[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Massive Attack — Teardrop
Album: Mezzanine
Avg rating:
8.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 7224









Released: 1998
Length: 5:19
Plays (last 30 days): 3
Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word
Feathers on my breath
Gentle impulsion shakes me makes me lighter
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my breath

Nine nights of matter
Black flowers blossom
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire of a confession
Feathers on my breath
Black flowers blossom
Feathers on my breath

Water is my eye
Most faithful mirror
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire of a confession
Feathers on my breath
Most faithful mirror
Feathers on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my breath

You're stumbling a little
Comments (675)add comment
I was such a music snob for so many years. Only listened to prog bands forever. 
Then in 2006 I found Radio Paradise, who taught me the joys of Massive Attack, Dead Can Dance, Portishead, AfroCelt and so many more. What a fool I was. So grateful for this station. This is why I donate every month. Thank you, RP! 
After all these years, still...just...wow! 
Here's a great article about how the song became a "hit" in the US, but only as far as the House MD show.  MA was never as popular in the US as elsewhere.  They made the deal for House, MD to use the song, but were paid virtually nothing for it.  The reasoning by the band was that it would help them break into the US market.  However, that didn't happen, either.

The article talks about how Jeff Buckley was the inspiration for the singer, Elizabeth Fraisier, who was chosen after the band voted to ditch Madonna:  The Truth About The House, M.D. Theme Song   Incidentally and oddly, there's no mention about, or crediting MA with the "House, MD theme song" on Wikipedia's page about Massive Attack.  Although they are a "Massive hit" in the UK, not so much in the US.

I voted it a 9 -- since I always loved House, as well as the opening theme song, even if only the first 20 seconds.

apd wrote:

I wonder how much the Massive Attack guys made from House royalties?



Master work from Massive Attack 👍
fearless summer is what I'm perceiving? 
Liz Fraser wrote the lyrics, apparently. Two excellent songs from her this eve.
Still absolutely mind-blowing amazing! Great mix this evening, RP. Complimenti.
 caledonian wrote:

Liz Fraser (singer on this wonderful track) had a "intense" love affair with Jeff Buckley. She was apparently given the news of his death the same day she recorded this song. 



what? no way! i had no idea. interesting.
ixi music going all out
just great
This video takes this song apart (and puts it back again) ixi
Very good song for testing loudspeaker bass. And the song is good.
 jef wrote:

Putin's favorite band...




Then Putin has good taste.
Liz Fraser (singer on this wonderful track) had a "intense" love affair with Jeff Buckley. She was apparently given the news of his death the same day she recorded this song. 
Great song, but I'm starting to feel it's losing its shine from being overplayed.
I remember the feeling in the air in the time this came out… this song defined it and embodied it.
 CCSandman wrote:

This is a lot of people's favourite/most well (only?) known Massive Attack song - to know they have even better ones could very well blow folks mind!

bought their album for the cover of Be Thankful for What You've Got. Also get a kick from Safe From Harm... there's two for you!

Putin's favorite band...
 CCSandman wrote:

This is a lot of people's favourite/most well (only?) known Massive Attack song - to know they have even better ones could very well blow folks mind!



Well don't just sit there... share!!
This is a lot of people's favourite/most well (only?) known Massive Attack song - to know they have even better ones could very well blow folks mind!
Such a memorable song, rated a 9.

Like a Storm, a rock band from New Zealand also made a fine, heavier, cover of this song.
Great Tune! Excellent voice!
I just read that Madonna wanted to do the vocals on this, and while I love her I'm awfully glad she didn't.
This is soooo good...kind of natural.
♥️ 😎
I have probably said this before but very few bands/artistes get to say they changed the direction of popular music.  Among the very obvious ones. I'd include Massive Attack.  
 talexb wrote:

I've been working my way through the House MD box set, so this sound perked me up right away. Nice to hear more than the first 20 seconds (this plays during the end credits of each episode).



Sadly they'd replaced the theme music on the box set I had, with some generic toneless junk. Guess they couldn't maintain the licensing.
Rip Jeff Buckley, Rip Tim.
I think Bill is secretly trying to prevent me from leaving me apartment
living in Bristol at Uni during the 90's was the best.
Massive Attack
Goldie
Portishead
The Whores Of Babylon

great days
 ShuraCL wrote:


Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins fame


Wow! I didn't recognize her voice...
Also, there is this great version by Hayley Williams of Paramore:
Hayley Williams - Teardrop
 changodelaplaya wrote:

I wonder if they had any idea that they were making a "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Sergent Pepper" or "Pet Sounds", when they were recording "Mezzanine"?


I doubt it, because good as it is, it is not in that pantheon.
Another damn fine set from the Master;
Emmylou Harris, Annie Lennox, Steven Wilson and Elizabeth Fraser

I love the super low bass notes... works well with this beauty.
Damn, 20 plus years after I first heard this and it still grabs me and takes me to another place. Amazing...
amazing.
I've been working my way through the House MD box set, so this sound perked me up right away. Nice to hear more than the first 20 seconds (this plays during the end credits of each episode).
 ShuraCL wrote:


Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins fame
 
Not only is she the Vocalist, she also wrote the lyrics!

Both albums, "Mezzanine" and "Protection" that came before it, are bonafide classics and very influential. Bless!
Sitting here on the outskirts of Nairobi, just after sundown.  Listening to Quicksilver Messenger Service and thing back to the days of KMPX, KSAN, Big Daddy Tom Donahue, Tony Bigg/Pigg and all the others.  So cool. Will organize another check tomorrow.
I don't know what i was thinking giving this song a 7. bump to 8.
Also,
Josh Cohen plays Teardrop
Fantastic. Saw them perform this a year ago in Montréal—a staggering show to experience!
The Best!!
Music is good. But holy crap that image gives me the creeps.
fantastic album. and i can name this tune in 2 notes...
goosebumps listening to this... a common emotion listening to RP playlists. 
Please, more Massive Attack.
aaaaaAAAAAAAAAA  I L O V E T H I S S O N G
 graetering wrote:
this is not house. it is trip pop.
 

Just wow.
 drwhy wrote:
Can someone tell me who the female singer is on this song?
 

Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins fame
 drwhy wrote:
Can someone tell me who the female singer is on this song?
 

Elizabeth Fraser
Can someone tell me who the female singer is on this song?
 changodelaplaya wrote:
I wonder if they had any idea that they were making a "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Sergent Pepper" or "Pet Sounds", when they were recording "Mezzanine"?
 
Does anyone?
The Beatles of Bristol's "Trip Hop" sound in the 90's , Massive Attack  still sounds so cool 
A raised glass to Brizzle and the surrounding area in the nineties. Wess coass!
I wonder if they had any idea that they were making a "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Sergent Pepper" or "Pet Sounds", when they were recording "Mezzanine"?
 Lemonhead wrote:
feel I have to comment. again. this song is superb. as is the band as is Bristol 😉
 
I agree with the Bristol response; I was there alot 4 or 5 years ago for business and really enjoyed it.
feel I have to comment. again. this song is superb. as is the band as is Bristol 😉
always remembers me about House M.D.
Totally amazing band. PLEASE make more music.
Posted 3 years ago by Azrica:
...and without any doubt 10 from Montenegrian living in Lebanon...

{#Crown}

Bleyfusz wrote:

Kudos from a German Barcelona resident.


Paul_Williams wrote:

10, without question. But I'm from Bristol, so I'm biased.
 Webfoot wrote:

No, you're right, even in the US (at least the Pacific Northwest).
 
Damn you're right, from Seattle to Eugene, it's a 10 not a 9.
That's a long overdue +1 (gotta Rep the Pacific Northwest!)
Long Live RP!! (And Go Dawgs!)
Zeitloser Jahrhundertsong
just the best boys out of Bristol, or dare I say, the UK
Love this band and this track.
I also love this version too
I still remember the ripples that went through my musical world in the mid 90s when Portishead and Massive Attack brought their delicious grit and grime into play and turned my tastes in electronica and aetherea from bands like Tangerine Dream and Cocteau Twins in the direction of what would become TripHop, DnB etc. Still sublime decades later.
timeless. always a great album to listen to
this is not house. it is trip pop.
A great song and a great album. 
 codeic wrote:
It must be one of the most memorable songs I have ever heard. But, again, that may be true for all Massive Attack songs...
  I know,  whenever I hear this or a cover of it,  it's in my head for days.

It must be one of the most memorable songs I have ever heard. But, again, that may be true for all Massive Attack songs...
One of the reasons that I got a registration here long ago :-)
Massive Attack is almost always reliable producing great music....Love it. 
Great Heart Beats
This one never seems to get old. {#Music} Also, they used it in the trailer for the first Assassin's Creed game so those two things are weirdly mingled in my mind, haha.
Bloody amazing! Still so good after all these years.
 sdwright wrote:
Well if you haven't heard it until now, give a big thank you to Bill our DJ.  Maybe that was when he stumbled upon it and like we all do, overDOSED on the song.  But Massive Attack may actually be following you, I heard they did that to someone else.

Posted: Nov 07, 2017 8:27
 



 
all this fuss begs two questions then:

1. is there really a "bill"?

2. does it matter if bill is a dilbert data entry sweatshop somewhere in s.e. asia?
Is there supposed to be the LP record hissing sound?
Anything by Liz Fraiser bears listening too...but...wow...just ...wow. Words fail me!
Liz is a Mondegreen factory, ain't she?

Love love is a fire
Brown fizzy doo whir
Feel the summer bread!
 Andres-7 wrote:
Damn...there is not higher than 10.

 
There really does need to be an 11.   Just for when you need that extra... push over the cliff....  And this track merits an 11.

Damn...there is not higher than 10.
 pinto wrote:
This song was released in 1998 and 19 years later RP has given it 5 plays in the past 30 days?  Seems a little much even if it is a great song.

 
Well I listen to RP 3 out of 5 days every week 9 to 5 and I have not heard this 5 times in the month you refer to.  You see Bill has an automated system (albeit with algorithms and segues) and it plays 24/7/365 so unless you listen all day and all night every day you are unlikely to hear the multiple plays.

Either that or Massive Attack is following you - watch out its behind you!
10 x infinity
 pinto wrote:
This song was released in 1998 and 19 years later RP has given it 5 plays in the past 30 days?  Seems a little much even if it is a great song.

 
To me, godlike. A 10. A unique experience. Me too, sometimes, I don't feel like listening to a song I worship because I've heard recentky, because it's not the right time, a million reasons.
You now have TWO options for that: 'next song' and 'PSD'.

...I wonder if you do realize that what makes the DNA of RP is that it is playing what it wants to, rather than the current chart toppers?
I don't like being sarcastic. And this is me holding back.

Would you also like Bill to exclude other even older groups (yes, like from before 1998) like Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles (and hundreds more that make me listen to this very web-radio to start with)?
Oh, and he should also stop playing these prehistoric jazz people, Fitzgerald, Armstrong and more, who you had to listen to on the radio because vinyl records were too expensive, so anti-democratic.

I hope I won't post too much lashing-out comments like this one on this forum, which should be about what we like. Guilty as charged.
Love this song but every single day?
Just love Massive Attack !
 pinto wrote:
This song was released in 1998 and 19 years later RP has given it 5 plays in the past 30 days?  Seems a little much even if it is a great song.

 
You're right.  This is a great song.
This song was released in 1998 and 19 years later RP has given it 5 plays in the past 30 days?  Seems a little much even if it is a great song.
 Skydog wrote:
Bill ya gotta precede this with KD Lang's "So It Shall Be"
trust me on this, I did it and it works, 
they both have some sort of hopsicord thing going on (you'll see)

 
I think we're all patiently a-waiting BillG taking you up on this!  And I will say that I'm VERY surprised not only with the high overall rating (esp. considering over 4000 ratings) and the fact it gets played a lot (5 times last 30 days) still and few comments about how "overplayed" it is. 
Probably cuz this shit bumps and sounds great with headphones or awesome sound systems.

Long Live RP!


 Skid_Mark wrote:
"I've never seen a diamond in the flesh...."  {#Shifty}

 
That would be a good trick.  Lorde was probably one or two years old when this was released.  Other than the tempo, the songs don't really have that much in common to me, though they'd probably work out well if played one after the other in a club.
One of the gems to emerge from 90's music.
Bill ya gotta precede this with KD Lang's "So It Shall Be"
trust me on this, I did it and it works, 
they both have some sort of hopsicord thing going on (you'll see)
The perfect match: the angelic voiced Liz Fraser's song about her dead lover with the darkness conjured by Massive Attack.
Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word...
 legacyofrob827 wrote:
heard this once before kinda reminds me of tears for fears pale shelter but i like this better, wondering if this is a cover ...a 9
 



Now, thats'a good one!?
For something completely different, strange and beautiful, check out Voces8 modern choral cover of this....
heard this once before kinda reminds me of tears for fears pale shelter but i like this better, wondering if this is a cover ...a 9
Solid 8. Great song to start my Monday morning.
 DHandAJ wrote:
House

 
No shit. Do you actually read comments here?
To think that this nearly became a Madonna song... Liz Fraser <3
 daveinnj wrote:
Binging on House, and now  this pops up. Timing is everything.

 
Great show
House
This song most certainly is good for the ears.
Martin Gore used the same drum pattern + vinyl noise for I am you on Exciter. :)
" Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."

...and without any doubt 10 from Montenegrian living in Lebanon...
{#Crown}

 
Bleyfusz wrote:


Kudos from a German Barcelona resident.

 
 Paul_Williams wrote:

             10, without question. But I'm from Bristol, so I'm biased. 

Webfoot wrote:

No, you're right, even in the US (at least the Pacific Northwest).

 Paul_Williams wrote:

             10, without question. But I'm from Bristol, so I'm biased. 

Webfoot wrote:

No, you're right, even in the US (at least the Pacific Northwest).

 

Kudos from a German Barcelona resident.
 kcar wrote:

group photo of members of Cocteau Twins

...The guy on the right looks like a yellow labrador retriever, wanting to eat his bangs but waiting for his master's command. 

 

Naw...it's Donald Trump when he was still into Duran Duran.

 Paul_Williams wrote:
10, without question. But I'm from Bristol, so I'm biased.

 
No, you're right, even in the US (at least the Pacific Northwest).
I love this song 😍
Binging on House, and now  this pops up. Timing is everything.

I love see ! legs is a werb too.
absolute Classic... always in my Playlist.... 
10, without question. But I'm from Bristol, so I'm biased.
It's never Lupus.
awesome stuff. no-one does it like 'Massive'
 kcar wrote:
group photo of members of Cocteau Twins

Remember the 80s? Pouffed-up hair and glassy eyes...The guy on the right looks like a yellow labrador retriever, wanting to eat his bangs but waiting for his master's command.

 
As goofy as those hairstyles seem in retrospect, are they really worse than today's popular hairstyles?
hipster lumberjack wannabe
I think not.
House showing the middle finger surreptitiously