. . . .Put away that razor, Beth--I love you!!!!
Portishead is, by far, the best album to listen to when you are utterly depressed. Haunting is not word enough to describe the combination of the music and Beth Gibbons' smooth, sometimes shrill voice. Think Star Trek and you'll have a pretty good idea of what their music sounds like.
It's so easy to get lost in their sound. Put yourself in a car with a good stereo system and crank the volume way up, and you'd swear to God you were high. Portishead just hits every single nerve in your body. You don't listen to them, you give your soul over to them until the album is done.
It's the way the words perfectly meld with Beth's crooning voice and the band's ethereal music that really does it for me. I think my verses, displayed in my bipolar rants section, were most heavily influenced by this band.
I'll throw in the lyrics to one of my favorite Portishead tunes, Wandering Star, right here, just to give you a glimpse of how they may have been the divine force feeding me my rants.
"Please could you stay awhile to share my grief
For it's such a lovely day
To have to always feel this way
And the time that I will suffer less
Is when I never had to wake
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
The blackness of darkness foerever
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
the blackness of darkness forever
Those who have seen the needles eye now tread
like a husk, from which all that was, now has fled
And the masks that the monsters wear
To feed upon their prey
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
the blackness of darkness forever
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
The blackness of darkness forever
Always doubled up inside
Take awhile to share my grief
Always doubled up inside
Taunted, cruel. . . .
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
The blackness of darkness forever
Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
The blackness of darkness forever
See what I mean? But the funny thing is, I used to find this song so unbearably depressing--thus making it the perfect tune to drown myself in on my more bipolar days. However, ever since my Mega-Theory was borne to life, I now view the song a little differently.
You see, Portishead are playing right into my theory. The velvety black of eternity where we lie in the skies and exist continually throughout all the ages. All this song really does is enforce that life is all about hardships and learning. It gets tough. It's okay to look forward to that darkness, as long as you don't give up the light while we live it. I think what I feared the most in the song was how despondant I took the blackness to actually be. Ever since Mega-Theory, the blackness doesn't seem like a bad place anymore.
Now what in tarnations led me to discover such a little known, yet all-powerful band, you ask? That would be Justin's handywork at play again. I'll give the kid credit, aside from me, he has the best taste in music.
Anyway, I'm rambling again. Why don't you browse through some other Portishead dedication sites to get a better view of all they have to offer and come back and check out my Tori Amos page next. Blah.
On to Tori Amos
Back to Main
A Portishead site chock-full of lyrics
A portishead site dealing mainly with band member Geoff Barrows
