Back in '96, I had a semester abroad in Bristol, England . Bristol and it's surrounding area was booming with Big Beat and Trip Hop. The "Bristol Sound" included Portishead , named after the town across the way, Massive Attack, and Tricky. Being young (19) and carefree at the time (I rarely had class, and even less was expected of me as a foreign student), made it extremely easy to see this scene in it's prime. I was frequently being asked by a young french co-ed, named Julie to accompany her to the clubs to partake. But, I was into this German girl named Annette , and I totally missed it. ALL OF IT. The sounds, the scene, everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even know what I missed until a few years later. I did, however, start my journey into Big Beat, Trip Hop and Electronica, a year later. I had been receiving CMJ New Music Monthly for a few years at this point, and during my junior year of college, I was getting ...