Massive Attack - Blue Lines

MINE

Not only do I own and love Blue Lines, and I think everything else Massive Attack have done, but I'm still holding on to a video of theirs for Be Thankful (even though we don't even own a video player any more) because it's my favourite video ever.  Of all time.  But now, I guess it's available on YouTube or MySpace or something - see?  Um, that's emphatically not G-rated!

I love that song so much I own the Paul Oakenfold remix single and consider it every bit as essential as the album.  But I still haven't seen them live.  Funny, each time they've toured, I've either missed out on hearing the announcement or I've been too poor to afford tickets.

However, this is one album that gets its time on the home dancefloor.  Over and over again.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP 

YOURZ

What to say about Blue Lines other than it is another absolutely essential piece of music.  I still find it hard to believe this was the début for Massive Attack, but there you go.  

One thing I didn't reveal when we reviewed Mezzanine is that I've never actually owned a single Massive Attack record because every one else I knew owned them and played them all the time.  I have to thank Mine for adding this and their other albums to our collection.  It would have been lacking without them.  And thanks for picking this one out too.

The video accompanying Safe From Harm is still one of my favourites too.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.massiveattack.com/

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

MINE

I wanted to like it, really I did.  This was picked as an Album of the Year for Aussie Youth Radio network Triple J, and I like to think I've got a bit of an insight into what those young people are on about.  No, seriously.  Stop snickering, you.

But all I could think while listening to this was - Beatles Rubber Soul and Revolver,  but without the variety the Fab Four managed on those albums.  Amped up a bit with some beats here and there, but essentially a bit hippy-trippy.  Which is alright for a song or two, but a whole album?  Nice dinner-party music, but that's about it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Yet more proof that there is something in those isolated waters of Western Australia that keeps producing some of the best music in Australia. 

Citing a laundry list of influences, including Beck, Kyuss, Massive Attack, RZA and The Beatles (boy, are they covering all bases or what), Tame Impala are anything but locked into a single style.  Yet the cohesiveness of Innerspeaker, their debut album, is surprisingly strong, thanks to the overall production aesthetic   While it is definitely psychedelic, it also reminds me of some of the shoegazer bands around the late 80s and early 90s.

Listening to Lucidity, for instance, took me back to house parties, where most of us were floating from a cocktail of various fixings.  And the music, like Innerspeaker is to a new generation, was not just background but an integral part of the journey.  Maybe the fact I'm relatively straight and sober these days dulled my appreciation slightly but not by much.

There are treats of sharp, effected pop gems like Solitude Is Bliss and I Don't Really Mind as well as surprises like the sludgy psych-rock of The Bold Arrow Of Time.  And while I think the band could have done better with a name, I expect it will be one I'll be hearing of for some time to come. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.tameimpala.com/

Unkle - War Stories

MINE

When I got to the end of this CD, the first thing I wanted to do was to listen to it again.  Which has got to be a recommendation, doesn't it?  At times I could understand why YourZ bought it, because there's an amount of clever-clever musicianship to it.  But generally it's both well-played and eclectic in its genre-shifting.  There's some lovely guitar-based dance which had me bopping in my seat, and moments of plain pop-rock that reminded me of U2.

A British band with help on this album from members of one of my favourite bands - Massive Attack - they've managed to fold some damn fine lyrics into this mix - which makes me wonder why I've never really listened to this CD before.  That'd be my husband, hiding music from me again.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

War Stories is, without a doubt, contender number two for Forgotten Gem of the Year.

If I were, oh let's say 20 years younger, UNKLE is exactly the kind of band I would do my fuckin' damndest to put together.  I would utilise my love of rock AND electronica and make massive, beat-laden music for people to dance, fight or get fucked-up to, depending on their bent.

I would then gather some of my favourite singers and musicians to sing and play on my albums.  I'd make brilliant, provocative videos that not only made people think but introduced the world to great directors and actors.  I'd use emerging artists and photographers to create original, interesting pieces of art and help establish their careers.  And I'd do all this while avoiding the bullshit trapping of 'fame' and 'celebrity'.  I'd do it for the love of music, of art and of creativity. 

Yeah, if only...

(NB: the only thing I wouldn't do is package my work in ridiculously large packaging that doesn't fit any normal storage space so that the buyer puts it somewhere else and promptly forgets about it - are you listening James?)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://unkle.com/

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

YOURZ

I have a few quirks.  For the most part, you'd have to know me well before I'd reveal them.  But I'm prepared to let you in on one of them now.

And no, it's not some perverted secret love of teen boy bands.

When it comes to music, one of the worst things someone can say to me is "oh, I just know you'll love this band/album/singer".  It just sets my teeth on edge and I go out of my way to either completely ignore said artist or look for inadequacies, no matter how small, so I can put shit on it.  It's like I want to discover it for myself, without anyone else telling me.  I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but aren't most quirks? (Mine says: hence the difficulty in ever daring to buy you music as a present - but I've done it before, and dammit I'll do it again)

Such was the case with Massive Attack. It was years ago when I was a guitarist in a moderately successful indie guitar band and an ex-girlfriend, trying to expand my musical palate a little, used those words about MA's Blue Lines.  She played it all the time, particularly when I was around.  The more she tried to convince me, the more I hated it.  Then we broke up.

It meant I could finally listen to this band without the feeling of someone saying "see, I told you you'd like them".  Massive Attack are without a doubt the best exponents of trip-hop in the world.  The song arrangements and constructs are multi-layered, rich and deep without becoming bogged down in widdly bits.  Mezzanine merely continued to show the rest of the world how it's done proper, like.  Blue Lines will always be my favourite but this album is right up there with it.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

While Blue Lines is one of the albums I'd replace instantly should the collection ever vapourise (how? slip into a hole in the space-time continuum?) (YourZ sez: it might slip through a liminal space flaw into some parallel universe and into the hands of a nascent musician who uses it to take over his/her world - yeah, I know, I should stay away from the red lollies, right?)  I also love Mezzanine.  I appreciate trip-hop's not everyone's cup of tea, but I had this album on pre-order before it came out.  I picked it up the day it was released, as I did with its predecessor, Protection.  I love these guys.

That doesn't make for a great review - and I can't even lighten this entry with stories of when I saw them live, as I haven't.  I can say it's another great Sunday-morning-coming-down album (don't the Brits do those well?  Wonder why? tee hee) and it would also make great dinner-party music.

Oh, plus the video for Teardrop is just inspired.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (close your eyes and drift away)

For more information: http://massiveattack.com/

In our collection, we also have: Blue Lines, Protection and 100th Window

Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep

MINE

Ermph.  Reasonable.  Not Tricky.

I can't figure why YourZ thinks I'll like this, there's too much rappin' and not enough melody.  It just made me want to play Blue Lines full bore to remind myself what good Sarf London dubby-stuff is like, especially when you mix it with good melodic lines sung by great-voiced girls.

I liked the lyrics on some of it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN/THROW IT OUT (can't raise enough interest to decide) (YourZ sez: c'mon, you have to pick one or the other) (Mine says: whatever YOU say we should do, darling)


YOURZ

I went through a phase where I brought a lot of hip hop, mainly because I was working with a young MC, writing and producing backing tracks for him.  I saw this as a way of educating myself about the variety of sounds and production techniques used by various artists around the world.  I knew I wasn't interested in any of the established black American artists mostly because I didn't (and don't) like their misogynistic attitudes and conspicuous consumption - bling culture has never interested me.

But there are artists making great, interesting music in the genre.  Artists like Handsome Boy Modelling School, The Roots and Mos Def make truly intelligent and innovative music.  While I get what he does and enjoy some of the tracks, for me Roots Manuva, unfortunately, can't be included in this group. 

While named by some as the one of the innovators of the British grime movement, Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva, makes music that is almost Tom Waits-ian in its production with literate, intelligent lyrics and lots of deep overdubbed voices.  There is also a bit of a nod to his Jamaican roots in some of the beats and use of horns.  But it is not particularly joyous music.  It is dark and challenging and often depressing in it lyrical content.

To be honest with you, hitting on this merely reminded me of how much crap I've added to the collection over the last half dozen years or so.  It actually kind of annoys me because I could've used my hard earned dollars to buy a lot of music we both like as opposed to music I considered necessary to have at the time. Damn it, I should've been more selfish.

Anyway, not to beat that puppy to death, while Mine and YourZ (truly) regularly go through our various collections (believe me, the music one is nothing compared to the book one), a lot of that stuff has managed to avoid the Great Axe of Disinterest (patent pending).  But not any more.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (can you believe it, Mine, huh?)


For more information: http://www.rootsmanuva.co.uk/

In our collection we also have Run Come Save Me and Slime And Reason

George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen - The Best Of George Michael

MINE

And he thought Kylie was bad... when the pointy stick landed on this CD I could hear the agony in YourZ' voice at the thought of having to listen to this, let alone review it.  But then, he's not fond of the dance floor, and I am. 

This double album is divided into two moods - and I've never listened to the first disc labelled "For The Heart".  URK *mimes vom*.  But Disc Two, "For The Feet," contains one of the best ever songs to hear on the dancefloor - Fastlove.  There's a moment on that - particularly in the remix - that's one of those moments.  When the world goes away and all that remains is your body, the music, the dancefloor... No?  It's the same in the Shep Pettibone remix of Madonna's Like A Prayer and Massive Attack's Be Thankful (Paul Oakenfold mix).  Only those who've experienced this on a dance floor - a really big one, preferably with lots of volume - will understand.

There are a few other good dance tunes on there but generally this is dreck.  So... now it's on the iPod...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Excuse me... *retch*...  Okay, I think I'm fine now... no, wait *retch*

Yep, this is what George Michael does to me.  I really tried to listen, I truly did but my hands rebelled and refused to push the play button.  Eventually, I used my nose, despite its dripping protests and sat through a quick selection of tracks before my ears closed down.

Nope, don't like it at all.  Not one bit...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (it burns, it buuuuuurns...)

For more information: http://www.georgemichael.com/

Faithless - Outrospective Special Edition

YOURZ

What is this atmospheric shit - sounds like 'B' grade video game music.  Oh, wait a minute, here comes something interesting...  Oh, no it's not, its just a bit.  What the  fuck?  Okay, maybe I'm being picky but any song that takes ages to start then stops before it really goes anywhere shouldn't be the first song on an album. 

There are a couple of good tracks on this.  Not Enuff has a sort of pre-grime, dub-step beat and a tidy rap coupled with a very smooth female melody line, just the kind of thing I like in my hip hop.   Most of the tracks are along the lines of the first and don't interest me in the slightest.  Muhammad Ali starts with a kind of disco feel joined with another very good rap then brings up another great hook.  Lyrically, it's a clever homage to the great man as well as being a bit of biography of the rapper.  The rest of the album features more of the same atmospheric stuff.  Okay, time for the Reperspective, the remix disc.

This CD held my attention for as long as it took me to skip through the tracks.  Again, maybe I'm being a bit picky but seriously, this disappointed me.  I'd only ever heard good things about Faithless and to be honest, both discs had maybe a half-dozen songs that held my interest for their length.  But then, I've never been a fan of this kind of dance music except for Massive Attack, who do it way better.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT (after ripping Not Enuff and Muhammad Ali)

MINE

Ooooh, this was harsh.  It's been a rough week for both Your and Mine(self) with the loss of our beautiful cat after nursing her back from the brink a couple of months ago.  That's why I'm feeling vulnerable, I'm (firmly) telling myself.  There I was, wondering why I hadn't played this CD for so long, thinking about how I would explain this purchase to Your (which of course I bought for the remixes - I've barely listened to the plain unvarnished version).

I was glad I was in the car when Crazy English Summer came on.  "Great," I thought, "I love this song!"  And then I was singing along to - Sometimes I feel like I'm glad to be free/ Sometimes I still want your arms around me/ Sometimes I'm glad to have left you behind/ The crazy English summer's put you back on my mind

I burst into tears.  Because this song recalls the pain I felt after a relationship (before YourZ, well before) when I was so devastated by my loss, I had to go to counselling.  In fact, I recall sitting on my sofa, in my little flat, listening to this song over and over again and sobbing my heart out, until I was in such emotional turmoil I dug my fingernails into my legs and raked them until they bled, because the physical pain was preferable.

Funny, I could have sworn that feeling was over long ago.  I'm not in love with that person any more, and I'm not even sure that what I felt then was love - more a kind of all-consuming obsession.  I'm telling myself it's only because I'm feeling emotional this week.  Is that PMS I spy?  Or is it just that listening to that one song can put me back in that moment, particularly because it affected me so much?  But it's left me feeling a bit indecisive about Outrospective or rather about  Reperspective, which is what the remixes are called.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (but let's skip that song, OK?)

For more information: http://faithless.co.uk/