I was in my mid-teens in 1996 and just getting 'in' to music whilst hurtling towards GCSE exams and apparently growing up. Britpop was in it's pomp and Oasis vs Blur was arguably one of the biggest things on the planet. The bandwagon was big enough to share with the likes of menswe@r (who were great) and Kula Shaker whilst giving some much deserved exposure to Pulp, Elastica and Manic Street Preachers.
There were personalities everywhere; the warring oafish Gallaghers, the ever changing Albarn, the embodiment of geek chic in Jarvis but no one really came close to the fierce intelligence held by Wire and Edwards. Nicky and Richey weren't happy to just be a bit clever and well read; it was a display. It was a weapon against the mainstream and that's how a song alluding to Auschwitz got to number 2 in the UK charts.
The first single from Everything Must Go and since The Holy Bible and the events in February 1995 saw a change in tack. Introspection and rebuilding linked with nostalgia and a redefinition of the band's identity to give A Design For Life.
My first exposure was the video. Mistreated celluloid showing the band in the ruins of the Roundhouse and Nicky strutting around dressed as a Madchester relic. The strings start gently and then the guitars but there is nothing that prepares you for the chorus. Simple, repetitive and now anthemic if you listen to the NME, it was a call to arms; a 20th century 'workers of the world, unite!' The Manics had reestablished their own socialist credentials whilst reminding us that we were still in the midst of class conflict. It would be another year before the Labour landslide and hopes pinned on Tony Blair.
The song is so self aware, identifying the working class and yet screaming that we shouldn't be underestimated, hints of Orwell, Bacon and Marx all tied together with Blackwood and Welsh mining. These are just a few of the reasons why I love this song, it's just unbelievable it was kept off the number 1 spot by Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison.
This is all laid out on paper, I've shuffled the order and crossed things out. I'm trying to invent new numbers that mean I can squeeze songs up the running order. The only thing I'm certain of is my number one.
25
Facing Page: Top Left
This shows how hard this is. This was number four for a while.
24
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
All those horrid little Britpop kids bought this and then we told them it was about the Spanish Civil War. Cue blank stares and sighs. The video's a bit weird though.
23
Suicide is Painless (Theme From M.A.S.H)
22
Yes
At last, more from The Holy Bible.
21
Born A Girl
20
This Joke Sport Severed
This is getting serious now.
19
The Love Of Richard Nixon
Yay! More Lifeblood....no YOU shut up.
18
Everything Must Go
A song of cleansing and renewal, acknowledging the past yet trying to lighten the load. We've all got baggage, if only we could all deal with it like this.
17
You Stole The Sun from My Heart
This is like the Twin Peaks of songs, happy go lucky on the surface before a chorus of darkness and turmoil within touching distance.
16
This Is The Day
A cover version of a song I'd never heard. Standard Manics behaviour. There is so much optimism in this song.
15
Postcards From A Young Man
Is that...is that Tim Roth? Yes, yes it is. The second of three booming tracks to open an album.
14
Solitude Sometime Is
A song that's carried me through some hard times.
13
Masses Against The Classes
Noam Chomsky welcomes in the new millennium and the song is deleted on release day. Still got to number one.It was number one between Westlife and Britney Spears. Says it all really.
12
Motown Junk
Deliberately provocative and still sounds as good today as it did then.
11
La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)
From the overproduced beast that was Gold Against The Soul this huge song is holding up the top ten.
10
P.C.P.
A perfect example of Richey's love of words and playing with them and our own connotations.
9
Golden Platitudes
A recent masterpiece and probably the most gentle sounding song in my top ten.
8
Roses In The Hospital
OK, the 'Minic Street Preachers' overlay made me laugh. Highly personal and with glorious (if a bit too obvious) nods to The Clash, I love this song.
7
This Is Yesterday
If only I'd put this alongside Everything Must Go for juxtaposition.
6
Motorcycle Emptiness
This is really low down, sorry. So many see this as the quintessential Manics song but it's not. It's a song that evolved and was clipped and polished to the glorious version included on GenerationTerrorists
5
Stay Beautiful
The odd Beetlejuice video and the sheer bravado of the band that scared the producers into cutting out the swearing make this near perfect. Radiohead swore on Creep but I think a radio edit and an album version of this would be diminishing.
4
No Surface All Feeling
This needs to be listened to as the sun sets.
3
Judge Yr'self
This was for Judge Dredd? I'm not sure Stallone would've got it. Quite how this has been so neglected I don't know.
2
Faster
The distillation of Richey in crystalline perfection. It still makes me smile at just how many complaints the BBC received after this.
1
Design For Life
A song that works for everyone. Ignore the idiots who drunkenly shout along to the chorus, another casualty of Britpop, instead cherish this truly anthemic song.
So, there it is. Not too much tinkering but still plenty had to be cut out.
So, encouraged by Twitter and New Chart Riot I sit with a blank piece of paper, some CDs and my fruit based MP3 player. I'm determined not to look at other lists that might sway my judgement. I have a red pen for corrections and we're off.
I get distracted easily
50
Automatik Tecknicolour
I've been listening to a lot of Kraftwerk and Neu! lately so the title of this hidden away song grabbed me. Possibly the most obscure track I've chosen.
49
RP McMurphy
Hang on, it's not all B sides is it?
48
Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky
Wedged between two huge tracks on Everything Must Go is this delicate piece. It includes a harp. What's not to love?
47
Umbrella (cover)
Yeah, a cover version! Kicks Rihanna in the face.
46
All We Make Is Entertainment
45
Let Robeson Sing
Know Your Enemy isn't my favourite, it's OK, My Guernica comes later.
44
All Is Vanity
43
Damn Dog
A late change of mind saw this come in and boot out a Lifeblood track.
42
Underdogs
41
From Despair To Where
Probably should be higher but this is hard work, this list.
40
Further Away
More from Everything Must Go? Yes, and there's plenty more where this came from.
39
Mausoleum
More than ten songs in before we get to The Holy Bible and the horror and violence being thrust into your face. Excellent.
38
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head(cover)
I nearly went with Last Christmas but this is the perfect example of how the Manics can be playful as opposed to political, inaccessible and difficult.
37
Drug Drug Druggy
36
Little Baby Nothing
35
Australia
Kidnapped and made to sell holidays and beer this song still remains brilliant.
34
Your Love AloneIs Not Enough
Hmmm, have I dispensed with the duets already?
33
Revol
Bonkers. Nonsensical. Ridiculous. Marvellous.
32
My Guernica
Another that should really be higher up the list.
31
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
You see this on a track listing and it raises eyebrows, then you go and question the morality of suburbia.
30
Methadone Pretty
The first line says it all.
29
Love's Sweet Exile
Is this a little Generation Terrorists cul de sac?
28
You Love Us
27
Kevin Carter
I remember at the O2 gig there were a couple of blokes in the queue for the gents who didn't know who Kevin Carter was. The Manics always encouraged us to read, to learn, to expand horizons. I felt sorry for those two blokes.
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