The one permanent fixture amidst the Fall's ever-changing line-up was Mark E. Smith (1957 – 2018). Smith's lyrics are free, unboxed and unpredictable, touching on an extremely wide range of subjects and places, and caring little for being tied down to easily digestible messages.
Smith's singing could put off some people, but others find it a uniquely expressive instrument. Smith was not a conventionally great vocalist, but his keen sense of rhythm, his energy and personality more than made up for this.
The Fall's music changed depending on the line-up at a given time. Always experimental, Mark E. Smith claimed to invent several musical genres, including house music; "we were doing that years ago" and even the internet. "He told me I didn't understand, that we were from the bleak industrial wastes of North England, or something, and that we didn't understand the Internet. I told him Fall fans invented the Internet. They were on there in 1982." One thing that is for sure is that The Fall (and their fans) always pushed the boundaries, and were never afraid to experiment.
The Fall were a favorite group of DJ John Peel, recording 24 sessions for his BBC1 radio program over the years.
The Fall's back catalogue consists of 29 studio albums, and is very fragmented with a seemingly endless number of compilations and semi-official live albums.
In 2006, British music-critic Dave Simpson published an entertaining account of a journalist's attempt to track down all 43 former members of The Fall in the Guardian. Many previous members have been fired, often with little or no notice. Simpson's ongoing effort was subsequently described at greater length in his book "The Fallen" (2008). His effort to track down the final unaccounted stragglers of at least 50 previous members of The Fall - including drummer Karl Burns - continues in his blog. Having decried Simpson's book as a "hatchet job" in the pages of Pseud. Mag., a Fall fan-mag, Mark E. Smith countered in short order with his autobiography "Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith" (Viking, 2008/Penguin 2009).
Mark E. Smith died on 24 January 2018, aged 60.
Key Albums include:
# Live At the Witch Trials (debut)
# Dragnet
# Totale's Turns (It's Now Or Nevr)
# Grotesque (after the Gramme)
# Perverted By Language
# Hex Enduction Hour
# This Nation's Saving Grace
# Middle Class Revolt
# Bend Sinister
# Extricate
# The Infotainment Scan
# Country on the Click aka The Real New Fall LP
# Fall Heads Roll
# Reformation Post TLC (new)
Compilations/Singles/B-Sides:
# 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats
# The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004
# Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 1) and Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 2)
# 458489 A-Sides
# 458489 B-Sides
Prole Art Threat
The Fall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Man with chip: I'm riding third class on a one-class train.
I'm cranked at nought like a Wimpey crane.
I'm a pink prole threat.
Gent in safe-house: get out the pink press threat file
And brrrptzzap the subject.
(now v. bitter) when I get to the safe house
Hanging rhyme
Hang this crummy blitz trad. by its neck
Pink press threat
I escaped the pink prole effect
Gent in safe-house: it's a new prole art threat
It's recluse, safe house time
then the clan began
Agenda item one
Scene: safe-house give them nail files, soon
Gent and staff- and looking at this agenda, we have a bit of
Now revealed a problem here
To be m.i.9 get out the pink press threat file
New prole art threat the subject
It's safe house, safe house time
But in the safe house, it's not around
Pink press threat
Gent: get out and apply the wet lib file
Vs. this new prole art threat
Safe house, safe house tone
Man with chip, that clan has gotten away with hundred years
Dissipated and knacked, of sheer brilliance
At home, video reach, up till now
Stereo bog
In the song Prole Art Threat by The Fall, the lyrics use language that is difficult to understand and appears to be full of nonsense. However, it is possible to interpret the meaning behind the words. The song seems to be criticizing the mainstream press, which is represented by the "pink press threat." The singer, who is a "pink prole threat," appears to be a member of the working-class who is angry at the way he is treated by society. He feels like he is stuck in a low-status job and he is not valued as an individual. The line "I'm riding third class on a one-class train" expresses this frustration.
The song also seems to be satirizing the government's surveillance of its citizens. The "Gent in safe-house" refers to a government agent who is monitoring the singer. The agent is looking for any signs of rebellion and is ready to take action to stop any such behavior. The line "get out the pink press threat file and brrrptzzap the subject" suggests that the agent is using some high-tech gadget to track the singer's movements. Later in the song, the singer talks about a "new prole art threat," which seems to be some kind of group that is trying to challenge the status quo. The government is worried about this group and wants to stop them.
Line by Line Meaning
Pink press threat!
Acknowledging the danger of the media's influence and control.
Man with chip: I'm riding third class on a one-class train.
Expressing the singer's feeling of being left behind or excluded from the rest of society.
I'm cranked at nought like a Wimpey crane.
Feeling powerless and ineffective in the grand scheme of things.
I'm a pink prole threat.
Self-identifying as a dangerous figure to the establishment, specifically due to their lower-class background.
Gent in safe-house: get out the pink press threat file And brrrptzzap the subject.
Referring to the efforts of those in power to suppress and neutralize any form of dissent or rebellion.
Man with chip: it's delouse, safe-house time (now v. bitter) when I get to the safe house Hanging rhyme Hang this crummy blitz trad. by its neck Pink press threat I escaped the pink prole effect
Reflecting on the singer's previous experiences with being targeted by those in power and celebrating their ability to evade capture or suppression.
Gent in safe-house: it's a new prole art threat It's recluse, safe house time
Acknowledging the emergence of a new form of rebellion or subversion that must be contained and neutralized.
then the clan began Agenda item one Scene: safe-house give them nail files, soon Gent and staff- and looking at this agenda, we have a bit of Now revealed a problem here To be m.i.9 get out the pink press threat file New prole art threat the subject It's safe house, safe house time
Describing a meeting where those in power strategize and plan to suppress any potential threats or rebellions, specifically mentioning the pink press threat and the new prole art threat.
But in the safe house, it's not around Pink press threat
Noticing the absence of the pink press threat and questioning why it hasn't been successfully neutralized.
Gent: get out and apply the wet lib file Vs. this new prole art threat Safe house, safe house tone
Suggesting using propaganda and media manipulation to counteract the new prole art threat.
Man with chip, that clan has gotten away with hundred years Dissipated and knacked, of sheer brilliance At home, video reach, up till now Stereo bog
Reflecting on the lasting impact and ingenuity of previous rebellions or subversions, but also acknowledging the changing landscape and limitations of the current state of rebellion/activism.
Lyrics © MINDER MUSIC LTD.
Written by: MARK E SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tostare
I love the guitar on this: like a metalwork shop with whirling, grinding machinery.
Kindrid Parker
sometimes the Fall is the only respectable option.
Solgato Blogopogo
you say the darndest things <3
bradshawvincent
Dripping with Paranoia and Claustrophobia no other band could have made this track. Brings to mind the film "The Conversation" with Gene Hackman especially when he's cracking up at the end.
AJ. Suth
'Not loving this should be banned.' -brilliant!!
Wonky Alice
Love this song a such now as when I first heard it back in 1992. Anyone else ever noticed that out of sync single drum beat at 43 seconds. It makes the song even more offbeat. .
Hazel Bowden
Yes. Happens to me when I’m on a roll, dancing. Reminds me I’m human. 🙂
nick maffia
The fall altered the shape of my brain at age 13 and at 51 it still changes shape and size. It's strange to imagine what I would've been in a fall-less world. Unhappier for sure, maybe some horrible bailiff or possibly a murderer. Thanks Mark.
brandon willis
nothing like having the fall sandblast the shite from my ears. Why can't more guitar groups feel this urgent and concise I'd listen to more rock music if it was the case.
Syntax
Because most musicians are cunts.