1) The Wombats (TWB)… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists that share this name:
1) The Wombats (TWB) are a three-piece indie band which formed in 2003 in Liverpool, England. The band consists of Matthew Murphy (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, vocals) and Dan Haggis (drums, vocals). Murphy and Haggis are native Liverpudlians and Øverland-Knudsen is Norwegian. The members met while they were students at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The band has released four albums, "A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation" (2007) and "This Modern Glitch" (2011), “Glitterbug” (2015) and “Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life” (2018). Although, their fifth album is on it’s way, the first single “Method To The Madness” was released May 26th.
Early Years 2003 - 2006
The three met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The school gave them the chance to play gigs to over 20,000 people in China. This was one of the band's first trips to play outside the UK. They spent their time traveling around the country in a Vauxhall Agila and spent most of their time drunk, as quoted by the band while on the Colin Murray show in 2007. Their debut single Lost in the Post/Party in a Forest (Where's Laura) was released at the end of 2006. They also managed to release an album in Japan called Girls, Boys and Marsupials and reached fame over in the Far East.
A Guide To Love Loss & Desperation (AGTLL), 2007 -
The band then released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York in January, 2007. This single got critical acclaim from Radio DJs such as Colin Murray and Zane Lowe. In May the band released their third single called Backfire at the Disco this then lead to the band successfully released their first full single Kill the Director in late July. This single managed to reach #35 in the U.K Singles Chart. Their last single "Let's Dance To Joy Division" was released in October 2007, to coincide with the release of their debut album, entitled The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation which managed to get to #11 in the U.K charts. The release is being followed by a European tour ending with a Christmas party at Liverpool Academy. Moving to New York will be re-released on January 14, 2008.
This Modern Glitch (TMG), 2011 -
The first single that are in this album was released back in 2007, under the name 'Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), and reached #23 in UK charts. The second single was 'Jump Into The Fog', that came out 2011, with three B-sides, 'How I Miss Sally Bray', 'Valentine' and 'Addicted to the Cure'. This single debuted in #35 on UK charts. The next single was 'Anti-D', from
april of 2011, and also came out with three B-sides, 'I'm a Robot Like You', 'Dear Hamburg' and 'Wonderful Distraction'. This single reached #42 on UK charts. We had another single in June of 2011, the first after the album release, called 'Techno Fan' also coming out in a EP format, with the tracks 'Avalanche', 'Trampoline' and 'Shock Goodbyes and P45's'. It was #60 on UK charts. The next single was 'Our Perfect Disease' , which was also released after the album, having 'Guillotine', 'IOU's' and 'Reynold's Park' as B-sides. The last single was '1966', still in 2011.
The album itself was released on 22th April, 2011, having really good reviews on BBC Music, All Music Channel, Daily mirror and 59/100 on Metacritic. It reached #3 in UK's album chart, receiving gold in UK and Australia.
Discography
Albums
- "Girls, Boys and Marsupials" Released in 2006, Vinyl Junkie (Japan Only)
- "The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation" Released 05/11/07 (UK) #11 U.K
- "The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch"
Released 25/04/11 (UK) #3 U.K
- "Glitterbug" Released 07/04/15 (UK) #5 U.K, #91 Billboard 200
- "Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life" Released 09/02/18 #3 U.K, #190 Billboard 200
Limited Release Singles
2007 "Lost In The Post"
2007 "Moving To New York"
2007 "Backfire At The Disco"
2007 "A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation"
Singles
2007* " Backfire at the Disco"
2007 "Kill the Director" #35 UK
2007 "Let's Dance to Joy Division" #15 UK
2008 "Moving to New York" #37 UK 14 January 2008
2009 "Is This Christmas"
2010 "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)
2011 "Jump Into the Fog"
2011 "Anti-D"
2013 "Your Body is A Weapon"
2) Heroes of the modern garage revival, the Wombats were born sometime in the late 70s, somewhere in the leafy lanes of Maple Heights, Ohio. Teenage guitar strangler John Zinrich, a.k.a. Johnny Fettish (so called because he had a thing for biting women's knees under tables, hence "John Knee Fetish"), had previously lived out the punk ideal by dropping out of high school at age 15 to join Public Enemy, noted in Cle 3.0 for doing "the fastest version ever attempted of 'I Wanna Be Your Dog'." Striving for a poppier sound, Fettish and his suburban neighbor Vic Halm penned a series of power-punk pop gems and entered the first national "Battle of the Garages" competition run by Bomp/Voxx honcho Greg Shaw. The 'Bats contributed a track, "The Reason Why" to the first "Battle" compilation and played on the national "Battle" tour in 1981. Positive public reaction won them a recording contract, and between 1981 and 1984 the 'Bats released two singles and an album, "Zontar Must Die!" on Bomp/Voxx. They also played various notable East Coast and local venues, including the first WRUW Studio Arama show and the opening night of the Lakefront (which displayed "Wombats" on its curb sign for several years as a result). Their energetic live show was notable for speedy fuzzy guitars pumped through Marshall stacks, unintelligible vocals, and the sight of 5'4" Fettish leaping two feet in the air, against a backdrop of six-foot-tall John Lennon-lookalike Halm and equally towering bassist Tim Ratley. In 1984 the Wombats played a show with the seminal Columbus band Great Plains, who brought them to the attention of Gerard Cosloy at Homestead Records. The Wombats subsequently recorded one EP for Homestead, "Mudpuddles", which came out in 1985. Unfortunately, the band had a falling out with Cosloy over their inability to tour, since drummer Tommy Edwards was busy studying to be a refrigerator repairman. As a result, promotion for "Mudpuddles" was almost nil and the 'Bats found themselves once again without a label. In 1986, Fettish and Halm wrote and recorded some excellent demos for a third album which they hoped to place on a major label, but due to lack of interest this project never saw the light of day. Since then, the 'Bats have played sporadically around Cleveland with various lineups.
1996
The Wombats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I knew of no downfalls,
War was breaking out all around me,
My concerns were with prank calls.
She kissed me on the cheek,
She kissed me on the cheek,
Right in front of the older kids,
Wasn't scarred by the modern itch.
Because now it feels like,
We kissed with one eye on our T.V. set,
And the more I give, the less I get,
Using fairground rides just to spark her smile,
Too little hit to miss,
Bring back 1996
Bring back 1996,
I want to beat those teenage kicks,
Bring back 1996.
We were cloning sheep in the 1990s,
We were building telescopes,
And sugar filled the whole of my body,
As I edged it all to grow.
I kissed her on the cheek,
I kissed her on the cheek,
Just to impress the older kids,
But my self belief, my self belief,
Wasn't lost in the modern glitch.
Because now it feels like,
We kissed with one eye on our T.V. set,
And the more I give, the less I get,
Using fairground rides just to spark her smile,
Too little hit to miss,
Bring back 1996,
Bring back 1996.
Stop talking, stop talking,
I need a lover, not a friend tonight,
I'm leaving, I'm leaving,
I'm not cut out for the modern life.
I'm going to beat those teenage kicks.
The Wombat's song "1996" is a nostalgic tribute to the simpler times of the nineties, when the singer of the song was a carefree teenager. The lyrics describe how, while the world was grappling with war and other problems, the singer's only concern was making prank calls. The song depicts a time when people were not so obsessed with technology, and their lives were not governed by social media. The singer remembers a time when one's self-belief was not impacted by what's trending or popular, but was purely based on personal conviction.
The song also touches upon themes of teenage love and infatuation, as the singer reminisces about a girl whom he had kissed on the cheek just to impress the older kids. He longs to go back to that simpler time, when kissing someone was not influenced by distractions from the TV or the internet. The chorus talks about how the singer wants to bring back the carefree days of 1996 when he could enjoy the little things in life, like fairground rides and teenage kicks.
Overall, the song is a plea to break free from the shackles of modern life and go back to a time where things were simpler and happiness was derived from small things.
Line by Line Meaning
I had no cares in the 1990s,
I didn't have much to worry about in the 90s.
I knew of no downfalls,
I wasn't aware of any problems.
War was breaking out all around me,
There were conflicts happening, but they didn't affect me directly.
My concerns were with prank calls.
I was more focused on playing pranks and having fun.
She kissed me on the cheek,
A girl I liked showed me affection.
She kissed me on the cheek,
She did it again as if to confirm her feelings.
Right in front of the older kids,
It happened in front of people who were older than us.
But my self belief, my self belief,
My confidence in myself, my confidence in myself,
Wasn't scarred by the modern itch.
Wasn't damaged by the pressure to conform to modern standards.
Because now it feels like,
Nowadays, it seems like
We kissed with one eye on our T.V. set,
When we kiss, we're also watching TV.
And the more I give, the less I get,
The more I try, the less I seem to receive.
Using fairground rides just to spark her smile,
I use amusement park rides to make her happy.
Too little hit to miss,
I don't want to miss out on anything because I haven't experienced enough.
Bring back 1996
I long for the simplicity and innocence of that time.
Stop talking, stop talking,
I don't want to talk anymore.
I need a lover, not a friend tonight,
I want something more than just friendship tonight.
I'm leaving, I'm leaving,
I'm ready to go.
I'm not cut out for the modern life.
I don't feel like I belong in this modern world.
We were cloning sheep in the 1990s,
Science was making groundbreaking advances in the 90s.
We were building telescopes,
We were discovering more about the universe.
And sugar filled the whole of my body,
I consumed a lot of sugary foods.
As I edged it all to grow.
As I was growing up, I indulged in sugar.
I kissed her on the cheek,
I showed affection to the girl I liked.
I kissed her on the cheek,
I did it twice to express my feelings.
Just to impress the older kids,
I wanted to gain approval from people who were older than me.
But my self belief, my self belief,
My confidence in myself, my confidence in myself,
Wasn't lost in the modern glitch.
Wasn't destroyed by the difficulties of modern life.
Bring back 1996,
I want to go back to a simpler time.
I want to beat those teenage kicks,
I want to relive the excitement and fun of being a teenager.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MATTHEW EDWARD MURPHY, DANIEL JOSEPH HAGGIS, TORD OEVERLAND KNUDSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@izadoraxavier4884
LYRICS:
I had no cares in the 1990's
I knew of no downfalls
The war was breaking out all around me
My concerns were with prank calls
She kissed me on the cheek
She kissed me on the cheek
Right in front of the older kids
When my self-belief, my self belief
Wasn't scarred by the modern itch
'cause now it feels like
We kissed with one eye on our TV set
And the more I give, the less I get
Using fairground rides just to spark her smile
This little hit to miss, bring back 1996, bring back 1996
So hard to beat those teenage kicks, bring back 1996
We were cloning sheep in the 1990's
We were building telescopes
And sugar filled the whole of my body
As I edged it all to grow
I kissed her on the cheek
I kissed her on the cheek
Just to impress the older kids
But my self-belief, my self-belief
Wasn't lost in the modern glitch
'cause now it feels like
We kissed with one eye on our TV set
And the more I give, the less I get
Using fairground rides just to spark her smile
This little hit to miss, bring back 1996, bring back 1996
Stop talking, stop talking
I need a lover not a friend tonight
I'm leaving, I'm leaving
I'm not cut out for the modern life
I'll never beat those teenage kicks
I'll never beat those teenage kicks
I'll never beat those teenage kicks
Bring back 1996
@joe-dd8zz
This gives me nostalgia for something that never happened to me
@royfermon7498
Holyyy shit I can belive that bro. I fucking thought the same thing and I just sent some girl here to check the song out and tell me if its the same for her. And u r the top comment
@IMightSay
Shame. Euro ‘96, Oasis, N64. Man, I was only nine in 1996, but what a year.
@davidrobledojuarez7863
Exactly
@btvbrndn
There’s a word for it: anemoia
@gunnerarellano7157
1996 south side of Omaha Nebraska this shit really happen to me
@Moalalala
I miss 1996 as well. Not existing was great
@Partially_Noided
+Reckoner Same
@benji_kay
lol too true
@ImNellieDude
samee