Letters to the Editor
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Wow.
Even the article makes we want to drown.
I have to admit I was kind of holding out for this band to save the world. Oh well.
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kdjsflksdjlk
I've only recently tried to take Salon's culture department seriously and you guys have missed the mark every time.
As a media artist that occasionally works with artists that cross-pollinate w/the genre you're writing about (Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde of The Cocteau Twins being the most prominent I've worked with), you're writing a review of an album and treating it like an inquisition of the entire genre.
Of all the trip-hop groups (including less prominent outfits like Violet Indiana and San Francisco's own Halou), Portishead is the one I'm least familiar with. But I've heard the new album. It's pretty-good.
Trip-hop is alive-and-well. Portishead is a fine group, but as far as I can tell, they seem to be at the mercy of One-Hit-Wonder ("Nobody loves me/it's true") and "Screamadelica"/"Loveless" Syndrome.
That means cultural philistines like yourself hold them in too-high a regard and (again) will treat one of their records as an inquisition on the entire genre. That's what Glenn Greenwald would probably consider irresponsible journalism.
For a band with little studio experience beyond serving coffee, it's a good album. If you don't like it (but still enjoy trip-hop), check out Halou.
They (Halou) probably live right down the street. It just takes one radio hit proclaiming itself to be "trip-hop" to make it a not-so "dearly departed" genre.
Note to editors: Greenwald, Tennis, and Kamiya are doing good work, but your culture section is lacking. While web-zines may still be in a position where you feel the need to assert your credibility, this is a fine example of being a slave to culture (as opposed to making it). *At least* 90% of this article is pure noise.
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For real...
This is the artistic equivalent of Juan Cole writing an article about how he lives in A2 because "statistically speaking, Detroit is full of blacks and maybe afro-centric job programs should be initiated to make it so people like myself can move there instead of sheltering ourselves in GranolaVille."
I mean, really...
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For F*ck's Sake
Thanks for making me wade through paragraph after paragraph of worthless, shallow attempts at a biography of trip-hop (which only serves to confirm that the writer has no idea what he's talking about, nor should be writing the review) in order to get a couple of snarky snippets about the album ostensibly being reviewed that still don't actually tell me anything other than the reviewer thought it's a dark album and finds it unacceptable to name a song after the sound of its beat.
Next time get someone who actually likes the genre of music to do the review. This had all the journalistic integrity and balance of a Fox News special on Jane Fonda.
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Yeah, right
Did Portishead kill trip hop?
Sure. Just like "Charly" killed rave.
http://www.nekozine.co.uk/prodigy/info/mixmagapology.html
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Thanks Greenbriar
I was way into trip hop 10 years ago. This article refreshed my interest.
Based on your letter I just grabbed some Halou - they are great. Thanks for the tip.
I guess that the cultural section of Salon just inadvertently sold me a great local band.
Gotta love those letter writers.
Jayne
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Good lord!
That was quite a way to say that you don't like the album, Mr. Hannaham. What a rant. I'll have to check it out to see if it's that bad.
Oh and Greenbriar, you're all into trip hop but you're unfamiliar with Portishead? Hmm. But I'm intrigued by the idea of a cross pollinating media artist?!
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I think the article had the opposite effect on me.
I like Trip Hop, i've got a good supply of albums at home from Tricky, Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps, Portishead, and even local artists.
But i'm also a fan of alot of that goth/post-punk stuff which I also have albums for like Bauhaus, Joy Division and Dead Can Dance.
And more albums of all that old scary expermental industrial like Einsturzende Neubauten and Laibach.
So, blasphemous genre mixing?, music changing and evolving, bring it on!
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I agree with Turiel
I like dub and trip-hop, and I like post-punk/goth. I bet the two genres will blend well; personally I've always thought they had a lot of similarities. Since I *like* dark music, I'll be listening to this album when it comes out.
I do have to admit, I'm not sure why it's always an insult to say that a band has begun to "shed the influences of black American and lower-hemisphere music." What, exactly, is wrong with white American and European music? Have you listened to an Irish jig or early American (white) folk songs? They're pretty good, and legitimate musical influences. And punk? British and white, at least in the beginning.
Anyway, in this day and age, I'm not so sure that deep grooves = "cross-cultural understanding." More likely they indicate a univeral appreciation for good music. But don't forget that Beethoven's 9th is pretty good too, and it's got *no* funk.
It'll be interesting to see the cross-cultural pollination that occurs when Asian (particularly Chinese) music starts blending with other forms. Now some that stuff is really different.
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thanks greenbriar
@greenbriar - Thanks for the tips. I've been waiting to hear new Portishead for ten years and "pretty-good" is a better review than Mr Hannaham's, which I found patronizing to say the least, sadly par for the course in what passes for music critique. I prefer an honest description to someone's detached, jaded opinion...
Though I haven't heard of Halou I'll be sure to check them out.
I have to admit I'm incredibly envious of you in that you've worked with the Cocteau Twins, as they're one of my all-time favorite artists (especially Victorialand, which is a masterpiece.) They're the band I'd most like to consider a reunion (or whatever you'd like to call it.)
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feh
I haven't heard the album yet, but I find it interesting that they're considered ambassadors for "trip-hop." From what I've read about them, Portishead didn't exactly embrace this kind of labeling. I can see why - now they're being criticized for abandoning a genre that was created by music journalists.
I was excited to read about the new album, and the author is obviously ALLOWED to dislike their music for aesthetic reasons, but I was completely mystified by the thesis here.
Maybe I'm completely off the mark, but isn't this a bit like saying that Jimi Hendrix 'killed' blues by drawing on British psychedelic rockers and cranking up his amps? I'm probably completely off the mark. But that's why I don't write about music! I just criticize those who do. ;-D
Does anyone (other than journalists) listen to music by comparing it to the genre they're supposed to fit into?
I don't get it!