Portishead - Roads (Live @ Roseland NYC)

I’ve loved this song since the moment I heard it. A few years ago I was working in a bar, that would close very late in the morning, at which point you were always exhausted, pissed off and really wanting to go home. The problem was that when the customers left you still had about an hour of cleaning to do, but at the point when the customers left, there was a small window of time, where you would just sit quietly with whoever you were working with, and have a beer and a cigarette, maybe a shot, depending on how busy the night had been. And it was at this moment every time, that a Portuguese colleague of mine would put on her playlist, and we would sit for five minutes in silence listening the the soothing sound of ‘Roads’. A moment of pure melancholy after a hectic night, and a much needed moment of rest. You can tell by the volume of the applause that that night at Roseland NYC (back in 1998) was a special night, and they played it just perfectly: Beth Gibbons’ beautifully soulful voice purring over the slow wah guitar. I don’t see how anybody can’t like this song, and don’t see how anybody can’t feel just a little bit melancholy when listening to it.

Sounds A Little Like: Massive Attack.