Agreed. I was lucky, in that I came of age in Britpop’s heyday, so I was exposed to an INSANE wealth of great and timeless music from The NME, Maker, The Face, et al, but those obscurities — even the bad stuff — was so much fun to unearth. For me, The NME lost its credibility when I recognized its build-’em-up-to-knock-’em-down approach to criticism, which invalidated pretty much everything they said, both positive and negative. Today, the paper is empty and utterly worthless. Still, as an indie gossip rag and place to keep up with random “so-and-so is in the studio” news, it suffices, and I will sincerely never grow tired of that ferocious, sarcastic, bratty voice somehow employed by *all* their writers. It really brings me back.

Well said. I’ve spent the last few weeks somewhat immersed in the Manics’ catalog, and I’m amazed how well their music has aged, along with how much the band reinvent themselves with every album. At the core, of course, is Bradfield’s incomparable voice and Richie/Nicky’s lyrics, which are so powerful. I can understand why America never *got* the Manics — they are so political, so serious, so uncool — but I do think the few of us who found the band are lucky indeed, and are better for it.

Enjoy the shows. I dunno if this is your first time, but I saw them in NYC 10 years ago for “This Is My Truth” and they tore the roof off. This is a band built for 50,000 seaters, and we get to see them playing tiny clubs… It’s pretty spectacular.

I live in SC and bought tickets for Philly. Wish I could go to the NY and Boston shows as well but unfortunately, limited funds and limited vacation days prevent me. Hopefully this small tour will be successful and encourage them to come back around next time (with more dates).

Thanks for your piece. It made my day.