Transplanted from the Now Playing item..... #318 of 323: by Gratuitous Saxon Violins (orinoco) on Wed, Nov 10, 1999 (19:12): Lamb, "Fear of Fours" - one of the more original trip-hop groups I've heard. The title apparently comes from their reluctance to write straight 4/4 beats. #319 of 323: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Wed, Nov 10, 1999 (20:27): hmmm.. any good? I've been pretty frustrated in my efforts to locate good trip-hop.. #321 of 323: by Gratuitous Saxon Violins (orinoco) on Wed, Nov 10, 1999 (22:25): Well, I like them, but I like a lot of trip-hop. I can send you a tape if you want. #323 of 323: by Mike McNally (mcnally) on Wed, Nov 10, 1999 (22:45): re #321: I appreciate the offer but I almost never listen to tapes any more, I only have one device left which plays them and don't use it much.. (In fact, I should give away the bunch of tapes I recently found packed away in a box in the closet.) I'd be interested in hearing about other trip-hop bands you like. Why don't you enter a new item? I'm wild about Massive Attack, less-so about Portishead (though I quite liked their debut album) but aside from them, other than a few isolated tracks I haven't had much luck finding other stuff of that quality -- most of my trip-hop impulse-buys have been severe disappointments..9 responses total.
Part of the problem is, I have no idea what makes something trip-hop or not. If I hear a band called that, I keep using the name until someone corrects me is all.... Lamb is more along the lines of Portishead than of Tricky, to answer your original question. (I've never actually heard any Massive Attack; I'd assume they're somewhat like Tricky's solo work, but I'd probably be wrong). The beats are less dull than Portishead's, in my opinion, but the singer doesn't have nearly as good a voice as Portishead's singer. Actually, it's a little embarrassing to be the one entering this item, since I know next to nothing about this sort of music. Someone else's turn to talk.
OK, here's my take on "trip-hop", which I agree is an exceedingly
ill-defined genre..
Listening to the first Massive Attack album ("Blue Lines") or any
of Tricky's albums, it's still possible to see the relationship to
hip-hop suggested by the genre name. Several raps or pseudo-raps
show up on "Blue Lines" or "Maxinquaye" and "Blue Lines", particularly,
shows a strong R&B influence.
At the same time, one can guess the relationship between Massive
Attack or Tricky and bands like Portishead via the smoky female vocals
that show up on many tracks and the distinctive manipulation of sampled
beats. If you started out by looking at Portishead, however, in my
opinion you'd understand why "trip" but be completely baffled by "hop",
it's a big, big step from "Portishead" to "Public Enemy."
I was hoping you'd have some hints on more bands or be able to provide
a line on the good stuff -- I know it's out there, but I've been put off
after buying several really mediocre records that were high-profile for
trip-hop and the couple of samplers I've tried have only succeeded in
convincing me *not* to buy any albums. To confuse matters further, the
samplers all seem to throw in tracks by bands like the Chemical Brothers,
which even I can tell are not trip-hop (and which in many cases are barely
music -- I can stand the Chemical Brothers: occasionally they get a good
groove going, and I'm sure they'd be fun on the dance floor but when
listening to an album of their stuff at home, I alternate between
"When is this track going to end? and "Didn't I just hear this song?"
anyway, I really digress -- item drict has struck me mid-response!)
For the record, here're some of the putative trip-hop records I've
tried and my reactions to them:
Massive Attack -- "Blue Lines", "Protection", "Mezzanine"
Top of the heap. Doesn't sound much like solo Tricky, if
that's what you're worried about -- he's a frequent guest
but not a core member of the band.
Portishead -- "Dummy", "Portishead"
I really liked "Dummy" but "Portishead" (the album) didn't
thrill me. On the face of it, all the same elements are there,
but they just don't fall into place the same way.
Tricky -- "Maxinquaye"
Don't believe the hype. From the buzz this album got you'd
have thought it was the second coming. I found it mostly
annoying, with a few good tracks.
Ruby -- "Salt Peter"
Bought this one used on a friend's recommendation. I have
since figured out why it was in a used record store, but not
why it was recommended.
Sneaker Pimps -- "Becoming X"
Purchased on the hope that the hit single "Six Underground"
would be the weakest song on the album, as is not uncommon
for radio singles. Sadly, that was as good as it got and
the rest was substantially lamer.
Red Snapper -- <anything>
As far as I can tell, this band exists because there has to be
*someone* to contribute the most annoying Portishead rip-off
to any trip-hop collection. If only they ripped off the good parts..
Morcheeba -- "Big Calm", "Who Can You Trust?", "Beats and B-Sides"
Not classic, by any means, but good enough to stand repeated
listenings. Skye Edwards' smooth vocals make this good background
music and I like most of the music but overly trite lyrics ultimately
annoy me if I listen too closely. "Big Calm" is more polished and
consistent than the other two, but they both have their moments..
I'm now listening to Marty Grebb, "Smooth Sailin'"
that's nice.. how does Mr. Grebb feel about trip-hop?
Okay An Excelent "Trip-hop" band Head-Pe Check them out!!!
Dan: IMO Massive Attack, while carrying similar sounds to Tricky's work, isn't solely sounding of him. (I believe Tricky wa sinvolved with MA at one time, yes?) Danny (sekari) got me hooked on a group called Mandalay just recently. Do yourself a favor and check them out. Other groups I would add to the list of Trip Hop musicians are Hooverphonic and Thievery Corporation.
Yes, Tricky was involved with Massive Attack. In fact, I don't know if they survived his leaving -- I've only heard music of theirs that he appears on. (Of course, if I've just listened to the Massive Attack tunes that Tricky's on, I'm more likely to think they sound like him. Go figure.)
The core members of Massive Attack are Robert "3-D" del Naja, Grant "Daddy G." Marshall, and Adrian "Mushroom" Vowles. Many of their songs feature guest vocals. Some of their collaborations are one-shot pairings with a particular vocalist. Others, like their work with Tricky or with reggae artist Horace Andy, were more ongoing things.. The Tricky presence on their final album to date (which looks like it's probably going to be their final album, if rumors of their breakup are correct) is pretty minimal.
Ah. I stand corrected then. Thanks Mike.
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