The Big Mates discuss longevity, cake, Paddington, and Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas return to the subject of their very first season, Manic Street Preachers, in order to dissect and explore the band's fifteenth and most recent album, Critical Thinking. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They continue and conclude their track-by-track analysis, wrap up their thoughts on the album, discuss how it sits in the band's discography, and ponder where they'd like the Manics to go next!

What will we make of the album? Where do we hope they go next? Does Maurice like homophones? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Join us next week, as we return to Arctic Monkeys and start looking at their sixth studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino!

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The Big Mates recieve BREAKING NEWS. Adam, Steve, and Lucas take the truth and make it fluid whilst giving their first reactions to the new song by Arctic Monkeys.

Released on January 22nd as a single from the forthcoming charity album Help(2) in aid of War Child, Opening Night is a new/old/reworked/fresh song by the band and was released amidst rumours that it would be the final song released by the band before breaking up.

We give our initial thoughts on the song, the rumours, and the process in this short bonus episode!

Join us next week for the conclusion of our deep-dive into Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers! The week after, we will return to Arctic Monkeys!

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Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
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The Big Mates discuss teachers, single edits, smart motorways, and Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers.

Adam, Steve, and Lucas return to the subject of their very first season, Manic Street Preachers, in order to dissect and explore the band's fifteenth and most recent album, Critical Thinking. They talk about the writing and recording process, the context surrounding the songs, and offer up analysis, opinions, and thoughts from three differing perspectives on music, from being deeply into analysis and music, to not caring for art or critique, and everything in between.

They touch on the recording process, the effects of not having a manifesto, the themes of the album, and the ever-quotable Nicky Wire. Aging, nostalgia, techno-confusion, art, and politics - it must be a Manics album!

How grey is grass? Could you listen to 165 Lifebloods in a row? What happened to your critical thinking? Find out on this episode of What Is Music?

Join us next week for the conclusion of our deep-dive into Critical Thinking!

Join the conversation on:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatismusicpod.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@whatismusicpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatismusicpod
E-mail: whatismusicpod@gmail.com

Get access to more shows, exclusive bonus content, ad-free episodes of this show, and more music discussion by subscribing to our Patreon!
Head to patreon.com/whatismusicpod and receive up to two new episodes of our various shows every week (including our album club and monthly themed playlists!), ad-free archives of What Is Music?, and access to our Patron-only Discord server for even more music (and non-music) discussion!

Support our show when starting your own podcast!
By signing up to Buzzsprout with this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=780379

Check out our merch!
https://whatismusicpod.redbubble.com
Donate to our podcast!
https://ko-fi.com/whatismusic

http://whatismusic.buzzsprout.com/

Support the show