i don't want to listen to massive attack anymore

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not long ago i would have called them one of my favorite groups of all time, but i was looking through my records today and realized i haven't listened to massive attack in many many many months. mezzanine seems as dull and bad as nine inch nails or something, protection is just a weak collection of half-finished 1995ish dance numbers and triphop beats that herbaliser wouldn't put on a b-side. and blue lines, oh, blue lines, once my favorite; i have no desire to hear it at all, even for five man army and unfinished sympathy. what's wrong with me? has this happened to anyone else? should i get the singles boxset to rekindle my love of them? oh, well, that last question is rhetorical since i'm unemployed right now.

― ethan, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The answer is surely "No Protection"?

― Tim, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh, actually i meant to ask if i should get that too. i have the teardrop single and i love mad prof's dub of it but i was never sure about a whole album of such. hmm.

― ethan, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the depth and lugubriousness of No Protection makes up for its sister album's relative tameness, while neatly sidestepping the occasionally self-conscious "grrr"-ness of Mezzanine. And, big siren-hits aside, Massive Attack were always at their best when being most dub.

― Tim, Saturday, 13 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

This is sort of funny because Mezzanine WAS my NIN. Meaning that my angst went there, not in Downward Spiral or whatever. I dunno, the record still has some charm for me maybe because of that. Mostly the tracks with Liz Fraser. I agree with you on Protection and Blue Lines though.... they kinda feel tarnished (And Protection was sort of half- done to begin with). No Protection's solid but perhaps mostly functional in a weed-smokers-only context.

Aren't they coming with something new too? I heard 'Nature of Threat' and the Perfect Circle, Bowie, Primal Scream remixes. Judging from this it seems like we're up for more of this GRRRR.

― Honda, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'll always be able to listen to Blue Lines. But the rest (and some of Blue Lines) sounds very self-important. I don't think they really back it up. even the good songs like the one about "taking the force of the blow" just seem a little -- pretentious? I have to say they were fucking great at the Arches in Glasgow in 94. Highlights were a) horace andy b) the space c) the 2hour DJ set in the middle (by now-departed Mushroom).

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The It's A Beautiful Day of the 90s, except David LaFlamme didn't change the bands name due to the Tet Offensive

― dave q, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ethan, you're crazy. All three of those albums continue to be amazing and brilliant.

― Dan Perry, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually Ethan is right. They bore me stiff these days esp. 'Blue Lines' is almost unlistenable. Only can stand 'One Love' and sometimes 'Unfinished Sympathy' these days. 'Protection' always my favourite fares a bit better but still, it must have been years since I put that one on. So nothing wrong with you Ethan, but the question remains why?

― Omar, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

They're all good, but fairly staid in retrospect. I think I see where Ethan is coming from. I tend to track surf - a compilation tape with Safe From Harm, One Love, Unfinished Sympathy, Protection, Karmacoma, Eurochild, Angel, Teardrop and Man Next Door on it would be unbeatable.

― Dr. C, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It'll still be interesting to see what kind of direction their new album takes, presuming it comes out at all.

― Ronan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I never wanted to listen to Massive Attack. They always bored me stupid. Every time you'd go for a coffee, they'd be whining over the cafe sound system. Whinge whinge, blah blah... maybe if I'd been there to write poetry and tug my beard it would have been great, but ALL I WANTED WAS CAFFEINE.

― Ben Butler, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

hello ethan welcome to our parlour

― maryann, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Are you all crazy? "Safe From Harm", "Protection", "Sly", "One Love", "Lately", "Unfinished Sympathy", "Risingson", "Teardrop", "Dissolved Girl", "Better Things", "Man Next Door", "Group Four", "Blue Lines", "Five Many Army"... These are all gloriously fantastic songs that I will never tire of. Familiarity breeds not only contempt but mild dementia, I guess.

― Dan Perry, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The only Massive Attack song I can even be bothered to listen to now is Protection.

― Ally, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three months pass...

problem solved.

― ethan, Tuesday, 15 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

this thread is so not otm

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 27 January 2005 00:47 (twenty years ago)

Any of their decent songs have been licensed to car ads and such, which spells certain death to even the best songs.

― papa november (papa november), Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:14 (twenty years ago)

or it can introduce a whole new audience to them, which is a pro/con

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

Con usually.

― papa november (papa november), Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:47 (twenty years ago)

Doesn't matter to me either way.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:53 (twenty years ago)

Someone explain to me ethan.

― deej., Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:57 (twenty years ago)

I mean if they started playing "Soon" by MBV to sell dogfood, it wouldn't make me love the song any less.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 27 January 2005 01:58 (twenty years ago)

seems like a lot of "trip hop" has suffered death from a thousand coffee shops. there was a pizza place in montreal i frequented that would be playing "protection" about half the time.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:08 (twenty years ago)

if only they played Massive Attack at coffeeshops near me. I'm stuck with Rusted Root and Jeff Buckley.

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

I doubt it would sell dogfood, either.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

all the coffee shops near me have been stuck on st germaine, marc moulin and morcheeba for several years now. i was thinking maybe some gremlin went around and supaglued all their cd players shut so they can't update.

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:20 (twenty years ago)

One of my favourite coffee shops has been playing a lot of Bjork's new album.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:26 (twenty years ago)

i was at that gig tracer talked about 3 and a half years ago.

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 27 January 2005 02:56 (twenty years ago)

gem, i laughed hysterically at vividly visualizing that.

as for me... the only coffee shop i really go to plays mostly good music... it was the first place i ever heard boards of canada and can, a few years ago.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 27 January 2005 03:26 (twenty years ago)

I heard Boards of Canada playing in a BBNT franchise! (it was Everything You Do Is A Baloon)

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 27 January 2005 03:27 (twenty years ago)

morcheeba *shiver*

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 27 January 2005 04:57 (twenty years ago)

jed_ are you kidding?? Man! I shook Horace Andy's hand that night! He cam right out to the bus and no one else was around but me and a couple of friends. He was still sweating! I'll never forget that show. There are some shows where the artist is just at the peak of their critical approbation yet still not quite sure of where they're going with everything, and it just sets the place off. Honestly I thought that DJ set in the middle was as good as anything else in the show.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 27 January 2005 05:07 (twenty years ago)

i was there, no kidding! (its 5 am , ive been to bed and it's no good -im wide awake). It was a great gig, though you seem to have a more vivid memory of it than i do. Mushroom's DJing WAS amazing, i remember dancing on my own the whole night (the gig sold out early so none of my mates could get tickets) and i remember chatting to Howie B of all people!

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 27 January 2005 05:18 (twenty years ago)

3 videos i saw

1 the fat lady walking along a street
2 she walks up stairs to an apartment
3 the stripper an the pink boa..

i can't remember the songs.

― wiane darren, Thursday, 27 January 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

I saw the Mezzanine tour - it was memorable to say the least, particularly seeing and hearing Liz Fraser again on a stage

― thomas, Thursday, 27 January 2005 12:09 (twenty years ago)

I saw The Christians on a best of the tube documentary the other day. They sounded a lot like massive attack, somehow. I can't remember the song I'm afraid (not harvest for the world)

― hmmm (hmmm), Thursday, 27 January 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

Forgotten Town?

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Thursday, 27 January 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

I have a vague recollection of seeing the Christians do 'Hooverville' on the Tube. Why are we talking about the Christians?

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 27 January 2005 12:52 (twenty years ago)

massive attack will hopefully be left behind in the 90s forever.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 27 January 2005 12:55 (twenty years ago)

how can they be left behind in the 90s when they continued to release music since then?

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:00 (twenty years ago)

i think 'Everywhen' has become their most used track of all time on TV incidentally

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:01 (twenty years ago)

Massive Attack will always be a quintessentially 90s group for me, it's true.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

Well it's hard to argue with that as they've only had proper album out this decade. But I don't care about the 'fashion' thing really. Bands getting tied to the decades they were most successful in has pros and cons evidently. I still like half the tracks on '100th Window' a lot - issues of relevance are quite the opposite to me in that respect. I like 'Sly' more than anything else by them right now though - I think, as much as you may think of something like 'Sly' as 'so 90s', I can't get my head around the idea that it's somehow lost it's futuristic, exotic potency. Many of their tracks retain that quality as much as ACTUAL dance music of that time and before (AHOIT Detroit techno etc.). I don't dispute that 1994-1999 is currently the most unfashionable period in history, but I question the point of re-adjusting belief systems to the extent where anything from that period is just routinely trashed regardless of it's quality. Style not fashion etc.

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:21 (twenty years ago)

I think Ronan's just putting on a punk pose.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:24 (twenty years ago)

It'll still be interesting to see what kind of direction their new album takes, presuming it comes out at all.

-- Ronan (ronan.fitzgerald...), October 14th, 2001 1:00 AM

heheh...i appreciate the rejection/dismissal of the immediate past - unless i liked it a lot at the time

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

Ronan's 2001 work is awful. His new stuff is alot better.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

at the time of that post, I had been to a club about 3 times!

I really hate Massive Attack though, now.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 27 January 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

five months pass...

I've NEVER heard No Protection. Is it any good?

― Baby BobO (nordicskilla), Friday, 1 July 2005 02:52 (nineteen years ago)

yes. i think. but destroy everything that came after.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:02 (nineteen years ago)

oh, I wasn't going to go there! :)

― Baby BobO (nordicskilla), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:03 (nineteen years ago)

Oi. Mezzanine remains inviolate, under pain of lack of koala tacos.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:03 (nineteen years ago)

I stopped at Mezzanine. Not that I hated it, but I've never felt moved to play it. Ever.

― Baby BobO (nordicskilla), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:04 (nineteen years ago)

what does inviolate mean?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:04 (nineteen years ago)

google is your friendster

― moley (moley), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:06 (nineteen years ago)

i don't need a crystal ball to guess what col thinks of Massive Attack

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:07 (nineteen years ago)

ah so inviolate means unbroken, virginal - adam never even removed the shrinkwrap?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:09 (nineteen years ago)

Passive Attack, we called them. Their crappy gig in Sydney was so rotten we went outside for a smoke that lasted the whole set.

― moley (moley), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:10 (nineteen years ago)

ah so inviolate means unbroken, virginal - adam never even removed the shrinkwrap?

NO PROTECTION, dude

― Baby BobO (nordicskilla), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

Unsafe listening.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

I believe I have fucked with your sister at this gig Col. Is that correct?

― Sami Jheryllkanyga, Friday, 1 July 2005 03:17 (nineteen years ago)

No, Sami, that was a transexual dwarf friend of mine called Vinknar. No doubt you had your fill of him?

― Janne Karlsson (moley), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:32 (nineteen years ago)

what does AHOIT mean??

― vahid (vahid), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:33 (nineteen years ago)

Someone explain to me ethan.

...you sorta had to be there.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

I like them fine, but this always makes me laugh:

My baby just cares for me well that's funny
Her touch tickles especially on my tummy

Now who's got the microphone

Now who's honey

A turbo turbo and chant with a charge
Addy, Daddy G wild bunch crew at large
Don't call me an officer just call me a sarge
Mashing up the country planning also abroad
Plan to go to America when I get a visa card

But gettin' a visa card nowadays isn't hard

So keep your ears glued listen to every chord
Tokyo city's one place that we toured
Four technic plus two mixer board
Sharper than a Wilkinson razor sword

― admrl, Saturday, 10 November 2007 19:51 (seventeen years ago)

mezzanine seems as dull and bad as nine inch nails or something

yeah mezzanine was like all time top 10 for me a few years ago, but now i can't really stomach it. so plodding.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 10 November 2007 20:14 (seventeen years ago)

gettin' a visa card nowadays isn't hard!

― admrl, Saturday, 10 November 2007 20:54 (seventeen years ago)

Listening to Quiet Village Project's dub of "Protection" made me go back and re-listen to No Protection. Not only does it hold up, but sounds pretty timely these days--fits in nicely with QV and the digi-delay/contemporary side of the Space/Cosmic/WhateverWeWant/Blahblahblahlearic axis.

― Craig D., Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:26 (seventeen years ago)

I will surely be destroyed for this, but all the dubstep I've heard just sounds like "Mezzanine: The Genre."

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:55 (seventeen years ago)

The first time I heard Mezzanine, it was because a tape of it was literally stuck in the cassette player of my friend's Ford Econoline. After a few dozen listens, my reaction was "this is a pretty good local band. It's probably someone we know. I should ask my roommate."

I've bought and sold it twice since. It sounds so much better to me on a shitty stereo. When I listen to it normally, it sounds too slick. I've definitely heard other people make that comment. So what I'm trying to say is buy a shitty van and listen to all the Massive Attack your heart desires.

xpost: HOOS, is an astute observation. I will not take you down for that.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Saturday, 10 November 2007 23:56 (seventeen years ago)

HOOSOTM. Dubstep makes me feel old. I especially don't get what's so special about Burial. Sorry, but those vocals on the new album make me want to pull out Timeless. "Inna City Press-sha!"

― Craig D., Sunday, 11 November 2007 00:24 (seventeen years ago)

Appropriately, I got bored with dubstep right around the time I got bored with Mezz.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 11 November 2007 00:54 (seventeen years ago)

mezzanine seems as dull and bad as nine inch nails or something

sentence does not compute

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:11 (seventeen years ago)

mezzanine sounds fuckin' rad on vinyl. so huge and deep. great way to test yer speakers.

― scott seward, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:21 (seventeen years ago)

First two albums are brilliant. Third one isn't bad either. The best thing about No Protection, meanwhile, is the cover art.

― Alex in NYC, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:22 (seventeen years ago)

i like massive attack

― deej, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:45 (seventeen years ago)

The best thing about No Protection, meanwhile, is the cover art.

-- Alex in NYC, Sunday, November 11, 2007 1:22 AM

mad rong

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:48 (seventeen years ago)

Can I clarify that despite my dislike of Mezzanine, I still play Blue Lines every now and again.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 11 November 2007 01:48 (seventeen years ago)

The best thing about No Protection, meanwhile, is the cover art.

-- Alex in NYC, Sunday, November 11, 2007 1:22 AM

mad rong

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, November 11, 2007 1:48 AM

see i *like* no protection but i agree on this point. it's easily one of the best covers of the mid-90s electronica boom. i had a poster of this next to a holographic "global chillage" poster in my bedroom during college.

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 11 November 2007 03:20 (seventeen years ago)

Right, I agree that it's a great cover, I'm just disagreeing that it's the best part about the album.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 11 November 2007 03:27 (seventeen years ago)

also

a holographic "global chillage" poster

lol WANT

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 11 November 2007 03:38 (seventeen years ago)

In the film High Fidelity, John Cusack's character Rob puts "Radiation Ruling the Nation" on his list of 'Top 5 Track Ones Side Ones,' to which Jack Black's character Barry responds "A sly declaration of new classic status snuck into a list of old safe ones - very PUSSY!" (wiki - no protection).

― Bobbi Peru, Sunday, 11 November 2007 03:53 (seventeen years ago)

yeah mezzanine was like all time top 10 for me a few years ago, but now i can't really stomach it. so plodding.

there's some excellent stuff on side 2 of this record and i admit, it's a little too consistently "moody" at times, can make for a tiring full listen, but mezzanine is great in small doses. and the singles are still great.

― stephen, Sunday, 11 November 2007 20:07 (seventeen years ago)

"twinlights"-era cocteau twins + mezzanine-era massive attack could have been something very great, but i am not sure what. "teardrops" from mezz had me hoping. unjustly maligned periods from both artists IMO.

― tricky, Monday, 12 November 2007 01:38 (seventeen years ago)

i love everything MA did through Mezzanine. after that, who knows what the fuck they were thinking. well, i guess "they" were thinking "boy, im just that one white guy now but i'm still massive attack". and that didnt really turn out that well.

i love blue lines, i love protection and no protection (aside from the stupid doors cover thing), and mezzanine is dark as fuck and wonderful for it.

― pipecock, Monday, 12 November 2007 01:52 (seventeen years ago)

tricky, how do you rate the work you did with massive attack?

― Lingbert, Monday, 12 November 2007 01:58 (seventeen years ago)

heh. not as good as maxinquaye.

― tricky, Monday, 12 November 2007 02:16 (seventeen years ago)

i don't want to listen to massive attack anymore

Me neither, really. Blue Lines hasn't dated very well. Proection was never very good beyond "Karmacoma." No Protection was an incredible stoner record...but now sounds merely like a decent 90s dub record.

And tricky, you let me down, bro'...

― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 12 November 2007 02:32 (seventeen years ago)

Sorry Tricky, u mad rong...

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 12 November 2007 03:05 (seventeen years ago)

dang, well, it has been a long while since i've listened to either. tricky with massive and tricky solo are very different because there is all of the interplay between vocalists in massive (one of things that made the early stuff so good -- i assume this is what you guys are referring to) and then tricky's early solo stuff is so redolent and hazy with sex and weed in a really unique wtf-is-this kind of way that really sticks in my mind (and then there's the beats). i suppose it is a preference of mood and early tricky could probably be better compared to later massive attack.

― tricky, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:19 (seventeen years ago)

stop referring to yourself in the 3rd person

― Lingbert, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:23 (seventeen years ago)

how do you know i'm me?

― tricky, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:32 (seventeen years ago)

-- tricky, Monday, November 12, 2007 4:32 AM (8 minutes ago)

― Lingbert, Monday, 12 November 2007 04:42 (seventeen years ago)

Unfortunately, due to the terms of your severance agreement, you are required to listen to massive attack

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Monday, 12 November 2007 17:04 (seventeen years ago)

Protection was ~~never~~ very good beyond "Karmacoma."

lol i fixed that error for you, kbye ^

― stephen, Monday, 12 November 2007 17:13 (seventeen years ago)

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