Despite grunting appearances to the contrary, I don’t dislike contemporary worship music as such but certain manifestations of it—mostly the sort that tries to be U2 or Coldplay while promoting Jesus-therapy and self-improvement. Back in the day, I used to fantasise (too strong a word, I know) about playing bass in a worship-oriented band that took reality into account. When Massivivid popped onto the scene in 1998 with BrightBlur, I knew I didn’t need to fantasise any more—at least not about the ‘worship-oriented band that took reality into account’, anyway.
Standout track: ‘Drop’
Not familiar at all with Massivivid, and they're not on Spotify, so I'll have to look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe whole album is probably on YouTube.
DeleteAbsolutely loved Massivivid. Found them in College, and been listening to them ever since. I can't think of any album by any band that compares.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think to their Dressed to the Nines . . . album? I really didn't/don't think much of it.
DeleteDTT9/ATTT was certainly a shock when it was released. And it was a place where Franky/Wally was definitely leaving the faith. My own journey has taken me to a peaceful agnosticism; in 2001 or whatever it was I was still crushed when a favorite musician "left the faith." Pete Stewart/Grammatrain as well.
DeleteAdd in, as well, that Nines had a song about the strippers...
But I did appreciate the raw honesty of the record. I like it more, years later. Not necessarily because the lyrics make more sense to me; they still don't resonate the way they did on Brightblur. HOWEVER, there are some great songs. Resonate FM is great. Opium Doll, Vivimercia is SO cheeky. The remixes of Crop Circles and Gripped are unnecessary. The "dirty" industrial is great. I really like the guitar tone, the drums, the distortion on the vocals.
One thing I find is Nines doesn't have the same strength in choruses.
I like it more now than I did then, when I wasn't really in a place to even accept it for what it was. It's not as good as BrightBlur, though.
Thanks for your comment, Ro-Bot. To be honest, it's been years - actual years, possibly more than a decade! - since I listened to DTT9s, and I don't remember how most the songs you list sound. I gave my CD to a friend who helps out with Christian ministry to alternative groups (http://asylumlondon.com/). That said, I do occasionally listen to the two songs I did like from the album (which I had burnt onto iTunes), one of which you mention: Opium Doll and All the Rage.
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