7. On My Way to the Nuclear Plant
Crib Notes
I think this is the only song from the Misdiagnosis we’ve played live within the last twelve months – partly because it’s one of the stronger songs on there and partly because it lends itself really well to Thee Awkward Silences’s sound (in fact this recording probably set the blueprint for what we went on to sound like). It’s definitely one of the more enduring songs – people still mention it me now. The lyrics are a fairly self-explanatory reference to wanting to have a nuclear accident in the mistaken belief it’ll give you superpowers, which I think it’s a pretty nice theme and it seems to get a good response live still.
The weird robotic giggle at the start is from a child’s toy belonging to Ian’s friend Anna-Britt’s son Axl. We’ll refer to him again in a couple of songs time…
It’s also one of only (I think) two Awkward Silences songs where I play lead guitar.
What do I think of it now?
Musically it sounds great – I keep saying it but Ian’s done a great job here. It is another one where I notice how much my voice must have improved over the past four years as I find it slightly difficult to listen to now. I still really like it though – as a song it’d definitely be amongst my ten best and tracks five to seven are certainly the strongest run on the album.
Crib notes
In terms of my songwriting this is kind of where it all began. Not exactly ‘cos I’d been writing songs for a few years when I wrote it but this was the first time I really found my voice lyrically and playing style musically and worked out exactly what it was I was trying to do – a lot of my better guitar playing is based on repetitive rhythms and focus on bass notes chords and this is where I first learned to do that. I’d actually just learned to play N.E.R.D’s Brain on guitar and was playing around with the notes when I came up with this.
I played it at all my early gigs and it was one of these songs I always assumed we’d do more when the band was formed but it never happened ‘cos I think we just thought we had better songs.
What Do I Think Of It Now?
It’s actually a much better song than I remember. I think we should probably have recorded a bit slower – I’d always imagined it as effectively an R’N'B song played on a guitar but I’m not sure that actually comes across. There’s some really nice wordplay on here. Again there’s some issues with the voice though and in general it sounds a little bit messier than I’d have liked (probably because my guitar playing is messier than I’d like!). It’s one that I think would sound much better if we recorded it now!
9. I’ll Be Getting a Divorce for Christmas 1
Crib Notes
The first song of mine to ever get played on the radio – by Huw Stepehens on Radio 1 when he heard it on a Cherryade Records compilation. It’s pretty self-explanatory lyrically. The previously mentioned Axl Ripley actually appeared on here. We thought it’d be a neat touch to parody the tendency to get a choirboy to appear on Christmas records a la Cliff Richard by getting a boy on there who’d sing a bit like me! Axl does an amazing job.
My friend Ben Tucker from the band Albino (who later covered this themselves) was getting divorced around the time I wrote this and is convinced it’s about him. That’s not strictly true but is very probably where I got the idea from!
One of the odd things I’ve realised is that all, like Walthamstow Bungalow and I Didn’t Sell My Soul, we’ve always struggled to play this as a band despite the fact it’s a band-y recording. It might be because we never work on it except at Christmastime but for whatever reason I always end up playing it solo.
I often think about releasing this as a Christmas single. However I usually think of it on around December 23rd which is why it never happens!
What do I Think Of It Now?
It’s one of the recordings I’ve done where I really wouldn’t change anything – the sound is perfect for the song, the lyrics really capture what I was trying to do (and to be honest I’m still a bit impressed I came up with a lot of it and I’m still really happy with it – even the point where I accidentally start laughing. Definitely one of my better moments.
