Public Image: Careering

[Nightmike1989]

Little better than the album version actually, that's one epileptic synthesizer alright, it begins to have a mind of it's own thru this song.

[0missmannequin0]

one of the best videos on jewtube

[MrSdfsfad]

i love the synthesizer

[zatomic2]

30 years ago he tried to warn us about what the F@@k is going to happen.

Is this living? we ve been careering.....and now both sides of the river there is goldm@n Sucks (bacteria)

greetings from already dead greeks

[daveedine]

@zatomic2 i definitely agree with you .Cheers!

[zionic144nz]

Jah Wobble!!

[jeffrecordman1958]

Fucking Bloody Awesome. Love It.

[madberlin]

best track ever written. thanks wobble, levine & lydon

[cookie5455]

sexy bass playing.

[MrShuggieTodd]

Best version of Careering I have ever come cross. The glitches from Levene's synthesizer are just mind-blowing !! Great post.

[rriffrraff]

fokkin great

[darioargento21]

prophet 5 :)

[SteveResin]

Seminal moment in music

[PostPunkFan]

Also, Keith Levene was the bollocks. Look at him just tapping that synthesizer like a G!

[PostPunkFan]

John Lydon is an underrated songwriter.

[PostPunkFan]

Awesome stuff. Man, think about the era when this came out. People were listening to bullshit like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. They came hard with this shit.

[gsixtysix]

@PostPunkFan

back in the sex Pistols days, Lydon used to parade down town London with a "I hate Pink floyd" shirt

total nutcutter attitude

Notice today how many bands do covers of songs from seventies and eighties? 25 years of business facsism and a militant , jail like school system has rendered creativitiy nonexistant.

.it's illegal to be weird

[PostPunkFan]

@gsixtysix Totally. And bands these days kiss the asses of the press. Look at old PiL/Sex Pistols interviews. They didn't put up with any interviewer's bullshit. And you're spot on about "militant, jail like school system." It's all about "no child left behind" programs which amount to standardized tests. The results of standardized testing are standardized children. It's also unbelievable that someone would have the gumption to diss a band like Pink Floyd these days(Jay-Z would be equivalent).

[Nazzz65]

Really remarkable.

[PattyBurgers1151]

I like the vocals, but sadly everthing else irritates me, still better than "echoes" though.

[aphex462]

brilliant!!

[massmouth]

@NeverMindBollox Agreed, pure genius and so intense. Jah Wobbles bass just tops it off. Desert Island disks give me this and nothing else.

[BUCKINUP4487]

Mangled machinery....no one should be there (iraq/afganistan....) very fucking relevant and still profound fucking brilliant.

[pdxphreek]

Jah Wobble is one of the sickest bass guitarist ever.

[rosis10]

puro fracasso orribile

[TheBoyofnothing]

Reeering

[robkola]

As Rod Temperton wrote the songs for Michael Jackson(and he is from Cleethorpes) perhaps there could be a link there . . . .

[robkola]

As Rod Temperton wrote the songs (and he is from Cleethorpes) perhaps there could be a link there . . . .

[JustMeandOnlyMe]

From the album "Second Edition." One of the finest, mind blowing-est, and yes, entertaining albums ever recorded. The bass playing alone is worth the price of admission.

And am I the only one who thought M. Jackson stole the riff for "Billy Jean" from the album's first cut, "Albatross"?

[njomahony]

Nice to see the 'The Rapture' saw fit to totally rip off this tune for its theme song for Misfits...I literally thought it was this I was listening to.

Hope PIL gets some royalties for it!!

[haroldofcardboard]

metal boxes, jah wobble, whaaa, dang, side of london that the tourists never see....

[cellojordan]

I like this version way more than the one on Metal Box. Just my opinion, though.

[zionic144nz]

Jah Wobble's bassline could cause earthquakes and that synthesizer could summon ufo's.

[spongebobbignob]

Brilliant ! I bought Metal Box when it was released. Loved it then and still love it today. It`s in my spare room now and going quite rusty - un-played due to the digital era. But Lydon is Marmite. You either love him or hate him. Love or hate though ... I don`t think anyone could argue the fact that Lydon has been a real innovator. Endlessly pushing the boundaries of music and creating new ideas and sounds - albeit in sometimes a crass and unorthodox manner. But this is what i love!

[fuckamericanidiot]

@spongebobbignob i love that it's gone rusty

[bbr620]

class..

[donkeyheads]

I remember buying "Second Edition" on vinyl back in college,maybe 1983. This song was an aural nightmare. Try to convince a 20-year old to listen to this now and they'd shriek. 1983 was such a different time. Kids today have no idea how ghastly the mainstream pop music was at that time. Wait a minute, yes they do, they're listening to the same shite now, but rap has taken the place of off-the-wall. The late 70s and early 80s were such a special time for musical evolution.

[iFriendChannel]

@donkeyheads im 15. please dont judge teenagers through the cracks of your curtains.

[UltimateVenom]

@donkeyheads i also got into pil in my teens, about 3 years ago. so shut up with that shite, people listened to crap back int day too. granted, there's more shite at the moment but that's not just what kids listen to, i can't step out onto the street without overhearing some shit, usually coming from 30 year olds cars.

[arsenalkid47]

@donkeyheads im 13 and i love this........

[clashboy1977]

@donkeyheads i'm 20 and i've been listening to these for 6/7 years dickwad!

[MicroMurderMachine]

@donkeyheads I'm 20 now, but 18 when I first listened to this and the more I listen, the more I feel completely in love with it. The best thing is that nobody had to convence me to do it!

[Person1036]

@MicroMurderMachine Same, although, I'm 14.

[FrauHexenhaar]

I remember listening to this at the age of 12, It blew my feckin mind back then... Still does :-)

[kickfostermac]

The walls are melting type of nights

[rhythmcorp]

PIL flaved with a bit of butter. Excellent!

[slisenberger]

remind me what part of this I couldn't duplicate by banging on a synthesizer?

[guthywoodry]

@slisenberger

OK, mate, plug in your synthesizer & do it !

-Then upload to YouTube.

We'll all be eagerly waiting !

[fruitbatrepublic]

@slisenberger the drums and the singing and the guitar and the bass guitar and the pure unadulterated talent.

[guthywoodry]

A long time ago, in a parallel universe, Jah Wobble wasn't a bass player, but a guard on the London Underground Bakerloo Line. The rest of mankind were his passengers, not audience.

Hard to believe -I know, but its true.

[electricrussell]

What about Keith Levene?

Lydon: No, Keith is a terminal personality. Far too hard to deal with, far too inconsistent. Far too negative. And really, just basically spiteful. Which is a shame. Too many self-indulgences, you see, in his life have led him astray.

[electricrussell]

Lydon on reforming the original PiL: there was some possibility in the very early stages, but Wobble’s really off in his own world. He has his own solo image thing going, and he would have been, for us, too financially demanding. We can’t afford the money that he expects to be paid, which is very unfortunate for him. I’m still paying through the nose, am I? Thanks, Wobble. Launched your career from nobody to something, and you come in with that demand? Well, goodbye. So much for gratitude.

[beccaLol0800]

Got this on ogwt dvd. Jawdropping music, bass s u b l i m e

[britdude1961]

i took all this for granted at the time

[VenusVega]

Such brilliant young young geniuses....Jah Wobble's bass is unsurpassed.

[nORTHAMERANUNION]

PIL

[chuckieman1]

@KAX61-This wasn't a gig, It was 2 songs recorded for the BBC

[kax61]

BBC should release this entire gig on DVD

[leftnutnamedchancey]

I love this live!!

[TheInaneAtheist]

This is sorta a precursor to today's techno stuff.

[GabrielsNob]

An invocation of the then 'Troubles' that beset Northern Ireland.

[luluc1]

jah wobble what a guy

[captainkundalini1]

I remember watching this first time out. Great to revisit. No one has come near to harnessing chaos since. We stupidly thought that this was a template for how music would develop. Shame on us for allowing corporate mentality to dictate what now passes for adventurous music. We are no longer involved in the process. John and Frank where are you they can't hear you...you have been airbrushed out of our consciousness. By people like Simon Cowell who exist only to bury us under a mass of cack.

[MatthewOfLondon]

@captainkundalini1 I couldn't have said that more eloquently - you nailed it

[cookie5455]

@captainkundalini1 what about mr. bungle?

[mobilization23]

Still inspiring!!

[splitenzfreak1980]

Is Jah Wobble the reincarnation of some amazing Studio One bass player or something? How does he come up with those subterranean rumblings?

[growler8877]

Fucking mind blowing.

[louxien]

...I had a bad opinion of PIL, but after seeing this, I changed my mind. It 's an incredible sound track, alienating, murderous, fabulous!

[splitenzfreak1980]

Murderous alright...it could be the soundtrack to a night of Clockwork Orange inspired violence.

[westam42]

still got it on video

Annies comments sum it up

shame they cut out a "argh it was great" shout from Mr Lydon at the end

quality!!

[watches777]

I need to watch this 10 more times.

[zakindahouse5]

i think this is better than the album version, those manic keyboard sounds are amazin, never heard anything like it, this sounds like dubstep nearly 30 years early

[wordupassholes]

wow... epic

[TheSteviecaldwell]

Cant wait until the 16th :)

[grey2199]

That's sound!

[MsBabster]

FUCKIN SUPERB,,saw em in 1980,1988,1990 this is still the most haunting song ever...and see em 16th dec 09 leeds...cant wait ...this makes you fucking move

[funnyvidman01]

What happened to Johnny? He used to be badass and a teen icon. Fuck...another childhood idol, dead...

[DrunkenPostie]

I remember them doing this on OGWT and found it galvanising; then they fucked it.

20 years later, it still moves me. Nobody came near to that stuff for years!

[NewYorkCanWait]

I'd like to point out it's closer to 30 years not 20 years, cheers.

[ANGRYEEL]

This is PIL in full glory. Wow, this is epic!

[twistedspanner]

Bollocks was Levene a spent force as a guitarist, Never heard anybody play guitar or synth like that before or ever since. I remember this on OGWT pick of the year 1980. Fantastic!!!

[BLITZKRIEG66688]

john was the pistols john is pil the driving force the hate the sneer the revulsion lydon is a god

[wcleighty]

I'm writing an essay about the overtones of legend and mythology that runs through the whole of the Metal Box album. This one in particular reminds me of the "River" cocytus, as well as "No Birds", perhaps. And the radioactivity factor on this video is a nice touch, too.

[affectionatepunch]

To be honest i wouldnt go and see the pistols on tour ( for obvious reasons) not now. But goin to see p.i.l. for me is different, I know with no levine or wobble it wont be the same but if i come away pissed after hearin careering and poptones i will be a very happy man. Oh an do us all a favour MsBabster dont ask people a question and then answer it for everybody its so fuckin annoyin!

[MsBabster]

No Levine or Wobble for the tour!!...would you pay to see the pistols without jones/cook/matlock..no never would i!!...john boy you are not PIL by yourself...do it right or dont do it at all

[dagge81]

Don´t get me wrong, I love PIL, but what´s the obsession with people allways babling on about Metalbox? It´s allright, but I like the "new" songs aswell. I mean Album, with song as Round, Home, Rise or the unapreciated songs on Happy? Open and revolving for example. The album 9 and that what is not are also great! I can handle hearing one or two songs from the old PIL area, but I don´t want the reunion shows to be a big sound experiment. Cheers

[affectionatepunch]

Ordered my tickets for p.i.l. gig in manchester uni on the 19 dec with this mornings pre-sale woo hoo!

[gunneretic]

As far as I know Levene is not part of it, nor is Wobble, which is a shame.

[Psychobel]

I thought that Levene wasnt playing. I'll be going whatever.

[Guevaristas]

PiL at their finest

[kingofpunk1977]

I will hand it to Lydon from 1976-to 1982 his music was excellent.

[electricrussell]

Yeah I agree. From the time he joined the Pistols to the time Keith Levine left PIL, Lydon was one of the most important and influential figures in British music.

Since then it's been Johnny and his various backing bands.

[electricrussell]

@kingofpunk1977 You mean from the time he joined the Pistols to the time Levene left PIL? Yeah that would be about right.

[sashonska]

But someone tell me -- what tv show is this? and who is that woman in the end?

[donlincoln2]

It's the Old Grey Whistle Test. You can see the name of the show on the wall behind them. I don't know who the woman is.

[roddy76to86]

Annie Nightingale. She was usually a DJ, but presented this show for a while.

[jdupnrth]

Bewst

best

+

[unclebeasley]

This may have been mentioned, already - The song's about Northern Ireland.

[borgorusky]

Been listening to this since it was out...still can't get over it..it's massive all ways round...giant stuff!!

[thedivys]

Got turned onto this song on the Henry Rollins radio show and love it! the music industry really is the enemy of the music. These guys are great!

[jaggynettle70]

Possibly my favourite song of all time.I wish Lydon would re-form that line up and tour METAL BOX.

[neantibi]

even if that happened, it wouldn't feel right to see them in their 50s playing the early pil stuff. If only there was a time machine, you could warp back to the early 80s and go to so many post-punk gigs...sigh.

[Thakmere]

true, but everybody's doing it now. burma reunited and i've seen them like over 9000 times already and its still fun (altho im only 17, w/e)... so they should reunite,, and yes it would be sad and fucking pathetic (like zeppelin and floyd and whoever else getting back together), but who gives a shit... atleast it wouldn't draw that gay croud that the huge reunion zeppelin concerts draw (ming you, i love zeppelin, but you know what i mean??)....

ferst 2 albums + album = greatest concert ever..

[Thakmere]

this was @neantibi

also:

mind*

[GriefTourist]

they are playing (with levine) in the uk in december in several cities apparently

[ravinella]

A unique song and album. Unlikely to ever happen again - a mainstream superstar (which Lydon had become by then whether you loved him or not) and a group of London underclass mates making the sort of challenging and serious art the univ boys of today's manufactured "serious" rock acts can only dream of. Truly unique music - nothing before or since compares in terms of mainstream rock/pop - sadly it wont happen again as long as we live in the Simon Cowell era! Mushrooms on the horizon? Please.

[roblemon67]

Nice comment , full agreement!!

[Rawlinson18]

Thanks england my old china.

[Fender1976uk]

People who hate this music are the morons that live in a small bubble! and think everything is sunny skys and Celine Dion! being creative is all mickey mouse to them! I find it amusing how narrowed minded people think John is all about pissing off people for no good reason?? guess you guys can't think for yourselves! let the media tell you what to do :) LOL

[slisenberger]

I think it's kind of close minded to generalize all people who appreciate music for its aesthetic beauty as brainwashed by the media. You can't deny that this music has little, if any, musical quality to it. It is yelling, a firm backbeat, and dissonant random playing on a keyboard, bass, and saxophone. The musical qualities of this song are so limited that it could make perfect sense that a person wouldn't find musical beauty in it. As a cultural statement, this is big. As music? not as much

[Reint25]

I like music when it moves me. I'm not interested in theoretical knoledge or musicality, it's about emotions. So for me, this is fantastic.

[Reint25]

I mean, the groove in this song is fucking sexy and cool.

[Fender1976uk]

Some people here are talking bollocks :) your views are no important :) what is important is that you get guys like PIL who made music without wanting to be some moron sheep clone of a pop act that will be on the front of teen magazines! selling out to the people that sit in their corners and stick to what their use to! I love bands that push the barriers! and dont care what others think! I think some people get confused! its not all about grabbing fame!

[Redefine01]

CAN wannabe's I think not.

This was some pretty influential music.

AddNTX was birthed out of this song.

[PAULLONDEN]

If it had'nt been for that one decent tune

"Public Image" ,their first album

would've sold nada.

That'll do☺☺☺☺☺

5;00 you're easely impressed girly ☺☺

Understandeble though....Lydon still

carried some charisma punch./

But.....Lydon aside,this was just 3rd rate CAN wannabees.

[Rawlinson18]

There is nothing like PIL.

[blossompossum]

If anyone still wants to know, this is what the woman (Annie Nightingale) said at the end:

"This is the most powerful performance I've ever seen on the Whistle Test."

[MCKRUSH]

The anti- "Girls on Film."

Metal Box: a desert island disc(s) to be sure.

[MDKUN]

Ha that lady at the end of the video.

[LessAiredvanU]

Fuck the Sad Pissers, get this lot back together again.... Maaaaaaaaaaaaan!

[ProperChap]

I bought this years ago as a double vinyl.Sitting here with head phones full blast it sounds just as good.

[congotronics]

SOUND

[Abortive]

why isn't music this original?

[pleasureavalanche]

it is

[terrasidius]

wow, awesome

[nIndianerin]

This is just amazing.

[GlobalPunditOrg]

this band / line up broke so much ground. amazing.

[z91tora]

Jeeez, since when does Billie Joe's opinion count? :D It's not rebellious to respect the Pistols; unfortunately, they start to become some kinda classics, like ACDC or Pink Floyd, and it really is not their fault.

But I dont understand how can somebody who truly understands the Pistols call PIL crap...

[wall875]

PIL was John Lydon's anti-Pistols rebound. In my humble opinion PIL was the preeminent post-punk band of all time. They skirt the lofty clouds of genius, and for me, at that time, lamenting the demise of the Pistols as I did, and to hear Lydon regaining the arena, was pure bliss. I have zero respect for this Billie Joe of Green Day. Their music is more plastic and packaged than Miller Lite beer.

[z91tora]

I agree. They were the "anti-Pistols", but at the same time I think they had the same massage, The New, The Fresh - but in a more subtle way. And the whole Green Day-gang pay their bills from manipulating confused teenagers. It's a shame really but he induces respect in the average teen of today, so if he slags off PiL, they will agree with him..(cont)

[z91tora]

..(cont) and I know my generation (I'm 15 actually), I don't know anybody who listens to PiL. This kind of music in general is too much for them (us :S). And it's fucking depressing. They are very happy with pop music. If the youth won't change anything, who will? god I hate my generation so much..

[Cureheadlany]

If The humans don't do antyhing,Certain people (example:me&you) will do...:) But...It's "sovány vigasz" ,I know.

:)

[oliviaisgod]

your not alone.i'm 15 too and i love PiL and the like.shame i know no one else my age that does.=[

[steinber]

if you like pil and you're fifteen then you're too smart for your own good!

[oliviaisgod]

lol aw :D thanks.

adults are always saying a have the taste of a uni student ,not just music wise.makes me wonder if when i go to uni it will flip backwards and i will be listen to ,god forbid,fall out boy :O.

[princeomega1]

naaah, i was like that at 15 and now that im a uni student i've gone even further down that route man. and it just keeps gettin better, there is so much amazin' music out there, you just have to sift through a load of crap first XD anyway nice one 4 listening 2 PiL :)

[MisfioPeton]

dont be stupid u listen to PIL because Johnny Rotten sings.

[idealtypical]

hey, oliviaisgod: 15-year-olds like you give hope to the future of music & pop-culture. the world's in the doldrums in 2009: there's just objectively speaking nothing as good as PiL happening right now (not even close!) -- the kind of music that strives to speak the truth, that reminds us that we're human beings & deserve better than the mediocre product they're trying to sell us. it's a matter of time: cool music will return. & it'll be because smart kids like you helped keep the flame alive!

[EvilBerrie]

There is a lot of music just like that, stop telling yourself you're so great for listening to PIL and start looking for it.

[idealtypical]

Evil Berrie, I can see how my comment could be interpreted as a curmudgeonly dig against younger artists. For the record, that's NOT what I meant. I listen to all sorts of great stuff just as you probably do. I didn't mean that there's no good music: there's TONS of it.

My point was about quote-unquote pop culture: stuff that touches large masses of people & gets noticed, even if it's misunderstood. Right now lots of good stuff is relegated to 'niche' audiences or self-centered Web-zines.

[idealtypical]

My comment was more about how ambitious PiL was when it was making this extraordinary music, not ambitious to be 'pop stars', but ambitious creatively. To really think big & to not give a fuck & not be afraid to take chances & fail . I want to turn Saturday Night Live (or whatever) some day & see something this fucking good. I'll admit, it happens from time to time. But I feel like one of these years, something - not necessarily in music - is gonna explode & transform lives for the better.

[juankenon]

it can't because the industry is, and proabably always was, geared to bubble gum crap. People want escapism. Thw Bee Gees sold a gazillion more albums than these guys ever had the hope of doing.

The one thing I look forward to with the looming crisis is an end to this Bling Bling garbage we are constantly bombarded with and maybe a new cultural revolution will occur.

Let there be harsh music for harsh times

[JokersAce0]

I discovered Public Image right before I turned 16.

[luzhizui]

Fuck radio-head. Boring 2nd rate half-baked rehashed prog-rock. Dull, dull, dull!!!!! Piss off!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bilgemonkey74]

Radiohead blows soooooooo fuckin' bad it hurts! Fucking shitty band.

[nicck]

Radio-head is overrated, but it's not complete shit...it's listenable. I have grown to hate joy division though...

You should probably listen to The wake or New order...Brighten it up a bit :|

[VincibleDionysius]

At one Green Day interview, Billie Joe claimed he revered Sex Pistols but referred to PiL as crap... but ever since I listened to the Metalbox album - screw with what BJ said. PiL may sound different from Pistols but they still kick butt - it's all abt testing the system...

[rollagasper]

Wow, Billie Joe is stupid.

[snowgod37]

it's all about Mr. Wobble..

[electricrussell]

Best song ever written about the Northern Ireland Troubles:A face is raining/Across the border/The pride of history/The same as murder/The steady hand as planned/Behind the reasoning/No claim for property/Both sides of the river/There is bacteria/No one should be there/Blown into breeze/Scatter concrete/The jagged metal bad life/There must be meaning/Behind the moaning/Spreading tales/Like coffin nails/I need to hide/Trigger machinery/Across the border/Armoured machinery mangled

[mzfiguer]

Fucking awesome.

[china027]

wow what memories! i got on stage with PIL, at the Palatium in NYC, and sang with them to this song, and pop tones. what a great nite that was. wow i was 16 and had my 15 minutes of fame, lol.

[robertwienerrocks]

Congratulations, I MUST get that bootleg. I'm sure it's stellar...

[robertwienerrocks]

How did Wobble's weenie taste afterwards?

[china027]

Never had to suck any weenie to get on stage or back stage. I have now replied to a weenie, that is a first...My picture did make Creem magazine, with PIL, now that is history and stellar,LOL!!!

[china027]

The point is this song is awesome and it brings back a great nite of memories to me.

[Rwingr9]

a really great performance, comes at a time, people didn't know what lydon levine would be up to when they took the darker, psychelicish techno route

[track8fodderstompf]

1 problem... theres no bass with the video..

thanks for uploading though

[track8fodderstompf]

WHat??? why are you giving me thumbs down?

Im only saying youtube's stripped the bass off the video.

[Guevaristas]

flowers of romance, looikng back im not sure what to think of it, yea amazing beats,but lacks the energy of metal box

[ExMachine]

No, it's brilliant, just different.

[track8fodderstompf]

tosser