I got Portishead's third album, enthusiastically entitled "Third". "Dummy", their incredible first album, was only expected to sell 10,000 copies, but many people credit it for starting a musical movement of sorts. Their self-titled second album was such a disappointment that I was afraid to try this one. I have only gotten through a few songs, but the sound is very rich and sad.
The music is mournful, resonating deep, rich sound. The singer's voice sounds almost strained and full of quiet desperation, the voice of someone who has been abused. This is the music you listen to while the shower masks your tears as you try to wash away horrible regrets. I had the distinct impression that this is what heroin addiction sounds like. It has a feeling of slow ecstasy mixed with sadness and regret. It is curling up snug on the couch with a precious bag of heroin, which was your reward for performing sex acts in front of coked-up business men a la "Requiem for a Dream".
It takes a amazing band to make someone, who has never done heroin, think that. Perhaps that wasn't their intention. I thought that may be the case until I heard the song, "the Rip":
"Wild, white horses
They will take me away
And the tenderness I feel
Will send the dark underneath
Will I follow?"
It's a very simple song that ends in a slow Philip Glass-esque electronic orgasm. Have a listen. The video is OK, I suggest just listening and not watching:
I've loved Portishead for ages now. This song has an interesting sound, less techno than their other music. Is the whole album like that? I'm in love with her voice so I like any song she sings in.
ReplyDeleteYoure right, I think the music is better if you don't watch the youtube video it comes along with.
Beautiful song, I'll have to check them out. That video was pretty creepy, I tried not to watch it but it kept pulling me in.
ReplyDeleteNo, the rest of the album has a thicker sound, but it is excellent. There is no more techno like in their first two.
ReplyDeleteHere is another song from "Third", called "Machine Gun". I don't like it as much as some other songs, but it is their next "hit" off the album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKm-OkHj-VM
I don't like that kind of animation either ... it reminds me of the worst parts of the 1970s. But there was something compelling in how horrible it was, like something half-remembered. Gave me shivers.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly has a dream-like quality with the over-all amber color. I do like the falling people. I can see how it can give you shivers.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool... a little darker than I was expecting but still cool. Portishead are ahead of their time.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly has a dream-like quality with the over-all amber color. I do like the falling people. I can see how it can give you shivers.
ReplyDeleteI don't like that kind of animation either ... it reminds me of the worst parts of the 1970s. But there was something compelling in how horrible it was, like something half-remembered. Gave me shivers.
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