Re: Out of context Trouser Press music

I am sitting in the Amex Centurion Lounge at DCA right now, doing work, and all of a sudden my ears prick up ... it's Portishead's "Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)" over the in-lounge PA. Weird context, but an all-timer of a song.

Later iterations of trip hop concentrated on jazzy chord changes over lazy hip hop beats, with pretty female vocals over it, and called it. Thus it became part of the new Muzak. I'm sure the programmer (whether human or AI) just saw "trip hop" next to Portishead's name and threw them in there, since casual hearers wouldn't know the difference. I've heard them in restaurants and shops all over the place. Which, to your point, is cool -I love them, and I don't mind listening to someone's beautifully delivered dark night of the soul while I'm conspicuously consuming.

If you treat Portishead as background music, they fit, but they're expressing intense emotions that seem really incongruous as muzak.

Hearing "Gimme Shelter" in line at the supermarket feels much more unsettling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2026 12:22PM by steevee.

If a person in a restaurant, store or dentist's office hears Portishead, and gets their ear caught just enough to spark curiosity about the band, then the world becomes a little bit better place.

It is for this very reason that I truly think ‘Shazam’ is one of the best things on my phone. Brilliant app.

The ability to Shazam sneakily undetected in a hipster record store is a valuable skill.

Bip Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is for this very reason that I truly think
> ‘Shazam’ is one of the best things on my phone.
> Brilliant app.
>
> The ability to Shazam sneakily undetected in a
> hipster record store is a valuable skill.

Shazam is awesome! I also use it when I hear interesting music on TV shows (and commercials, for that matter).

> The ability to Shazam sneakily undetected
> in a hipster record store is a valuable
> skill.

The opportunity to Shazam openly and fragrantly, in front of said hipsters, actually is more satisfying.

Over the weekend I watched a new Netflix horror series called Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. It was good for a few episodes then derailed into a mess, so I can't really recommend it. The Stranger Things guys were involved, so I was not too surprised when a few nuggets made my ears perk up. The Go-Betweens' "Love Goes On" was used in the background in one scene, and not for too long. But The Waterboys' "We Will Not Be Lovers," was used very prominently in the final scene, and based on the storyline, made perfect sense.

Walked into the Hair Saloon for Men just now to get a haircut, where the music playing is usually classic rock, and was a bit surprised to hear "Vapour Trail" by Ride playing.

It was followed immediately by "Janie's Got a Gun" and "American Woman," so it was definitely back to business as usual. I had thought maybe that the Goth-y looking receptionist had chosen a different muzak station, but apparently not. So I have no clue how the hell Ride ended up on the classic rock muzak station. But it was a nice surprise.

On a weekend getaway to Canada, with some friends visiting us from Colorado, it surfaced in conversation that we had recently seen The Fratellis. Our friends, long accustomed to our "left of the dial" musical taste, asked bemusedly, "Who are The Fratellis?" just as we were stepping into a pub. Within a few seconds after we crossed the threshold, "Whistle for the Choir" began to play on the pub's muzak system. Sometimes the right context presents itself just when it's needed.