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

Weezer

WeezerFact or Fiction

Did Rivers Cuomo grow up on a commune? Why did they name their albums after colors? See how well you know your Weezer in this Fact or Fiction.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.