The British Are Coming
The Horrors, Paul McCartney and new music from Portishead.
Remember that really gross video "Sheena Is A Parasite" by that pretty goth group The Horrors? Well, for the follow-up to the debut Strange House, they've decided to enlist the skills of Chris Cunningham. This is Cunningham's first record production, but he's known for video work with Bjork and Aphex Twin. Front man Faris Rotter said, "He hasn't done music production before but I think it'll be really special. The results so far are really encouraging."
Is this last we'll ever hear from that awfully unpleasant woman Heather Mills? It looks as if our long international nightmare is over, friends. The divorce of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills has come to its bitter end this past week. Mills was awarded an approximate sum of $49 Million, a drop in the bucket for Macca compared to her $250 Million dollar request. The Judge in the case commented that Paul's presentation was far more "honest" than Ms. Mills. So, hooray for Macca on his day of liberation and let us pray for the re-incarnation of Linda.
The recently reformed James is stirring up a bit of controversy over the artwork for their latest album Hey Ma. The artwork features a baby in diapers reaching for a handgun. Billboard companies around England are refusing to display the image. The cover art was inspired by a US news piece the band had come across about a ten-month-old child being issued a FOID card. Lead guitarist Larry Gott comments, “We talked at length about hitting a problem with the Advertising Standards Authority, but it’s such a strong image we decided it go with it anyway. Firearms are dangerous, they’re not to be taken likely, and we as a society are becoming over familiarized with the image of gun and gun culture.”
Portishead, where the hell have you been? Where were you when we needed you most? I feel like one of my children went off to live with some Satanic cult or joined a desert island tribe of Bushmen. My child has finally come home and I don't recognize him. In fact, he scares me at first sight. Portishead are back and "Machine Gun" is their first statement in over 11 years.
The Bristol trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley began in 1991 and become part of a small crop of artists who would be known as Trip-Hop. Groups like Massive Attack, Tricky, and Morcheeba crafted a laid back series of bass, loops, and beauty seldom heard in contemporary music. Portishead was something different, though. Gibbons' spooky voice could melt glaciers, while Barrow and Utley's backing tracks made you feel like the coolest thing since James Bond.
The new single, "Machine Gun" is nothing like you've ever heard from this trio. Not unlike Bjork's 'Homogenic,' it is more electronic yet natural. Yes, it is frightening at first, but when Beth Gibbons makes her presence known it's like coming home again. Third is Portishead's latest album and is due out late April via Island Records.STREAM: Portishead – Machine Gun
Posted by Joe Roth on Mar 19, 2008 @ 12:00 am
