had to finally use them. Topics include The Grande Odalisque by IngresIngres
Ingres Database is a commercially supported, open-source SQL relational database management system intended to support large commercial and government applications...
, Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Giant Haystacks, celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
and dysmorphia, all reiterating the genius and intellect of Richard James Edwards.". Wire, who is usually the band's de facto lyricist, had begun contributing musically to the songwriting process on Send Away the Tigers
Send Away the Tigers
- Album Charts :- Personnel :Manic Street Preachers*James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals*Sean Moore – drums, percussion*Nicky Wire – bass, backing vocalsAdditional personnel...
, and was thus able to write some of the music for Journal, stating "“I did write quite a bit of music...I wrote all of ‘William’s Last Words’, I wrote pretty much all of ‘Marlon JD’, I wrote the chorus for ‘Peeled Apples’, the verse for ‘She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach’".
The lyrics are taken from a folder of songs, haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
s, collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s and drawings Edwards gave to bassist/lyricist Nicky Wire
Nicky Wire
Nicholas Allen Jones, known as Nicky Wire, is the lyricist, bassist and occasional vocalist with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early life:...
a few weeks before he disappeared. Edwards also gave photocopies of the folder to singer/guitarist James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.- Early life :...
and drummer Sean Moore
Sean Moore (musician)
Sean Anthony Moore is the writer, drummer/percussionist and sometime trumpet player of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early years:...
. The band have described the Rymans folder as having a picture of Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
drawn on the front emblazoned with the word ‘OPULENCE’. In promotional interviews for the album, Bradfield and Wire have revealed that the folder contains around 28 songs. Four of these appeared on the 1996 album Everything Must Go
Everything Must Go (Manic Street Preachers album)
Everything Must Go is the fourth album by Manic Street Preachers, released in 1996. It contains five songs with lyrics by Richey James Edwards, who disappeared and presumed to have died circa 1 February 1995 and was the last album to feature his contributions until Journal for Plague Lovers...
: "Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier", "Kevin Carter", "Removables" and "Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky". Of the rest of the folder, Wire stated: “There’s probably between eight and ten maybe that were too impossible. Some of them are little haikus, four lines. "Dolphin-Friendly Tuna Wars", that’s one, "Alien Orders/Invisible Armies", that’s one [the band have recorded an instrumental that takes its title from this lyric]. "Young Men", which is quite Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
. They just didn’t feel right. We’ll probably put them all out in a book one day. There’s not gonna be a Journal for Plague Lovers Two. The special version of the record does come with the original version of the tracks on there. So you can see the editing process, if there is any”.
Several tracks refer to Edwards' time in a couple of hospitals in 1994. Among them is "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach," of which James Dean Bradfield said to the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "There're some people he met when he was in one of the two places having treatment and I think he just digested other people's stories and experiences."
The final track, "William's Last Words", has been compared to a suicide note, and although Nicky Wire rejects this suggestion, Bradfield observes "you can draw some pretty obvious conclusions from the lyrics." Wire, who admitted finding the task of editing this song "pretty choking", eventually composed the music and sang lead vocals after Bradfield found himself unsuited to the task. The album features several cultural references, including a passage from the film 'The Machinist', which features in the song 'Peeled Apples' and a passage taken from the film 'The Virgin Suicides' also features in the song 'Doors Closing Slowly'.
Release
The album is available on CD, deluxe 2CD, download and LP. The deluxe edition includes a second disc with demo versions of all thirteen album songs and a hardback 36-page booklet featuring Edwards' original lyrics and artwork. This version of the album is missing the hidden track "Bag Lady". The Japanese edition of the album was released on 13 May 2009, and features two exclusive bonus tracks. The download version includes a bonus remix by the New Young Pony ClubNew Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club are an English electronic band from London, consisting of members from London, Hereford, Cambridge and Bromley. Their influences are prominently from post-punk and New Wave....
and an acoustic version of the title track.
Opening track "Peeled Apples" was played for the first time on Zane Lowe's
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show on 25 March 2009. During an interview with Lowe, Wire said there would be no singles released from the album. "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" was aired on XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
and Kerrang Radio on 30 March. It was also embedded on the band's official website. The top four UK supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s stocked the CD in a plain slipcase, as the cover has been deemed "inappropriate". Bradfield regards the decision as "utterly bizarre" and has commented: "You can have lovely shiny buttocks and guns everywhere in the supermarket on covers of magazines and CDs, but you show a piece of art and people just freak out."
Remixes EP
Journal For Plague Lovers has been remixed by a number of artists. The EP was released on 15 June 2009. Martin NobleNoble (musician)
Martin Noble is the lead guitarist with UK indie rock band British Sea Power.Born 28 January 1986 in Bury, Greater Manchester, and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire, his first musical experience was as keyboard player in Blind, a band he formed with school friends.He joined British Sea Power after...
of the band British Sea Power
British Sea Power
British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...
has remixed the song "Me and Stephen Hawking." Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall is a DJ, producer, and remixer.Andrew, Terry Farley, Cymon Eckel and Steve Mayes started Boy's Own initially as a fanzine commenting on fashion, records, football, and other issues...
has produced a remix of "Peeled Apples", which he has described as sounding like Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
playing with PiL
PIL
PIL may refer to:* Private International Law* Carlos Miguel Jiménez Airport , in Pilar, Paraguay* Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport , in Port Isabel, Texas...
. The Horrors
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
have remixed "Doors Closing Slowly". New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club are an English electronic band from London, consisting of members from London, Hereford, Cambridge and Bromley. Their influences are prominently from post-punk and New Wave....
have remixed the song "Marlon J. D". The EP also features remixes by Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf is an English-Irish singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola...
, Underworld
Underworld (band)
Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
, Four Tet
Four Tet
Kieran Hebden is a post-rock and electronic musician. Hebden first came to prominence as a member of the band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist under the moniker of Four Tet....
, Errors
Errors (music)
Errors are a four piece "post-electro" band from Glasgow, Scotland. They are signed to Rock Action Records, the label founded and managed by the band Mogwai.-Biography:...
, Adem, Optimo
Optimo
Optimo was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on Thursday 11 March 2010, it was announced on the official facebook page that...
and Fuck Buttons
Fuck Buttons
Fuck Buttons are a two-piece electronic group formed in Bristol in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.-Biography:Hung and Power grew up in Worcester. Hung was influenced by Aphex Twin, while Power was a fan of Mogwai. They developed a friendship in 2004 while attending art school in...
.
Tracklisting
All music written by Bradfield/Moore/Wire. All lyrics Edwards.- "Peeled Apples" – 3:33
- "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" – 2:24
- "Me and Stephen Hawking" – 2:46
- "This Joke Sport Severed" – 3:04
- "Journal for Plague Lovers" – 3:45
- "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach" – 2:18
- "Facing Page: Top Left" – 2:40
- "Marlon J.D." – 2:50
- "Doors Closing Slowly" – 2:52
- "All Is Vanity" – 3:35
- "Pretension/Repulsion" – 2:05
- "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" – 3:25
- "William's Last Words" – 4:15 / "Bag Lady" (hidden track) – 3:05
Download Version
- "Peeled Apples" – 3:33
- "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" – 2:24
- "Me and Stephen Hawking" – 2:47
- "This Joke Sport Severed" – 3:04
- "Journal for Plague Lovers" – 3:45
- "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach" – 2:18
- "Facing Page: Top Left" – 2:40
- "Marlon J.D." – 2:50
- "Doors Closing Slowly" – 2:52
- "All Is Vanity" – 3:34
- "Pretension/Repulsion" – 2:05
- "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" – 3:23
- "William's Last Words" – 4:19 / "Bag Lady" (hidden track) – 3:05
- "Marlon J.D." (NYPC's Wire Up Mix)
- "Journal for Plague Lovers" (acoustic)
Japanese Version
- "Peeled Apples" – 3:33
- "Jackie Collins Existential Question Time" – 2:24
- "Me and Stephen Hawking" – 2:47
- "This Joke Sport Severed" – 3:04
- "Journal for Plague Lovers" – 3:45
- "She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach" – 2:18
- "Facing Page: Top Left" – 2:40
- "Marlon J.D." – 2:50
- "Doors Closing Slowly" – 2:52
- "All Is Vanity" – 3:34
- "Pretension/Repulsion" – 2:05
- "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" – 3:23
- "William's Last Words" – 4:19
- "Alien Orders/Invisible Armies" – 2:36
- "Primitive Painters" (originally by FeltFelt (band)Felt were a 1980s British alternative rock band led by Lawrence, whose surname was never listed in any credits or press; the band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus"...
) / "Bag Lady" (hidden track) – 10:13
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) | 69 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 88 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 23 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 37 |
| UK Album Chart | 3 |
Personnel
Manic Street Preachers- James Dean BradfieldJames Dean BradfieldJames Dean Bradfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.- Early life :...
– lead vocals, guitar - Richey Edwards – lyrics
- Sean MooreSean Moore (musician)Sean Anthony Moore is the writer, drummer/percussionist and sometime trumpet player of the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early years:...
– drums, percussion - Nicky WireNicky WireNicholas Allen Jones, known as Nicky Wire, is the lyricist, bassist and occasional vocalist with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.-Early life:...
– bass, lead vocals on "William's Last Words", backing vocals, piano on "Virginia State Epleptic Colony"
Additional personnel
- Andy Walters - string arrangement, string player
- Katherine Thomas - harp
- Joanna Parkhurst - string player
- Bernard Kane - string player
- Nathan Stone - string player
Production
- Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10 & 11 – Recorded by Steve AlbiniSteve AlbiniSteven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
, mixed by Dave EringaDave EringaDave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
. - Tracks 4, 5 & 8 – Recorded and mixed by Dave EringaDave EringaDave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
- Track 12 – Recorded by Loz Williams, mixed by Dave EringaDave EringaDave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
. - Track 13 – Recorded and mixed by Steve AlbiniSteve AlbiniSteven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
- Original demos recorded and engineered by Loz Williams at Faster Recording Studios, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
External links
- Review
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/journal.shtmlVideo review of Journal For Plague Lovers by Simon PriceSimon PriceSimon Price is a British music journalist and club promoter, born on 25 September 1967 in the Welsh town of Barry. He is now best known for his weekly review section in The Independent on Sunday and his book on Manic Street Preachers.-Career:...
from BBC Wales]