The band’s key member is guitarist/singer/composer Kevin Shields, a reclusive perfectionist and radically inventive guitarist/engineer. The band’s other original member is drummer/studio maven Colm Ó Cíosóig; during their heyday MBV also included singer-guitarist Bilinda Butcher and bassist Debbie Googe. Their band shares its name with a low-budget Canadian slasher film.
MBV influences include The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, late-1970s Wire, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and independent artists such as The Pastels. Kevin Shields has also named The Beach Boys and The Ramones as a personal influence.
After leaving Creation Records in 1992 and signing with Island Records, the band fell into a creative black hole. Rumors spread among their fans of albums being recorded and then shelved. Debbie Googe left the band to form Snowpony; she had not played bass on their recordings since You Made Me Realise. Colm Ó Cíosóig eventually left and formed a band with Hope Sandoval, formerly of Mazzy Star, called Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions. Kevin Shields sporadically collaborated with other artists, most notably Experimental Audio Research, Curve, and Primal Scream. He revealed in a fall 2003 National Public Radio interview that Island Records quit financing his My Bloody Valentine endeavors after he spent half a million pounds of their money.
As of 2006, many rumors mentioned the possible reformation of MBV for a new studio album, but none of these were true. On November 15 2007, My Bloody Valentine announced three upcoming live gigs in the UK for 2008. On June 13 and 14, the band played in public for the first time in thirteen years, offering a pair of "Live Rehearsal" presentations at the ICA in London and officially starting their series of comeback performances. The band went on to play a slew of festivals in Summer and Fall of 2008. Following their appearance at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties festival, the New York Times reported that Shields was planning to complete the unfinished album.
On 2 February 2013 they self-released the self-titled album m b v as a download with both vinyl and CD copies shipping on 22nd Feb 2013. The Huffington Post reported that it caused such a public stir that the official MBV website crashed when fans attempted to access the site to purchase a copy.
Off Your Face
my bloody valentine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pretend that I
Adore you
Hate
What do you take me
For you
Cry-baby
Shame
You're in love
With the game
Swallow the pain
Nothing else will remain
Hate
What I will do is
Scar you
Hate
Don't say I didn't
Warn you
Cry-baby
Shame
You're in love
With the game
Riding away
And then
Care-free again
The lyrics to My Bloody Valentine's song "Off Your Face" seem to express deep, twisted emotions of love and hate. The first two lines of the song are a paradoxical expression of these emotions - one moment, the singer is expressing hate towards someone, and in the next moment, they are pretending to adore them. The tone of the verse is menacing, as if the singer is enjoying their power over the object of their affection.
The chorus consists of a repeating refrain, "Cry-baby, shame, you're in love with the game," which seems to suggest that the object of the singer's affection is playing some sort of game, likely one of emotional manipulation. The lines "Swallow the pain, nothing else will remain" could be interpreted as a warning to the object of the singer's desire: they are leading a destructive lifestyle that will eventually consume them entirely.
The second verse continues the theme of hatred, with the singer declaring that what they will do is "scar" their object of affection. The final lines of the song, "Riding away and then care-free again," suggest a sense of capriciousness: the singer does not care about the effect they are having on their object of affection, or the consequences of their actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Hate
Intense dislike towards an object
Pretend that I
Act like I feel a certain way, even if I do not
Adore you
Have a strong feeling of love towards you
What do you take me
What impression do you have of me
For you
In your eyes, according to your perception
Cry-baby
Someone who cries too much and too easily
Shame
A feeling of embarrassment, humiliation or distress
You're in love
You have strong romantic feelings towards someone
With the game
You enjoy playing the game (of love)
Swallow the pain
To endure or suffer through a difficult situation
Nothing else will remain
All other thoughts and feelings will disappear and only the pain remains
What I will do is
My intended action is
Scar you
To cause emotional or physical damage and leave a lasting mark on you
Don't say I didn't
Do not claim that I did not warn you
Warn you
To advise or caution you about something
Riding away
Going away, leaving
And then
At that point, in that moment
Care-free again
To be without worries or concerns, free from troubles
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BILINDA BUTCHER, KEVIN SHIELDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind