Exploring Massive Attack & "Unfinished Sympathy" | New British Canon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- Influence is a strange thing. Just because a band is influential, doesn't necessarily mean the band is known because of their influence. People know Radiohead's OK Computer changed things. People are less aware of Massive Attack's Blue Lines and its aura of influence. Formed in Bristol in the late 80s, they made it so dance music didn't have to be all about speed, that it could be emotive and chilled. They made serious moves to make Hip-Hop outside of the US a legitimate thing. And most importantly, made it so Hip-Hop as a whole could seek to be introspective in its ideas rather than party-hard or political. While overall Massive Attack are more well known for their 1998 song “Teardrop”, their most important single was 1991's “Unfinished Sympathy”. While Its unusual structure and genre fusion are elements that get critics interested, its emotional resonance, its heartbroken vocal and those sweeping strings have made it resound with listeners since its release. But how did a bunch of, in their words, “lazy Bristol twats” create one of the most innovative songs of the 90s? How did one band change the course of two separate genres, and by chance create a completely new one? This is the story of “Unfinished Sympathy”.
#massiveattack #documentary #triphop
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Great stuff! Thanks!
didnt name morcheeva what a shame
Yes we need playlist!
This has nothin to do with this amazing song, but born in 1976, I feel also nostalgic for songs like I cant stand it ...by 24/7. Blond chick was so sexy & the music would put me in a jolly mood.
Hey, new subscriber, can you do a breakdown of COWBOY'S By Portishead? It just reminds me of the two lovers: Putin and trump...
Seriously, I'd appreciate it! Thanks🤣
I once went out with somebody who said Unfinished Sympathy was rubbish, I instantly knew the relationship was doomed.
Great & wise decision Cassandra Winona ! I'm dating a girl who loves this song & loves Jeff Buckley ( as do i ) now if she digs Nenah Cherry, i'm going to marry this woman.
wtf
@@beeboy6967 Aahh, congratulations in advance. I think shared passions are a huge part of making a long term relationship work. There are some things so close to one's heart that if your partner hates them it's like they don't understand an important part of you and you'll never really be that close, that was how I felt.
@@cassandrawinona8748 Well said Cassandra & i agree %100. Early days about my relationship though but thanks anyway ( it's a long complex situation ) I wish you well, health & happiness in life. Most importantly go with your gut instinct about others & of course their musical taste. There is a saying....Don't trust no one that doesn't collect music & read books. :=)
@@beeboy6967 Haha, I like that saying, and looking back at my previous relationships I would say it's sound! I think taste in music and art definitely says a lot about the values people do and don't have in common. And thanks btw, you too. 😀
Massive Attack’s first three albums are perfect and mandatory.
all albums!
Jonathan Miller 🔥🔥🔥🚀🚀🚀👍👍👍 totally agreed
Calm down
Hahaha so true. And this song is perfect
I just wish more people knew this
A very proud Bristolian here, Daddy G lives about a 15 minute walk from my house and Liz Frasier (singer on teardrop and other tracks, also in the Cocteau twins) made me a cup of tea once, a lovely person.
Liz made you tea?! I am so jealous.
Robert's Mum and Dad ran a pub called The Beehive on Wellington Hill, near Horfield 👍🏼
Jealous! I wish I was from Bristol ): you guys have some of the greatest artists..
@Kid Sunyata Haha, sorry - my mum and dad ran a pub in Westbury-on-Trym and knew them!
a few years ago me and my friend were visiting her (my friend's) sister in bristol. at some point we walked up to the clifton observatory, and on my way in i almost bumped into this guy that looked kinda familiar. later i mentioned this to my other friend (who's been to massive's mezzanine tour gig in prague with me in 1999), i was like "dude, i think i bumped into 3d while in bristol" and he was like "a rather short guy?" so yes, i believe it was him :)
I never knew the amount of influence Neneh Cherry had on Massive Attack.
Trip-Hop is almost all I listened to for a decade. Massive Attack is the standard. Unkle and Portishead are up there too.
I too went down the trip hop rabbit hole recently ..
Lets share some of our favourite tracks?
I agree with the above, but for me Tricky's Maxinquaye was the greatest album of that period.
Edit: with the exception of Endtroducing of course
I’m with you guys. Kruger and Dorfmeister deserve a head nod as well
@@NotQuiteFirst Maxinquaye, Dummy and Mezzanine are masterpieces
Massive Attack's Blue Lines was at the forefront of a great movement, but there was so much going on in 90s music in Britain. There was Jungle / Drum n Bass. There was rave/ techno. There was Madchester dance / indie. Triphop. Britpop. Even the Indian people like Talvin Singh / Cornershop were getting their tablas out. Up north in Scotland, Boards of Canada was getting started. Other namechecks: Future Sound of London, Orb, Orbital.
It's a travesty that this only reached no 13 in the charts. This is one of the greatest tracks....EVER!
AGREE
I think it's amazing, the average public cant cope with complex music, look at the dribble that boy and girls bands put out, most people like nursery rhymes. It's amazing that enough of the fringe of society got out and bought this to get it into the charts.
Totally agree
Still my fave song ever
#1 in the Netherlands ;)
"Unfinished Sympathy" is my number one single of all times. It gives me chills every single time.
Me too 👊
🖐🏻
Heard this on a soundtrack. Paid a dollar for the disc. Put on track five, repeat. There isn't a parental advisory sticker, either.
@Jérome Bastin That was where I first heard this song. On the soundtrack. Thought it sounded very good.
One thing that's more unique to the UK electronic music scene is how it has a much a stronger crossover with rock/indie/punk than elsewhere. That's why you'll find a lot of electronic crossover groups either come from the UK or were most successful by far in the UK (ie Pendulum, Atari Teenage Riot The Prodigy). It's an interesting phenomenon that other places don't have.
Thank you so much for bringing some attention to Massive attack and trip hop.
Robert del naja being Banksy is one of my favourite theories
I know Robert. Well i'm aquainted through my work.I used to play Lakota in Bristol and Robert came in a bit. He has that baligerance that could certainly make you think it could be him but he never gave anything away.
Banksy is robin gunningham not del Naja lol
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THIS SONG. This song has been in my life for as long as I've been alive and I can't stress enough how much I feel this song should be included in the conversation of general music innovation greatness. Thank you 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
I have to agree. This is the best tune.
This is my all time favourite song. Massive Attack have had such a positive impact on my music tastes. The 90’s was such an amazing time for all genres of UK music, not just Brit Pop or the Spice Girls
It's way up there for me too
I was 20 years old when this came out...I was living in England, East Anglia and as an American living there...I was fascinated by this song and heavily influenced my musical productions ever since. Driving along the english country side, Pete Tong radio show, in a ford cortina, in the summertime. This cannot be beat. Great music from 88-92.
You have one of my favorite music channels. This was so good! I didn't know how involved Neneh Cherry was in getting that first album produced. At this time 30 years ago, she was all over top 40 radio here in the US (as was Soul II Soul), little did I know how involved she was with this record.
this track will forever make me think of learning to drive in Sydney, crossing the Harbour Bridge for the first time at night during the rain.
I love crossing the Harbour Bridge to this tune too. If you pass a bright orange Commodore with this blasting out the windows give me a wave lol.
One of my favorite songs of all time. Masterpiece
28 years later Shara Nelson still looks like a time traveller in that video. Also great catch on Manchild's link to Unfinished Sympathy, how did I never notice that lol.
That feeling when I tell people my favorite genre is trip hop and they've never heard of it.
i would say "the pharcyde - drop" video deserves a breakdown... one of the most brilliant videos of that era.
yeees
YEEES! More people should talk about trip hop...Great vid. You can also talk more about bjork or if you want something kinda obscure Sneaker Pimps
@emmanuel de la cruz Yeah that's the thing, the genre is that well defined. there are a lot of acts that had a trip hop phase than acts who are trip hop specificaly. Obvious example being Everything but the girl. but even today, you can argue FKA TWIGS is kind of an updated form of trip hop.
I've regularly listened to massive attack for about 25 years and always felt they were underappreciated. This video shows their originality and influence was deeper than I suspected.
(sees video title).
(immediately gets that tin-percussion intro to the song stuck in head)
‘Unfinished sympathy’ is a masterpiece.
The scratching at the start, the strings, the production.. just amazing..
massive attack is my favorite music group of all time, i never got bored of their songs and i can listen to them all day long for weeks because im not just enjoying the song, i feel something when i listen to it. im hooked to that feeling
i wasnt aware they were this big and influential but im not surprised too, if i can only listen to one music artist for the rest of my life its def massive attack
A few weeks after the release of Blue Lines, I went to a night in Sydney, where DJ collective 'All Funked Up' played all the sample originals along side MA tunes with live MC's, continuing on in the ethic of the release, almost like a present time retrospective. A night that both got me hooked on MA and introduced me to a life of record collecting. Just a note, not the first UK accent rap, plenty before them. Great content, thanks.
Didn't know about Neneh Cherry's involvement. Interesting info, thanks.
This might be obvious to TT and folks from the UK, but I just want to highlight how great Tricky’s first few albums are and how vital he was to Massive Attack early on. He’s such a raw dude in his interviews as well. Very passionate. You get the sense of how shit out of luck he might’ve been if he didn’t posses this copious amount of unique, natural talent. Hope he’s doing alright these days.
mans lost his daughter recently as well. i hope he gets through this. seeing him in concert in march.
You’re a very interesting TH-camr and am glad I stumbled across your channel, you’ve helped us understand more about music than what we could do by ourselves, keep making the good content
:)
well, when talking about tunes that are british icons yet devoid of chart success i guess an episode on Underworld and Born Slippy is due (made it to number 2, would have been a 1 if charts were published on wednesday). and their odd history and permutations would make for a great story to explore in a video. keep up the great work, liking this series :)
True: they were underneath the radar.
Don't know if specifically Born Slippy, as great as it may be, but definitely an episode about Underworld altogether.
My earliest music memory is this song. I was around 5 years old, playing with my mother's cassetteplayer, and this song came up and it has always captivated me. Took me more than a decade to learn it was from Massive Attack, whom I did love other songs from.
Great video again, keep it up!
Bruh I remember being a toddler hearing this song on the radio during forced nap-time. Never knew who it was.
When i discovered Massive Attack as an adult and heard this song for the first time in 15 years i lost my mind. Powerful stuff.
Surprisingly enough, I had that feeling when I heard Paper Planes by MIA in like 2018.
Would hear it all the time while younger, completely forgot about it for a decade, and then finally heard it after ages.
Weird feeling. Like, spine tingling.
How old are you now?
Forced nap-time? Did you grow up in North Korea?
If you do an episode on Kate Bush I can die happy
SilentAssassin01234 search on TH-cam there’s an hour long bbc docs on her
@@kenrehill8775 I have seen it
It's incredible the influence she's had on people. I've watched that documentary on her so many times. It leaves you wanting more. We need more Kate Bush anything.
Rip
m8 i never listened to much Massive but this was amazing - would love a breakdown of either The Streets ( Mike Skinner really paved the way for a lot of rap out of the UK) or Prodigy especially with the death of Keith, those dudes turned the scene on its axis. Keep up the amazing work.
That song changed my life. I'd just started my first proper job as a journalist and was living near Bristol when it came out and it still sounds as fresh to my ears today as the first time I heard it. It's just pure west country class.
I'd love to see Underworld's Born Slippy.NUXX in this series... feels right.
Rez and Bigmouth were better in my opinion although when that intro starts it lifts the roof off after that it gets a bit to handbaggy for me.
Do an episode of talk talks discography, the way their albums progressed is really special.
YES!!! I second this. Talk Talk are vastly underrated and very influential. There would be no OK Computer or Post-Rock without 'Spirit of Eden' and 'Laughing Stock'. RIP Mark Hollis
Who went to go and listen to 'unfinished sympathy' by Massive Attack straight after watching this video!?
Ya Got Me LOL
One of my favorite songs of all time. Masterpiece
Thank you so much for bringing some attention to Massive attack and trip hop.
Oh, I know all about Blue Lines, and its aura of influence. "Unfinished Sympathy" is an unparalleled masterpiece.
OMFG THIS IS MY #1 FAVORITE SONG BY MASSIVE ATTACK, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK FOR THIS VIDEO😭😭😭😭💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞
Edit: I've wanted to know the background, history, and breakdown of this song for the longest. Thank you🙏🏾💞
I love this series! It is a fascinating concept, and it is plain to see that you put a lot of work
You appeared in my timeline and I hit play. No regrets. I subbed half way through because your synopsis was fantastic. Great video. Keep up the great work
Very well done. May you never run out of topics.
This is an eye opener. Amazing work and research you’ve done. I love their music and this video really makes me appreciate them even more. Thanks!
I love your videos! Keep working hard.
Loved this video so much! One of my favourite songs, from one of my favourite albums and an absolutely amazing band.
This song live along with ‘Black is the Colour of my true loves hair’ by Nina Simone. Glorious.
Thank you so much for doing this video. I learned so much behind one of my favorite artists and tracks that I never knew!
This song is the ultimate best of all time. Everything about it is just perfect. The composition, the combination of genres, the sampled beats, the title, the lyrics, the absence of chorus, Shara's vocals and of course the signature strings that elevate it all into the heavens. I doubt there will ever be another song of this calibre. This certainly is MASSIVE!
Great series, thanks for posting these!
Wow, just came across this! Love that all these years later, I’m just now finding out about Neneh Cherry (who I’ve loved since high school) was connected to Massive Attack! Consider me subscribed!
I was recommended your videos this morning and I'm so glad the TH-cam algorithm paid off today. Really starting off my New Years on a good foot.
I've always loved this song. Thank you very much for doing this!
Absolutely great vid. One of my all time favourite tracks and I learnt loads of stuff I didn’t know. New sub!
This channel's great. Totally subbed. Massive Attack - elegant game changers!
Such a cool vid TT. Thanks for the effort - it's appreciated
holy shit man you keep pumping these amazing videos on oddly specific topics and im loving it so much
Great series. Keep at it!
Actually, this is my favourite song of all time, and this was a great analysis! Good job!
Spectacular video. Enjoyed it so much, thanks!!
Loved the video, love Massive Attack, Love the series!!! Thanx!!
Great work! This video is super interesting and so well done.
This is seriously my favorite "breakdown video essay" channel since "Every Frame a Painting". Well done.
This is an excellent synopsis. Massive Attack's collaboration with reggae legend Horace 'Sleepy' Andy remains a highlight for me.
Massive Attack is well known to work with guest vocalists on all of their albums. Horace Andy is the only artist who has made a guest appearance on every Massive Attack album. My favorites with him are "Man Next Door", "Angel", "Everywhen" and "Girl I Love You". They're all great though. He's not a full member of the group but he seriously makes these songs his own. I seriously believe that Massive Attack is one of those groups that has not made a bad album.
Dude I've been obsessed with this song ever since I saw this special. Love it and love you!
hearing this for the first time ever must be amazing
Brilliant video, by the way. I learnt so much!!
Outstanding content. Answers all the right questions. Phenomenal
After seeing your Eurythmics docu I'm hooked to your channel, excellent inside/behind the music docu's, great work!
Loving all you videos mate. Only just discovered you and have been binging all night. I've loved this track since it was released. Like many on here, it lets me feel my feels in a profound way but you've broken me, I've been calling it Unfinished Symphony. How have I missed that for so long.
Great vid mate.
Ruddy fantastic video. Thank you. I remember this hitting the radio airwaves. I rushed out to get the cd single. It’s truly a seminal track .
Omg! This is brilliant. Been in love with Massive Attack since ‘95! I love finding out more behind-the-scene info. They are criminally underrated... wish this was an hour long episode but I’m grateful for what we’ve got!
Haunting, emotional, groovy, sexy, intelligent, Creative and timeless!
All this coming from the streets of Bristol.
This kind of alchemy in music you cannot create artificially or by accident. Masterpiece
I just came across your channel. I’ve been bingeing on your videos! Your delivery, research and composition all come together so well! Kudos! Subscribed!!
Love these videos!!!
Brillliant! I loved this documentary. well done
i’ve been getting into massive attack lately so thanks for this video!
I truly enjoy your videos and info.
It's like meeting my idols, but without ever being disenchanted, but rather have all their effort and talent be elevated.
cheers
Great series idea, please make LOTS more. 😀
This is incredible. Keep up the good work.
Man, I love this channel. It is a hidden gem in the bowels of TH-cam. Keep it up guys
Please do an episode on the specials or ghost town, they deserve so much more respect
I'm from the future to let you know that you got your wish! 😁
This was fantastic! Thank you!
I need you to do a deep dive into withering heights. Thats lil easter egg got me too excited. Love your stuff keep it up.
When Time past by, and alot of stuff get lost. Videos like this And channel like this, keep us reminded that, there was a great generation behind us and we have to move on, and try to make history again. But remember the past. Great work you do!
Wow! Neneh made quite a contribution to this wonderful music. I never knew!!! Big ups! Great video!!
Massive Attack is one of my favorites, tks for this video!
You are doing the best job on youtube. You are number one for me when it comes to music.
thank you, i really like the way you explain things...very precise ,correct and clear ,thanx
Whenever i look back nostalgically to my teen years, i think of this song. It reminds me of the mixed feelings i had when finishing school. Free to do my own thing but also a time of uncertainty about my future. great video!
i would like something about the police, one of my fave bands
I'm surprised I missed this video. Well, the important thing is that I've caught it now. Excellent work as always. Keep it up.
Ahhh Massive Attack. My absolute favourite :)))
I've been listening to Massive Attack for more than 20 years. I go back to them when I need to center myself. This is one my absolute favorite tracks from any artist. It deserves all the love. Thanks for this.
As a Brostolian of a certain age, I love this vid. I would say you needed to include Smith and Mighty in the film and the influence they had.
Okay, now I have to go and watch the music video again
Hahah me too!
Awesome video. One of my favorite songs ever!!! would love to see you do a video on Boards of Canada, haven't seen much content covering them on YT
Hell yeah! I love reading their interviews.
Excellent video mate
I love your channel so much. Such great and interesting content done with quality. Keep going 👍🏽. And please can you do something on Kylie Minogue or on 90s British pop. Thanks
Great channel. Just found it . Lots to watch here :)