"New Grass," Talk Talk

Song: "New Grass"
Album: Laughing Stock
Artist: Talk Talk



This is a beautiful song that I didn't know much about until I did some digging. It's been on my "Somber Favorties" list for ages-- probably culled from a "Listeners Also Bought" suggestion. Turns out, this one is a classic and my ears served me well.

To me, their story is another one of transcendence. Talk Talk was an 80's British pop band, sort-of a low key Duran Duran. Remember "It's my life... don't you forget..." (I posted a last.fm preview of it below). When I hear that song I feel like donning a Swatch and putting up the collar on my lime green Izod.

But, this song is different. It turns out, they didn't much care to be pop stars, preferring instead the pursuit of their craft in the studio. They got themselves all embroiled in a law suit with their label and things must have been hell. But, then they won the law suit! How often does that happen?

Anyway, this album was their last. It was recorded with a full orchestra (a model of how to make the most expensive album possible) and was a total departure from the pop that their label wanted them to make. Some reviews of the album were dismal when it first came out-- but history has proven these artists (Mark Hollis, Lee Harris, Paul Webb + many guest artists) to have been visionary. They may have invented the down tempo genre with this record (released in 1991) as well as the term "New Grass," an emerging genre of it's own.

There's a really good bio here, a review here and a pretty scanty wiki page here.

Just to refresh your memory:
Talk Talk – It's My Life