Song of the Moment: Mind Your Manners

[harmless]

and what the hell is "Mind You Manners"as a phrase? It's DAD rock that doesn't want his kids to know he ever swore.

it's actually quite a clever phrase, given what the song is about. But you're right. If only Eddie had the song writing chops to have thrown the word fuck in there more often. Then we would have had a masterpiece.

Well that's not actually what I said though I can see how you read it. I meant more by attitude than profanity.

Stip, would you care to enlighten me as to why this is a clever phrase? I'm not certain that the phrase necessarily aligns itself with who the song is rallying against. It seems more of a conservative, Cressida driving middle upper class comment. And when I hear it it may as well be "and they keep playing....Snakes and Ladders." It just seems toothless and flippant. Like someone has smashed your windscreen and you say steady on, mind your manners.

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite. Which is exactly what this song is saying, so I have no idea why people are saying the title is awful. The end of the verses is "And all along they're saying 'Mind your manners." And then later on, I think it says "I'm just sayin". So the first time, it's not Ed saying it at all, it's Ed raging at the hypocrisy of people who care more about table manners and "focusing on the family" than social justice and care for the world. It's THEM, not Ed, saying "mind your manners", while they go and do anything but in their own lives. They speak of "the homosexual lifestyle" but never turn this judgment on their own plush hypocritical lifestyles. And later on Ed ironically turns the phrase back on them, saying it's them, actually, who should be minding their manners. This irony is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and ironic. And I think Ed trusts his fans enough to appreciate the irony.

[Hatfield]

and what the hell is "Mind You Manners"as a phrase? It's DAD rock that doesn't want his kids to know he ever swore.

it's actually quite a clever phrase, given what the song is about. But you're right. If only Eddie had the song writing chops to have thrown the word fuck in there more often. Then we would have had a masterpiece.

Well that's not actually what I said though I can see how you read it. I meant more by attitude than profanity.

Stip, would you care to enlighten me as to why this is a clever phrase? I'm not certain that the phrase necessarily aligns itself with who the song is rallying against. It seems more of a conservative, Cressida driving middle upper class comment. And when I hear it it may as well be "and they keep playing....Snakes and Ladders." It just seems toothless and flippant. Like someone has smashed your windscreen and you say steady on, mind your manners.

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite. Which is exactly what this song is saying, so I have no idea why people are saying the title is awful. The end of the verses is "And all along they're saying 'Mind your manners." And then later on, I think it says "I'm just sayin". So the first time, it's not Ed saying it at all, it's Ed raging at the hypocrisy of people who care more about table manners and "focusing on the family" than social justice and care for the world. It's THEM, not Ed, saying "mind your manners", while they go and do anything but in their own lives. They speak of "the homosexual lifestyle" but never turn this judgment on their own plush hypocritical lifestyles. And later on Ed ironically turns the phrase back on them, saying it's them, actually, who should be minding their manners. This irony is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and ironic. And I think Ed trusts his fans enough to appreciate the irony.

Ed at his sarcastic best.

[Thejambi]

and what the hell is "Mind You Manners"as a phrase? It's DAD rock that doesn't want his kids to know he ever swore.

it's actually quite a clever phrase, given what the song is about. But you're right. If only Eddie had the song writing chops to have thrown the word fuck in there more often. Then we would have had a masterpiece.

Well that's not actually what I said though I can see how you read it. I meant more by attitude than profanity.

Stip, would you care to enlighten me as to why this is a clever phrase? I'm not certain that the phrase necessarily aligns itself with who the song is rallying against. It seems more of a conservative, Cressida driving middle upper class comment. And when I hear it it may as well be "and they keep playing....Snakes and Ladders." It just seems toothless and flippant. Like someone has smashed your windscreen and you say steady on, mind your manners.

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite. Which is exactly what this song is saying, so I have no idea why people are saying the title is awful. The end of the verses is "And all along they're saying 'Mind your manners." And then later on, I think it says "I'm just sayin". So the first time, it's not Ed saying it at all, it's Ed raging at the hypocrisy of people who care more about table manners and "focusing on the family" than social justice and care for the world. It's THEM, not Ed, saying "mind your manners", while they go and do anything but in their own lives. They speak of "the homosexual lifestyle" but never turn this judgment on their own plush hypocritical lifestyles. And later on Ed ironically turns the phrase back on them, saying it's them, actually, who should be minding their manners. This irony is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and ironic. And I think Ed trusts his fans enough to appreciate the irony.

Team Harmless

[Birds in Hell]

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite.

Geez, laying it on a little thick, no?

Anyway, regardless of Ed's intent, manners are pretty underrated.

[harmless]

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite.

Geez, laying it on a little thick, no?

In Ed's context, no I'm not Because it's also something I would say to my stepchildren. But context is everything. And these people are very good at saying patronising things like that to fellow adults.

[CupidStunt]

I happen to think it's all about those Westboro Baptist Church people.

[LikeLukin]

and what the hell is "Mind You Manners"as a phrase? It's DAD rock that doesn't want his kids to know he ever swore.

it's actually quite a clever phrase, given what the song is about. But you're right. If only Eddie had the song writing chops to have thrown the word fuck in there more often. Then we would have had a masterpiece.

Well that's not actually what I said though I can see how you read it. I meant more by attitude than profanity.

Stip, would you care to enlighten me as to why this is a clever phrase? I'm not certain that the phrase necessarily aligns itself with who the song is rallying against. It seems more of a conservative, Cressida driving middle upper class comment. And when I hear it it may as well be "and they keep playing....Snakes and Ladders." It just seems toothless and flippant. Like someone has smashed your windscreen and you say steady on, mind your manners.

"Mind your manners" is an awful, awful phrase spoken by the white rich / middle-class / conservative elite. Which is exactly what this song is saying, so I have no idea why people are saying the title is awful. The end of the verses is "And all along they're saying 'Mind your manners." And then later on, I think it says "I'm just sayin". So the first time, it's not Ed saying it at all, it's Ed raging at the hypocrisy of people who care more about table manners and "focusing on the family" than social justice and care for the world. It's THEM, not Ed, saying "mind your manners", while they go and do anything but in their own lives. They speak of "the homosexual lifestyle" but never turn this judgment on their own plush hypocritical lifestyles. And later on Ed ironically turns the phrase back on them, saying it's them, actually, who should be minding their manners. This irony is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and ironic. And I think Ed trusts his fans enough to appreciate the irony.

I dig it

[harmless]

I happen to think it's all about those Westboro Baptist Church people.

Also them, yeah. They would be the biggest symbol of the kinds of people Ed was railing against.

[Strat]

Mind your manners

Stand behind the stripes

[harmless]

I think that there is 1) being a good person and being excellent to each other, and 2) minding your manners and being polite.

1) are great values that everyone should hold to, because they are awesome and would make the world a better place, and 2) are social constructions invented by the powerful and / or privileged to keep us in line. Manners and politeness have been hijacked and are currently being used as weapons both in the US and the UK. If I can accuse you of being 'rude', and convince as many people as possible of your rudeness and your general 'anti-social' nature, I can sensor what you're saying and force my beliefs in front, and even into the public space. And bollocks to all that. Minding your manners has become synonymous with subservience.

[Jorge]

Alright, guys, here it is. My review of "Mind Your Manners", for those who were asking about it.

Nice review. I appreciated the long tangent into the golden era of No Code.
I would only challenge you on the "depth and nuance" that you feel is lacking on MYM compared to their other rockers from 1994-2005. It's obviously a subjective thing, but there's a quality in Ed's voice, and also something interesting with the multiple melodic/chorus parts that make MYM a step apart, and a slight departure.

No, it's not "In My Tree II: On a Higher Branch", but for those of us who love the band because of those years of "fist-pumping, flannel-clad and self-loathing" this song still brings something new enough and certainly on par or better than a lot of songs in the catalog.

Thanks! Fucking love No Code.

This is a fair point and I'll elaborate on this further when I'm not hurrying out to go to work. I guess briefly, to me, even their brawniest early rockers had more of an intensity and character to them, be it in the arrangement-- like those final arpeggiated notes in "Hail Hail" and the winding-down drum part letting the air out of such an oppressive, claustrophobic song, or Stone's great counterpoints in "Gods Dice"-- or in the songwriting itself, that elevates them. To my ears, though a good rockin' track, "MYM" is all direct and straightforward, with very little in the way of detail. There's some of it, like the quieter palm-mute near the end that mirrors the intro, but for the most part there's not a lot to discover. Which is great for what the song is trying to be, by the way.

[EJ]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

[Jorge]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

That's exactly what the song is railing against. Poor table etiquette.

[harmless]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

They're deliberately misplaced as a 'Fuck you' to the concept of minding my manners.

[EJ]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

That's exactly what the song is railing against. Poor table etiquette.

is that the fault of the diner or the place setter?


btw, I really enjoyed your review too, especially your review of the band's output over the years. I would like to see some more of your thoughts specifically on Binaural - and, why they kinda dropped the ball after it.

[harmless]

Alright, guys, here it is. My review of "Mind Your Manners", for those who were asking about it.

Nice review. I appreciated the long tangent into the golden era of No Code.
I would only challenge you on the "depth and nuance" that you feel is lacking on MYM compared to their other rockers from 1994-2005. It's obviously a subjective thing, but there's a quality in Ed's voice, and also something interesting with the multiple melodic/chorus parts that make MYM a step apart, and a slight departure.

No, it's not "In My Tree II: On a Higher Branch", but for those of us who love the band because of those years of "fist-pumping, flannel-clad and self-loathing" this song still brings something new enough and certainly on par or better than a lot of songs in the catalog.

Thanks! Fucking love No Code.

This is a fair point and I'll elaborate on this further when I'm not hurrying out to go to work. I guess briefly, to me, even their brawniest early rockers had more of an intensity and character to them, be it in the arrangement-- like those final arpeggiated notes in "Hail Hail" and the winding-down drum part letting the air out of such an oppressive, claustrophobic song, or Stone's great counterpoints in "Gods Dice"-- or in the songwriting itself, that elevates them. To my ears, though a good rockin' track, "MYM" is all direct and straightforward, with very little in the way of detail. There's some of it, like the quieter palm-mute near the end that mirrors the intro, but for the most part there's not a lot to discover. Which is great for what the song is trying to be, by the way.

This is a good point. This song succeeds in it intent better than other recent output, even if you don't really dig that intent as much as others. Maybe we'll get other intents, and good executions, on the album as well? We can hope.

[Thejambi]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

[Strat]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

That's exactly what the song is railing against. Poor table etiquette.

is that the fault of the diner or the place setter?


btw, I really enjoyed your review too, especially your review of the band's output over the years. I would like to see some more of your thoughts specifically on Binaural - and, why they kinda dropped the ball after it.

I fucking love Binaural but McP has a great write up on why they didnt completely knock it out of the park. So much potential

[EJ]

I'm still waiting for an explanation on the misplaced knife & spoon.

That's exactly what the song is railing against. Poor table etiquette.

is that the fault of the diner or the place setter?


btw, I really enjoyed your review too, especially your review of the band's output over the years. I would like to see some more of your thoughts specifically on Binaural - and, why they kinda dropped the ball after it.

I fucking love Binaural but McP has a great write up on why they didnt completely knock it out of the park. So much potential

Yeah, his write up was the best one I've ever read on it. I'd like Jorge's opinion - and, mostly his opinion on what happened post-Binaural.

[dimejinky99]

This review made me chuckle. Hey Stip!