01 January Is For Videos: Portishead – Glory Box

Introduction to “January Is For Videos” The new year is always bittersweet for me. The upside: It’s the start of a new year, which means a clean slate. The downside: Jan. 1 means months more of dreary winter. I don’t so much mind the cold, sleet, and snow as long as there is a holiday to celebrate. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Get us through October, November, and December, but the first few months of the new year are quite sparse on holidays. March brings us St. Patty’s Day, the first real holiday of the year. I know February gives us Valentine’s Day, which is also technically a holiday, but to me (and apparently a lot of other people) that’s a holiday that’s more dreary than the darkest, coldest day in January. So in 2008 I’m turning over a new leaf. I am going to celebrate the dark month of January, despite its doldrums. I’ve decided to fight the new year sadness with music videos. I’m calling it “January is for Videos” – a tongue-in-cheek reference to Virginia’s we-have-something-to-offer state slogan. Each day, I’ll post a video that makes me smile, inspires me, changed my life, or somehow captures something I think is worthy of others seeing. I hope this little glimpse into my experience with music videos will help make the beginning of your 2008 a little more exciting, less dreary, and gives each January day that small, but much needed boost to get you through. That said, here’s the first post for Day 1: Portishead – Glory Box First, Portishead. If you don’t know who they are, you’re missing out on a part life – the part where lounge soul and electronic beats beautifully drown together in reverb. The band’s heyday was the late 90s and sadly, they are no longer together, but this stuff is still as beautiful and fresh today. I’ve known about them for a long time, but just recently bought their self-titled album ‘Portishead.’ This video is them playing track 2 from that disc. They are playing live at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City in ’97. As a musician, the atmosphere in this video is as good as it gets. In your dreams, you hope to someday play a show. In fact, this is exactly how you want to perform your songs every time: lights low, room smoky and chill, surrounded by your extremely talented bandmates, backed by an an orchestra, and an intimate gathering of your fans listening intently, enjoying your art as much as you do – maybe even more so. The mood is right and the music is good. They’ve written a real gem, something poppy, yet timeless. “Glory Box” is catchy, groovy. Hippies and deadheads nod in unison to its vibe, but there is a depth and quality that the critics and classicists (in the musical sense) can’t deny either. They take their time because no one wants to go anywhere. That’s hard to do. This is how I want to play. This kind of venue, this quality of music, these kind of fans. Wish I could’ve seen this show. Good news though, this concert is available on a live DVD. I’m saving my pennies to pick it up. Anyway, check out the video. Hope it makes your January 1st super chill.