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Uhhh so I'm listening to To Be Kind having never heard anything by Swans before because I've been hearing it's been getting great reviews, and holy loving god, Bring the Sun is such a big song. Like, Godspeed You Black Emperor big but even bigger than that. Just completely massive and nigh-overwhelming  But I also kind of love it. It's scary and mysterious and new and exciting. I'm assuming they were a big influence for bands like Godspeed since they've been around since the 80s? Is all their music like this or does it vary from album to album? I'm definitely interested in checking out the rest of their discography now. I don't see this as an album I'm going to listen to frequently or one from which I'm going to be listening to single tracks by themselves, but every once in a while when I feel like digesting an entire album as a whole and being transported to another world, I have a feeling this is gonna be perfect for that. One of my good friends saw them last year at Bonnaroo, and when he got home, he couldn't stop raving about that show for a while. I probably should have checked them out sooner to see what he was talking about.
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May 20, 2014 22:46
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:04 |
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That is definitely helpful, thank you!  Now I have a direction to go in, I just need a good amount of time to devote to digesting it all (as you said, Cymbal Monkey).
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May 20, 2014 23:40
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Cymbal Monkey posted:Be sure to post trip reports! And Oxygen: 
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May 20, 2014 23:49
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Quantum of Phallus posted:They recorded that horse specifically for the track, there's a good recent interview on p4K with Gira.
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May 21, 2014 01:27
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I still haven't started my reverse Swans journey yet, but I will. I have The Seer, I just need to prepare myself to listen to it. If that's even possible...
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May 23, 2014 00:27
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Alright, I finally listened to The Seer. It's not as weird or as much of a mindfuck as it probably would've been if I'd started listening to Swans with this album, but I guess To Be Kind got me acclimated enough to the Swans weirdness to the point where this kind of sounds like more of the same. Don't get me wrong, though, I still really dig it. The title track is huge and menacing. That harmonica part gave it a nice push into agonizing/desolate territory. And then the vocals right after that part sounds like the wailing of a mental patient. I felt like I was walking down Death Row in a prison in the middle of the desert while listening to it. And then 93 Ave. B Blues was like a nightmare in sound form. Song for a Warrior was like a breath of fresh air after the onslaught that was Disc 1. Then Avatar, especially the ending, was repetitive and furious and lovely. A Piece of the Sky started out sounding like the score to some deeply unsettling film but then it became a pretty normal piece of music as it went on. Well, normal for Swans at least. And then The Apostate…at the beginning, it sounded like it was building up to be this droney, ear-splittingly loud metal piece, and yep, that’s exactly what it built up to. At one point it sounded like Michael Gira recorded the sounds of himself playing ping pong and used that as the percussion for part of this track. And then later on the song sounds jazzy? This is all over the place but I like it haha I listened to this album while I was very tired, which was probably a terrible idea. On one hand, I feel completely drained now, so I'm probably gonna fall asleep right away. On the other hand, I'll probably have nightmares from listening to this loving thing right before bed. Next up on the list: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky.
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May 26, 2014 09:50
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This is really late notice, but Swans are playing a show tonight and broadcasting it live on Yahoo Screen for those who can't attend: https://screen.yahoo.com/live/event/swans It's supposed to start in about 10 minutes, I think. (10:15pm PST) e: And so far all it's been is gong. Nothing but gong. But oh wait, here comes Gira! Rageaholic fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Sep 5, 2014 |
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Sep 5, 2014 06:02
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They're coming here in April. I am ready for my ears to bleed 
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Nov 13, 2014 02:57
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Brodeurs Nanny posted:Swans is working on new music. Here are two innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnncredible epic new songs, great live quality. So excited to see them live next week 
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Mar 26, 2015 02:39
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So I saw them tonight and it was loving insane. They played for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Their first song was 37 minutes long. I was right by the stage, and when they closed with Bring The Sun/Black Hole Man, I felt like I was standing right by a jet engine spinning up. My teeth were rattling at one point. So goddamn good. Though I told my girlfriend afterwards (who didn't come with me because she can't handle Swans) that the show was like an endurance test. The show was sold out, so there was obviously a ton of interest in it, but people were leaving throughout the entire show. I guess they couldn't handle it either. By the end of the show, it seemed like only half the crowd was left. But goddamn, Bring The Sun/Black Hole Man was quite possibly the best part of the show. I didn't think there were any bad parts and I was entertained all the way through, but when that song kicked in, Jeeeeeeeeeeeeesus Christ, you could really feel the energy.
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Apr 4, 2015 09:10
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 Aw yeah, can't wait to hear the album version of whatever Black Hole Man became.
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Jan 29, 2016 22:14
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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."  
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Feb 23, 2016 18:08
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Oh Jesus loving Christ. Is EVERYONE seemingly cool and talented actually a monster? 
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Feb 26, 2016 01:42
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This is probably going to be one of my top 5 albums of the year, no question 
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Apr 5, 2016 19:41
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Woah, just checked the setlist from their show that I went to a little over a year ago and it turns out they played like 4 songs from the new album according to that Amazon tracklist That's counting Black Hole Man, which apparently got retitled for this album. Frankie M. A Little God In My Hands The Cloud of Unknowing Just a Little Boy (For Chester Burnett) The Cloud of Forgetting Bring the Sun / Black Hole Man
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Apr 14, 2016 05:33
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Cymbal Monkey posted:So, I have The Glowing Man (journalism has its perks) and it's loving magnificent. It sounds absolutely huge, Gira's studio genius really comes through, and When Will I Return is the most harrowing piece of music ever put to record. 
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May 18, 2016 11:20
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Heroinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Heroinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Methedrinnnnnnnnnnnne Methedrinnnnnnnnnnnne MDMMMMMMMMMMA MDMMMMMMMMMMA e: God drat I am so happy to have a studio version of Black Hole Man 
Rageaholic fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Jun 13, 2016 |
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Jun 12, 2016 23:59
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8.1 from Pitchfork It's not a 10! They hated it!!!!!!!!!
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Jun 21, 2016 09:38
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:04 |
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Seeing The Glowing Man (then called Black Hole Man) live was probably one of the most intense/loudest concert experiences I've ever had. It ruled.
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Mar 17, 2017 08:11
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