This song is a bit of a recent addition to my phone library. Journal for Plague Lovers is one of my three favourite Manic Street Preachers albums, and it’s been on my computer storage since late 2013. Then, I’d already established a few highlights from there that I liked right away. One of those should be coming up in the next few weeks. ‘Marlon J.D.’ I didn’t really appreciate until, maybe, about last year. I don’t think I even listened to the album. Its chorus line just started ringing in my head and I guess I needed to listen to it to properly remember what it sounded like.

This blog post, found on a site dedicated to Manic Street Preachers, actually covers a lot of what I would have wanted to talk about here. Probably in better detail too. I’m also all for its driving energy, the slashing guitars and the pulsating drum machine that relentlessly keeps the song moving. There’s an opening-theme-song-to-a-police-detective-TV-show vibe to this song that I sense too, though that’s just me. Like all of the other songs on Plague Lovers, its lyrics were written by Richey Edwards, the band’s original co-lyricist and guitarist who disappeared in 1995 and was presumed dead 13 years later. According to bassist Nicky Wire, Edwards was fascinated by Marlon Brando as a figure of success and self-destruction. A lot of the lyrics are also taken from the film Reflections in a Golden Eye featuring Brando and Elizabeth Taylor.

Wire and lead singer James Dean Bradfield give more information about the song in the video below. Some points covered: Wire wrote the song’s music, and originally sang the song’s demo. You can see him demonstrate it around 2:34 in this video. And neither of them know what the J.D. stands for. I think the answer’s a lot closer then they think. To the point that I think they actually do know, but I don’t know why they would say they don’t. You know what I mean? Anyway, the song’s up there.