Thread of the Dead - The Bear and Badger

Yossarian

I can’t see how the Prodigy’s change in music could be considered a naked attempt to crack the mainstream, they started doing a style of music that had hardly any precedent and what precedent it did have wasn’t exactly setting the world alight. In retrospect it might look that way, but before it came out, I don’t think anyone was thinking that digital punk was a route to fame and fortune.

g.man

Aye, musically they had their moment in the sun and then really just transitioned to being a killer live draw, while their studio output post Fat of the Land was largely bobbins. Doesn't really matter though, because those early choons were so damn good they sustained the band's career for about quarter of a century. No mean feat that.
And after all, not making a good album in forty years has never really held back The Rolling Stones, has it?

regmcfly

They did bounce back post kick ass tho

monkey

Yossarian wrote:

I can’t see how the Prodigy’s change in music could be considered a naked attempt to crack the mainstream, they started doing a style of music that had hardly any precedent and what precedent it did have wasn’t exactly setting the world alight. In retrospect it might look that way, but before it came out, I don’t think anyone was thinking that digital punk was a route to fame and fortune.

Punk stuff has always had a lucrative niche in America. But anyway it was partly by accident. Firestarter came out. Did unexpectedly well in the US. It doesn't take a huge leap of imagination to think this suddenly made the record company sit up and take a bit of interest. Then they recorded the next album which was more of the same and accompanied by a huge US tour and a heavy marketing push. Not the end of the world, it was probably the direction they were going anyway. I just "preferred their early work" which is an embarrassment of stonkers.

Kow

I think Jilted Generation was the first cd I ever bought. Their last good album as far as I'm concerned.

Moot_Geeza

Fat of the Land had some unwelcome filler but it was mostly very good.

Yossarian

James Blunt on Twitter:

At the Q Awards years ago, when @NoelGallagher was saying he was leaving Ibiza because I’d moved there, and @DamonAlbarn refused to be in the same picture as me, and @PaulWellerHQ was saying he’d rather eat his own shit than work with me, Keith Flint came over, gave me a hug, and said how thrilled he was for my success.

Keith, I only met you once, but I shed a tear at the news of your death. In our business, there are no prizes for being kind, but if there was, that Grammy would be yours.

Aww.

https://twitter.com/JamesBlunt/status/1102642932803399682

Roujin

Fucking Blunty, legend.

GooberTheHat

monkey wrote:

Keith Flint-era prodigy, ie when he became prominent instead of the Bez, was the point where I went off them a fair bit. It was a pretty naked attempt by the whole band to crack the mainstream, get edgy and wrap themselves in some American-friendly ‘U.K. punk’ daubing. While Firestarter is a pure banger, the music went downhill after that quicker than a bobsleigh.

How dare they try and be successful and make money, the shameless grifters!

Skerret

Luke Perry being overshadowed, he had his own moment but was pretty solid thereafter and oh man, the forehead that launched a thousand ships

monkey

GooberTheHat wrote:

monkey wrote:

Keith Flint-era prodigy, ie when he became prominent instead of the Bez, was the point where I went off them a fair bit. It was a pretty naked attempt by the whole band to crack the mainstream, get edgy and wrap themselves in some American-friendly ‘U.K. punk’ daubing. While Firestarter is a pure banger, the music went downhill after that quicker than a bobsleigh.

How dare they try and be successful and make money, the shameless grifters!

They can do what they like. And I can like it or not.

LivDiv

I understand The Prodigy changing things up a bit for Fat of the Land, the scene the first two albums came from had changed and in terms of illegal raves, disappeared.

It was on Baby's got a Temper that they became a pastiche of themselves. Howlett was right to ditch everything and start again.

Always Outnumbered is a great album that unfortunately many didn't give much of a chance when it was released.

I didn't think much of the albums after that, again I felt like they were chasing their most financially successful period rather than offering much new.
I never got to see them live, the opportunities I had were in that late era and my mates that went didn't rate them, too much new stuff.

nick_md

My gfs mum apparently said to her, "I see that man from the sex pistols has died".

b0r1s

@Yossarian I fucking hate music snobs. I’m not a James Blunt fan and I like Blur and Weller but they sound like a bunch of pricks.

Yossarian

I’d probably have been the same as them at that time. Not any more, thankfully.

b0r1s

I’m guessing you’d have been quite young at the time, Weller has no excuse.

optimark_prime

Roujin wrote:

Fucking Blunty, legend.

Not a fan of his music, but he seems a decent bloke and his twitter account is amazing.

hylian_elf

Trufax: I always embarrass myself when I try to dance. But possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life was when a work mate and I requested Breathe at a work party (we were both 18) and when it came on, he chickened out and I attempted to ‘dance’ to it in front of a big crowd who had all sat down when the Prodg came on.

RIP Flint, you ledg.

LivDiv

The great thing about that kind of music, like punk as well, is you cant really dance wrong to it if you are enjoying yourself.

hunk

Music for the jilted gen and fat of the land were Prodigy at its peak.
I reckon they still stand the test of time, amazing stuff.

hylian_elf

Hmm I thought FotLand was a bit weak. Few great tracks, Narayan and Climbatize being my favourites, but some dudds in there and a drop down from Experience and MftJGen. I also quite like Always Outnumbered, but they never got back to the heights of Jilted for me. But that’s one amazing album so wasn’t gonna be easy to recreate the awesomeness

nick_md

Experience and Jilted Gen for me. Used to listen to the former on a discman going to sleep, the latter soundtracked a holiday to India. Great albums that I can't ever see getting old.

LivDiv

Worth noting that Their Law is one of the better Greatest Hits out there.
Both remixes are good and some top live selections.

g.man

Yeah, they were always at T in the Park back in the days when I used to work on the coverage of it for the Beeb every year, but the only time I actually paid to see them was at the SECC on the Their Law tour. Consequently it was all killer and no filler. Brilliant gig.

SpaceGazelle

Flint seemed alright. One man's rape drug is another's rec drug of choice. Nihilism isn't rape advocacy and I felt he was treated unfairly over that.

LivDiv

It's a strange thing with Flint passing.
Many bands have lost a member and replaced them, sometimes as was, sometimes with that changing the sound. (Metallica for example)
Others reform as another unit.(New Order)

With The Prodigy Flint was directly featured on only half the studio albums but was crucial to the live performance and arguably the soul of the group.

It isn't inconceivable to have future albums without him but I couldn't imagine a live show without his anarchic theatrics.

Not wanting to start a "what next" discussion, I just think it's quite a unique scenario.

g.man

Aye, given they were primarily a live draw, it would be a fucking stretch to continue without him.

Kow

Wasn't he originally just a dancer for live shows? With no musical input at all?

SpaceGazelle

I remember the press going apeshit about this aggressive rave band killing our kids back in the day and this dangerous new drug that made everyone white cool again.

Yossarian

Kow wrote:

Wasn't he originally just a dancer for live shows? With no musical input at all?

Yep.

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