the king of pop
on November 29, 2008
in music
I went to this concert. It was in this city with these people. Some of them wore those white shirts, which was a bit strange for a rock concert, I thought. Well actually, it wasn’t a rock concert, they call it trip-hop, whatever that means. First your trip then you hop, I guess. A bit unusual – normally you’d expect a fall after a trip, not a hop. Well these people …
Anyway, the king of trip hop came, they say. So I went to see the king. I quite like they guy, his music that is, not him. But I would never say he is a king. Tricky, that’s the guy’s name, a king? No way. Well, actually he’s no Tricky either, he’s Adrian Thaws, born 1968 in Bristol, England, musician. Well, and actually not even that, you could hardly call him a musician: he is noted for a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style – that’s what Wikipedia has to say about him and I guess they are right. The guy can’t sing, he only speaks. Surprisingly he’s got no rhythm either (I had a chance to find out at the concert). Not bad for a world-famous artist. But there’s one thing this guy can do – he can make good use of other musicians, and in that there is hardly a replacement for him.
But these people. I think I have a problem with them. When he sings, pardon, says his stuff, they stand motionless, emotionless, absent-minded, white-shirted, jaded, spoiled with money. But when he says a nice word to them or lets them shake hands with him, or just brush against him, they treat him like a king, more, like a superhuman, a saviour. If Jesus was jealous he would probably envy Tricky such respect. That’s pop for you.
But I ain’t get fooled. Tricky’s just a boy, a kid. I know it. He knows it: Tricky Kid, Knowle West Boy* these are his own words. So I tell you: no king of trip-hop, pop, or any other. Just a kid, but tricky.
*Knowle West is a district of Bristol of poor reputation
(michał_t)
