Unfinished Sympathy- Massive Attack: Research

Research the band Massive Attack

- Who are they?
Massive attack are an English trip hop group from Bristol who formed in 1988. The members are Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall, Stephanie Dosen and Andy Vowles. They are signed to the labels Wild Bunch, Circa and Virgin. One of their most popular songs is Teardrop which was released in 1998 on the album Mezzanine.

- The album 'Blue Lines.'
Blue Lines was Massive Attacks' debut album. It was released in 1991 featuring the single 'Unfinished Sympathy'. The release date was 8th April 1991. The studio used was the Coach House Studios, Bristol and Eastcote Studio, London and the producers were Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall, Andrew Vowles, Jonny Dollar, Cameron McVey.

- The song and video 'Unfinished Symphony.'
This song started their career as a mainstream artist as this single reached the charts and was later voted the 63rd greatest song of all time in a poll by NME. It was released in 1991 along with the album Blue Lines.
The music video features the songs' vocalist Shara Nelson walking through the streets of downtown LA. Shara Nelson is a British singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist garnered five UK Top 40 hit singles. The clip begins with a close up shot of a pair of silver balls which then zooms out into an ariel shot of a gang-like group of men. This then sweeps round to a small boy playing on the road with a toy gun. These both show the atmosphere of the neighbourhood and the street life of the area. Following this we are moved down the LA street until we then follow Nelson for the rest of the video with a tracking shot of her with the street behind her as she walks down. The lyrics are made up of two verses and a chorus repeated five times which relates to missing someone despite them hurting Nelson.

- Baillie Walsh (Music Video Director)
Baillie Walsh is a British music video and film director. He is best known for writing and directing the film Flashbacks of a Fool starring Daniel Craig, Eve, Harry Eden, and Felicity Jones.

Walsh directed a number of Massive Attack videos along with Unfinished Sympathy.

- 'Street culture'

Street Culture is defined as a Cultural aspect of the streets in cities and towns where you find the youth expressing the creativity they have instilled within them. Popular styles of urban centres. It is the creative forces in the city. In the music video this is seen through the graffiti and posters conveying the mise en scene of LA. 

- What is 'post-punk'?
Post-punk is a broad type of rock music that emerged from the punk movement of the 1970s, in which artists departed from the simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock to adopt a variety of avant-garde sensibilities. The cultural origins of this genre are from the late 1970s; United Kingdom, United States and Australia.