Interviews archived from the news page: MTV August [parts 1 + 2] and Septembers Snap, Cackle, Pop
14 August: Give me a man with beauty and brains anyday. The manics latest single Let Robeson Sing is based on Paul Robeson, possibly the most famous american black rights activist of the 1930's. He was an actor, an athlete and a singer who inspired a generation with his speeches and songs.
MTV: Was that a conscious effort, like "we don't want to be in the next one"?
Nicky: It was, I mean I think the kind of spate of animation videos, that's not something we wanted to do but it's just kind of gone to show that you don't need to be in them. We just wanted the sense of grace and the sense of poetry to come across. So they didn't want us in it.
MTV: You mentioned the greatest hits album as well, have you picked the songs that are going to go on that.
Nicky: Er we've narrowed it down to 20. It's a big nightmare. It's a nightmare. I think what we'll do is a poll on the website where fans have their say as well. Indeed. So that'll be coming up next year. The fans will have their say...
MTV: What a lovely man and we will have part 2 of that interview later in the week where you can find out what they have in store for special greatest hit concerts.
MTV 17 August: A lot of our viewers won't have any idea who Paul Robeson is.
Nicky: No.
MTV: How would you describe him to the mtv audience.
Nicky: I just think it's someone that if you kind of dig the surface of culture and history it's just someone to admire, someone to look up to. In this age we talk about role models and stuff like that and if there is a really good one, someone who stood up for what they believed in and stood up for human rights, for black rights, civil rights, then I think it's just a really interesting person to find out about there's so many different bits to his life. So it's just like my little tribute lyrically to him.
MTV: You're really high on social commentary and stuff and there doesn't seem to be a lot of bands who go out there and say something.
Nicky: It's your fault.
MTV: It's not my fault.
Nicky: It's just the way it is. I think everything comes in cycles and at the moment it's a struggle to be kind of just outside the... ranting on our own incoherently about things that not many people are interested in but everything, you're judged by history and as long as you believe in what you say and do then everything... as my mam says, everything comes out in the wash, Nicholas.
Nicky on Snap Cackle Pop 17 September
[I missed the question] We're not... we don't look very poetic or ? any more as a band so it's important that you're drawn in, into the sweet and tenderness and the message just filters through hopefully.
Talking about recognition, the spelling on the front of the manics latest album has confused music buyers [they mean the way the letters are arranged]
Nicky: It's almost too much for people to digest. You see people looking at the album cover [he does an impression of people trying to read it] and you know that's what we wanted.
Nicky also wants to digest other pop stars. He now has a young pretender to the pop bitch throne.
Nicky: me and Stuart from Mogwai we've met over the last 2 festivals and we are the king bitches of all time. He's kind of taken over my mantle in the press of having a go at everyone.
