The Savage Animal 08.26.09: First Impressions of Portishead
Posted by Mikey MiGo on 08.26.2009
In this week’s edition of The Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo listens to and gives his first impression of the three studio albums of Portishead. Will they leave MiGo seeing tracers or will it just be another bad trip? Click the link to expand your miiiiind!
I spent this past week with an ear ache. It's not a life or death situation, but it's annoying and the pain is very bothersome. I took a lot of naps, took a lot of medication, and as I write this there's only a minor ache remaining in my left ear. That's not the point though. Do you know how hard it is to enjoy music when your ear is sore? The answer is "pretty fucking" as in "pretty fucking hard". None the less, I've survived another week and if you're reading this… so have you! Let's party!
The ear ache heels just in time as this upcoming Saturday I will be attending the VERY LAST Nine Inch Nails show in Chicago. So what if I typed that exact sentence back in May. So what if Trent Reznor tricked me into thinking their NIN/JA tour was their last. So what that I'm in a scary place of debt because of this trickery. I am going to see Nine Inch Nails this upcoming Saturday. If it IS the last, I'm having my doubts now; it'll be my NINTH Nine Inch Nails concert. That's a perfect amount number of NIN shows. This past Sunday in NY, NIN performed all fourteen tracks of "The Downward Spiral" in order. I despise the word "epic", but that's extremely epic. I'm crossing my fingers that at the Chicago show on Sunday we get something equally as good. I'm sure I'll enjoy myself, but a setlist that's not the normal fare I've seen the past other eight times would be spiffy. Yeah, "spiffy". Next week expect a full gushing report of the greatest concert ever… until the next one.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF PORTISHEAD
I am so out of this loop that I have nothing clever to say here.
After some ups and downs with the "First Impressions" series, I've had a lot of fun and learned a lot of music I don't normal listen to. If you're new to reading, basically I listen to a bands entire studio discography for the first time. I go with three to five album bands that I've never crossed paths with but have heard good things about from friends, other fans, and critics. For a long time I've heard the name "Portishead", but never had any background on them. It's not as if I shunned them or avoided them, it's just a band that I've never had the chance to listen to and get a real impression of. So this week, I listen to the three studio albums of Portishead.
Let's see how it goes.
Album: "Dummy"
Year: 1994
The 411: It starts with a very trippy sounding "Mysterious" and then kicks in with droning female vocals. It's hard to describe. It's blatantly trip hop, but it has a lot more substance to it than your normal "unh-tiss-drone" trip hop dance club shit. The second track is "Sour Times", a single. I really don't think I've heard this before. For some reason the bass line at the end reminds me of Nine Inch Nails. That's a plus for this listener. "Strangers" kicks off with a bad ass sequence and I find myself nodding a long for the first time. The vocal styling in this had a jazz feel to it. It's pretty unique, but not sure if I like it yet. "It Could Be Sweet" is the best showcase of Beth Gibbon's vocals so far. It's down tempo and has a good flow to it. There's no real change up in the song which dulls the experience to a nice dub mix of an elevator song. So far I can say that "Wandering Star" is my favorite track of this album. It has the best balance. That's until "Numb" hits. "Numb", an obvious single, is the best track of this album. It doesn't full redeem the album for me, but it doesn't make me cringe at the thought of two more albums of this. "Roads" just feels sorta there, but "Pedestal" was a relief. "Pedestal" was another track similar to "Numb" and "Wandering Star" in which it feels balanced. "Glory Box" sounds very familiar. I like it a lot and wish the album I just listened to was more like it. One album in and I'm not a fan of the group. I appreciate the individual qualities I hear, but as a packaged deal it's falling on sour ears.
Album: "Portishead"
Year: 1997
The 411: Hopefully, the sophomore album is better. The opening to "Cowboys" is much more interesting than just about all of "Dummy". The second track, "All Mine" is a single and sounds pretty good. The vocals aren't as jarring as the first album and I could see myself actually enjoying this one. And really, it's much easier to listen to. "Undenied" and "Half Day Closing" follows and are good tracks. I'd even go as far as saying that "Half Day Closing" is better than anything on the first album. "Over" is next, another single that I don't think I've ever heard. It's sorta just there. "Humming" is a pretty good track at just over six minutes. I appreciate the areas where you can get a bigger dose of the music. "Mourning Air" and "Seven Months" blend together, which is normally cool, but in this case it's dull. "Only You" samples The Pharcyde and Ken Thorne making the music really cool. It's not a bad song at all and I really like the break down about four minutes in, but I'll forget about it in ten minutes. "Elysium" is one of the more interesting songs. The vocals are mildly distorted and the music is dead on. I'm pretty surprised it wasn't one of the singles off this album. "Western Eyes" is another pretty good, not great, track and a good closer for the album. The music and vocals actually complement each other here. It makes for an interesting down tempo jazzy-esque song. Overall, I found this album much more listenable than the widely loved debut, "Dummy".
Album: "Third"
Year: 2008
The 411: "Silence" starts with noise. Go figure. I like the build up and am wondering where it's going. It builds oddly enough to a down tempo track where Beth's vocals are complimented the most. Good start. "Hunter" is another good track. The down tempo and melody contrasts works very well here. "Nylon Smile" is really "airy", but doesn't really hook me in at all. "The Rip" has a very calming effect to it at start, but builds up to what almost sounds like a Nintendo game score. Waking up to "We Carry On", the pulsing tempo and music makes it a pretty energetic song. It sorta reminds me of something you'd see in a vampire movie. A few more minutes in, I realize it's like a medieval rave where jesters would be dancing with lit candles instead of glow sticks. "Deep Water" is a short minute and a half track with minimal music and very good vocals by Gibbons. It's enjoyable more than most of what I've listened to today. I'd much prefer her vocals on music like this as opposed to the trip-hop styling. Then in a complete turn in contrast, we go to a very bassy and super produced "Machine Gun". It's a single, but it doesn't stand out much at all until the last couple of minutes that's filled with some crazy instrumentals. Then again, we jump to a down tempo/simplistic song with minimal music and softer vocals in "Small". It's not nearly as good as "Deep Water" and is like four times as long. "Magic Doors" kicks off with an interesting melody and loop. Sadly, it turns into another song that I'd probably hear at a hardcore renaissance fair if I'd ever attend one. The album ends with a very solid "Threads". Oddly enough, the last studio album track of their discography is probably my favorite. It's just a very good droning song that I'd add to a "go to bed" mix. I don't mean that in a bad way. If this is a bridge to their next album then I'll probably like "Fourth" the most of all.
First Impression of Portishead
The 411: My first thoughts about Portishead is that it's like if Jewel sang over a dub mix of a Gorillaz B-sides. Of course that's not completely true, but sometimes close. I like the music a lot, but the vocals are what threw me off. Beth's voice is beautiful and all, but on top of the awesome music it doesn't sit well with my ears. They sound really dated to the 90's club scene. I can just picture kids with glow sticks and jester hats over exaggeratedly dancing with glow sticks. Some of the music is really innovative and great, but it's just hard to take as a complete package. It's kind of upsetting because I think I might have gone into this listening session with much too high of hopes. Because of that this was one of the least enjoyable of the "first impression" series. "Dummy", their most widely acclaimed album was their worst in my opinion. "Glory Box" and "Numb" were okay, but didn't save it. The self titled "Portishead" is a bit better, but still nothing that I'd add to my collection. Then with their most recent effort "Third", it's a bit better. It had better flow, better composition, and better production. I say "better" with it meaning "I like it better". It's nothing official. It's just one listener's take on it. I can totally see why someone would like this. I'm just not one of those "someones". The music is REALLY good and it is quality "chill out" music. It just didn't resonate with me. It's something I can respect, but nothing that I'd want to add to my collection.
RANDOM VIDEO(s) OF THE WEEK
"…like ‘loopdid"?… "
"Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground
The 411:If you're in your mid 20's or older, odds are that I'll be able to speak for you here. I will flat out say what you're thinking to yourself…this IS one of the best hip hop songs of all time. It's not a song that you'll listen to everyday, but the second you hear the opening sample you know what you're in for. Yeah, it's cheesy and a bit dated to the 80s, but you can't deny the fact that this song will always make you smile and sing-a-long. I've listened to this song twice while writing this week's column. I'm good for another year or so. But dammit, when I hear this track again rest assure that I WILL enjoy it. Shame on anyone who thinks otherwise. SHAME!
RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"MAGICIANS"
STARRING DAVID MITCHELL & ROBERT WEBB
I got into the English comedy duo of Mitchell and Webb about two years ago when I discovered the immensely underappreciated "Peep Show" series. I think I've watched every episode three times since then and am anticipating the sixth season of the show. In the mean time, I found this gem hidden in the midst of a lot of bad movies. "Magicians" is about two best friends working as a popular magic act. When one has sex with the other's wife/assistant things go horribly wrong that results in her head being cut off. While it was a very unfortunate and entertaining accident, the two's career is pretty much done for. Both try to reinvent themselves for a big magic competition and hilarity ensues. I don't want to spoil anything as everything I just described was in the trailer. This is probably one of the best comedies I've seen this year that wasn't released this year if that makes any sense. In a weird way, these two make "pathetic" relatable to the viewer. There's just something about Mitchell and Webb that makes them likeable as their characters are always vulgar and a bit pathetic. I watched it, I enjoyed it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes their British comedy with an edge.
WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.
I watched SummerSlam this past Sunday, but first a side note. I'd like to give warning to the IWC. If come this time next year and you make a "Summerfest" joke in reference to "SummerSlam" then you're a lame douche. I love the wrestling zone on 411mania as much as I have since it was 411wrestling.com, but there's a group(a minority) of commenting readers who beat dead horses to a pulp. Let the "epic fails", the "one shot deals", and "summerfest" die! Move on! I'm sure there's a "witty line" from Family Guy that you could reference.
On to the show. I really thought Ziggler would win the IC Title. The match he had with Rey Rey was good and all, but I'd much rather see a fresh face run with the strap than the same ol same ol that's Mysterio. I wanted MVP and Swagger on the card and I got it. Sadly the hype I built in my head for it was not met. I'd still like to see them carry the match on a little more. At just over 6 minutes, I wish they'd of gotten more time. Cryme Tyme lost to Jericho and Big Show in a good match. Over the past month or so, I've noticed that Cryme Tyme have really stepped up their game in the ring. They need to build the tag division around them STAT. The problem is that there's not really much of a tag division. I don't get all the love for the DX vs. Legacy match at all. It was a good match. Legacy came out it looking strong, but the match itself was slightly above average at best. I didn't care about, nor did I want to see Christian vs. Regal. Luckily, I went to the bathroom for a quick piss and came back and it was already over. I think both guys are talented and like watching them, but the pairing just screams "second match on Superstars" to me. We'll skip the Orton/Cena match because I'll be overly negative about anything related to Cena. I am not a Jeff Hardy fan at all. He bothers the living shit out of me. I'm not a Punk fan either, but I'll at least watch his matches when I come across them. Their TLC match was OVER RATED. People are REALLY giving it four stars? The big stunt spot at the end was cool, but it's the same old soup just reheated. Up until then, it was kind of boring for a TLC match. Punk crawls in… wins… Taker comes out. Yawn. It was a very solid show, but nothing really stands out to me as something I'd want to watch again in the future.
RAW was okay. It wasn't NEARLY as bad as people are crying about. I enjoyed the half hour long Vince McMahon birthday segment at the beginning. These segments don't happen all the time and we know it. But I think there's smarks sitting there with a stop watch to keep track of the time of each segment, match, promo, and fart. It was fun. Lets be honest here, Vince OWNS the WWE. If he wanted to dedicate a full show to his birthday every year then there's NOTHING that can be done about it. People are still going to watch and believe it or not, some people actually respect Vince and like the man for providing us professional wrestling as we know it. If you don't like Vince or his product then watch something else or patiently wait for Thursday so you can watch a "real wrestling show" on Spike. HA! (That was meant to be sarcastic if you're too timid to understand).
The undercard was fine with Miz getting the duke on Santino and the Six Woman Tag Match. Then with Jericho/Big Show taking on MVP/Mark Henry we got a pretty good tag match. It wasn't great, but the crowd was hot for it and it made you want to see more in the future, ie the next PPV. Of course we got ANOTHER Hornswoggle/Chavo match. It's lame, but it's not like you can't go the bathroom during this and come back to a new segment. It's just that it's SO LAME that the 2 to 3 minutes it lasts every week feels like 10 or 15. With Bourne coming to the rescue this time, we can only hope this means an Evan vs. Chavo feud. That'd be pretty cool, actually. We also got the big revelation that "the fan" who jumped in at the PPV was Brett DiBiase. He's been in FCW for awhile along with about a half dozen more "second/third generation" people. I could see him either joining the group of giving Ted a reason to leave it. It's just cool to see someone else, a wild card if you will, thrown into the story. The main event was better than the DX vs. Legacy match at Summerslam. It set up the already too soon Breaking Point match pretty nicely. I was pretty happy to have almost two hours of Cena-Free RAW. For me, that's a good RAW these days.
Summerslam was the night before and this show felt like Vince told everyone in the back, "Okay guys, I loved your effort at the PPV. Tonight, take it easy." We need these kind of shows every so often to remind us that professional wrestling IS for children. Good matches come and go, but wrestling is always going to have silly undertones. I can get not liking the "kiddie-fied" WWE, but don't kid yourself. If you're watching TNA, ROH, or any other style or company that is professional wrestling it's because you're either a child or a man child. The sooner you pull the stick from your ass the sooner you'll be able to appreciate and enjoy shows like Mondays.
That's all for this week. I have a couple of directions I could go for next week's column. Let's hope I take the right one. I can assure you that I'll ramble about the Nine Inch Nails show like a little fan girl. Until then… Have a Great Week!
