Swans: Classic or Dud?

conversely, I can't stop listening to it. f'kn brilliant.

I can't wait to hear it but this is one album I'm not gonna take advantage of the fact that it's leaked. I've been praying and hoping for a new Swans record for 14 years and I'm gonna do it properly this time. go into town on release day, jump on it in the store, read the sleeve on the bus home, and play it loud and alone.

man. just listened to this all the way through. nothing new to add, will join the chorus: it's fucking GREAT. can't wait to see these guys for the first time ever.

was a little skeptical about Devendra Banhart being on a track, but it works wonderfully.

so last night i listened to children of god, after only having heard filth, cop, the young god ep and soundtracks for the blind. so basically i had heard them at their most abrasive and (what must be) their nicest. like, the first swans song i had ever heard, the first track on filth, "stay here," is BURNED INTO MY MEMORY because i was so shocked by it.

children of god is good and all, but i gotta say, it's PUSSY SHIT. their earlier releases imo are heavier and darker than most metal i've heard; children of god isn't the complete shift into post-rock "soundtracks" is; it's the same genre of music, post-punk i guess?, but just generally tamer. there are songs with a goddamn chick singing really sweetly over a piano.

i guess this is a pretty pointless post but i am making it anyway.

Random thoughts:
Gira and Jarboe are 2 of the musicians I could easily imagine being psycho killers.

loool man this is so hilariously true.

oh right i have to say whether i think they're classic or dud. they're pretty goddamn classic. anyone who says otherwise is a fool. their early shit like i said is REALLY impressively dark; so dark, that i've only heard cop and filth maybe twice each, because it is so difficult to listen to. listening to dark music when you're in a dark mood is cool and all, but i've tried this with swans and it just doesn't work for me! it totally hurtles me over the edge.

marc iv, there is nothing on Cop or Greed or Filth that's as completely "you will never forget the first time you listened to this" as "Beautiful Child." imo Children of God is a masterpiece. The harshness of the early stuff is amazing no doubt but nothing hits as hard as "Beautiful Child" the first time, that performance is for the ages.

I'm just pleased somebody's prepared to take a stand on goddamn chicks singing sweetly.

marc iv, pick up a copy of Feel Good Now, which is basically Children of God live. Waaaaaay heavier sound. Granted I heard it first, but the studio lp sounds so neutered in comparison...

is that the one with "beautiful child - the town and country club cowardice backstab" or whatever, the one where the sound guy kills the power to the house but not the monitors and gira just keeps screaming "I WILL KILL/THE CHILD"? because that shit is monstrous

their new album deserves its own thread. more here: Classic or Dud: Swans

wow "your property" is one huge, raging, frenzied destroyer of a song. brutal and unyielding even by the band's impossibly violent standards around that time. apparently this song is going to be re-worked on the upcoming tour. that would be something.

they already reworked it on the 1995 tour

yeah, i'm aware of that. though this tour is going to be the first time i'll see them perform, so i'm anticipating it on a personal level.

They were absolutely stunning at both Supersonic 2010 on Sunday and then in Glasgow on Monday night. I was utterly destroyed. It was crushing and beautiful and masterfully done.

Supersonic 2010:

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v18/p137063609-3.jpg

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v18/p585077464-3.jpg

Arches, Glasgow:

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v13/p789781667-3.jpg

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v11/p1024030397-3.jpg

Probably coming over for Swans/Sir Richard Bishop on Friday. Crüt, J Fever, interested in meeting up?

they were great as usual on Thursday. seemed more, uh, stretched out and jam-y than last year? like fewer recognizable "songs" and more extended workouts. anyway, awesome. Gira's quite an affable guy, isn't he? he was all smiles at the merch table.

i never liked most of their records too much, but they were (are?) exceptionally good live the couple times i've seen them

I interviewed Gira recently; some of it is here, that and more will be in the print edition of Burning Ambulance, soon.

THREE MORE DAYS until my show. It's my first time seeing them. Really excited.

Anxious to hear your report! I really wanted to see that show, but it'll be awhile before I hit up any more concerts.

great interview unperson

trying to imagine public castration era gira saying this, haha

It’s been really rewarding, because people really seem to get something really true from the music.

Gira's a sweetheart, albeit a very, very intense one.

The show was AMAZING. I regret that I overestimated the venue's procrastination, and we got there too late to see Sir Richard, which sucked because he was one of the reasons I was going to the show, but whatever, can't rewind time, etc. Plenty of ladies at this show too, which made me happy.

Swans played for 2.5 hours and everyone was covered in sweat. I was particularly happy that they played "Jim". In general, the performance was primordial and volcanic. At one point Gira called the audience "a handsome bunch of Polacks" and "girls". He seemed pretty affable, though, and very very sweaty.

Swans!

Sounds awesome, glad you enjoyed the show! Pity about missing Sir Richard though.

It was. For some reason it took us over an hour to actually arrive at the venue. Je55e took too long deciding which black tshirt to wear ;)

yesterday's show was decent, but they were much better last year. the songs were way too long and got dull quickly...and I love their brand of minimalism! the opening tune this time around topped last year's easily.

I didn't go to the show last year because I was too cheap. I liked the opening tune too. When Gira said they were going to play two more songs I was thinking we would be there til 3am, but it was only ("only")1am or so. Lots of people left before the encore when Gira put on the hat.

ATP schedule conflict of Swans vs Ultramagnetic MCs and I am totally torn.

x-post
hahah, I had the same thought. I was expecting two more half-hour jams.

what surprised me most about last night's show was how much the crowd seemed to enjoy the band. I got the feeling that their performance was meant to be divisive, in the sense that they were trying to weed out a demographic of the audience (similar to how Michael disliked the metalheads they were attracting during the mid-80s). but the crowd dug it!

hey La Lechera -- I missed Sir Richard Bishop too. Really pissed off about that, actually, and it's not because I was farting around or anything. I checked the Bottom Lounge website earlier in the day, and they had something called "Daniel Knox" listed as the opening band. So I figured that clown goes on for a half-hour, and SRB prolly takes the stage somewhere around 9:45. called the venue at about 9:30 as I was about to depart (trying to decide whether to take a cab or not) and they said SRB actually started at 9:20. So annoying. What, this Daniel Knox played for 10 minutes?

Anyway, great Swans show ... loved the free-flowing improvisatory feel of the whole thing. First song was a 25 minute "No Words/No Thoughts", right? Complete with 15 minute tubular bell intro from Thor, haha. That was amazing. I guess I have more of an appetite for that stuff than Ivan. I thought the whole show was great, longer jams the better!

but yeah, 2 1/2 hour show, sheesh. nowhere near that long when I saw them back in February

oh yeah, and OTM about all the sweat onstage. Bottom Lounge always feels like a sauna, another reason I dislike that place.

You are so OTM about that Daniel Knox business -- what a crock. Part of the reason I went was to see Sir Richard and I totally missed his set? Like, completely? That's messed up.
On the other hand, Thor's intro (and his work generally) was AMAZING and I like super long jams too, that was not really a problem for me (though I was apprehensive when I heard "two more songs", I admit -- they were worth it!). The whole percussion team was part of what made the show so bone-rattling and awesome. By the time I realized what the first song was, I felt like I had already been through the ringer (not in a bad way). I was standing about four people deep on the right hand side of the stage. I would have said hi if I had seen you!

Seeing them tonight (this'll be #11 but the first time since they've debuted new material) with Pelican, Rick Bishop, Horseback, and Secret Chiefs III. Yep, at a festival. Luckily I at least like all of those bands.

Saw this bill in minneapolis on wed, bishop was amazing

re: the heat
I wouldn't be surprised if Gira asked the venue to kill the AC again. those open doors during the encore were fabulous.

I was perfectly comfortable fwiw. Heat didn't bother me in the slightest, but I'm always cold. Going to a show like that and shivering would have sucked.

The swans was an incredible thing. Very glad I went but there were times I was kinda bored

La Lech -- sorry I missed you! i should have dropped you a note to say I was going, would've been nice to say hi (although I got out of there fast given it was 1 AM!)

those that *did* see Bishop, what kind of set did he do? was it the surf-arabic stuff, a la The Freak of Araby? if so, I'll feel better about it, since I saw him tour that

Solo gibson hollow body, clean tone, guitar, some more drone some leaning towards fahey.....so gorgeous. Also did a strange and hilarious absurdist comedy spoken word piece about having sex with his girlfriend wearing a kennedy mask while she was wearing a marilyn monroe mask

o yah that's a Sun City Girls thing from Dante's Disneyland Inferno, love it. they were doing that on the Brothers Unconnected tour too.

(sorry for derail)

devastatingly awesome performance tonight. new stuff is unbelievable.

bishop played electric and smoked as always. killer.

also, I heart secret chiefs

new band is so goddamn locked into the whole thing -- interesting to watch Gira act as 'conductor. anyway, so much fun

OPTIONS TO BUY LIVE 2XCD AND TO HELP SUPPORT NEW SWANS STUDIO ALBUM TITLED “THE SEER” IN PROGRESS:
1. buy hand made web only 2x live swans cd with original signed and numbered woodblock print sleeve made from drawing by m.gira - $30
2. as above AND RECEIVE 2xcd deluxe digi-pack signed version of Swans The Seer immediately upon release: $45
3. as in option 1 AND RECEIVE 2xcd deluxe digi-pack signed version of Swans The Seer, website/tour exclusive package that includes live swans dvd from 2010/11 tours - $55
4. OPTION 3 AND RECEIVE “executive producer” credit in upcoming swans studio album - $100
5. OPTION 3, AND 4 PLUS an original unique drawing by m.gira dedicated to customer (see example below) - $150
6. OPTION 3, AND 4, 5 PLUS be on guest list and meet band for one show on upcoming swans tour(s) 2012/13 - $175
7. OPTION 3, AND 4, 5, 6, plus, AND YES THIS IS REAL m.gira will record a simple, short, original song, acoustic guitar and voice, with customers’ name in the song, praising the customer, and send customer an mp3 of the song - $500
8. OPTION 3, AND 4, 5, 6, 7 and contribute an additional $100 or more over option 7, and receive undying gratitude, and a secret gift.

YOUR PURCHASE OF ANY OF THE ABOVE OPTIONS CONTRIBUTES DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE CONSIDERABLE (AND EVER EXPANDING) RECORDING COST OF THE NEW SWANS STUDIO ALBUM, THE SEER, IN PROGRESS)

wut?!

I'm happy to see Uncle Mike is no longer offering fingers as rewards.

I'm totally doing #3.

me too
if only the site was up :-/

Had to try for more than an hour, but I finally did it. Option 3 it is.

Would have loved to do option 3 but option 1 it is for me. And finally happily purchased too, that took...2 hours?

I remember when I first heard Children of God and I thought it was creepy and I guess 'over the top' but listening right now I only hear the beautiful.

I liked it at the time because I liked "goth" music....but it has mellowed with age.
I am quite enjoying Children of God / World of Skin right now!