They are signed to the Wichita Recordings label, and have currently released 5 albums through this imprint - 'The Cribs' (2004), 'The New Fellas' (2005), 'Mens Needs, Womens Needs, Whatever' (2007), 'Ignore The Ignorant' (2009), and 'In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull' (2012).
Despite starting off as an underground band, The Cribs have experienced commercial success with 'Mens Needs, Womens Needs, Whatever' charting at #13 in the UK album charts, and 'Ignore The Ignorant' achieving the band their first Top Ten album, charting at #8. They also have 7 top 40 hit singles to their name, the most successful of which being 'Men's Needs' (#17). In 2008, Q magazine described The Cribs as "The biggest cult band in the UK".
The Chi-Town Songfacts says that The Cribs' fifth studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, was recorded at London's Abbey Road and Chicago's EAR studio with famed lo-fi rock engineer Steve Albini and Tarbox Road studio in New York with David Fridmann (Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips).
After some hard times during which they were (according to an interview in DIY Magazine) "nearly losing the rights to their entire back catalogue, and coming close to calling time on the group entirely," in 2020 they released the album "Night Network."
Glitters Like Gold
The Cribs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a friend's mother's perfume
That you can be what you want
Anointed genius, poets, good fucks
Yeah you can be what you want
Anyway
Getting the feeling, spent all my splendour long ago
And though I rarely see it
It never shows that my
Mind will always fight me
With both sides claiming victory
Kiss my stiff upper lip and forever release me
Vanity dance around me
Whatever you think about me
I'm the whale beneath the ship
Who would ever believe me?
Should I say something?
It seems they'd like me better
If I just sing nonsense
Anyway
Never written honest, though sometimes I think I should
But to share these feelings
Would only hurt the ones I love
They know enough that my
Mind will always fight me
With both sides claiming victory
Kiss my stiff upper lip and forever release me
Vanity dance around me
Whatever you think about me
I'm the whale beneath the ship
Who would ever believe me?
I guess I got what you wanted
A naive streak that I won't shake
Keeps me cold
My mind will always fight me
With both sides claiming victory
Kiss my stiff upper lip and forever release me
Vanity dance around me
Whatever you think about me
I'm not half the kid I used to be
Who would ever believe me?
The Cribs's song "Glitters Like Gold" is a complex, introspective piece that deals with the internal conflict that an artist experiences when creating music. The lyrics seem to suggest that despite the desire to bring one's true feelings and experiences to life, there is a pressure from society to conform to certain standards of "anointed genius, poets, good fucks." The lyrics mention the "naive streak" that the singer won't shake, indicating perhaps a sense of youthfulness and vulnerability that isn't always accepted in the music industry.
The lyrics also touch on the anxiety that comes with putting oneself out in the world, particularly in terms of sharing one's own personal experiences. The lines, "But to share these feelings / Would only hurt the ones I love" suggest that there is a certain level of responsibility that comes with creating art – a desire to maintain the privacy and well-being of those closest to you.
Overall, the song suggests that there is a certain tension between the individual artist and the wider industry and society within which they function. The lyrics suggest that this tension is difficult to navigate, and that the artist is constantly grappling with their own sense of identity and where they fit within the framework of their chosen medium.
Line by Line Meaning
It's so strange seeming
The situation is peculiar and unusual
Like a friend's mother's perfume
Ephemeral and familiar, like an odor that can't be wholly recollected
That you can be what you want
You can assume any persona or identity, from genius to hedonist
Anointed genius, poets, good fucks
Become anything--a mastermind, artist, or lothario
Yeah you can be what you want
You can be whoever you deem fit
Anyway
Regardless
Getting the feeling, spent all my splendour long ago
The singer has a sense of having peaked and expended all their allure or charm
And though I rarely see it
Despite seldom noting it
Your other side glitters like gold
The personified 'you' has a beguiling, attractive aspect concealed from everyday view
It never shows that my
Nothing gives away the fact that my
Mind will always fight me
The singer's thoughts attest against them
With both sides claiming victory
The opposing factions within them vie for control
Kiss my stiff upper lip and forever release me
An invocation for relief or liberation from this mental schism
Vanity dance around me
The quality of vanity encircles the singer's being, though they don't submit to it or indulge in self-love
Whatever you think about me
Whatever perception you possess of me
I'm the whale beneath the ship
Like Ahab's nemesis, there is a looming, unsinkable menace to the artist that isn't immediately visible
Who would ever believe me?
The artist expresses incredulity that their inner state could ever be comprehended by another
Should I say something?
The singer debates whether or not to confess their unspoken thoughts
It seems they'd like me better
For some reason, others would prefer the singer to be different
If I just sing nonsense
Perhaps the artists could placate others by spouting gibberish
Never written honest, though sometimes I think I should
The artist admits that their lyric approach isn't always sincere, even if they think that it should be
But to share these feelings
To open up about these sensations and emotions
Would only hurt the ones I love
But doing so would wound the people closest to the singer
I guess I got what you wanted
The artist believes that they are what another person wanted or desires
A naive streak that I won't shake
Despite their maturity or hardening, the singer maintains a stubborn facet of their innocence
Keeps me cold
This preservation has left the singer apathetic and distant
I'm not half the kid I used to be
The singer has lost something essential or fundamental about their prior self
Who would ever believe me?
The artist supposes that others would struggle to accept their claims or testimony
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: GARY JOHN JARMAN, ROSS ANTHONY JARMAN, RYAN JAMES JARMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Dangerous416
Feeln' old as dirt! Shit this came out 9 years ago and I've been obsessed this song since then.
@LOUIS71NN.
i must be old then
@TheFatspud
The new Cribs record was the bomb- great to hear them make somthing so different to their previous stuff, lovin the production
@Thermalsteve
I can't get enough of this album. I adore these guys debut album so deeply and have loved every album since but this last one has got under my skin. Love it.
@thevoid11212
ryan's pedal board currently is: Electro Harmonix-Holy Grail plus. Electro Harmonix-Poly Chorus Fulltone-OCD overdrive Menatone-King Of The Britains usually he has them all on, but your best bet is to use a light distortion because the overdrive makes a lot of the clean sound and distortion has a deeper crunch, and reverb would give it that lasting tone.
@amymcmanus2326
The Cribs back to their best.
@eyebeesvlogs4544
I love this album, lots of memories involved with the songs❤❤
@ArthurFSP1996
Best band in the whole world. Ryan is a god
@binstig
Favourite Cribs video EVER.
@sophfiaasmith
It just gets better and better