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Frequently Asked Questions
This document has been put together as a attempt to answer some of the most
commonly asked questions about the musical group My Bloody Valentine. This FAQ is
intended as an introductory guide to novices, and an information gathering tool
for both new and old fans. Comments and additions from readers are welcomed. If
you would like to contribute to the FAQ, please let us know.
This is version 1.3.2 of this document, last updated
1 January 2004
New FAQ
26: Will MBV ever release new material?
27: What's all this rumour of a Box Set?
26: Is it true that Kevin Shields has joined Primal Scream?
Old FAQ
01: Who/What is My Bloody Valentine?
02: Where did the name "My Bloody Valentine" come from?
03: What is the MBV mailing list and how do I use it?
04: I am new to MBV. What do you recommend I buy first?
05: Is there an MBV discography available online?
06: What videos has MBV made?
07: What record companies have MBV been associated with?
08: Why did it take so long to record "Loveless"?
09: Why is it taking so long to record a new album?
10: Why can't I hear what they're singing?
11: Where can I get the lyrics to their songs?
12: Are there any MBV bootlegs? Where can I get
them?
13: Are there any unreleased MBV songs?
14: What songs have been performed on tours?
15: What bands has MBV toured with?
16: Who is Dave Conway? Tina?
17: How do you pronounce Colm's last name?
18: Are Kevin and Bilinda married?
19: Is there any relationship between Kevin Shields and Ann Marie Shields/Jimi Shields?
20: What is that on the cover of "Loveless"?
21: Is Colm really playing drums on "Loveless"?
22: In the song Sueisfine, aren't they singing "suicide" instead?
23: Did Kevin play on that album with Experimental Audio Research?
24: How can I contact MBV?
25: Who has contributed to the FAQ?
01: Who/What is My Bloody Valentine?
My Bloody Valentine (hereafter abbreviated as MBV), is a dream
pop/shoegazer/miasma band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1984. The band line-up is
Kevin Shields on guitar and vocals, Colm O'Ciosoig on drums, Bilinda Butcher on
guitar and vocals, Debbie Googe on bass, and has recently added Alex Buess for
programming. The most distinctive feature of the band is its widespread influence
on popular music and musicians by its unusual use of sound.
The band has released 4 full-length albums and approximately 10 EPs or singles. The latest MBV
recording, a full-length album titled Loveless, was released in November of 1991.
02: Where did the name "My Bloody Valentine" come from?
The band got its name from a 1984 Canadian B-grade horror film of the same name.
The name had been Dave Conway's idea, "it seemed like some good words" was apparently the reason.
03: What is the MBV mailing list and how do I use it?
The MBV mailing list was created to provide a forum for fans of the musical group My Bloody Valentine. It is currently out of service, I doubt I will start another one unless I get alotof request for it.
04: I am new to MBV. What do you recommend I buy first?
At first listen, MBV is a very strange and different sounding band. The sounds of the
songs can at first be disorienting, but once you listen to the songs a few times,
you begin to catch on. The easiest CD to listen to is Glider, a 4-track EP. We recommend this for
first-time listeners. Next in line would probably be their latest album, Loveless. After that, it's all fair game.
05: Is there an MBV discography available online?
Yes, of course! It is available at the MBV Web site at >http://www.mybloodyvalentine.net. It has the complete listing of all known releases by MBV, along with some scans of album covers.
06: What videos has MBV made?
Promotional videos have been made for two songs from the 'Isn't Anything' period;
You Made Me Realise and Feed Me With Your Kiss. Four songs have
promotional videos from the 'Loveless' period; >Only Shallow [1.4MB, 13 secs], >To Here Knows When [1.4MB, 13 secs], >Soon [1.3MB, 12 secs], and >Swallow [1.2MB, 12 secs]. These four videos were
included on the promotional video for Creation Records, "The Story
Of Creation". Clips from some of these videos are
available on the Web site.
Rumour has it that Hal Hartley, the director of the movie "The Amateur" who
included "Only Shallow" on the soundtrack of his film, will be making new videos
for "Loveless".
07: What record companies have MBV been associated with?
Tycoon Records, Dossier Records, Lazy Records, Fever Records, Kaleidoscope Records, Creation Records, Sire Records
via US distribution, and as of now they are currently signed
with Island Records in the U.K. and Sire Records in the U.S.
08: Why did it take so long to record "Loveless"?
From an interview with Kevin Shields in 1991:
"The reason it took so long was
because we started out on the wrong foot and never got back on the right one.
Right up until the last minute, we kept thinking we would be finished in a couple
more months - two years of thinking we would be finished in a couple more
months."
09: Why is it taking so long to record a new album?
Recent articles have shed new light on the subject:
1. They had many problems in building their own recording studio, mainly with the installation of the recording console.
2. The band actually did finish an album, but upon final
listen Kevin Shields decided the album wasn't good enough and shelved the master
tapes.
3. A number of pressures, financially and aesthetically, drew Kevin
into what he describes as "meltdown".
Both Island and Sire have been continually pumping additional monies into the
project to keep it moving.
10: Why can't I hear what they're singing?
From an interview with MBV in 1991:
INTERVIEWER: Why do you mix the vocals as
low as you do? They seem to blend in just like any other instrument.
COLM O'CIOSOIG: They are an instrument, basically. They don't seem that quiet to us. What's the point in making them really loud so everybody else who doesn't listen to music that way can hear them, when we can hear them fine?
11: Where can I get the lyrics to their songs?
None of the lyrics have ever been printed or released by MBV, so any lyrics are
merely interpretations.
However, you can find a list of these interpretations at the MBV Web site at >http://www.mybloodyvalentine.net/lyrics
12: Are there any MBV bootlegs? Where can I get them?
Yes!
There are >bootlegs for live shows
performed all around the world, and all of widely varying quality.
Only one
bootleg is known to exist that is not a live show. It is a 7" called "The
Re-releases by My Bloody Valentine" and features demos of the 4 songs found on
the EP "The New Record by My Bloody Valentine" that was released in 1986.
You
can find bootlegs at the same place you would normally find bootleg recordings:
record and tape shows, Goldmine and related magazines, local independent record
stores, alt.music.bootlegs, and other people interested in MBV. You can probably
find a copy of a particular bootleg from someone on the MBV mailing list.
13: Are there any unreleased MBV songs?
Yes.
Sugar, available on the Catalogue Flexi and a French only promo CD, has
not been on any MBV release.
The Devil Made Me Do It, a song on one of the first show bootlegs from their
time in Berlin, was not recorded for "This Is Your Bloody Valentine", and
remains unreleased.
Rumour has it that Kevin Shields actually
shelved an entire master tape after completion of an album (following
'Loveless'), and whether these songs will be re-recorded or all of the songs were
discarded is unknown. No known copies of this master tape are known to exist.
14: What songs have been performed on tours?
For shows during 'This Is Your Bloody Valentine' period:
Forever And Again / The Devil Made Me Do It (Unreleased) / The Love Gang /
Inferno / Don't Cramp My Style / Homelovin' Guy / -unknown-
For the 'Isn't Anything' tour:
Emptiness Inside / You Never Should / Cigarette In Your Bed / Sueisfine (Suicide)
/ Cupid Come / Lose My Breath / Nothing Much To Lose / Thorn / Soft As Snow (But
Warm Inside) / Feed Me With Your Kiss / (When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream /
Slow / You Made Me Realise / Lovelee Sweet Darlene
For the 'Loveless' tour (in varying order):
When You Sleep / Only Shallow / Touched / I Only Said / Slow / Nothing Much To
Lose / Come In Alone / You Never Should / Honey Power / Soon / To Here Knows When
/ Sueisfine (Suicide) / Feed Me With Your Kiss / Blown A Wish / You Made Me
Realise
15: What bands has MBV toured with?
MBV has opened for Dinosaur Jr. on their Winter 91/92 tour, and for the Jesus and Mary Chain on their
Rollercoaster tour. Opening acts also
included Screaming Trees, The God Machine, Superchunk, Yo La Tengo,
Buffalo Tom, and Pavement.
Other known tours and shows have included Mercury Rev, Babes In Toyland, Blur, Lush,
and Happy Mondays.
16: Who is Dave Conway? Tina?
Dave Conway and Tina were early members of MBV.
Dave Conway was the vocalist
for This Is Your Bloody
Valentine, Geek, The New Record By, and Sunny Sundae Smile. Dave left the
group for a few resons: 1. He had a stomach infection, which meant that touring
consistently took a toll on his health, and 2. from an interview with Kevin: "I
think Dave was fed up with trying and never seeming to succeed at this, or get
anywhere with the band as such."
Tina (who's last name is not known) played keyboard on the first album and was
the one 'filling out the bottom end' up until the group moved to London. She
was also Dave Conway's girlfriend.
17: How do you pronounce Colm's last name?
From the original Gaelic pronunciation: o-COO-sak
Colm was listed as Colm
Cusak on their first album.
18: Are Kevin and Bilinda married?
They have a relationship - whether they a legally married or not is up for
question. Rumour has it now that they may have split, but in interviews around
the time of the 'Loveless' release, they were discussing their personal lives
together. Kevin will have been Bilinda's second marriage. Bilinda has a son,
Toby, who should probably be about 12 years old now.
19: Is there any relationship between Kevin Shields and Ann Marie
Shields/Jimi Shields?
Yes. Ann Marie Shields is Kevin's sister. Jimi Shields (member of Rollerskate
Skinny) is Kevin's younger brother.
20: What is that on the cover of "Loveless"?
It's a still picture from the video for To Here Knows When and colorized.
It's actually a Fender Jazzmaster guitar, focused right around the neck and body
joint.
21: Is Colm really playing drums on "Loveless"?
Yes and no. Most of the drum sounds on 'Loveless' are triggered and sequenced;
Colm played either electronic drums or natural drums on tape triggered to
electronic sounds into a computer sequencer. The drum pattern was then quantized
(each trigger was put to the nearest beat) and replayed. Colm's drum playing is
characteristic but usually off-time. The drums on 'Loveless' have Colm's
characteristic playing, but they are all exactly on the beat, re-done by a
computer.
From an interview with Kevin Shields:
"Actually we started the album with
live drums, but Colm got very ill so we sampled his drums and his rolls. So even
when a track is programmed, it has elements of his feel."
22: In the song Sueisfine, aren't they singing "suicide" instead?
On the recorded version on Isn't Anything,
it's hard to tell: the voices were [at least] double-tracked (two vocals singing
the same line), and it becomes difficult to tell whether the 's' and 'f' in the word
'sueisfine' are on a single vocal track or crossed between the two.
In live performance, however, it is definitely 'su-i-cide'.
23: Did Kevin play on that album with Experimental Audio
Research?
No.
Kevin Shields still has the tapes to the first EAR album (yet to be
released), as he was to add material but MBV ideas got in the way. So Sonic Boom
(the leader of E.A.R.) released stuff recorded after, but still plans to release
Kevin's stuff whenever he finishes with it.
24: How can I contact MBV?
Unfortunately, nobody we've been able to contact so far has been able to find an
address (mail or electronic mail) for the members of MBV.
25: Who has contributed to the FAQ?
The majority of the FAQ was written by Evan Olcott and Ezekiel Das. Contributions
(always welcome) have come from John Loughney, Mitch
, Jennifer Beanbag , Mike Metcalf, Dui, Jeff Birgbauer.
26: Will MBV ever release new material?
According to this >2003 interview with Kevin Shields, there will be new material.
Also, rumours surfaced in the summer of 2003 that Kevin Shields, Colm O'Ciosiog and Bilinda Butcher
(bassist Debbie Googe is not present at the sessions) are reportedly re-recording five songs that
the band abandoned for their 1989 EP Glider. The EP, released in between 1988's Isn't Anything and
the group's undisputed masterpiece, the dream-pop landmark Loveless, was originally meant to be a
nine-song full-length album, but the band, as usual, was took too long to record it and eventually
caved to pressure from the industry and released the four finished songs as an EP.
The remaining five unfinished songs from the sessions were shelved indefinitely as the band
proceeded to work on Loveless -- and with the group's breakup soon after, "indefinitely" seemed to
turn into "forever" for those missing tunes. Now that could all change. The box set, which is
tentatively due out this winter, is said to contain the long-awaited full version of My Bloody
Valentine's Glider album, fleshed out by the new recordings. There is, however, no word yet as to
what else the box set might contain, or even what label may decide to release it.
27: What's all this rumour of a Box Set?
Apparently it is supposed to happen. Stay tuned for details.
27: Is it true that Kevin Shields has joined Primal Scream?
Yes and no. He began working with them after he remixed their single, 'If they Move kill 'em.'
He then mixed a few tracks from their
'Exterminator' album. At this point he then began to tour with them.
He produced several tracks on their most recent album, 'Evil Heat'.
He also toured with them for this album except for the US dates. So he's ununofficial member of Primal Scream. According to Kevin 'he's just having fun and doesn't want to be in a band'.
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