This is the thread for Listening Party #8 which will start at 8pm sharp on 11th of May, so cue up your CD or vinyl, rewind your tape or add to your Spotify playlist ready to go.
For an explanation / idea of what we are trying to do, please read
the original thread
Please chip in with any positive comments or observations on each tune as they are being played in real time. There will be plenty of opportunity to expand on longer thoughts if you want to after the 'live' thread has finished, so keep them short and upbeat during the playback period. There will be a very short drinks interval about half way through.
The 8th record we are doing is
Mezzanine by
Massive Attack (1998).
Looking forward to listening with you all.
Comments
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I've really enjoyed the albums in this series so far but I wanted to choose something that wasn't a white man playing a guitar. Mezzanine has been a favourite of mine since it was released (omg 24 years ago): a densely atmospheric listen and a deliberate departure from their first two albums (which are also superb).
Apparently they are trip hop... I don't know what trip hop is. But I suspect it isn't boring, so I'm prepared to give it a go.
* or just 'Massive' for a short while back in 1991
I think this is a good choice for a listening party, because it enables newcomers and old fans alike to listen to it for what it was always meant to be, namely a properly sequenced album of songs.
I think what killed this record for me was overexposure essentially. Those of you saying you don't know it will find bits of it familiar I am sure. What must have happened is that when this went mainstream, it got co-opted by various BBC and media types who thought 'a-ha! soundtrack material!!!".
Bits of this record have been used to death- it's the kind of thing you would have heard soundtracking documentaries about the Millennium Bug, or playing in the background on human interest documentaries about losing your luggage on Easy Jet flights. The opening bars of track one are still the kind of thing the editors at Newsnight might use for a piece about the Red Wall towns, as the camera tracks in slow motion down a High St that is half betting shops and half derelict...
I can't make this one, but have a good time everyone!
Man Next Door remains my standout track, BTW.
I'm pleased plenty of people like it as much as I do. Looking forward to Wednesday! We'll have a short break between "Dissolved Girl" and "Man Next Door" (tracks 6 and 7) - that's about half way by my reckoning.