Music for the Jilted Generation is the second album by The Prodigy, released in July 1994.
After the success of the band's debut album Experience, producer Liam Howlett decided to make their work less cartoonish, doing away with the childish samples and colourful melodies that had defined their music up to that point. This album was considerably darker than its predecessor, with Howlett turning to industrial music and guitars for a new, heavier sound.
The event which affected Howlett the most prior to this album's release was a proposed act of the UK parliament, then under consideration, that would ban illegal raves. The whole of the rave scene was indignant because this would restrict the rights of the youth to have fun, and Howlett joined the movement, composing "Their Law" as a Protest Song. This controversy added more depth and legitimacy to the album.
This album earned quite a few accolades in the UK, and has been added to numerous lists of the greatest albums of the decade. The Prodigy continued their expansion toward rock more prominently on their follow-up album, The Fat of the Land.
Tracklist
- Intro (0:45)
- Break & Enter (8:24)
- Their Law (featuring Pop Will Eat Itself) (6:40)
- Full Throttle (5:02)
- Voodoo People (6:27)
- Speedway (Theme From Fastlane) (8:56)
- The Heat (The Energy) (4:27)
- Poison (6:42)
- No Good (Start the Dance) (6:17)
- One Love (3:53)
- The Narcotic Suite: 3 Kilos (7:19)
- The Narcotic Suite: Skylined (5:56)
- The Narcotic Suite: Claustrophobic Sting (7:13)
"You're no good for me, I don't need no troping":
- Arab Chant: A muezzin chant on "One Love".
- Album Intro Track: Lasting 45 seconds, which qualifies it for Miniscule Rocking.
- Creepy Basement: Where the music video for "No Good (Start the Dance)" is set.
- Either/Or Title: For quite a few songs: "Speedway (Theme From Fastlane)", "The Heat (The Energy)" and "No Good (Start the Dance)".
- Epic Raving: Most of the songs. "Speedway" clocks at nearly 9 minutes. "Break & Enter" is 8:24 long. Two segments of "The Narcotic Suite" are over 7 minutes. "Their Law", "Voodoo People", "Poison" and "No Good (Start the Dance)" are al over 6 minutes.
- Precision F-Strike: From "Their Law":"Fuck them and their law!"
- Darker and Edgier: Very much so in comparison to the very creative but harmless Experience.
- Intentionally Awkward Title: "The Narcotic Suite".
- One-Word Title: "Poison".
- Face on the Cover: Subverted. It is not the face of any of the bandmembers, but a nightmarish mask of a creature from hell.
- Longest Song Goes Last: Only if one regards "The Narcotic Suite" as one song.
- Melismatic Vocals: On "Break & Enter" and "One Love".
- Protest Song: In a rare example by a rave band, "Their Law" decries the prohibition of illegal raves.
- Sampling: Once famous instance is "Voodoo People", which starts with the riff from "Very Ape" by Nirvana.
- "Speedway" heavily uses a sample of an IndyCar engine note.
- Serious Business: The act prohibiting illegal raves which inspired this album. It was the issue which made MftJG more resonant. Obviously in the general scene of things it was an unimportant matter and was soon forgotten. Also The Prodigy were apolitical (Liam Howlett later resented the name of the album). However, in 1994 it definitely added to the appeal of the release.
- Spoken Word in Music: On "Their Law":What we're dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the law.
- Tongue Twister: On "Voodoo People":The voodoo who do, what you don't dare to people.
-
What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: Liam Howlett later would say that this album had not been intended to be political. Howlett was just angered by the ban on illegal raves.
