Wall of Mouths

all this talk of sucess, its strange, you have got to look at the type of bands, styles of music and ultimatly the accesibility of the song for the everyday punter.
therapy? in my opinion have achieved remarkable commercial sucess considering their sound and image. left of center rock music just doesnt sell very well normally, with the exception of freak trends and once offs…therapy? arnt easy listening rock music (thanks be to fuck for that), just look at the first single, meat abstract if i’m correct, where did that coem from? brilliant but you cant imagine your ‘average joe’ givin it a second listen, but something was afoot back in the early 90’s and luck has a big part to play with it, right place right time, ‘right drummer!!!’, they got signed and the rest is history.

its that way for so many bands, they hit at just the right time, look at the darkness!?! right time right place,
same with radiohead, manics, and oasis, jesus how bad were they and they sold fuck loads!
another consideration is the european vs US music trends, which is a whole other bag of shite that i wont talk about now.
But when you take a career span into account, there is peaks and troughs, there’s always gonna be the purists who yearn for the early days and the new fans who just get hooked on the latest single, in the end its all good,

therapy? are into their 14th year of their mission, 11 top 40 singles in uk, 4 top 40 albums, countless classic gigs, top of the fucking pops appearances, namechecked/posters in hollywood film/films, how many albums??, a nomination for the mercury prize for troublegum, million pound video for diane/loose, rip roaring albums lately, a bloody best of collection…doesnt how you measure sucess, money, happiness, artistic creativity, acclaim, for me therapy? have managed it all and still come out as being nice people in the end, that does it for me folks. as a musician meself, who honestly struggles to make a living from music, between gigging and teaching guitar i’d kill for a crack at the sucess they have had.
I am amazed when i think of Thin Lizzy, my other favorite band, that i consider vastly underrated historically, had a 13 year career, 13 albums, loads of hit singles etc…
well therapy? have surpased the duration, being together nearly 14 years, and are doin pretty well in the singles and album comparisons. ultimatly for Phil Lynott sucess and his not coping with it cost him his life, so here’s hoping that t? grow old, bitter and twisted living off their hedonisitic youth.

i dont think anyone has mentioned this yet..

therapy? arnt exactly “sexually attractive”,(well not very) as individuals.
and its a shame but thats what sells, sex and machoism for the boys and slutty and leggy for the girls.

if i’m remembering correctly someone in A+M said the following of andy,
“he’s not goodlooking, they will never make it”

imho, therapy? are a huge sucess, how a band can stay together as long as they have, and still be fresh and sell out concerts, make albums, influence other bands, survive record various companies, and still have a fantastic future in prospect is totally amazing and a credit to them as people.
These others you think are making millions, well they are but for someone else. Its a big charade, all these popstar cribs you see, are owned by the companies, these pop shits have a shelf life and it ends very quickly for them.

Another band still doin what they want and for the last 25 years and regularly take shit from the press and cunts, are stiff little fingers, true punk if you ask me, doin exactly what they want and still writing new music all these years on.

Besides, album sales make money just for the companies, and singles actually lose money. The money for the band is in gigs and merchandise, complete respect to t?, true twisted punk metal, doin their own thing when and where they want.

T? fans remind me in some bizarre way of man’o’war fans, fiercely loyal but in t?’s case have a brain.

and i finally picked up HA last week, this album is impossible to get in Ireland!,must have tried 10 shops I eventually had to get it in sweden, whats the story? have the band a distribution deal at all?

so when are you gonna get another one?
addictive arnt they!

graham is a cousin of ronan keating!
There exists a classic photo of therapy? and boyzone sitting around together backstage or at some awards, the look on the therapy? guys faces is priceless! Just too good for words, if looks could kill, the photographer would be a corpse, boyzone on the other hand are all quite chuffed looking, with the tough guys giving them some street cred!

I think the photo was in a hotpress magazine year book from about 5 years ago? must see if i can dig it up.

Title: andy cairns solo album?

The solo album has kinda gone out of style recently…its now more about side projects and stuff like that..

But does anyone think we will ever see an Andy Cairns solo album? (ala captain beefheart without his magic band) I mean Therapy? cant last forever, but music is what they individually do, its not like they are gonna retire and go into real estate or back to the tyre factory…
so what do yiz rekon?

also a good one is to imagine what alternative jobs the members of t? could do?
Mike as a sheep farmer? or andy as a writer of erotic fiction? Martin working as a cleaner in a sex kino?

its common place here to hear the statment, “he kicks with the other foot”, in relation to someone being from the ‘other side’ or other religion.

I always thought ‘animal bones’ was politically influenced.
Church of noise was meant to be a big political song, but i read that it got watered down a bit. Still has refernces to the marching season.
1690 12th july, is the date of the battle of the boyne, dutch protestant william of orange,(king billy) defeats catholic james, and ensures protestant english domination of ireland for next couple of centuries. Still commerated with orange marchs every july. ‘corourful’ affairs these marches, hence the vicious vulgar colours lyric.

I love the line in god kicks, ‘all the memories i have are decked out in presbeterian grey’ very evokative indeed.

‘Dont expect roses’ is also a take on ‘new’labour winning the uk elections after so long being in opposition, the moral of the story, dont expect everything to improve, very true in the long run, remember when all these other bands jumped on the labour bandwagon (oasis being one) and now they all look stupid.

For a band that say publically that they avoid being a political band, they have quite a collection of politically influenced songs, and all very good ones too, which is so hard to do.
Banana republic by bob geldof is a great political song too….Oopps…off topic…!

woah…dont mess with the administrator regards threads…!!a bit of arnie there it seems…smells of censorship me thinks..

AAA is a grest tune, particualary fyfes drumming, love the lyrics too. Quite simply better than grahams on this track compared with stay happy. At the time, if released could have made a great punk anthem. The time was ripe for it. It had a real early 70/80ish punk vibe, kinda like alternative ulster or god save the queen.
Also a very apt tune at the moment, ‘dont expect roses’,
the labour party rebels should use that as there theme song.
How true it was in retorspect.

Andy stars in the video of Rehab by manchild.
He’s face down on a hospital trolley in a straight jacket.
Being wheeled around, pretty cool video actually.

Michael and Andy played at the 10th anniverery gig for philip lynott, they joind the remaining members of Thin Lizzy for a rockin rendition of Bad Reputation where Andy introduces the song as being about Michael. Andy sings on this. Henry rollins did a verison of “are you ready” at the same gig.
His annoucment was pure Rollins…
“the next time you see me…’long pause’…I’m gonna fuck you up like a car crash”

I’m not sure if andy ever did alternative ulster with jake burns of stiff little fingers, but i live in hope.

Also would love to see Alec empire and Andy do a wee number.

Black eye purple sky

pretender, you might have hit on something there…

But i rekon Andy was probably just refering to himself and michael being founder members so they would ultimately have full control over everything.

The cog wheels are starting to turn in my head now though…
Cant wait to see what happens next.
Never a dull moment with t?.

so there we have it…

Anyhow its really good to see that fighting attitude
from andy. Looking forward to seeing them back harder and more bitter’n’twisted than ever.

Now…who do you rekon will replace graham??

In my dreams i’d love to see alex empire from atari teenage riot do
all the beats and samples for therapy?, now that would be mayhem!

listen, i’d be the same as you all and be very sceptical
about all this if i hadn’t actually heard Graham say it himself.

I’m not joking here, what i’m telling you is what he told me.
Unless he is starting some elaborate hoax, but why?
He told more people than me. He was talking to 4 or 5 people that
night and hopefully someone of them will come on this site and confirm what he said.

I probably should not have said anything about this considering the
reaction it has caused. But he didnt ask for this to be kept secret…
after all he did tell a few people this.

I am as surprised and shocked as any of you,
But ok, lets wait and see…
i probably wont publicly comment any further on this but if
anyone wants me to clarify anything i said earlier-

nihilism_boy@hotmail.com

zero nero

dont believe me if you like.

Like i said, i was a turn gig, and he played nearly the whole
set with them (guitar and not drums).
Its christmas so people are in good spirits and get talking.
My girlfriend knows graham for quite a while now and he told us.

I dont thinks its any big secret, its just that over christmas nothing
happens like press releases etc..

Anyhow, its the 27th today…i saw him only 4 days ago, for me
thats not a delay in doing something, normally it would take me a month or so…lol.

totally serious.

I couldnt believe it myself. I was like, hang on a second, why are you leaving? dont do that!! But he is a bit sick and tired of it all.
He said that he didnt want to play ‘heavy music’ anymore, or for now anyhow. He described playing live with therapy every night as like getting the shit kicked out of you - basically it was so energetic. and like i said earlier he wants a break from that to do his own thing.
He left after the last dublin gig in the ambassador.

Title: Graham has left therapy?!!!!!!!

I was at a gig on the 23rd of december, was talking to Graham and he
informed us that he had left Therapy?.

Reasons,…well many it seems.
First of all its not personality clashes…
No they still get on really well and like he says they’re best mates.

Graham says that he wants to do his own music and has some projects
lined up. Actually he was playing guitar with a band called ‘Turn’(http://www.turn.ie) Turn, i think would love to have him in the band but he says he’s got lots of things he wants to try.

He is also a tad depressed, a friend of his died recently, (the singer from the mary janes). So thats that. The band took it well by all accounts, all though they were dissapointed they realise that
this was what graham wanted to do.
Still all best friends which is good.

Now the question i asked him…
What will t? do now?
He’s says nothing is decided. But this might be the end of the road for t?.
He said they might not want to go thru the whole auditioning for someone new again…so who knows???
(Bring back Fyfe i say!!)

Anyhow if i hear more i will let the message board know.
Therapy? are a 3 piece again.

zero nero

Title: whats T? song has best guitar sound or drum sound?

For guitar sound my fav is ‘epilepsy’,
totally abrasive, wild as f**k!
great bass too!

drum sound, mybe brainsaw, or maybe evil elvis.

overall sound, i really like the production on ‘unrequited’

1. body bag girl - atrocious atempt at cramps style rock’roll.
2. Theme from delorean - whats this meant to be? The specials or mc5?
3. tramline - filler material. Total rubbish.

Title: Body Bag Girl - The Cramps meets Gary Glitter…

I rekon that ‘Body Bag Girl’ is the weakest T? song I’ve
ever heard. Surely they had something better than this to put on the album! I set my expectations way too high for ‘shameless’, what a let down.