Talk:Machine Gun (Portishead song)

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Untitled[edit]

Isn't the synthesizer solo stolen from the Terminator theme? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.210.129.142 (talk) 22:08, 26 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No sample is credited. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.119.73 (talk) 14:52, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Response to Terminator theme comment: They are similar, but it is not the same theme. The Terminator theme uses less chords than this solo. DasKreestof (talk) 17:56, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Response to No sample is credited: What sample are you referring to, the snare? It sounds to me like the song was generated with analog gear and a 909 drum machine. I'd agree that the snares are likely sampled. DasKreestof (talk) 17:56, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]


Musical Analysis Section[edit]

What the heck is up with that section? Portishead aren't the sort of band who would seriously think "hmmm, let's use the Aeolian mode here to contrast with the Dorian mode we used earlier". If you really want to talk about the music itself, just say it's minor, but doesn't use a raised seventh. That's all that really needs to be said. Musically, it's not a very complex song, so why do we need this massive section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.138.127 (talk) 10:34, 5 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Response to what the heck is up with that section: I think you underestimate Adrian Utley. With his experience in Jazz and mastery over analog, digital and obscure technologies, it's no stretch of the imagination that he might think of notes in terms of Aeolian and Dorian modes. It's so terribly easy to fail in minimalism. The fact that this song succeeds so well is probably not luck but due to a complexity that underlies it's simplicity. I found this section very interesting. DasKreestof (talk) 17:56, 20 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with DasKreestof, and also think that the musical analysis shouldn't be removed from the main page. It was well written and very clear and add practical information about the composition. It's clear that this is not a typical three-chord musical composition, and also I think it's an important composition for the band itself, so I couldn't understand, why should the brief analysis leave out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Locuviche (talkcontribs) 16:38, 22 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Political intent[edit]

The background visuals during their performance of this at Glastonbury 2013 indicated a political idea, but which may have been after the original song was composed. It should still deserve a mention. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.59.130.30 (talk) 19:28, 11 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]