Meet Jon, self-confessed ‘control freak’, band dictator and one-time roadie for Status Quo, Human League and a very demanding David Essex. (We’ll say no more, but it involved several rolls of strong white gaffer tape).
Meet also Transformer-tattooed danger-freak guitarist Si, who “developed a taste for being electrocuted” during his time as a bowling machine mechanic: (“I’ve nearly killed myself three times, been crushed by machinery, fallen off stage, and split my head open.”) Say hi to mysterious ex-glam rocker and erstwhile Darkness support (don’t ask) Kitty on bass. Finally, let us introduce you to Agoraphobic Nosebleed obsessive, drum teacher, and dread-headed maniac Ben.
This is Plastic Toys, a Southampton phenomenon that perfect hard-hitting electro rock with stadium-bound choruses. And with such an unusual cast of players, it’s no wonder they exist far from the realm of the conventional. Take everything you know about normal bands, and these four subvert it: Gigs? Chaos reigns, from plummeting down dry ski slopes on dog shit bins with Sikth, to unplanned psychedelic jams at sunrise complete with politic rants from audience members that continue until the power’s turned off (as at the recent Rootsville festival in Birmingham). A Plastic Toys gig boils your spinal fluid with visceral thrills while throwing sing-along choruses at you from all angles. Interests? Fishing and fucking. Influences? Grindcore, U2 and Van Halen – all at once.
Weirdly though, this fucked up mix of music can be picked out of every Plastic Toys tune, although their closest reference point (and the one they all agree on) is Nine Inch Nails. NIN’s producer John Fryer even helped produce their early material.
Their work with the legendary knob-twiddler was to attract the attention of the Dreamcatcher label who picked up an earlier incarnation of the band, Karmic Jera, after they won Kerrang’s international Battle Of The Bands competition in 2000 and released an album. “They knew nothing though” says Jon “we were a White Zombie-esque band, so they made us do photoshoots in graveyards like we were Cradle Of Filth or something. We recorded an album we hated, all the kids preferred our self-produced demo and we lost our hardcore fanbase.” The band fell apart.
Now Plastic Toys, the four turned their noses up at countless deals, and decided to go it alone, funded by a mysterious ‘financial backer’. They set up their own label, ‘Hill Valley Records’ which is named after the town from ‘Back To The Future’ – Jon’s favourite film. Recording in his bedroom, Jon forged almost all of debut ‘For Tonight Only’ alone, spurning producers to keep it exactly how he wanted it. Andy Gray (Gary Numan / U2) heard their stuff and asked to mix a track (new single and industro-pop anthem-to-be ‘Let Me Feel The Love’). “We let him, but we kept an eye on him. We’re control freaks” Jon admits. The track rocketed straight to the top of the One Music listeners chart and is now spreading across US radio like syphilis.
The rest of the album is an intravenous shot into the corpse of electro-rock, a relentless collision of seemingly disparate noise and pop hooks. Take the opening salvo for example, as the plinky plonk piano intro of ‘Curtain Up’ collides with headfuck confessions of “Last night I fucked your girlfriend” on ‘Devil’’s evil racket. Or ‘Tonight Only’ which sees diseased synths locking horns with scuzz guitars as stadium drums creep in through the backdoor.
It’s a dark peaen to debauchery that lyrically epitomises Plastic Toys’ manifesto: “It’s about getting wasted, going out and picking up a girl and being so completely brutally honest that people don’t believe you,” Jon admits, “taken to the extreme you could have sex with someone by saying ‘I’m going to use you’. They think you’re joking and love you anyway, but you don’t”. Nice. However, he shows a more sensitive side with the meltdown despair of ‘I Miss You’ and ‘Goodbye’’s robotic finale. “‘Goodbye’ deals with perfect love – and that when you die you know you haven’t been a perfect arsehole” Jon explains.
This dichotomy pierces the heart of Plastic Toys – they’re uncompromising rage shot through with pop sensibilities (how many other industrial-rock groups do you see covering Peggy Lee’s ‘Fever’?), evil and sensitive simultaneously, insular obsessives with one common goal. “I want to live my life like a fucking messiah” Jon screams relentlessly as ‘Tonight Only’ prolapses into silence, awaiting the devoted faithful. We doubt they’ll be long.
Still Alive
Plastic Toys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I tripped and fell just like before
But I don't have a friend who might come knocking at my door
To say how great I am
And to say how much he loves my voice
I could give myself a hand
But tell me really, what's the point?
I reach out for love, but it won't come
And everyone's the same
CHORUS:
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You go to bed wanna die tomorrow
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You're going to die tonight
I dress it up to entertain
But I wish that I could tell it like it is
Find a girl who feels the same
and fly away to a place that's better than this
I'm just so scared of being alone
I reach out for love, but it won't come
And everyone's the same
CHORUS:
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You go to bed wanna die tomorrow
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You're going to die tonight
We all get it wrong
We'll never get it right
It's been way too long
So we all live out this lie
CHORUS:
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You go to bed wanna die tomorrow
You're still alive
But you feel so hollow
You're going to die tonight
In the lyrics of Plastic Toys's song "Still Alive," the singer expresses feeling lost and alone. They have fallen down again, and they do not have a friend to come to their aid. They also lack the motivation to give themselves a hand. They feel hollow and empty, and they dread being alone. The singer desperately wants to find love, but it eludes them, and everyone seems to be the same. They dress up their feelings to hide how they genuinely feel, but they long for someone who understands and will escape with them to a better place.
The chorus repeats the phrase "You're still alive, but you feel so hollow." It indicates that the singer is still breathing, but their mind is preoccupied with feelings of emptiness that make them feel like dying. By repeating this phrase, the singer emphasizes the duality of their existence: they are breathing, but they are also in anguish.
The song's closing line, "We all get it wrong; we'll never get it right; it's been way too long, so we all live out this lie," suggests a bleak reality. No one ever truly succeeds in finding love, and this makes people feel empty, alone, and hollow inside. It seems like people are resigned to this fate, and there is no escape. The singer is inviting the listener to join them in the agony of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
I lost my way again
I feel like I've lost sight of where I'm headed in life.
I tripped and fell just like before
I've made mistakes and had setbacks in the past.
But I don't have a friend who might come knocking at my door
I don't have anyone who I can count on for emotional support.
To say how great I am
To give me a confidence boost when I'm feeling low.
And to say how much he loves my voice
To appreciate my talents and abilities.
I could give myself a hand
I can try to boost my own ego.
But tell me really, what's the point?
But it won't have the same effect as someone else's praise.
I'm just so scared of being alone
I'm afraid of being lonely and isolated.
I reach out for love, but it won't come
I try to find love and connection, but it's not easy to come by.
And everyone's the same
Others seem to be struggling with the same emotional issues as me.
You're still alive
You're physically alive and breathing.
But you feel so hollow
Your emotions feel empty and unfulfilled.
You go to bed wanna die tomorrow
You feel hopeless and despairing about the future.
You're going to die tonight
You feel like your emotional pain is too much to bear and it may cause you to take your own life.
I dress it up to entertain
I put on a facade of happiness and humor to conceal my negative emotions.
But I wish that I could tell it like it is
I wish I could be more honest with myself and others about how I really feel.
Find a girl who feels the same
Meet someone who shares similar struggles and emotions.
and fly away to a place that's better than this
Escape from my current situation to a happier and more fulfilling life.
We all get it wrong
We all make mistakes in life.
We'll never get it right
We'll always have flaws and imperfections.
It's been way too long
It feels like my emotional pain has been going on for too long.
So we all live out this lie
I continue to pretend everything is okay even when it's not.
Contributed by Sophia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
snipsnip trees
their music was rad! so sad they're..done?
Jessi McCarthy
Plastic Toys are awesome
Jacquie Safe
Wooo (: cd,t-shirt, signed single, signed poster and set list. You guys need another gig in salisbury! i miss you !!
youxrockxmyxsox
ahh they are amzing :]
Richard Fry
haha, go Ben!...lovin' the make-up XD
Charlotte Steege
it better explain everything!!!!!
Soint
haha that explains everything then
Natasha Jones
sorry to butt in, but soint has a point If the band only ever got good comments they'd never progress as a band, so critiical comments are better, not saying "they suck" but telling them what they could improve to be a better band., and charlotte I personally love them, but they are in the music industry and are gonna get bad comments from time to time, don't pick fights with eveyone who has a bad word to say otherwise it'll backfire on you, just saying seen em twice, will see em nxt month to.
Soint
OWNED, ehmm no my mom doesnt sound cheap actually, how can that be possible?... i really mean it, it does sounds cheap... fix it
Soint
1) childish? read the comment you wrote before this one. 2) you know anything about critics? bad critics are more useful than good ones.