Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Morphine

Morphine was an American alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1989. They disbanded in 1999 after frontman Sandman died of a heart attack while performing onstage.

Morphine combined blues and jazz elements with more traditional rock arrangements, giving the band a very unusual sound. Sandman's distinctive singing was described as a "deep, laid-back croon" and his songwriting featured a prominent beat influence. When asked by reporters to describe their music, the band created the label "low rock". One critical appraisal suggests that "Morphine immediately established a minimalist, low-end sound that could have easily become a gimmick: a 'power trio' not built around the sound of an electric guitar. Instead, with sly intelligence, Morphine expanded its offbeat vocabulary on each album."

Although Morphine was critically lauded throughout their career, it is difficult to measure their success commercially. In the United States the band was embraced and promoted by the indie rock community, including public and college radio stations and MTV's 120 Minutes (which the band once guest-hosted), but received little support from commercial rock radio and other music television programs. This limited their mainstream exposure and success in their home country, while internationally they enjoyed mainstream success and support, especially in Belgium, Portugal, France and Australia.

21 comments:

  1. Pretty interesting hadnt heard of them before

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  2. I didn't know them..
    sounds really cool thx..

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  3. I like their sound, will look into more.

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  4. I totally forgot about Morphine. I had no clue as to why they disappeared. Now I know. :(

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  5. I remember their song Candy....

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  6. where do you get this stuff? Why havent i found good music?

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  7. nice find!

    btw, check out my new bubbles on Enhanced by MS Paint :)

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  8. i like this song, its very soothing

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  9. suprised i've never heard of them before =D

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  10. I love Morphine, I haven't listened to them in so long. Thank you for reminding me that they exist :)

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  11. never heard of em, but i like the research you pu tinot this

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