Why are we alive?

[Nate The Great]

I'm sitting here listening to the above metioned song on Swans 'Various Failures' . . . I've lost control of my bodily functions. I can't imagine there is one person on this Earth that wouldn't like this (and probably most mid to late period Swans) song. Their music constantly puts me on the verge of depression, BUT somehow there is this uplifting feeling I get from it. Strange . . . sort of like Anathema's 'Judgement' does to me.

Does anybody else listen to these guys? They're only the best band avant garde has ever known. Possibly the best band rock/metal has ever known.

Anyway . . . I've got a mess to clean.

 

[Furious B]

I've heard of them, but have not actually heard them. What other songs in particular would you recommend to a Swans n00b?

 

[Nate The Great]

They have a broad range of styles in their songs from album to album. Check out anything off the album 'The Great Annihilator'.

 

[Nate The Great]

Here's a link to the Swans website.

http://www.swans.pair.com/

 

[JayKeeley]

I've wanted to check them out for a while...but I'm drowning right now.

(See "Drowning in CDs" thread).

 

[Nate The Great]

I get a ton of promos, but, unfortunately, I can't give them all a fair listen. I only have time for the stuff I either know is good or have an interest after one listen.

If I remember correctly, John Chedsey ran into the problem of too many promos. I think he then told the labels to stop sending them, and he only reviewed what he bought. By the way, John Chedsey is a huge Swans fan as well.



Swans are so good they make my balls ache.

 

[NAD]

Okay, they're on the list, but I am drowning myself. I plan on making one last purchase for this year, probably early next month. Any CD that I don't want by then I'm just not getting, too many CDs.

 

[JayKeeley]

Okay, they're on the list, but I am drowning myself.

Heh, you've easily got the biggest backlog of the team by the way.

 

[NAD]

Hey maybe if you didn't send me 90% of the promos I wouldn't!

 

[Papa Josh]

Who is this Chedsey you speak of? :Smug:

Anyhow, The Gathering do an excellent cover of the Swan's "When The Sun Hits." Anneke's voice is awesome.

 

[NAD]

Swans kicks ass. I've only listened to the Great Annihilator 1.5 times, but it is very very good, and I can tell will grow much in the coming listens. I can see where bands like Manes and late period Ulver get some influence from them.

Also, this is reminding me of a much darker (and dare I say more experimental) version of My Bloody Valentine.

 

[Doom]

I have:

The Great Annihilator
Soundtracks For The Blind
Die Tur Ist Zu
Forever Burned

If anyone doesn't know, Forever Burned was a recent re-release of The Burning World, with extra tracks. It was really limited edition, and every copy came with a personalised thank you, and signed by Michael Gira. Just wanted to show off

Anyway, I really like Swans. Do you have Soundtracks npearce? The track Helpless Child is astonishing. I first heard it on that live album I have, then got this, and I just fucking love it! I think they're at their best when they play stuff like that. Some stuff is a bit weird, and I'm not too keen on those songs, but maybe I need to listen to them more.

I also have Angels of Light - How I Loved You, but haven't listened to it very much.

 

[J.]

meh, heard Cop/Young God. Lame to these ears.

 

[Nate The Great]

The early Swans stuff is VERY different from the stuff that most people on this forum have. BUT it was still about as innovative as a band could be at that time. Can you imagine the reviews they got in 1980 for something like Filth? Bad, bad, bad, I'm assuming. Nobody could understand that stuff back then . . . except a VERY select few maybe. Dreamlord, calling Cop/Young God lame is like calling the Bible boring and out dated. Whether you like it or not, Cop, Filth, etc. were revolutionary albums. Godflesh, Neurosis, and even Ministry wouldn't exist without those albums to show them the way.

Anyway, I have Soundtracks for the Blind. It is probably the most subdued of all the Swans material. Doom, I'd really recommend you hunt down Love of Life and White Light from the Mouth of Infinity. They are a little expensive to get a hold of, but just start your hunt as soon as you can. The prices just keep going up. If you absolutely don't want to pay for the two albums, you could always get Various Failures. It is made up of several songs from those two albums, plus some stuff from Children of God era.

 

[J.]

Well, many people would call the Bible boring and outdated. Simply because an album was revolutionary or influential does not automatically make it great, or even good. Mayhem, Paradise Lost, even Korn have released highly influential albums, but I/people wouldn't go so far as to call them masterpieces simply because they helped jumpstart a genre. It is possible for the student to surpass the teacher. Godflesh and Neurosis may have taken a few pointers from Swans, but they both easily surpassed Swans musically.

 

[Nate The Great]

Well, many people would call the Bible boring and outdated. Simply because an album was revolutionary or influential does not automatically make it great, or even good. Mayhem, Paradise Lost, even Korn have released highly influential albums, but I/people wouldn't go so far as to call them masterpieces simply because they helped jumpstart a genre. It is possible for the student to surpass the teacher. Godflesh and Neurosis may have taken a few pointers from Swans, but they both easily surpassed Swans musically.

So you agree early Swans albums were revolutionary. I just wanted to be sure the word "lame" was simply a misspelling in your original post.

Anyway, I agree that what Neurosis and Godflesh did with what they learned from Swans became the true "masterpieces" of that genre.

However, what Michael Gira was doing with early Swans wasn't necessarily meant to be "masterpiece" music. He was trying to be as rebeillious as humanly possible. Me makes early Venom sound like pop. He basically jump-started any genre dealing with noise, dark atmosphere, industrial sounds, electronics, and probably many more. Early Swans was so far ahead of their time it's scary.

Later Swans material is nothing but masterpieces. Dreamlord, you really should get The Great Annihilator. In fact, I'll buy an album of your choosing, if you buy The Great Annihilator.

 

[HarmonyDies....]

I heard some tracks, can't say I liked the vocals to much. Overall ok though, I shall give them a few more listens.

 

[JayKeeley]

A perfect Sunday for music & tv:

- Wake up to the sounds of Acid Bath
- Watch Trainspotting
- Listen to all the Swans you've got, finishing with The Great Annihilator

Monday will feel different.

 

[J.]

your thoughts on Acid Bath?

 

[NAD]

A perfect Sunday for music & tv:

- Wake up to the sounds of Acid Bath
- Watch Trainspotting
- Listen to all the Swans you've got, finishing with The Great Annihilator

Monday will feel different.

I thought today was Saturday.

-I worked on my secondary vehicle (not for long as it was broken into and my fucking tools were stolen ).
-went and got a 32" TV (thanks Mom).
-got fucked up at no less than 3 bars.

Now it's time for Video Game Thrash Terror!!!