Today in Music (1969): The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” released on Let It Bleed

Gimme Shelter The Rolling Stones

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The Prodigy “Firestarter” released

Firestarter The Prodigy

Writer(s): Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, Kim Deal, Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan, Paul Morley (see lyrics here) Released: March 18, 1996 First Charted: March 30, 1996 Peak: 30 US, 24 MR, 13 UK, 3 CN, 22 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.85 UK, 1.35 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 141.0 video, 77.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Prodigy formed in 1990. Fronted by keyboardist and songwriter Liam Howlett, the group also included MC/singer Maxim and singer/dancer Keith Flint. They are considered – along with the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim – to be pioneers of the backbeat-influenced genre big beat. The group has gone on to sell over 20 million records worldwide – “a feat that remains unparalleled in dance music history.” XFM “Firestarter” was the lead single from their third album The Fat of the Land. It became their first UK chart topper was also the group’s first song to feature Flint on vocals. Howlett wrote it as an instrumental originally and then Flint, just a dancer with the band at the time, said he’d like to add some vocals, reportedly saying, “If I’m ever going to do any lyrics, I’m going to do it on this tune.” SF It was their only top-40 hit in the United States. After Flint’s suicide in 2019, the song reached #13 on Billboard magazine’s dance/electronic digital songs sales chart in the U.S. The follow-up single, “Breathe,” was also a #1 hit in the UK. Upon the single’s release, British magazine Music Week called the song a “powerful return for the kings of live techno.” WK RM magazine’s Brad Beatnik described it as “a typically searing chunk of heavy techno featuring some manie vocale and an awesome synth line.” WK Gerald Martinez referred to in New Sunday Times as “heavy metal meets techno-dance stylisations.” WK Kim Deal received a songwriting credit because of “the looped wah-wah guitar” WK in “Firestarter” that was sampled from “S.O.S.,” a song of hers with the Breeders. Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley also were credited because of the “hey hey hey” sample from their song “Close (To the Edit)” by Art of Noise. SF The song generated controversy in the UK where it was accused by the national fire service of promoting arson, XFM although Flint told Melody Maker the “rave rock anthem has nothing to do with literally starting fires by about performing in front of 5,000 people and stirring them up into a frenzy.” SF Flint’s enancing look in the video was also criticized by tabloids as frightening young children. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Prodigy AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 326. Related Links: First posted 10/26/2021.

 

Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” released

Unfinished Sympathy Massive Attack

Writer(s): Grant Marshall, Andrew Vowles, Robert Del Naja, Shara Nelson (see lyrics here) Released: February 11, 1991 First Charted: February 23, 1991 Peak: 13 UK, 95 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.4 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 42.0 video, 77.43 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Massive Attack formed in 1988, pioneering “a new style of dance music, commonly termed ‘trip-hop.’” XFM Their debut album, 1991’s Blue Lines, was released “to widespread critical acclaim and has gone on to be hugely influential.” XF The album’s “standout track,” XFM is “Unfinished Sympathy,” which is “recognized as a pioneering song in the development of British dance music.” WK They released the song as a single in February 1991, although they temporarily scrapped the name Massive Attack in favor of the less controversial “Massive.” The term “massive attack” had been deemed unpatriotic by the BBC in light of the Gulf War and the band risked the song being banned by radio. WK They also didn’t want to be seen as supporting the Gulf War. XFM It is “one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever written. It begins with a simple slow beat before bursting into life with percussion and strings. Shara Nelson’s vocals define the track, with a wonderfully rich and emotive voice that sounds like it would be more commonly found on a soul track coming out of Detroit rather than a dance track from Bristol.” XFM Lyrically the song “finds Nelson longing for her companion, but wary because she has been hurt before.” SF The use of a string section and other orchestral elements was considered innovative in the electronic dance genre. SF It was originally played on synthesizers, but band member DJ Mushroom said it “sounded too tacky, so we thought we may as well use real strings. The orchestra definitely changed the feeling of the song, making it heavier and deeper with more feeling.” WK The video, directed by Baillie Walsh, was one of the first to use a continuous shot following singer Shara Nelson as she walked through a Los Angeles neighborhood oblivious to her surroundings. WK It has been copied many times since, perhaps most notably by The Verve with “Bittersweet Symphony.” XFM Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 266. Related Links: First posted 10/26/2021.