Trip-Hop Wars: Massive Attack v Tricky v Portishead

Worst? My money's on Moloko's DO YOU LIKE MY TIGHT SWEATER.

Doesn't Nelly Furtado try to pass herself off as 'trip-hop'?

That Moloko album isn't a trip-hop album and I find it very odd when people describe it as such. (It's also excellent, but that's another argument.) Of the three mentioned in the subject, Tricky is the most inconsistent, but I consider all of them essential.

do you like my tight sweater is really good too...

I meant Tricky, but in thinking about it I could probably make a coherent argument for both being inconsistent. I'd have to listen to _Maxinquaye_ to bolster my point, though, and I don't have it in my bag today. Oh well, guess it's back to playing "Dollar Sign" on endless repeat...

(You know, I'd be very amused by a Tricky/Lady Stush collaboration.)

There's a DVD promo collection of Massive Attack's stuff on sale at my fave local store, been tempted to get it...but are their videos in fact any good? I did like the "Hell" video Tricky did.

Destroy: any artist who goes by the name "DJ this and that" (Shadow and Food possibly excepted). Namely, Cam, Krush, Vadim, etc. Utterly mindnumbing in any amounts taken. Seems the only good DJs are Anglophones. That's my new name. DJ Anglophone.

And my personal fave out of the Important Triumvirate is Portishead's selftitled. I like most of MA's, though it took me longest to like Blue Lines, and the first two Tricky CDs, though from some sort of retrospective disdain of his current stuff, Maxinquaye has fallen very far into disfavor.

Moloko: I don't think they're trip-hop either. But I do think they're funny ("danger, evil rodent! bouncing up and down!).

The problem with Mono is that they shot their load with "Life In Mono" and "Silicone" (both near perfect) and then didn't know what to do other than to try and match Good Humour (bad move!)

Portishead are my favourite - especially the first half of the Live album (the second hald is ruined by the audience clapping throughout the start of every Dummy song in a 'Stars in Their Eyes' style) - followed by 'Blue Lines' era Massive Attack.

Liked some of the Mo'Wax stuff like Attica Blues and DJ Krush at the time, but my weed intake at the time has kind of clouded my memory of the period, I'll have to dig out my 12s and get back to you, probably to let you know that it sounds like stoner-shite. It shows you how of-it's-time it was that the Jungle tracks I listened to at the time, still sound fresh, whereas a lot of this will no doubt sound painfully 90's "This-Life'-style wallpaper garbage. I'll let you know. I do remember most tracks sounded better played at 45, and pitched all the way up.

I also remember Nicolette also did a couple of good tunes inna bandwagon-jumping but still quite good way.

Never liked DJ Shadow's tracks for some reason, but he's a great se

oh poor tricky! he has created a lot of crap over the last ten years. the words 'tricky collaboration' these days fill me with dread, but 'makes me wanna die' is not crap, and definitely not vapid. yes, it could almost seem inert, but it's more like a cloud on a fine still day very gradually moving across the horizon. it has a tragectory, but it's so peaceful and light that it doesn't appear to go anywhere. (hehe, this is probably a really bad comparison to use because if anything can be literally defined as vapid, that would be a cloud.) the very stillness of this song is what makes it so moving... to use another (more cliche!) weather metaphor it's like the calm in the eye of a storm. hmm... i haveto go to class, so i can't exlain exactly why right now, but it reminds me of bach's prelude in c major. i might come back and finish this later.

Smith & Mighty!

As a side note, one of Portishead's dj's, Andy Smith, made one of the best mix albums of all time with "The Document." I also would rate Tim "Love" Lee's "Tales of the Selector" as one of my favorite trip hop cds, too. I'm sure you are all glad to know this!

And Tricky Kid still has best rapped chorus he's ever done.

Well, since he was always making goth-hop at that point anyway, surely it's just a difference in the quality of the results. ;-)

I would add myself maybe New Kingdom, mr goth dj himself Dj Shadow, Endtroducing and Rebirth of Cool Phive as mandatoyr Trip Hop records.

You mean "One Trick Pony". Hope this helps.

I don't really know why I don't rate Protection that much: perhaps the whole symmetry thing. Anyway, Blue Lines and Mezzanine are absolute classics.

My Tricky opinion is the usual (dimishing returns after Maxinquaye genius), but although I've heard a lot of shite from him over the years, I will still gladly give any new music by him an ear.

One that hasn't been mentioned so far is Earthling's Radar, which I was absolutely in love with, but gave the first copy of to my best friend, thinking I could get another one no problem. Grr.

And to sweeten all your days: from a review of Gorillaz:

"It should by all rights be released on Mo'Wax, a label that patented the idea of the good bit."

the EBTG song is called "Missing"