SWANS: From Filth to the Seer in 12 weeks

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No More Drake > SWANS: From Filth to the Seer in 12 weeks

Cymbal Monkey: Apr 16, 2009; Lift Your Little Paws Like Antennas to Heaven!

AtomicRust posted:

Messaged Swans on Facebook last night asking about possible vinyl issues of the later 90s albums (Soundtracks onward), because I wasn't sure if that had ever been addressed. Gira responded, and confirmed that, gradually, all the Swans releases will be seeing vinyl issues!

Super excited to see how the Soundtracks packaging will be done!

It would be super cool to see Soundtracks packaged with Body Lovers/Body Haters.

# ? Oct 25, 2015 12:15

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# ? May 13, 2024 23:02

Spam: Nov 28, 2010

I don't fancy paying $500 for The Great Annihilator so I'll gladly bide my time.

# ? Oct 25, 2015 22:15

AtomicRust: Aug 6, 2013; Morning, Lister! How's life in hippie heaven, you pregnant baboon-bellied space beatnik?

Spam posted:

I don't fancy paying $500 for The Great Annihilator so I'll gladly bide my time.

Yeah, I much prefer waiting for remastered vinyl issues than paying a godforsaken amount for an old copy. Preordered the White Light/Love of Life vinyl boxset last week, for all that's included $67 was a complete steal. Super excited for it to get here in December.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 17:33

A CRUNK BIRD: Sep 29, 2004

Coincidentally, Gira is the best facebooker. He posts like a cool old dad with a tenuous grasp of the internet and one time he thought the photoshopped picture of Bill Clinton listening to Swans records was real and posted about how honored he was.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 19:04

program666: Aug 22, 2013; A giant carnivorous dinosaur

yes, following Gira on facebook is great. Some other band I'm a fan of only posts their own songs, Gira posts music that he loves which is way way more interesting of course.

Edit: Actually I follow Swans, not Gira.

# ? Oct 26, 2015 19:58

A CRUNK BIRD: Sep 29, 2004

program666 posted:

yes, following Gira on facebook is great. Some other band I'm a fan of only posts their own songs, Gira posts music that he loves which is way way more interesting of course.

Edit: Actually I follow Swans, not Gira.

Gira runs the Swans facebook or did the last time I used facebook

# ? Oct 26, 2015 23:08

AtomicRust: Aug 6, 2013; Morning, Lister! How's life in hippie heaven, you pregnant baboon-bellied space beatnik?

program666 posted:

yes, following Gira on facebook is great. Some other band I'm a fan of only posts their own songs, Gira posts music that he loves which is way way more interesting of course.

Edit: Actually I follow Swans, not Gira.

A CRUNK BIRD posted:

Gira runs the Swans facebook or did the last time I used facebook

Yeah, Gira personally runs the Swans Facebook page along with his personal Facebook. He signed the end of the message he sent me, so he also responds to all the messages! I follow both him and Swans, and most of the time he just reposts posts he makes on his FB to the Swans page.

# ? Oct 27, 2015 00:06

program666: Aug 22, 2013; A giant carnivorous dinosaur

Oh sorry, I knew it was Gira, I just felt like clarifying because I didn't know he posted the same things on his personal account (or at least seems like mostly the same)

# ? Oct 27, 2015 00:37

A CRUNK BIRD: Sep 29, 2004

You can preorder the white light/ love of life LPs from the young god website now

# ? Dec 2, 2015 00:43

AtomicRust: Aug 6, 2013; Morning, Lister! How's life in hippie heaven, you pregnant baboon-bellied space beatnik?

My White Light from the Mouth of Infinity/Love of Life boxset came in the mail yesterday, the packaging is fantastic! Really enjoy that it comes with two posters, along with "Blind" being inserted into White Light. "Blind" seems rather out of place on White Light, especially where it's placed in the track listing, but glad to have it nonetheless.

The bonus CD, is sadly, just a compiling (and assumed remastering) of various tracks from the World of Skin, the Various Failures compilation, the live albums Anonymous Bodies In An Empty Room & Omniscience, and the Love of Life single. I wish they were something entirely unreleased or session tapes from those albums, surely some unreleased Swans tracks still exist that have yet to see the light of day.

# ? Dec 18, 2015 00:15

God Of Paradise: Jan 23, 2012; You know, I'd be less worried about my 16 year old daughter dating a successful 40 year old cartoonist than dating a 16 year old loser.

I mean, Jesus, kid, at least date a motherfucker with abortion money and house to have sex at where your mother and I don't have to hear it. Also, if he treats her poorly, boom, that asshole's gonna catch a statch charge.

Please, John K. Date my daughter... Save her from dating smelly dropouts who wanna-be Soundcloud rappers.

AtomicRust posted:

My White Light from the Mouth of Infinity/Love of Life boxset came in the mail yesterday, the packaging is fantastic! Really enjoy that it comes with two posters, along with "Blind" being inserted into White Light. "Blind" seems rather out of place on White Light, especially where it's placed in the track listing, but glad to have it nonetheless.

The bonus CD, is sadly, just a compiling (and assumed remastering) of various tracks from the World of Skin, the Various Failures compilation, the live albums Anonymous Bodies In An Empty Room & Omniscience, and the Love of Life single. I wish they were something entirely unreleased or session tapes from those albums, surely some unreleased Swans tracks still exist that have yet to see the light of day.

I was hoping they'd be track upon track of Michael Gira thanking the listener and demanding that he/she not share this music with anyone.

Omniscience is a great live album in it's entirity.

I've given Gira probably 300 bucks over my lifetimeby. That's enough money to feel I deserve to be an economic free rider when it comes to albums I've already bought in one form or another.

God Of Paradise fucked around with this message at 11:43 on Dec 22, 2015

# ? Dec 22, 2015 11:39

Rageaholic: May 31, 2005; Old Town Road to EGOT

Aw yeah, can't wait to hear the album version of whatever Black Hole Man became.

# ? Jan 29, 2016 22:14

Rageaholic: May 31, 2005; Old Town Road to EGOT

http://pitchfork.com/news/63714-michael-gira-discusses-swans-final-album/

Pitchfork posted:

"It sounds like the musical equivalent of Ben-Hur ... coupled with Kurosawa's Ran," Gira told Mojo. He added, "It is epic. One piece has 240 separate tracks. But there are also a lot of delicate moments. There�s a lot of orchestration � strings, horns, female singers. But no bagpipes this time. The longest pieces is 28 minutes, and there are a couple that are 22, 23."

# ? Feb 23, 2016 18:08

program666: Aug 22, 2013; A giant carnivorous dinosaur

I cannot wait

# ? Feb 23, 2016 18:39

Franz von Dada: Feb 10, 2014; A Boy and His Parasite

So it's going to be like The Seer and TBK but with orchestration?

I came.

# ? Feb 23, 2016 19:55

Khagan: Aug 8, 2012; Words cannot describe just how terrible Vietnamese are.

Well poo poo, might have to invest in an acceptable audio setup just for this.

# ? Feb 24, 2016 03:01

Whodat Smith-Jones: Apr 16, 2007; My name is Buck, and I'm here to fuck

Just gonna go ahead and assume this will be album of the year for me. Probably oughta preemptively crown them Artists of the Decade or Band of the Decade or whatever the gently caress

# ? Feb 26, 2016 00:27

Automata 10 Pack: Jun 21, 2007; Ten games published by Automata, on one cassette

Oh gently caress.

gently caress gently caress gently caress.

https://www.facebook.com/larkin.grimm.1/posts/1284036894947002

quote:

I will give you some history about why I am sharing the story about Thomas Sayers Ellis's abusive behavior now. I didn't always stand up for myself. Rape is a loaded word. No man wants to be a rapist. It implies cowardice as well as violence. It undermines the sexual power and magnetism that every man would like to have. No woman wants to be known as a rape victim, either. I want to be known for my strength, intelligence, and talent. Not known as a victim. My story with Michael Gira is an absolute tragedy that I have kept secret for too long. I am only speaking of it now because after being accused of "lynching" Thomas, I cannot ethically keep Michael's secret any longer. He's a white guy, and his crime was far worse than what Thomas did to me or Margaret.

Michael Gira and I had a beautiful, fruitful collaboration on my album Parplar. He was my record label boss and producer. He was my beloved, trusted mentor, really my guru. I lived in his house with him and his wife Siobhan and I babysat their daughter frequently in between working on new songs and incorporating Michael's valuable input. I loved him more than I have loved just about anyone, but I did not want to have sex with him, and I made that very clear over and over. In the spring of 2008, on the night that we finished recording Parplar at Trout Recordings with Bryce Goggin, we went out to eat at a steakhouse. My friend Johnny Dido was our waiter. We were with Michael's friends and they were drinking heavily and encouraging me to keep up with them. I'm a pretty lightweight drinker. At the end of the night it became obvious that I was too drunk to drive home, too drunk to even walk straight. Michael invited me to stay with his friends. They said they had a bed for me and that Michael would sleep on the floor. I trusted them and agreed.

At the apartment of Michael's friends, I crawled into bed without changing my clothes or brushing my teeth. I just passed out. A little later Michael woke me up coughing. He had bad asthma, and sleeping on the floor in the dust was aggravating it. I told him, slurred, half asleep, that he could sleep in the bed, just not to touch me. A little bit later I woke up with his penis inside me, no condom. As I opened my eyes, he said, "Uh, this doesn't feel right." and he pulled out.

The next morning, Michael begged me not to tell his wife about what happened. I drove home, numb. Then I took my bike around the block and got hit by a car, injuring my hip. That day I wrote one of my best songs, "The Butcher, or Without a Body or a Numb and Useless Mind." It was the last song I would be able to write for a few years. I spent the next 6 months in a suicidal depression. Michael would call frequently to talk about the progress on my record and to talk dirty to me. He would tell me he loved me and that he would leave his wife for me. I would refuse to talk dirty to him and try to bring the conversation back to business. When we met, the interactions were often sexually charged and I would squirm out of them as best I could. We never had sex again although he tried over and over, making me absolutely miserable. Mastering the record with Fred Kevorkian was particularly difficult. Michael took the opportunity to kiss me in the elevator, and I complied because I really, really, really wanted to be a successful musician. He'd often say to me, "I'm gonna make you a star, Larkin. You can trust me."

I stuck with this pattern for a long time, through my record release and the tours (with Michael!!) supporting it, but when it came time to write a new record, I found my creativity was totally blocked. I told Michael that he had had sex with me against my will and that I didn't feel safe with him any more. He then dropped me from Young God Records.

Many people have assumed, over the years, that Michael and I had a love affair, and in a way, for a time, maybe we did. But I never consented to having sex with him. I wouldn't have wanted to ruin such an important opportunity that way. Technically, he raped me. It took me a long time to admit that to myself. Years. Michael Gira, my producer, raped me and dumped me from his label when I confronted him about it, needing to feel safe.

What happened was awful, but as a prison abolitionist, an anarchist, and a nice person I didn't want to destroy his whole life with a rape charge. Looking back, he didn't think twice about destroying mine.

Sending my love to ‪#‎Kesha‬ I know how you feel. At least I got out of my record deal, though I was never offered another one after that.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 01:14

Poppy Nogood: May 26, 2014

God loving dammit no

# ? Feb 26, 2016 01:22

Rageaholic: May 31, 2005; Old Town Road to EGOT

Oh Jesus loving Christ. Is EVERYONE seemingly cool and talented actually a monster? :smith:

# ? Feb 26, 2016 01:42

HorseRenoir: Dec 25, 2011; Pillbug

This really bums me out :smith:

# ? Feb 26, 2016 02:06

Astrochicken: Aug 13, 2007; So you better go back to your bars, your temples
Your massage parlors!

Yea bummer. Seemed like such a sweet, wholesome guy.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 02:12

Whorelord: May 1, 2013; Jump into the well...

innocent until proven guilty

# ? Feb 26, 2016 03:00

Hot Diggity!: Apr 3, 2010; SKELITON_BRINGING_U_ON.GIF

Whorelord posted:

innocent until proven guilty

Believe victims. False rape accusations are super super rare.

This loving sucks.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 03:33

Wraith of J.O.I.: Jan 25, 2012

Ugh this is gross. gently caress. Might have to change my producer cred on the new album.

Some dude posted this on /mu/ so take it with whatever sized grain of salt that means to you:

# ? Feb 26, 2016 03:57

I, Butthole: Jun 30, 2007; Begin the operations of the gas chambers, gas schools, gas universities, gas libraries, gas museums, gas dance halls, and gas threads, etcetera.
I DEMAND IT

Wraith of J.O.I. posted:

Ugh this is gross. gently caress. Might have to change my producer cred on the new album.

Some dude posted this on /mu/ so take it with whatever sized grain of salt that means to you:

Looks legit, this was just posted on the Swans facebook:

quote:

re the horrible and untrue accusations from larkin grimm:
I am completely shocked myself. This is a slanderous lie. I will respond vigorously to defend my name against this horrible slur. I trust in the intelligence of those who have followed my work and respect me as a person, to know this is NOT the person I am. The rumor mill/"confessional" Facebook post travels like fire- but this one is lies. More soon. This is an utter nightmare. thank you for your support. please spread the word. this is lies!

https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial/posts/10154568990646978

Regardless, this thing is loving rife in the industry. If it's true, it sucks but will ultimately help victims of this poo poo in the industry step forward. If it's not true, it sucks and will hurt everyone involved and future victims.

Whorelord posted:

innocent until proven guilty

Assuming this is a false claim, he should really just release the screenshots of the emails/texts or whatever that say she's going to do this to spite him. Otherwise, it's important to at the very least, not immediately throw this out because time and time again there are stories exactly like this where the impetus of not immediately coming out with rape claims is that "it's detrimental to the career". As I said before, this is a huge issue in this industry and support should be shown to victims, the first step of which is, y'know, actual support rather than "nah not true". THAT'S THE poo poo THAT KEEPS THIS IN THE DARK.

I, Butthole fucked around with this message at 06:16 on Feb 26, 2016

# ? Feb 26, 2016 06:12

HorseRenoir: Dec 25, 2011; Pillbug

Gira just posted on Facebook that the allegations are untrue and that he will post an official statement soon: https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial/posts/10154568990646978

Sounds like that email screenshot is legit (e: nvm, guess it's not)

e:fb

HorseRenoir fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Feb 26, 2016

# ? Feb 26, 2016 06:12

Franz von Dada: Feb 10, 2014; A Boy and His Parasite

Whorelord posted:

innocent until proven guilty

# ? Feb 26, 2016 06:16

Skttrbrain: Apr 6, 2008

The email is a fake. Someone asked in the comments.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 06:27

Ferdinand Bardamu: Apr 30, 2013

Astrochicken posted:

Yea bummer. Seemed like such a sweet, wholesome guy.

lol!

I met him before a solo show once. He crushed my beta hand with his bonecrushing grip.

Ugh.

Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Feb 26, 2016

# ? Feb 26, 2016 06:57

Friends Are Evil: Oct 25, 2010; cats cats cats

These allegations are genuinely heartbreaking, if true. Swans seriously changed my life and it feels like a betrayal to hear this.

The real response (not that fake email thing) on Swans' page feels very weak and does little to actually address the situation other than a vague "this is lies!".

# ? Feb 26, 2016 07:19

Elrobot: Dec 28, 2004; Press the buttons all at once, all of the time

Saw Larkin Grimm open for Gira at the Swedish American Music Hall in 2009 and her performance was way better

# ? Feb 26, 2016 07:26

HorseRenoir: Dec 25, 2011; Pillbug

Michael Gira's wife just posted a statement: https://www.facebook.com/coveredwithstars/posts/10206691239732330?fref=nf

Jennifer Gira posted:

I was enjoying not being on FB precisely for the social media nightmare(s) I must rejoin to address now, due to a former musical "protege" on my husband Michael Gira's record label has accused him of being a rapist......in 2008. As you may know, Michael dropped Larkin, and she has been jilted about it ever since. Larkin may know in the past, Michael has shuddered and simply deleted her harassing emails/texts, rambling obsessive tomes, declarations of unrequited love, hate speech, and threats to him. but, guess what sweetheart!- his wife is well aware----and his wife, is rather analytical, organized, -and doesn't put up with any bullshit. I have PROOF, in Larkin's own hand, that her allegations of Michael raping her *did not happen.* I REPEAT It is false. (Larkin-you should have been much more careful whom you emailed/messaged/purged/"reached out" to in "heartfelt" way, etc etc, or in letting yourself use a computer, during what seems to have been from the illiad of messages sent to my husband that are c-r-a-z-y -suffering from a manic/bipolar or chemical relapse episode)That is unfortunate-for you. I have nothing but empathy for a person who has experienced assault. After all, *I* survived an extremely violent rape/kidnap attempt, which resulted in, (through my fighting hand to hand combat) in great injury to myself-but it saved my life. My entire life was affected. I was diagnosed with severe PTSD, panic disorder, and often have difficulty walking to my car in the Target parking lot after dark, sometimes bursting into tears. Do I like sharing such info on the internet? NO, but I feel at this juncture, I have no choice. I didn't have any "artist love affair" (puh-leeze) -it was a complete stranger. Nevertheless, it causes me such pain-daily, there is a song on a new Swans album, Michael wrote for me- (that I sing myself) I have not even listened to the song more than once since its recording, It upsets me so much to even hear myself sing it. This was, a loving attempt from Michael Gira to help me heal from such a horrible event. I take great insult in you accusing my husband of something like I went through. (And I have the police report, injury records, doctors, therapies, witnesses, etc) This isn't meant to be tit for tat, but, I hate liars. I hope people do share this post. -and I hope Larkin sees it, and I hope she is wrecked with nerves, because I repeat, I have *PROOF in her own hand* that what she wrote today is false about my husband. I am currently being muzzled (by atttorneys, managers, labels, and the like) but rest assured, the truth will come out. Larkin, you will publicly apologize, and face serious consequences. Please share. P.S anyone who bashed my husband or his music, when they see the proof- is going to feel like a complete fool.I hope you feel shame, and think about your actions. I am not negating a negative experience by a woman or man in a sexual context, or god forbid an assault on anyone, but it is SCARY AS HELL, that some mentally unbalanced (and admittedly so, *you'll see that too, once I release what I have*) can just post on Facebook, and the entire internet music press runs the story as "fact" -Any musician or artist in the public eye (or not, really this concerns everyone) should be wary, VERY WARY p.s. "the boy who cried wolf" is a great allegory for the starfucker-in the end- nobody listened to either of them howl.

lets see.... on the "mentally ill" tip-well as I just casually peruse a large file on my computer that I have called "LARKIN GRIM bullshit" -we have the phrases ( and I repeat, once again, in her own words, describing *herself*) as a "manipulative untrustworthy whore" "messed up narcissistic human"- ( I will get scolded for saying even that) -but It's all there. She's been evil and dishonest. I believe in white light, universal law, call it what you want- but I'm right, and she is so, so so wrong. I pity her. I have no fear, and neither should Michael, but he has two small children, a legacy, fans who respect him, and this isn't happening on my watch. No way. p.s. technically, as a survivor of a sexual/physical assault and having PTSD, I am classified as "ill"- and I do suffer, I have nightmares, flashbacks, 80 percent of movies make me cry, forget about Cormac McCarthy- it sucks, surviving sexual violence sucks- but you survive. I wish everyone the best. Do not believe this. If anyone is flying the flag for rape/violence victims, it is m0therfucking me!- if you bought the fundraising cd, you've already heard michael sing my song- if you are waiting for the record- I hope you enjoy me giving it at go, or if you were raped, hurt, fought in a war, victimized, or feel lost- it gives you some peace-I will probably not listen to it ever again.

HorseRenoir fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Feb 26, 2016

# ? Feb 26, 2016 08:59

abske_fides: Apr 20, 2010

I hope it's not true but at this point the ball is definitely in his court. I have more of a tendency to support a victim that has little in the way of proof than someone that just says "didn't do it!" but both sides can be pretty difficult to prove so long after the fact.

Gira doesn't have the best track record of the being the greatest guy on earth (such as all the arguments with Jarboe, etc).

Just started a Swans binge and then read this a few hours later -_-

# ? Feb 26, 2016 12:31

Leyburn: Aug 31, 2001

Christ. That Jennifer Gira statement really doesn't help.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 12:59

Whorelord: May 1, 2013; Jump into the well...

anyone taking a side is pointless because there's no evidence either way

# ? Feb 26, 2016 13:48

Hot Diggity!: Apr 3, 2010; SKELITON_BRINGING_U_ON.GIF

https://larkingrimm.bandcamp.com/album/parplar

# ? Feb 26, 2016 14:48

Poppy Nogood: May 26, 2014

http://music-illuminati.com/interview-larkin-grimm/ from 2012

quote:

JM: Your 2008 album Parplar was co-produced by Michael Gira and released on his label. What was it like working with him?

LG: Totally magical and wonderful. I love that guy. We parted ways for good reasons but it was an experience that changed my life for the better. Mr. Gira is a very inspiring man. He is also a truly good, kindhearted person. Not everybody realizes that about him because his music is so intense. I think I could work in the studio with that guy forever and be happy. But our lives outside the studio really clash.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 15:30

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

Michael Girapist

# ? Feb 26, 2016 16:49

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# ? May 13, 2024 23:02

Whodat Smith-Jones: Apr 16, 2007; My name is Buck, and I'm here to fuck

I really hate to see stuff like this for a multitude of reasons that I don't feel like typing here, but one of the many things that I find confusing is the fake email. I guess we don't have context for it, but what the gently caress? Does someone have michaelgira@gmail.com, and did some random person email that account and ask about the rape allegations? Maybe there's a very obvious explanation that I fail to come up with on my own. Just very odd.

# ? Feb 26, 2016 18:02

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No More Drake > SWANS: From Filth to the Seer in 12 weeks

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