THE THE

Pornography of Despair (Part Two)

As promised, here’s the rest of what may have been The The’s Pornography of Despair.

For a good chunk of an interview with Matt talking about Pornography, go to this wiki.


01 The The - “The Nature of Virtue”
02 The The - “Leap Into the Wind”
03 The The - “Dumb as Death’s Head”
04 The The - “Mental Healing Process (For a Mixed Up Kid)”
05 The The - “Absolute Liberation”
06 The The - “Uncertain Smile” This is an early version, released under the title “Cold Spell Ahead”.
07 The The - “Perfect” Released as a non-album single. A different version was also issued on some versions of Soul Mining.
08 The The - “Three Orange Kisses from Kazan” B-side of “Uncertain Smile” single.
09 The The - “Waiting for the Upturn” B-side of “Uncertain Smile” 12” single.
10 The The - “Fruit of the Heart” B-side of “Heartland” 12” single.
11 The The - “Soup of Mixed Emotion” Released on a limited edition 12” with the first copies of Soul Mining.
Bonus track The The - “Untitled”
Bonus track The The - “The Sinking Feeling” B-side of “Infected” 12” single. A different version is on Soul Mining.

There. That’s all. Now go and buy some of these:

See Without Being Seen, 1978 (unreleased)
Spirits, 1979 (unreleased)
Burning Blue Soul, 1981 (buy)
Pornography of Despair, 1982 (unreleased)
Soul Mining, 1983 (buy)
Infected, 1986 (buy)
Mind Bomb, 1989 (buy)
Dusk, 1993 (buy)
Hanky Panky, 1995 (buy) (Hank Williams, Sr. covers)
Gun Sluts, 1998 (unreleased)
Naked Self, 2000 (buy)
Silent Tongue, 2002 (unreleased)

The The's new single, "Mrs. Mac", is only available as a download through the official website (www.thethe.com)

THE THE

Pornography of Despair (Part One)

Matt Johnson is The The. Occasionally with a few other blokes as well, but for the most part they’re just him.

For those who are familiar with The The, you’re already aware that they have several legendarily unreleased albums. Spirits, Gun Sluts, See Without Being Seen, Silent Tongue, and the one I’m dealing with today, Pornography of Despair.

Pornography of Despair was recorded and meant for release in 1982, but was withdrawn prior to any copies being made. Some of the ideas were later used on the follow up album, Soul Mining, and quite a few of the songs did make it out as b-sides for subsequent singles.

Though no one is entirely sure what the song order was intended to be, there are several songs that Matt has stated were to have been on the album. A couple of different unofficial track lists have popped up over the years. For the purpose of this blog, I’m using the one I’ve found that most closely resembles what Matt has officially listed.

01 The The - “The Nature of Virtue” B-side of the “Perfect” single.
02 The The - “Leap Into the Wind” B-side of “This Is the Day” 12”.
03 The The - “Dumb as Death’s Head” Released as a flexi-disc in an issue of Melody Maker.
04 The The - “Mental Healing Process (For a Mixed Up Kid)” B-side of “This Is the Day” single.
05 The The - “Absolute Liberation” B-side of “This Is the Day” 12”.
06 The The - “Uncertain Smile”
07 The The - “Perfect”
08 The The - “Three Orange Kisses from Kazan”
09 The The - “Waiting for the Upturn”
10 The The - “Fruit of the Heart”
11 The The - “Soup of Mixed Emotion”
Bonus track The The - “Untitled” Recorded just prior to Pornography. This was released on a Some Bizarre compilation.
Bonus track The The - “The Sinking Feeling”

Next time round, I’ll post the second half, and the other bonus track. Until then go and buy some of these:

See Without Being Seen, 1978 (unreleased)
Spirits, 1979 (unreleased)
Burning Blue Soul, 1981 (buy)
Pornography of Despair, 1982 (unreleased)
Soul Mining, 1983 (buy)
Infected, 1986 (buy)
Mind Bomb, 1989 (buy)
Dusk, 1993 (buy)
Hanky Panky, 1995 (buy) (Hank Williams, Sr. covers)
Gun Sluts, 1998 (unreleased)
Naked Self, 2000 (buy)
Silent Tongue, 2002 (unreleased)

The The recently released a new song, "Mrs. Mac" which is said to be from an unnamed album, due out this year.