I always thought that the song is about parents who are so controlling that they plan out their kid's future without any regard for what the kid might want to do with his life.
The song was written by singer/bassist Colin Moulding. It's about parental control over children. Making plans for the future of their kids, and not allowing them to think for themselves or make their own plans. Colin Moulding wrote this from personal experience. He had a fight with his father during the early years of XTC. His father wasn't too happy with his dedication to the new band, and his father even tried to cut off his son's hair. He had ''plans'' to put his son through university. It happens to a lot of people. Kids wanting to be rappers or ''influencers'' but are preasured by parents to be take up something that may be financially rewarding, but spiritually demoralizing. Don't always listen to the song with what you see in the video. I do believe this was the first British music video that Australian director, Russell Mulcahy, got to direct.. months before directing ''Video Killed The Radio Star''. Cheers, Hayley
written what over 40 years ago... now look at kids, spoon fed everything and still they know nothing. tols they can be whatever they want... i'm not a boy or a girl... I'm an attack helicopter...
A few more to try from their long career: "Statue of Liberty", "Generals & Majors", "Love on a Farmboy's Wages", "All You Pretty Girls", "Season Cycle", "Easter Theatre", "Harvest Festival", "The Wheel and the Maypole" - XTC has dozens and dozens of great songs, being one of the rare bands from the 1970s that made it into the 2000s still producing top-notch albums.
This song means so much to me. Feeling like everyone thinks they understand you when you don’t think they do is a horrible place to be. The Primus version is dope too. More uptempo.
I can't believe I found a reaction to this song. That's so cool. This has been one of my favorites since they put it out. XTC is one of the most underrated bands ever. As were most NEw Age, Punk bands of the day. Thank you for doing this one.
Nigel's parents are just trying to help their son Nigel out by planning his whole future working in British Steel for him. Just a song about how some families will just force their kid into whatever they think is best, and 'He say's his happy! He must be happy working there!' in a job they didn't even want but weren't 'outspoken' enough to challenge what their parents made them do.
I love this song. Also Senses Working Overtime, Down In The Cockpit and Mayor of Simpleton. Dear God a little less so. Overall they were one of my favorite 70s/80s jams.
More or less about helicopter parents that would plan out their child's future with full expectation that it would be carried out, and the wrath to pay if it didn't. Still happens, but was more intense back in the day, and also probably more so in the UK. Certified early 80's new wave/college radio/post punk banger. These were the beginnings of what is now considered the indie/alt genre
0:10 "Checking out ecstasy!" :) Impossible to imagine just how massive this song was in the UK in 1979-1980. - Played non stop on radios throughout the country!
l always had the impression from this song that 'Nigel' is academically a bit slow ... so his parents needed to map out his future. l worked in a place a while ago where a significant somebody in the business had a relative who was on the spectrum and arranged that that person to have a job for life. Making plans for somebody's wellbeing.
XTC is fun new wave punk. Old alternative, indie rock. From 70s, 80s and early 90s. Senses Working Overtime is the next one to watch from XTC. 🎉 They are like The Police and Talking Heads.
The Brit parents (of the early 80s) basically plan their boy's life out--he's happy, he has his life in the Steel Industry, he loves it!...and the joke is that 1. He hates that crap and 2. British Steel (both the company and the industry) collapsed in the 80s, so the "job he was so happy to do" (was forced into) crumbled to dust and left disillusionment. I'm an American who moved to New Zealand 8 years ago and I'd never even HEARD the name "Nigel" before...but in my first job here, I had a Nigel as a coworker...and then it was 2-3 years before I heard this song. Crazy.
So, how many parents do you know that plan out their kids' lives? He'll be a doctor/lawyer/scientist/engineer/whatever. Meanwhile, the kid is programmed...with little thought of what he or she really wants or might be drawn to be. Powerful stuff.
Yes, he's still mispronounces it as, "ecstasy". Although I think he corrected his pronunciation in a prior XTC video reaction but forgot again this time.
Those guys are from Swinburne; the stereotype of english northerners there is of a cleverly, cheeky passive aggressiveness. The drums drive it but the guitar is very angular. I can't see it any other way. It's ingratiatingly ingratiating.
@@drsloan I can't believe I wrote that. It is unfamiliar. I believe it was around the time I saw a biographical video by the band and they said Swinburne. I mean, I don't swing that name around at all. But, thx for reviving this for me!
@@ignatzmuskrat3000These things happen! I looked up Swinburne on the map: there are streets and such but apparently no town. But it seems a fine name for an English town, doesn’t it? Anyway, I agree with your assessment: the propulsive drums, the angular guitars, and especially the cheekiness. Bottom line: I love it.
My take is that Nigel is almost twenty and his family doesn't know what to do him and vice versa. I think the "We" is serious though the band is not totally. Early period XTC deals a lot with growing up in England of the time.
I know a guy named Nigel. He gets teased with this song a lot, but in a good tease sort of way, mostly sly jokes about making plans for him in an imaginary way. Great song. But the audio quality on that video is horrible, as is the case with many of the MTV videos that show up on RUclips. This mix sounds like sludge and that's a shame because XTC always fills their songs with interesting bits of sonic this and that. There are some "whoo-hoos" in the backing vocals that are so drowned in the mix you can barely hear them and that changes the tone of the song. Be kind to your mind and listen to the album version. You'll know you've found it because the cover is bright yellow, red, and green on a blue background with XTC in blue forming what looks like a face.
There is so much historical context to the words "British Steel" in this song. The state buying up the steel industry and supporting certain mills for the jobs despite making massive losses to ensure regional development. That happened before this song and may well have created the illusion of "British Steel" being the least uncertain jobs on earth since "The British government is paying!". After the song went out you had a campaign from workers at British Steel where they rounded up a number of Nigels to advertise in the 80s. They somewhat recoiled when the band made them aware that the song was about leadership positions. You also have the story of the decline of British Steel. This song came out shortly after the Winter of Discontent and the election of Thatcher.
Dear God and Complicated game...( XTC ) Still nothing from The Jam I see eh... How about The Guns of Brixton by The Clash... I could give you a huge list but you'dbe better off reacting to whole albums .Take Care... EH!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
I always thought that the song is about parents who are so controlling that they plan out their kid's future without any regard for what the kid might want to do with his life.
That's because i'm sure your right I think the same thing.
And you're dead correct, of course. You've won the gold sprayed couch, but unfortunately it's not going to help you.
Of course, that’s not the takeaway you get from the video.
The song was written by singer/bassist Colin Moulding. It's about parental control over children. Making plans for the future of their kids, and not allowing them to think for themselves or make their own plans. Colin Moulding wrote this from personal experience. He had a fight with his father during the early years of XTC. His father wasn't too happy with his dedication to the new band, and his father even tried to cut off his son's hair. He had ''plans'' to put his son through university. It happens to a lot of people. Kids wanting to be rappers or ''influencers'' but are preasured by parents to be take up something that may be financially rewarding, but spiritually demoralizing.
Don't always listen to the song with what you see in the video.
I do believe this was the first British music video that Australian director, Russell Mulcahy, got to direct.. months before directing ''Video Killed The Radio Star''.
Cheers,
Hayley
written what over 40 years ago... now look at kids, spoon fed everything and still they know nothing. tols they can be whatever they want... i'm not a boy or a girl... I'm an attack helicopter...
A few more to try from their long career: "Statue of Liberty", "Generals & Majors", "Love on a Farmboy's Wages", "All You Pretty Girls", "Season Cycle", "Easter Theatre", "Harvest Festival", "The Wheel and the Maypole" - XTC has dozens and dozens of great songs, being one of the rare bands from the 1970s that made it into the 2000s still producing top-notch albums.
This song means so much to me. Feeling like everyone thinks they understand you when you don’t think they do is a horrible place to be. The Primus version is dope too. More uptempo.
Yeah Primus crushed it.
I can't believe I found a reaction to this song. That's so cool. This has been one of my favorites since they put it out. XTC is one of the most underrated bands ever. As were most NEw Age, Punk bands of the day. Thank you for doing this one.
Nigel's parents are just trying to help their son Nigel out by planning his whole future working in British Steel for him.
Just a song about how some families will just force their kid into whatever they think is best, and 'He say's his happy! He must be happy working there!' in a job they didn't even want but weren't 'outspoken' enough to challenge what their parents made them do.
I love this song. Also Senses Working Overtime, Down In The Cockpit and Mayor of Simpleton. Dear God a little less so. Overall they were one of my favorite 70s/80s jams.
More or less about helicopter parents that would plan out their child's future with full expectation that it would be carried out, and the wrath to pay if it didn't. Still happens, but was more intense back in the day, and also probably more so in the UK. Certified early 80's new wave/college radio/post punk banger. These were the beginnings of what is now considered the indie/alt genre
0:10 "Checking out ecstasy!" :) Impossible to imagine just how massive this song was in the UK in 1979-1980. - Played non stop on radios throughout the country!
l always had the impression from this song that 'Nigel' is academically a bit slow ... so his parents needed to map out his future. l worked in a place a while ago where a significant somebody in the business had a relative who was on the spectrum and arranged that that person to have a job for life. Making plans for somebody's wellbeing.
A brilliant song from the very brilliant XTC
I just love this song..always listen to it it's on my play list. I'm sure your making plan's for Jack just don't be Nigel's parents lol.
welcome to XTC
I'm named after this song. It is the anthem of my life. Amazing song....Sh*t name...
I bought this album, "Drums and Wires", when I was a college sophomore (circa 1980).
I think ignoring the videos might help in understanding a lot of songs. It’s a pretty straightforward song.
Spot on 👍🏻
The parents don't care about what Nigel wants to do with his own life.
XTC is fun new wave punk. Old alternative, indie rock. From 70s, 80s and early 90s. Senses Working Overtime is the next one to watch from XTC. 🎉 They are like The Police and Talking Heads.
Don't forget 1999 and 2000
he already did a reaction to Sense working overtime... You should watch his reaction to that... I would like to see hear his thoughts on Dear God
The Brit parents (of the early 80s) basically plan their boy's life out--he's happy, he has his life in the Steel Industry, he loves it!...and the joke is that 1. He hates that crap and 2. British Steel (both the company and the industry) collapsed in the 80s, so the "job he was so happy to do" (was forced into) crumbled to dust and left disillusionment. I'm an American who moved to New Zealand 8 years ago and I'd never even HEARD the name "Nigel" before...but in my first job here, I had a Nigel as a coworker...and then it was 2-3 years before I heard this song. Crazy.
The first time I heard this song it was a cover by Primus.
So, how many parents do you know that plan out their kids' lives? He'll be a doctor/lawyer/scientist/engineer/whatever. Meanwhile, the kid is programmed...with little thought of what he or she really wants or might be drawn to be. Powerful stuff.
X. T. C. :)
Yes, he's still mispronounces it as, "ecstasy". Although I think he corrected his pronunciation in a prior XTC video reaction but forgot again this time.
Hey Brad, cool shirt. I'm originally from the Land of Lincoln (IL)
Relentless pop. Wonderful.
The song is satire about the British education system, all decisions are already made for you. 😂
Those guys are from Swinburne; the stereotype of english northerners there is of a cleverly, cheeky passive aggressiveness. The drums drive it but the guitar is very angular. I can't see it any other way. It's ingratiatingly ingratiating.
Swindon
@@drsloan I can't believe I wrote that. It is unfamiliar. I believe it was around the time I saw a biographical video by the band and they said Swinburne. I mean, I don't swing that name around at all. But, thx for reviving this for me!
@@ignatzmuskrat3000These things happen! I looked up Swinburne on the map: there are streets and such but apparently no town. But it seems a fine name for an English town, doesn’t it?
Anyway, I agree with your assessment: the propulsive drums, the angular guitars, and especially the cheekiness. Bottom line: I love it.
@@drsloan hilarious!
Don’t take everything just go with great music good song great live band
My take is that Nigel is almost twenty and his family doesn't know what to do him and vice versa. I think the "We" is serious though the band is not totally. Early period XTC deals a lot with growing up in England of the time.
🔥
Dude, I love the... blackbeard (?) style beard. Badass!
I know a guy named Nigel. He gets teased with this song a lot, but in a good tease sort of way, mostly sly jokes about making plans for him in an imaginary way. Great song. But the audio quality on that video is horrible, as is the case with many of the MTV videos that show up on RUclips. This mix sounds like sludge and that's a shame because XTC always fills their songs with interesting bits of sonic this and that. There are some "whoo-hoos" in the backing vocals that are so drowned in the mix you can barely hear them and that changes the tone of the song. Be kind to your mind and listen to the album version. You'll know you've found it because the cover is bright yellow, red, and green on a blue background with XTC in blue forming what looks like a face.
parental control? no finding a place for someone who has none. Andy?
BTW, FYI, their name is pronounced as it is written, X:T:C,not ecstasy 😉
His parents want him to get a job with British Steel. They have his futur mapped out: full-time job with pension.
There is so much historical context to the words "British Steel" in this song.
The state buying up the steel industry and supporting certain mills for the jobs despite making massive losses to ensure regional development. That happened before this song and may well have created the illusion of "British Steel" being the least uncertain jobs on earth since "The British government is paying!".
After the song went out you had a campaign from workers at British Steel where they rounded up a number of Nigels to advertise in the 80s. They somewhat recoiled when the band made them aware that the song was about leadership positions.
You also have the story of the decline of British Steel. This song came out shortly after the Winter of Discontent and the election of Thatcher.
Primus did a cover of this song and I like it better than the original. You should check it out :)
XTC is pronounced X.T.C. You'll like Reel By Real & Oh Heli by X.T.C.
"Senses Working Overtime" is a much more interesting song by them. At least musically
Musically maybe. But it doesn’t vibe like Nigel.
Dear God and Complicated game...( XTC )
Still nothing from The Jam I see eh...
How about The Guns of Brixton by The Clash... I could give you a huge list but you'dbe better off reacting to whole albums .Take Care... EH!
Read between the lines, you sad cousins.
British satire.