So then my phone died, so this crap is all I have with which to say to you "The XX is a band you should care about very much indeed."
But I will relate that I had this conversation with literally four different strangers at this show:
Me: "The XX!"
Them: "My favorite band!"
Me: "Massive Attack!"
Them: "Who?"
Me: "...Tricky?"
Them: "Who?"
Me: [ wild gesticulation ] PLEASE PROMISE ME YOU WILL GOOGLE THESE WORDS [ wild gesticulation ]
Them: [ Ok yeah nod and smile and back away slowly ]
You kids. What is this I don't even.
Ok, i can get with that... white rose movement on lithium. what should i buy?
I went to see Tricky in Amsterdam a year ago and frankly it sucked. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's Amsterdam, cue stupid grins and worn pot jokes; but his problems looked more permanent. Best moments of the show were when he was off stage and the band played covers!
With you all the way on Massive Attack, of course. Also, Portishead.
I have seen Tricky put on an amazing show, and then a couple of times after that, I've seen him... not. I don't know if he's hit-or-miss, or if he's moved fully into "miss" now, but there was a time.
At least with Massive Attack, you can say "them people what did the House theme song". (It took me at least two seasons to stop thinking about a weird fetus when I heard that.)
You have to be careful though. The theme for that show (and many others) is not the same in every country. Licensing tends to cause that when you use pre-existing music as a TV show theme. So if you see gigs abroad, or even if some of your acquaintances aren't from the US, the connection is not there to be made.
Also, if you say Eno they think you said Emo.
Are there particular 'The XX' albums I should be buying? I need 'The XX' starter kit instructions.
I'd get 2009's "xx", and then maybe 2012's "Coexist". After that you can look into their wide ranging plethora of other albums.