- What have I learned? – How to do a Monte Carlo Analysis in Excel (slow day at work)
- Listening to – Holy Bible – Manic Street Preachers
- Reading – Iceland Serow Saga – Helen Lloyd
I’m fairly sure Holy Bible was the first Manic Street Preachers album I owned. It was a move away from their early material into a harder, more socially conscious time, also a time of huge turmoil within the band, which as an occasional NME reader had no idea about at the time.
Richey Edwards, the guitarist and writer with the band, disappeared in early 1995. Immensely talented, but almost inevitably he was a troubled man, self-harmed, suffered from anorexia and had severe depression, and wrote most of the Holy Bible album. It was never discovered what happened to Richey, if he committed suicide his body was never found.
It’s a brutal album, very intense, but almost 30 years later I think it’s stood the test of time better than most of it’s contemporaries. There is no uplifting themes, it’s about self-loathing, end of the world, mentions the holocaust, the death penalty and dysfunction.
And it’s brilliant. This is a band changing direction, dealing with success and reflecting their reality of the mid 90’s. I’ve never seen the Manics live, but have enjoyed their work for all these years, and I believe it is a great album, and testament to Richey Edwards talent.
A little more uplifting is Helen Lloyds book about motorcycling around Iceland for a couple of months. Wonderfully written, tremendously descriptive and contains the reality of travel. It’s is full of tremendous highs, and does not shy away from the low points that any long trip has. Throughout the trip she shows determination to see what’s around the bend, even though her bike is having issues.
Someday I’ll following in her footsteps, but for now appreciating Helen sharing her journey with me will have to do.
Happy New Year