I've Got Every Right To Get Loud
May 29, 2011 9:51 AM Subscribe
Canada's own Godspeed You! Black Emperor recently reunited and played five nights in three NYC venues. Thanks to GY!BE's kindness toward set recording and NYCTaper you can listen to the two sets at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple.
I saw them in LA on this tour. It was an awesome show.
posted by Horselover Fat at 10:02 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by Horselover Fat at 10:02 AM on May 29, 2011
They're just not the same since they changed their name.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:03 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:03 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
They are also working on new material.
*changes shorts*
posted by secondhand pho at 10:06 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
*changes shorts*
posted by secondhand pho at 10:06 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
yes yes yes. the sounds of civilization crumbling and the subsequent foggy dawn... in FLAC
posted by serif at 10:16 AM on May 29, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by serif at 10:16 AM on May 29, 2011 [4 favorites]
Excellent! I saw them four times back in the day and every show was wonderful. I'm excited about these live recordings and their upcoming new material.
posted by Kattullus at 10:20 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by Kattullus at 10:20 AM on May 29, 2011
They are also working on new material.
SPIT TAKE
posted by synaesthetichaze at 10:20 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
SPIT TAKE
posted by synaesthetichaze at 10:20 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
By the way, I saw A Silver Mt. Zion in the basement of a museum in Harrisburg, and it was pretty great. I'll pretty much listen to absolutely anything Efrim Menuck is involved with.
posted by synaesthetichaze at 10:21 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by synaesthetichaze at 10:21 AM on May 29, 2011
New Material! Free live recordings!! Fuck yeah!!!
posted by codacorolla at 10:28 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by codacorolla at 10:28 AM on May 29, 2011
i want to be excited about this but deep down i have a feeling post-rock isn't really relevant anymore
posted by nathancaswell at 10:28 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 10:28 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
i want to be excited about this but deep down i have a feeling post-rock isn't really relevant anymore
is this sincere or some sort of comedy routine?
posted by neuromodulator at 10:32 AM on May 29, 2011 [12 favorites]
is this sincere or some sort of comedy routine?
posted by neuromodulator at 10:32 AM on May 29, 2011 [12 favorites]
Well, a GY!BE audience is practically indistinguishable from an oil painting.
posted by griphus at 10:35 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by griphus at 10:35 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
Theirs was one of my favorite shows I've ever been to. It was 2000 in Seattle, and it was the early set (all-ages). The opener had finished and the venue, The Crocodile Cafe, had put on some popular indie rock or something in between the bands. A couple of roadies, it seemed, came out to the stage, one carrying a giant piece of plywood covered with guitar pedals. There must've been 40 or so pedals. The guy fiddles with it for a bit, and there's some weird noise coming out of the speakers. Guy keeps fiddling. The music--I seem to remember Beck being one song--kept playing. The weird noise kept going. And getting louder. And louder. And eventually, like everyone else in the audience, the sound guy in the back realizes that the GYBE had started playing. Beck (or whatever) abruptly cuts off. The rest of the band comes on stage, already a few minutes well into the first song. The roadie, it turns out, was Efrim. The lights dim down. Two projectors show strange movies behind the band. One of the bass players smoked more cigarettes than I thought was possible. He had a cigarette in his mouth from the moment he stepped on stage until the moment the band left. A few times, in anticipation of a more involved section of music, he'd put a second cigarette next to the almost-done cigarette already between his lips. The music went on for what seemed like forever. We were entranced. The band, most of whom had their backs to the audience the entire time or were seated too low on stage to see, still had't addressed the audience. Suddenly, the lights went up and a couple of people from the venue sort of corralled the band off stage. Efrim jumped back on stage. "Sorry," these were the first words to the audience the entire night, "they're making us quit. We want to play more." The venue had to get ready for the 21+ show.
posted by msbrauer at 10:41 AM on May 29, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by msbrauer at 10:41 AM on May 29, 2011 [6 favorites]
Best show I've ever been to. GY!BE in a warehouse in New Orleans about 8 years ago. It was almost hallucinatory.
posted by penduluum at 10:43 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by penduluum at 10:43 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Well, a GY!BE audience is practically indistinguishable from an oil painting."
Speak for yourself. They have a strong beat in most songs, and some of us can dance in 7.
posted by idiopath at 10:44 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
Speak for yourself. They have a strong beat in most songs, and some of us can dance in 7.
posted by idiopath at 10:44 AM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]
If you're in the right mood and in the right venue, live post-rock can be amazing. Somehow, a college show promoter got Mono to play in a huge auditorium, along with a bunch of other random groups. There were at most 15 people really paying attention to Mono's set, and we were all fixated.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:50 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by filthy light thief at 10:50 AM on May 29, 2011
If you haven't heard A Silver Mount Zion backing Patti Smith, do.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:55 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by Sys Rq at 10:55 AM on May 29, 2011
They were great at Terminal 5 even though the venue kind of sucks.
posted by Skorgu at 10:57 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by Skorgu at 10:57 AM on May 29, 2011
Sincere. I've seen GYBE. Seen EITS 7 or 8 times. Seen Mono 3-4 times. Sigur Ros a number of times. There was a period where that kin. Of music was all I listened to. Over the years everytime I went to a show it affected me less and less. The first ones were always the best.
Terminal 5 is shit. Saw Animal Collective there a few years ago and will never go back. The sound is garbage.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:01 AM on May 29, 2011
Terminal 5 is shit. Saw Animal Collective there a few years ago and will never go back. The sound is garbage.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:01 AM on May 29, 2011
So you're a rock that's post-post-rock in a post about post-rock.
posted by defenestration at 11:07 AM on May 29, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by defenestration at 11:07 AM on May 29, 2011 [7 favorites]
i want to be excited about this but deep down i have a feeling post-rock isn't really relevant anymore
I've had this same feeling too, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I'm not sure what exists to replace it, or why it only seems relevant to 2000-2005 or so. Suggestions welcome. I do look forward to listening to this though.
posted by kiltedtaco at 11:07 AM on May 29, 2011
I've had this same feeling too, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I'm not sure what exists to replace it, or why it only seems relevant to 2000-2005 or so. Suggestions welcome. I do look forward to listening to this though.
posted by kiltedtaco at 11:07 AM on May 29, 2011
What do you (nathancaswell and kiltedtaco) mean by relevant? Relevant to what? I don't understand.
posted by neuromodulator at 11:12 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by neuromodulator at 11:12 AM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
I suspect it has something to do with their (parenthetical commenters) no longer being pot-smoking undergrads.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:25 AM on May 29, 2011
posted by Sys Rq at 11:25 AM on May 29, 2011
The only thing I can think of you meaning is that "post-rock is no longer relevant to current musical trends" which sounds a lot like saying "they're not exciting because they're not trendy any more", which I assume is not what you mean.
I do feel like you could be saying something like "I get a charge from following the dialogue happening at the forefront of various music scenes and that dialogue doesn't seem to be developing right now in post-rock". I think that makes sense. But that assumes (from my perspective) a development in that dialogue which I think is largely illusionary...most changes are cyclical rather than progressive. That is, it seems to me that they're from a point in the cycle when ideas were valued like "music should be taken seriously" and right now there's a lot of "music should be fun" going on, and you can pretend that's invigorating and exciting but really the oscillation between those is going on continuously and is at different phases within different scenes, etc. And sometimes I want music that's fun and sometimes I want to listen to something that's all sombre so "relevance" in that sense doesn't make sense for me because really all that's relevant is my mood. No?
I do like Sys Rq's answer though: "music for pot-smoking undergrads is no longer relevant to me" certainly makes sense.
posted by neuromodulator at 11:32 AM on May 29, 2011
I do feel like you could be saying something like "I get a charge from following the dialogue happening at the forefront of various music scenes and that dialogue doesn't seem to be developing right now in post-rock". I think that makes sense. But that assumes (from my perspective) a development in that dialogue which I think is largely illusionary...most changes are cyclical rather than progressive. That is, it seems to me that they're from a point in the cycle when ideas were valued like "music should be taken seriously" and right now there's a lot of "music should be fun" going on, and you can pretend that's invigorating and exciting but really the oscillation between those is going on continuously and is at different phases within different scenes, etc. And sometimes I want music that's fun and sometimes I want to listen to something that's all sombre so "relevance" in that sense doesn't make sense for me because really all that's relevant is my mood. No?
I do like Sys Rq's answer though: "music for pot-smoking undergrads is no longer relevant to me" certainly makes sense.
posted by neuromodulator at 11:32 AM on May 29, 2011
Hearing these guys for the first time was a revelation, but their album was not one I found myself returning to more than a couple of times.
The songs drift too much, they don't really resolve as much as end, you kind of leave the album feeling anxious and unsatisfied, which is an interesting feeling more than a pleasurable one.
Sigur ros has a lot more staying power with me.
posted by empath at 11:39 AM on May 29, 2011
The songs drift too much, they don't really resolve as much as end, you kind of leave the album feeling anxious and unsatisfied, which is an interesting feeling more than a pleasurable one.
Sigur ros has a lot more staying power with me.
posted by empath at 11:39 AM on May 29, 2011
I made the mistake of renting a yurt on the coast one meteorologically unstable January weekend. During the night a ridiculous rainstorm rolled in and dumped huge rain drops on the top of the canvas yurt all night accompanied by typically strong winds which made for a miserable but interesting night.
Seeking comfort in my ipod, Lift Your Skinny Fists came on and sort of put a point on the whole ordeal. The album seemed mighty relevant at that particular time.
posted by asterisk at 11:47 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
Seeking comfort in my ipod, Lift Your Skinny Fists came on and sort of put a point on the whole ordeal. The album seemed mighty relevant at that particular time.
posted by asterisk at 11:47 AM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Music to Boil Water to.
posted by Dmenet at 11:51 AM on May 29, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Dmenet at 11:51 AM on May 29, 2011 [4 favorites]
Hearing these guys for the first time was a revelation, but their album was not one I found myself returning to more than a couple of times.
The songs drift too much, they don't really resolve as much as end, you kind of leave the album feeling anxious and unsatisfied, which is an interesting feeling more than a pleasurable one.
That is really funny. Before I had discovered GYBE! I was really into Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, and The Boards of Canada. For me, F#A# never drifted and never left me unsatisfied with the resolution.
Though now in retrospect I have to wonder why I liked all of these but never got high with them.
posted by munchingzombie at 11:54 AM on May 29, 2011
The songs drift too much, they don't really resolve as much as end, you kind of leave the album feeling anxious and unsatisfied, which is an interesting feeling more than a pleasurable one.
That is really funny. Before I had discovered GYBE! I was really into Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, and The Boards of Canada. For me, F#A# never drifted and never left me unsatisfied with the resolution.
Though now in retrospect I have to wonder why I liked all of these but never got high with them.
posted by munchingzombie at 11:54 AM on May 29, 2011
Some other bands that don't get the love GY!BE does that I think their fans will dig:
Yndi Halda
The Drift
Do Make Say Think
Esmerine
Kammerflimmer Kollectief
God is an Astronaut
Grails
Rachel's
posted by dobbs at 12:05 PM on May 29, 2011 [12 favorites]
Yndi Halda
The Drift
Do Make Say Think
Esmerine
Kammerflimmer Kollectief
God is an Astronaut
Grails
Rachel's
posted by dobbs at 12:05 PM on May 29, 2011 [12 favorites]
Relevant to the zeitgeist? Is this even an issue? Protest songs were relevant in 1963... 1944 not so much?
posted by nathancaswell at 12:12 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by nathancaswell at 12:12 PM on May 29, 2011
Are you suggesting that me questioning what you mean is making "an issue" of something?
I'm not trying to make an issue out of anything; I literally do not understand what you meant and am trying (in good faith, and yes with hindsight maybe the line about "comedy routines" was a bad way to start that but I seriously thought maybe it was like a parody of hipper-than-thou attitudes) to gain that understanding.
How would you describe the current zeitgeist? What bands embody this spirit? I feel to some extent that the current state of the global music scene has sort of done away with any zeitgeist-like ideas, except in like the Justin Bieber sense which is also obviously not what you mean.
I actually find the protest songs example not helpful because there's specific political/world stuff going on there that I also assume you don't mean (although GY!BE were political, you seem to be speaking much more generally).
posted by neuromodulator at 12:33 PM on May 29, 2011
I'm not trying to make an issue out of anything; I literally do not understand what you meant and am trying (in good faith, and yes with hindsight maybe the line about "comedy routines" was a bad way to start that but I seriously thought maybe it was like a parody of hipper-than-thou attitudes) to gain that understanding.
How would you describe the current zeitgeist? What bands embody this spirit? I feel to some extent that the current state of the global music scene has sort of done away with any zeitgeist-like ideas, except in like the Justin Bieber sense which is also obviously not what you mean.
I actually find the protest songs example not helpful because there's specific political/world stuff going on there that I also assume you don't mean (although GY!BE were political, you seem to be speaking much more generally).
posted by neuromodulator at 12:33 PM on May 29, 2011
Ok here's an attempt, was on a phone before so was probably too curt.
It's kind of like, after about 5 years of the War on Terror, I decided that when I looked at the world I no longer saw some Vaguely-Nostalgic-Precociously-Beautiful-Fragile-Sad-and-Thin-Thing to be marveled at like a baby goose dying during a winter sunset.
Instead I just saw something depressing and horrible and beauty-less and wanted to dance my face off in a sweaty fit of endorphins and forget it for 15 fucking minutes, not sway and ponder the slow, fading beauty of it all. Which is kind of the post-rock vibe.
That's what I mean by relevant I think.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:43 PM on May 29, 2011 [6 favorites]
It's kind of like, after about 5 years of the War on Terror, I decided that when I looked at the world I no longer saw some Vaguely-Nostalgic-Precociously-Beautiful-Fragile-Sad-and-Thin-Thing to be marveled at like a baby goose dying during a winter sunset.
Instead I just saw something depressing and horrible and beauty-less and wanted to dance my face off in a sweaty fit of endorphins and forget it for 15 fucking minutes, not sway and ponder the slow, fading beauty of it all. Which is kind of the post-rock vibe.
That's what I mean by relevant I think.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:43 PM on May 29, 2011 [6 favorites]
Brilliant! Thanks.
posted by neuromodulator at 12:52 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by neuromodulator at 12:52 PM on May 29, 2011
Awesome. Huge thanks also to Dobbs for posting that list of other post-rock. To iTunes!
posted by Decimask at 1:02 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by Decimask at 1:02 PM on May 29, 2011
Also, f*** I hate you iTunes.
That should be a band.
posted by Decimask at 1:05 PM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
That should be a band.
posted by Decimask at 1:05 PM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've seen God is An Astronaut, Toundra, Oceansize, Red Sparowes and a few other post-rock bands over the last X amount of years, but GYBE was without a doubt the best when I saw them earlier this year in Madrid. The film geek in me might have also been slightly swayed by the two genuine 16mm projectors they used for the visuals...
posted by slimepuppy at 1:56 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by slimepuppy at 1:56 PM on May 29, 2011
DMST is fucking unbelievable live, and I finally saw Mogwai for the first time.
The Detroit show sold out same day, and I couldn't see GSYBE! I am very disappointed, but thanks for the posting. I'll have an awesome time listening to this for sure tonight.
posted by handbanana at 1:58 PM on May 29, 2011
The Detroit show sold out same day, and I couldn't see GSYBE! I am very disappointed, but thanks for the posting. I'll have an awesome time listening to this for sure tonight.
posted by handbanana at 1:58 PM on May 29, 2011
The rest of the band comes on stage, already a few minutes well into the first song.
I'd expect them to be more punctual.
posted by hal9k at 2:17 PM on May 29, 2011
I'd expect them to be more punctual.
posted by hal9k at 2:17 PM on May 29, 2011
slimepuppy: "The film geek in me might have also been slightly swayed by the two genuine 16mm projectors they used for the visuals..."
They only used two? At PDX they had three or four - an excellent backdrop to the music for sure.
posted by idiopath at 2:27 PM on May 29, 2011
They only used two? At PDX they had three or four - an excellent backdrop to the music for sure.
posted by idiopath at 2:27 PM on May 29, 2011
It is so interesting to see post-rock become retro. My next band is going to be called:
I Remember! The! Golden Oldie Days of! Post-Rock
Might throw another exclamation mark in there. Somewhere...
posted by Skygazer at 2:37 PM on May 29, 2011
I Remember! The! Golden Oldie Days of! Post-Rock
Might throw another exclamation mark in there. Somewhere...
posted by Skygazer at 2:37 PM on May 29, 2011
To add to dobbs' list: Melbourne trio Because of Ghosts.
Also: your favourite band isn't really relevant anymore.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:21 PM on May 29, 2011
Also: your favourite band isn't really relevant anymore.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:21 PM on May 29, 2011
Oh, and Sydney band Decoder Ring (also a great live show with multiple film projectors which are an integral part of the performance).
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:24 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:24 PM on May 29, 2011
i want to be excited about this but deep down i have a feeling post-rock isn't really relevant to me anymore
There, fixed that for you.
posted by secondhand pho at 4:52 PM on May 29, 2011
There, fixed that for you.
posted by secondhand pho at 4:52 PM on May 29, 2011
re: relevance--it's easy to get burned out on post-rock, I think, because most of the artists that were really at the fore (GY!BE, Sigur Ros, Mum, Mogwai...) either faded away or slipped out of the limelight but continued to make interesting music that was subtly different than what they'd produced before, while the Explosions in the Sky soft-LOUD-soft instrumental rock crescendo structure became really, really popular for a little while so:
1) Everyone sort of forgot that post-rock kind of didn't have a unifying sound for a long time and
2) got a little exhausted, listening to the same kinds of things over and over. Getting tired of music you love happens, and it can be just as wonderful as you remembered if you take a break and come back to it later.
I just wish Godspeed would have played anywhere remotely near me.
posted by byanyothername at 5:27 PM on May 29, 2011
1) Everyone sort of forgot that post-rock kind of didn't have a unifying sound for a long time and
2) got a little exhausted, listening to the same kinds of things over and over. Getting tired of music you love happens, and it can be just as wonderful as you remembered if you take a break and come back to it later.
I just wish Godspeed would have played anywhere remotely near me.
posted by byanyothername at 5:27 PM on May 29, 2011
Reunited? I didn't know they'd broken up. In fact, it seems like they were just a new band I'd been meaning to listen to. And in the intervening time all this has happened. </getting old>
posted by Eideteker at 7:06 PM on May 29, 2011
posted by Eideteker at 7:06 PM on May 29, 2011
Saw them in Manchester for the first time last year. I discovered them long after they'd already moved on; I never thought I'd get the chance to see them live. But I did, and it was like a religious experience. I don't expect the recorded version to ever live up to that, but I'm eternally grateful that you brought this to my attention.
posted by Acey at 5:26 AM on May 30, 2011
posted by Acey at 5:26 AM on May 30, 2011
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