in this section of manics.nl frequently asked questions about the site are answered. if your question is not listed here, please contact us.

why did you create this site?

we've never found a msp-site with a reference-section that covers every aspect of msp-lyrics, quotes, phrases, soundbites, places, etcetera. we're trying to create a site that does.

why doesn't this site contain any general info on manic street preachers?

there are many 'regular' fansites around (containing news, bio, links etcetera), some of them good, some of them terrible, but however, we really don't think the internet needs yet another one. if you like to know more about the band and it's members, please see the official site or use a search engine. google is a good one.

i thought the manics were a band, making music. what's with the philosophers and the books?

it sounds strange, but we even got some nasty comments on this bit. 'they're not philosophers who stand on fuckin' soapboxes' was a relatively mild one. actually, we don't think a band will call itself manic street preachers if they're not exactly that - artists using music as a means to deliver a message. from day one, the manics have filled their lyrics, cd-booklets, t-shirts etcetera with quotes, pictures and other cultural references. it's a part of what they are; as richey edwards has famously said about the relationship between msp's message and music: "our music is redundant.""we invite everyone to question the entire culture ..." msp have said, quoting group material, and this is what manics.nl tries to do: to describe and question the (mostly western) culture the manics are singing about. this includes the books the manics were inspired by, the authors of these books, the philosophers they might be inspired by - and sometimes it will include another writer, poet or thinker with similar ideas. after all, 'the entire culture' is an endless concept.of course we do like the music 'as such' too, but we like to believe msp are about a little bit more.

why doesn't this site provide interpretations of all the manics songs?

we do provide interpretations of several manics songs in our microsites about compilation albums. see for these microsites our archive.in general, however, manics.nl is focussed on annotating msp: we try to provide information about all persons, authors, books, painters, etcetera, referred to by the manics. we think interpreting songs itself is up to the listener.

where do you get all the information?

like anyone else, we gather our information from the internet, from books, movies and documentaries, anything we're able to find. sometimes this will mean a description is not entirely ours - most of them are, and we always review and summarize them - but in the end, the internet is (or should be) an 'open source'.

why do you put all the info on the site? why not just link some relevant pages?

first of all, the internet is a good information source, but it's also a very unstable one. pages appear and disappear every day and there's no telling when this will happen - so we do not link them. we do have some external links to - for instance - the internet movie database, as this site has proven, over the years, to be a very reliable and stable source.secondly, we like to give you the information in an easy-to-read and, most importantly, summarized form. if you look for (for instance) fidel castro on the net, you're likely to find some huge site filled with details. we summarize and put the subject in manic-minded context.

have you missed this phrase/quote/person/whatever?

we may have. if you're certain that we've missed something important, we appreciate it if you mail us and tell us about it. please note that the phrases section does not include words like 'cenotaph', 'acedia' or 'strychnine', which you can find in any dictionary. it also does not include 'general knowledge' words, like 'calvinist', 'pacifist' or 'agnostic'. but the books and authors sections are never complete.

i've written a summary/comment on this manic book/person/phrase/whatever. will you publish it on manics.nl?

if you've found an empty spot ('coming soon'), or think a book or an author is really manics-minded, you can write a description or summary on the subject. if you write correct english and if we like it, chances are that we'll place it on the site.

i've written a poem/story/essay inspired by the manics. will you publish it?

sorry, but no, we will not. manics.nl is not a personal or 'inspired by'-site - we merely annotate msp.

i have linked your site, will you link mine in return?

sorry, but no, we will not. we appreciate any links to the site, but manics.nl itself does not have a links-section, and we do not exchange links. it's just not what the site is about; we're not a fansite or part of the msp-community, we just annotate msp.

are you in contact with the manics or their management? can i send them a message?

no, we are not. we are in no way connected with the band or its management (see our disclaimer). they probably don't know this site exists. if you like to contact msp, try the official site.