Coil s/d c/d etc

So, like, I've been entirely steeping myself in COIL these days, trying to catch up. I picked up the re-mastered Horse Rotorvator (though I had the Some Bizarre edition -- which the band has since renounced). I also picked up the Unnatural History II disc in order to finally hear the aborted tracks from Hellraiser (I really wanted them to be scarier, truthfully, but there's a lot of other great stuff on the disc). The stuff I was really looking for but couldn't seem to find, however, was Love's Secret Domain and Musick to Play in the Dark Vol.1. I'd looked all around the likely shops in NYC, but came up empty, and their official site (Threshold House) has closed the shop for now. Failing everything else, I went to eBay, and won a used copy of L's.S.D (at no great savings to me), figuring I'd never find it anywhere else. It hasn't arrived yet.

So, today, on a lark, I pop into Tower Records on Broadway looking for nothing in particular. Once upon a time (in the days of vinyl), if you were looking for a record and Tower didn't have it, there was a good chance that said record simply didn't exist. But, that was then. In the ensuing years, Tower has fallen into a decline that recalls the fall of the Roman Empire. They're a lost cause teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. But sure enough -- push me down the anal staircase! Their in the import section are more COIL releases than I've ever spotted in any locale...including Musick to Play in the Dark Vol.1 (which I instantly snapped up) and....rotorvate my damn horse...Love's Secret Domain...WRAPPED, PRISTINE AND FACTORY SEALED...unlike the used version I'm waiting to arrive in the mail, which -- for all I know -- may have been used as a coaster. I suck.

I really dig the first vol. of Unnatural History, some really strange sounds on there.

Only got it today, so haven't had a chance to listen to it (it's tough with a little person in the house....I've ripped it to my iPod, so shall listen intently to it soon enough).

I'm well into Musick to Play in the Dark 1, though I'm not wild about "The Dreamer is Still Asleep". Love's Secret Domain isn't what I expected at all, but I'm quite enjoying it. I love the title track and the two "Teenage Lightning" tracks. Been downloading some of their other stuff (and oof is there a lot of it). I agree with whomever said it above that much of it is just far too abstract (notably the stuff fom the COIL-ANS box), but none of it is dull, at the very least.

Secondly, the General Store at the Threshold House site is back open...czech it out! http://www.thresholdhouse.com/

http://www.brainwashed.com/common/images/covers/loci15_traycard.jpg

When I was a teenager and heard their version of Tainted Love it cracked me up completely. I thought it was the funniest thing. But my friend was able to take it seriously and said that the video led him to believe they were tying it into AIDS. I guess I was supposed to feel guilty at that point but even if I heard it today I think it would still have me chuckling. The sheer difference between the Soft Cell hoppy boppy pop song vs. the Coil slow trudge through molasses is something I still find funny.

http://www.brainwashed.com/coil/main.html

Look in the "music" section under videos.

REVIVE!

Franky, I'll disagree with Callum on their live work. I really like that period of their act. "Ostia" doesn't hold a candle to the original, but "Warning from the Sun", "I Don't Want to Be the One", and "Are You Shivering?" are classics.

However, that particular show most certainly does not reflect on their entire catalogue. The 2003 ATP show, 2004 in Paris, and 2001 in Moscow are all enthralling and totally different (but all have marimba, interestingly).

Search: Pretty much everything, if you are adventurous.
Destroy: Nothing, but approach Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil with EXTREME caution. Also, beginners should avoid anything that started with a run of less than 500 copies until sufficiently experienced... (And even that has exceptions.)

Destroy: Angelic Converstaion

this is SO wrong. i've only seen the film once, but the soundtrack is amazing, especially the judy dench bits.

'dark river' from love's secret domain is my favorite coil track
― Amon (eman)

^^^ this

can we talk about our favourite coil side projects? been listening to the black light district album alot recently, as well as the time machines album and worship the glitch.

black light district is incredible. the highlight for me is the track "red skeletons", gotta be one of the creepiest pieces of electronic music ever made

Has anyone heard Sleazy's new stuff?

(non-TG that is)

yes. the album is pretty great in parts. i saw him do it live a few weeks ago. it was so so and was accompanied by some very controversial film footage.

"being articulate, self-effacing, polite and so on - with some fantastic tunes under his belt - should not mean he can foist explicit footage married to lame notions of mystical altruism upon everyone without getting a pasting. it is irrelevant whether or not he made the footage himself or obtained it. even if i believe those "men" were "over 18", the context in which something passed off as a "charitable act" was presented - ie audiovisual lounge exotica vs An Evening with Les Dawson - was enough to make my stomach churn."

"i don't want to equate him with Gary Glitter by any stretch... and i'm not making any allegations over "legality"... and i love some of his productions dearly... but the context was disturbing me, along with the "knowing" sniggers from the audience. i maintain that if these "over 18"s were female, from any country in the world, Thailand or otherwise, there could well have been a national outrage following even minor exposure from a review in a shitty local rag like the List."

the hushed reverence and complicity of the audience present was the most interesting thing about the evening. the number of people taking photos of the screen was very strange, even those with SLRs who appeared to be press.

this was all a little too "comfortable" given the nature of the content, and the context under which it was presented. such is the man's influence and musical legacy that none dare challenge him aloud over the frankly ridiculous and misguided expressions of "hope" expressed during the first video. his demeanour was equally too disarming and magnanimous for any serious attempt to challenge him.

now i like some TG and Coil tracks enormously. sicker and more objectionable people have made better music, too. Sleazy is not shy about his "interests", for which i would commend him. i am also completely confident he has the intelligence to realise what is and what isn't acceptable in terms of legality and performance, especially in this country. he is clearly a consummate professional in many fields.

the overriding feeling i was left with, as noted above, was that i cannot for the life of me believe that anyone, anywhere, in any country would have easily accepted the same footage and sentiments transposed to a situation where a man of his age - or indeed a woman - would receive such an "easy ride" screening imagery of very young members of the opposite sex in public, under the banner of "art", dressed up in a partially "charitable" terms.

this all reminds me of William Bennett's recent talk at the CCA where he seemed to take an easy option by equally praising "non-Western" notions of "not having to answer questions once they are posed", rather being interested in "standing in the space that positing the question would create".

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biotron/3263652364/

the value of being shocking for the sake of being shocking is quite tired but occasionally valid, imho. it takes on a fairly different tone when some sort of loudhailer apology is superimposed upon proceedings.

can we search late period coil? i'm thinking post Love's Secret Domain. this is their best shit imo. of what i've heard search:

Black Light District - A Thousand Lights In A Darkened Room: deep electronic music, "red skeletons" is a lurching sickly dub beast and a total career highlight; balance's voice appearing on "green water" after 40 minutes or so of weirdness is revelatory

Time Machines: completely stunning old skool analog ambience; one of the best drone albums ever made imo

...And The Ambulance Died In His Arms: a live recording from the group's final performance. this was my introduction to coil, john balance's affable inter-song banter seemed totally incongruous to the darkness of the music. love the narrative in "A Slip In The Marylebone Road"

Musick To Play In The Dark 1 & 2: some of the greatest music ever created by man, need i say more

anyway, out of a fairly dense catalogue what else should i be paying attention to?

I remember eying Time Machines for a long time but never got it. I heard that the acoustics on that one are off the wall.

this is their best shit imo.

they were incredibly prolific in their late period but i don't think they were necessarily better. 'musick to play in the dark 1' is an absolute masterpiece although i think volume 2 is quite weak. of the later recordings, apart from those you mention, the solstice singles, compiled on cd as 'moons milk in four seasons' and the 'ape of naples' and the 'new backwards' (recorded way back but only latterly made available) are highly recommended. 'going up' from the 'ape of naples' reduces me to a quivering mess every time.

the 'foxtrot' benefit comp. contains, imo, one of the finest and most prophetic coil tracks and is key and essential.

for me, 'horse rotorvator' remains their finest moment. i think 'ostia' is one of the top 5 greatest recordings of all time. i have recently spent a lot of time re-listening to 'nightmare culture', their collaboration with boyd rice and am blown away all over again by it.

on reflection, everything they ever recorded is worth at least a cursory investigation and i continue to discover new riches. for me, the greatest 'band' that ever existed. my beatles.

the above post posted in a john balance state of intoxication.

r1o you should check out Live 3 and Live 4 if you haven't yet, they have some amazing moments on them. Also search the versions of "A.Y.O.R." and "Cold Cell" that were on those Russian-only compilations, they are soooo good and not available elsewhere.

Just got my preordered http://www.thedarkageoflove.com/ CD in the mail today!

thanks for the this immortal coil heads up.

there is also an exclusive alternative version of "a cold cell" called "a cold cell in bangkok" on this -

http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/09-09-08/optimo--sleepwalk/

yeah that's a good mix. interesting that you find Musick To Play In The Dark 2 to be weak compared to the first one, as for me there's not much in it. either one could be my favourite of the two depending on which one is currently playing.

there may be a bit more filler on 2 but i figured they were from the same recording sessions which might explain a slight discrepancy in quality. but "tiny golden books" is a monster, and "batwings" is my favourite john balance performance. and "ether"! one of the best Coil songs full stop. amazing record.

i'll definitely check out those two live records, i still regularly listen to ...And The Ambulance Died In His Arms. and the live videos on youtube are stunning.

fuck i can't really think of any other bands capable of releasing two of its best albums during its twilight years. they were pretty special.

can anyone recommend the album made with thighpaulsandra's mum on vocals? sounds intrsting

interesting that you find Musick To Play In The Dark 2 to be weak compared to the first one, as for me there's not much in it.

perhaps i was a tad harsh. i was DEFINITELY a tad drunk when i posted that. musick...1 just blew me away so much that 2 couldn't really live up to it to my ears. by anyone else's standards it is a mighty fine album but i just never really bonded with it. i completely agree that "tiny golden books" and "batwings" are fabulous though.

I love the Optimo Sleepwalk album.

And Time Machines is probably my most played Coil record, works really well at a range of different volumes. I've sometimes found that if it's on quietly in the background it seems to distort my perception even more than loud or on headphones. I'd appreciate if anyone knowledgeable could point me in the direction of anything similar that they've done.

There's been talk of a 2 CD version of Time Machines forever, but nothing's been confirmed yet. Nothing comparable in their discography, though.

Unless you're happy with the also-simple-tones-but-not-similar-at-all concept stuff on ANS - http://www.brainwashed.com/common/htdocs/discog/coilans.php?site=coil08

CoilANS is nice. I also remember liking Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil, but haven't heard it in a while.
My favorite Coil works remain Musick To Play In The Dark, both volumes, followed by Ape Of Naples, esp. for the final track.

I bought ANS thinking it would be similar and although I like it, it doesn't do it for me the way Time Machines does. It's probably due a re-listen though.

Maybe this is because I'm a fan, but er...

S: Scatology, Horse Rotorvator, Gold is the Metal, Unnatural History I-II-III, Love's Secret Domain, Stolen & Contaminated Songs, The Angelic Conversation, Born Again Pagans, Worship The Glitch, A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room, Time Machines, Moon's Milk in Four Phases (+ bonus disc), Foxtrot (compilation, various artists), Astral Disaster (vinyl & CD versions), Musick to Play in the Dark I-II, The Remote Viewer (2 disc edition), Live 1-2-3-4, Selvaggina Go Back into the Woods, ANS box set, Black Antlers (original & remastered editions), And the Ambulance Died in his Arms, The Ape of Naples, Backwards (tape version), The New Backwards, Plastic Spider Thing, Songs of the Week, various tracks & remixes (Bill Laswell (Kala), Depeche Mode - Rush (unreleased Coil remix), Nine Inch Nails remixes on the two (different) Further Down The Spiral CDs and Broken/Fixed, etc - just about anything you can find = classic)

D because I'm not into the harsher screaming & noise: Transparent, Queens of the Circulating Library, Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil

And start saving $$$ for COLOUR SOUND OBLIVION, the (10?) DVD live box set that's coming up! (any year now!)

nice list but i was hoping we could talk specifically about post LSD coil. where can i hear the depeche mode remix?

http://www.imeem.com/defector/music/W18MIxkK/depeche-mode-rush-black-sun-mix/

Is pretty much all of the coil stuff from the 90s out of print? Every time I see used CDs by them lately they're $30 and up.

Ow baby!

http://thresholdhouse.greedbag.com/release/~colour-sound-oblivion-coils-offi/

Colour Sound Oblivion will consist of at least 12 dvds of all the Incarnations of Coil Live, with simultaneous Projection channels, plus at least 2 discs of alternate versions Projections with "karaoke" backing tracks and audio loops, which you can use to remake Coil Live in your own image. A minimum of 14 dvds, possibly more - the final total depends on the last bits of compiling being done by the end of the year.

Guess who is one of the 200 crazy Coil fans who preordered this :-)

bad link maybe? getting a 404.

not that I could afford this.

Ah. The linkifier has removed the slash at the end.

Try this link.

personally i'd say that ape of naples is their most accessible (though that's a relative term ofc). depends what kind of stuff you're normally into really

first coil album i ever listened to was the new backwards i think, i remember being underwhelmed and didn't bother with them for another year or so

Moons Milk LP-box shipped today from Bleep.

hope postie brings it tomorrow.

Mine is supposed to arrive today. Very excited

mine was too but didn't. hopefully tomorrow.

any early reactions to this reissue? Mine arrived but I have not been in the right headspace to listen, an excuse that may be more acceptable when discussing Coil than perhaps any other band!

i have not checked the reissue yet to see how the quality is either. will maybe have some amethyst deceivers time later this week.

Digital hi res files are good, a little louder than before, but not painfully brickwalled. I had a version with 3 tracks in part 5, so there’s a track I haven’t heard before (Bankside), and it’s fantastic. (But I think it was included on the previous reissue as well.)

Also, a live version of Amethyst Deceivers is still tacked on to A Warning from the Sun as a hidden track (including minutes silence), so the first thing I did with the digital download is to split them and move Deceivers to the very end.

Bottom line: worth getting for Bankside, but not a sonic improvement (nor did it need to be).

yep Bankside was added to the Threshold Archives CD of the Moon's Milk bonus disc, glad they added it here too

Today I attended the second funeral I've been to where Coil's "Going Up" was played. It was played in its entirety while everyone sat in quiet contemplation. It was one of the most emotional few minutes of my entire life and the most intense (but beautiful) funeral experence I've ever known. Almost indescribable!

Wow. Remarkable indeed!