Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Music / TheProdigy

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prodigy_large.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:L to R: Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, Leeroy Thornhill and Maxim Reality.]]
3
4->''"I'm the trouble starter, punking instigator.\
5I'm the fear addicted, danger illustrated.\
6I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter.\
7You're the firestarter, twisted firestarter."''
8-->-- "Firestarter"
9
10The Prodigy are an ElectronicMusic group from the UK. Besides being popular in their own right, they were one of the most well-known acts of the "big beat" subgenre during TheNineties, along with acts like Music/TheChemicalBrothers, The Crystal Method and Music/FatboySlim. Formed in 1990, the group's membership has been relatively stable, comprising:
11
12* Liam Howlett - [[IAmTheBand One-man band]]; handles keyboards, programming, [[RecordProducer producing]], and songwriting. Got the group's name from his Moog Prodigy synthesizer.
13* Keith Flint - Vocalist known for his horned hairstyle and generally boisterous, scary appearance (although he was known for being gentle and soft-spoken offstage).
14* Maxim Reality (real name Keith Andrew Palmer) - Vocalist/MC.
15
16They also had a fourth member, Leeroy Thornhill, who was a dancer and occasionally played keyboards live, but he left in 2000.
17
18The Prodigy's early material was largely straightforward rave with humorous samples thrown in, as shown by their debut album ''Music/{{Experience}}''. While this was a success in the early 1990s and spawned several singles such as "Out of Space" and "Charly", it gave them a reputation as lightweights, attracting derisive nicknames such as "kiddie ravers" and "Toytown techno".
19
20Inspired by the impending passage of the landmark Criminal Justice Act (which cracked down hard on the rave scene in Britain), Howlett [[NewSoundAlbum threw out all the bright and colourful rave elements]] in producing their follow-up ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'', instead cultivating an [[DarkerAndEdgier angry, heavy sound]] drawing from techno, breakbeat, and industrial rock. Notably, "Their Law" and "Poison" from this album are clear forerunners to the big beat movement of the late 1990s.
21
22Howlett went so far as to test the waters for his new sound by pre-releasing a couple of the album's tracks under the name Earthbound, which won huge underground approval. The track "Their Law" marked their first collaboration with another artist, in this case being the rock band Music/PopWillEatItself, while "Voodoo People" kept them on the charts.
23
24The group's landmark success finally came with ''Music/TheFatOfTheLand'' in 1997. By this point, Howlett had managed to upgrade his equipment, making the beats heavier and giving the album an overall intense, creepy atmosphere. He also took the rock inclinations shown on ''Jilted'' one step further and openly aimed his music at the AlternativeRock audience, bringing Jim Davies from the industrial rock band Pitchshifter to add [[EpicRiff awesome guitar riffs]] all over the place, sampling from more rock songs, letting Keith and Maxim add more shouted vocals, and including a straight CoverVersion of "Fuel My Fire" by [=L7=]. Howlett also put in more outside contributions, bringing in [[Music/{{Soundgarden}} Matt Cameron]], Music/KoolKeith, [[Music/KulaShaker Crispian Mills]], and others.
25
26His gambit worked, as ''Fat'' became a massive success in the UK and the US (where it went to #1), spawned several hit singles with NightmareFuel-laden videos (for "Smack My Bitch Up", "Breathe", and "Firestarter"), and brought them [[GatewaySeries an audience of rock fans that otherwise didn't really pay attention to electronic music]]. There was also controversy involved over the video for "Smack My Bitch Up" (which featured more nudity then any other video up to that point, as well as scenes of violence, drug use, and drunk driving), to the point that MTV refused to air it before midnight. But this turned out to be a case of NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity, as the video still won a VMA.
27
28Having enjoyed their time in the spotlight, The Prodigy laid low for a few years; Howlett put out the mix album ''The Dirtchamber Sessions Vol. 1'', Leeroy Thornhill left in 2000, and the group also parted ways with their live guitarist Gizz Butt, but nothing much was heard from their camp for a while. Their next single "Baby's Got a Temper" was released in 2002 to critical disappointment but warm fan reception.
29
30They finally returned with their next album ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' in 2004, which was greeted with general disappointment as well. After another four-year pause, the group put out their fifth album ''Invaders Must Die'' in 2009, which was noticeably better received than ''Outnumbered''. Their sixth album, ''The Day Is My Enemy'', followed six years later in 2015, and their seventh, ''No Tourists'', was released in 2018.
31
32On March 4, 2019, Keith Flint was found dead in his home in Essex at the age of 49. Liam Howlett had the unfortunate task of informing fans that the death was ruled a suicide, leading to an outpouring of grief and sympathy and bringing mental health issues, especially those of men, back into the spotlight. Despite Flint's passing, Howlett has vowed to continue the band, informing fans he was back in the studio working on new music in August the same year.
33----
34!! Discography:
35
36[[index]]
37* ''Music/{{Experience}}'' (1992)
38[[/index]]
39** ''Experience: Expanded'' (2001) (an UpdatedRerelease)
40[[index]]
41* ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'' (1994)
42[[/index]]
43** ''More Music for the Jilted Generation'' (2008) (an UpdatedRerelease)
44[[index]]
45* ''Music/TheFatOfTheLand'' (1997)
46* ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' (2004)
47* ''Invaders Must Die'' (2009)
48* ''The Day Is My Enemy'' (2015)
49* ''No Tourists'' (2018)
50[[/index]]
51----
52
53!! Tropes associated with The Prodigy:
54
55* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: "''You're'' the firestarter, twisted firestarter."
56* BrokenRecord:
57** "Spitfire" has only one line playing throughout the song: "If I was in World War II they'd call me ''SPITFIRE!''". Another line, "'Cus you know that I can", is occasionally heard, but not as much as the latter.
58** "Smack My Bitch Up": "''Change my pitch up / [[TitleDrop Smack my bitch up]]''"
59** The pitched-up Arabic vocalising in "One Love," or rather, ''"ween laaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaahaaaaaave."''
60* CarFu: The track "You'll Be Under My Wheels". While the track is an instrumental it's pretty obvious what the title refers to.
61* CoverVersion: "Fuel My Fire" was originally by Music/{{L7}}.
62* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'' and how. ''The Day Is My Enemy'' is also one of the Prodigy's darkest albums yet.
63* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Music/{{Experience}}'' from 1992, is bright, chirpy, poppy rave music. ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' is where the Prodigy did a 180 and became the sinister electronic punks we know them as.
64* EpicRocking: Back in the rave days, The Prodigy weren't the least bit shy of passing the six-minute mark. "Break & Enter" surpasses eight minutes, and even ''The Fat of the Land'''s "Narayan" reaches nine. With their latter-day sound, their songs are a bit more compact.
65* EvolvingMusic: "Break & Enter" from ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'' has seen a couple of modifications. Its live version was shortened a bit and has a modified beat and an electric guitar added to the mix. This version is referred to as "Break & Enter '95." In the 2000s, they began playing another version, in a lower key and with a shortened intro, and this version got recorded in the studio and released on the UpdatedRerelease of ''Jilted'' as the '2005 Live Edit.'
66* FadingIntoTheNextSong: Used extensively on ''Music/{{Experience}}''. It was used more sparingly on ''Music for the Jilted Generation'' and ''The Fat of the Land''.
67** "Jericho" → "Music Reach (1/2/3/4)" → "Wind It Up" → "Your Love" → "Hyperspeed" → "Charly" "Out of Space" → "Everybody in the Place" "Weather Experience" → "Fire" → "Ruff in the Jungle Bizness"
68** "Intro" → "Break and Enter" "Speedway (Theme from Fastlane)" → "The Heat (The Energy)"
69** "Funky Shit" → "Serial Thrilla" → "Mindfields"
70* GenreBusting: To the part they created [[TropeMaker a whole new genre]] known as big beat, with Music/TheChemicalBrothers, The Crystal Method, and Music/FatboySlim.
71* HandsomeLech: All of the band (especially in the 1990s), but a special mention has to go to Leeroy.
72** [-Alas, our conversation is prematurely terminated by the return of Leeroy's romantic nemesis, the make-up artist. "AWOIGHT DARLIN'!? Come to take me 'ome 'ave yer? Need a bit of Braintree in yer?"-]
73** [-Lanky and libidinous dancer Leeroy chomps on a bar of dairy milk. "Always take chocolate with you," he smiles sweetly. "It's good for luring little girls over the barriers. You just have to hold it out to them."-]
74* LargeHam: Maxim ''and'' Keith.
75* MisogynySong: "Smack My Bitch Up" was assumed to be this due to the chorus. WordOfGod denied any misogynistic intent, stating that the chorus is a [[NotWhatItLooksLike slang term for doing something intensely.]] The music video's TomatoSurprise was specifically designed to counter it.
76* NewSoundAlbum: ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'' is much darker and harder-sounding than ''Experience''.
77** ''The Fat of the Land'' adds elements of hip hop to the band's sound.
78** ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' sees the band double down on their industrial influences and introduce elements of electroclash.
79** ''Invaders Must Die'' is somewhat of a return to the band's pre-''Outgunned'' style, though it keeps that album's abrasiveness while also introducing cleaner production.
80* TheNineties: Heavily identified with big beat, one of the 90s' most prominent styles of electronic music.
81* OminousLatinChanting: Hindi in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaWXIyZgBkg#t=4m42s Om namah, Naryana]]"
82* OminousMusicBoxTune: The Xylophone in "Omen". The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq46OY-FHIc music video]] even comes complete with a CreepyChild to play it.
83* OneWomanWail: "Spitfire" and "Smack My Bitch Up".
84* PlanetOfSteves: Once Leeroy left, this meant two out of three of the band's members were named Keith. And because two Keiths wasn't enough, "Diesel Power" and "You'll Be Under My Wheels" featured vocals from rapper, Music/KoolKeith.[[note]]Kool Keith had been sampled previously on "Out of Space" and "Smack My Bitch Up".[[/note]]
85* PowerBallad: "Invisible Sun".
86* PrecisionFStrike: "'''Fuck''' 'em and their law!"[[note]]The song and the album were specifically protests against the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which was introduced by the Conservative government to crack down on the popular rave scene.[[/note]]
87* ProtestSong: Inasmuch as electronic dance music can invoke this trope, "Their Law" would qualify.
88* PunnyName: "Mindfields".
89* RunningGag: A few from the ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'' videos, excluding "One Love."
90** Keith getting himself into trouble (caught in a vine trap at the beginning of "Voodoo People," then having to be rescued later in the same video, getting trapped in a box with no air at the end of "No Good," and getting into a fight with Liam in "Poison").
91** Liam getting angry and hitting something (he takes a sledgehammer to a wall in "No Good," then wrestling Keith to the ground for smashing the drumkit in "Poison").
92** Maxim's eyes briefly turning to yellow cat eyes (happens in all three videos, most notably in "No Good").
93* {{Sampling}}: From varied sources given the band's unusual mixture of genres, including Music/JohnBarry's score for ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''.
94* ScaryBlackMan: Maxim, especially during live performances when he's incoherently yelling [[ClusterFBomb vulgarities]] and growling at the audience.
95* SingerNamedrop: On "Invaders Must Die": "''We are... The Prodigy.''"
96* StudioChatter: "Poison" begins with a phone ringing and someone saying "Liam, someone on the phone for you", to which Liam replies "Fuck's sake, I'm tryna write this fuckin' tune, man".
97* SubliminalSeduction: "Full Throttle" has its titular vocal sample[[note]][-"We're going at full throttle"-][[/note]] reversed.
98* SwordFight: Sound effects used as percussion on "Breathe".
99* TitleTrack: ''Invaders Must Die'', ''The Day Is My Enemy'' and ''No Tourists'' all have one.
100** ''Music/{{Experience}}'' sorta has one with "Weather Experience".
101** Non-album example: the ''What Evil Lurks'' EP.
102* TomatoSurprise: The music video for "Smack My Bitch Up," where the violent and out-of-control POV character turns out to be a [[SamusIsAGirl woman]].
103* UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective: The music video for "Smack My Bitch Up" is a series of POV shots from the perspective of the video's protagonist.
104* WhamShot: In the music video for "Smack My Bitch Up", you follow a person through a wild night out from his point of view (as mentioned above at UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective). This person drinks a lot, harasses women, gets in fights with men (and women), visits a strip club and finally has sex with a stripper. In the final shot of the clip, when you look in the mirror, it turns out [[spoiler:this person you were following was actually a woman...]]
105----

Top