Pretension/Repulsion

Album: Journal For Plague Lovers (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist James Dean Bradfield told the NME May 16, 2009 that this song, which mentions the 1814 painting Une Odalisque by the French neo-classical painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, "talks about the idealisation of beauty, or what is ugliness."
  • This song follows on from "All Is Vanity," which is about narcissism. Bradfield told the NME: "I love the way that 'All Is Vanity' deals with one issue and 'Pretension/Repulsion' seems to resolve it for me. In a strange, kind of twisted way. 'Pretension/Repulsion' could pretty much be another song that just said 'I have no judgment in my eye, I cannot behold anything.'"
  • Like all the other songs on Journal For Plague Lovers album this track originated from words that Manic's former guitarist Richey Edwards left in a notebook shortly before he disappeared.
  • Bassist Nicky Wire commented to the NME: "It's one of the greatest rock couplets ever: 'Shards, oh shards, the androgyny fails/Oadlisque by Ingres, extra bones for sale'. That's never gonna appear by anyone else. It shouldn't work, but it does. I just bow down at the altar of that as a lyric."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.