Sour Times

"Sour Times"
Single by Portishead
from the album Dummy
Released 1 August 1994
Format
Recorded 1994
Genre
Length 4:14
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Portishead singles chronology
"Numb"
(1994)		 "Sour Times"
(1994)		 "Glory Box"
(1995)

"Numb"
(1994)		 "Sour Times"
(1994)		 "Glory Box"
(1995)

"Sour Times" is a song by English trip hop group Portishead, from their debut album Dummy. It was released as the second single from the album in August 1994. It was written by all three members of the band.

Composition

The song uses a sample from Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident".

Music video

The music video is made of footage from Portishead's short film To Kill a Dead Man.

Release

"Sour Times" was released as the second single from Dummy on 1 August 1994. It initially reached only number 57 in the UK Singles Chart, but after the success of "Glory Box" in 1995, it was re-released and peaked at number 13 in April.[2] It is also the band's only song to date to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, at number 53. "Sour Times" was the band's first entry on the Australian ARIA top 100 singles chart, peaking at number 66 in March 1995.[3] The B-side track "Airbus Reconstruction" was actually recorded by the band Airbus,[4] who were former school friends of Geoff Barrow.

Legacy

"Sour Times" was covered by Bryn Christopher on his album My World. The Blank Theory also covered "Sour Times" on their Beyond the Calm of the Corridor release, which was featured in the trailer for Wicker Park. More recently, "Sour Times" was covered by Marsha Ambrosius on her debut solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings. The Civil Wars performed the song on their four-song EP of covers titled Between the Bars, which was released in 2013.

"Sour Times" was used as the theme music to the ITV drama series The Vice, and also appeared in the film Killing Time and TV shows Warehouse 13 and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

The song was sampled in the 2004 single "Teardrops" by The 411.

Track listing

CD 1
  1. "Sour Times"
  2. "It's a Fire"
  3. "Pedestal"
  4. "Theme from 'To Kill a Dead Man'"
CD 2
  1. "Sour Times" (edit)
  2. "Sour Sour Times"
  3. "Lot More"
  4. "Sheared Times"
  5. "Airbus Reconstruction"

Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 66
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 29
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[6] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 13
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 53
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[9] 5
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[10] 50

References

  1. 1 2 "The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994: Portishead, "Sour Times"". Spin. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Portishead - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  4. ↑ http://www.christopherfielden.com/music/airbus-band.php
  5. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9092." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Portishead Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Portishead Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Portishead Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
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