kid606: Down With the Scene

I got this when it came out in 2000 on the basis of a review in The Wire — see it mentioned prominently in their 50 Records of the Year.

I did not like it then. I'm not afraid of difficult listening, but this felt like a step too far, too determined to undermine its own melodies, textures and beats before they got a foot in the door. I put it to one side. That's the price you pay for experimenting with music purchases: having quite a lot of albums 'put to one side'.

Then the kid (as surely no one calls him) was on the bill for the performance part of Cybersonica 2003, and I found myself down the front at the ICA. Little Lalya from Sweden was really getting into it, and when I started dancing, the music suddenly made complete sense. I had a great time.

Not that I rushed home and put the CD on again.

It's still a difficult listen, and I can't make it through all the way in one sitting. But I think I missed the mischievous humour the first time round. It starts with Chart Topping Radio Hit, and 18-second piece, that begins with silence followed by very quiet sounds that last just long enough for you to reach the volume control and crank it up before the last few seconds when the blasts of explosive white noise kick in. Ouch, got me! It'll take millions in plastic surgery to make me black is another good title, a full 44 seconds long, which really ought to include a Michael Jackson sample, but if it does I missed it.

Back to the shelf with you now, kid.

MusicBrainz entry for this album Wikipedia entry for this album