Not right now thanks, im busy

I was about to start a new Swans thread but decided instead to use the "search" function for once.

Just got done listening to VARIOUS FAILURES (haven't listened in a while), instead of going to class....... and it dawned on me how much I truly love Swans. They're like a more talented, less smarmy Dead Can Dance. (Rather, Dead Can Dance are a less talented, more smarmy Swans).

Their CHILDREN OF GOD thru SOUNDTRACKS FOR THE BLIND period (including their WORLD OF SKIN releases) seriously just blow me away every time I pop one of them in. I need to get around to collecting the rest of the reissues/compilations that Gira put out on Young God Records in the last several years.

I've read through the rest of this thread and most people just seemed to enjoy the earlier stuff, with not much to say about the later periods.

Anyone else as hard for THE GREAT ANNIHILATOR as me?

Good threadsurrection.

Swans are one of those bands that make me wonder why no-one else thinks to make music like they do. It's funny how they're massively influential on doom. I've have a few pretentious epiphanies revolving around sexual trangression and repetition involving Swans. They're that sort of band.

Yeah man Great Annihilator their peak for me

Woooo! i´m new here, so Hi!

Oh, and yes swans are great.

Swans are one of thee greatest bands, and i actually think they peaked in the end with soundtracks for the blind and the swans are dead live album. There are some filler, but the Sound and Helpless Child are their best work. Epic stuff!

So, any Angels of light fans here? I think the latest album is über excellent! their best album, and maybe my favorite 2007 album. I think using akron/family as a backing band really works well. Gives me sort of Dylan and the Band vibes. You know, outstanding songwriter/poet backed by great musicians. joy

I'm not that wild about the more recent Angels of Light stuff. Ever since Akron / Family took over as backing band, I think the returns have been diminishing. Getting mixed up with all that "freak folk" lot has to be one of the worst things that ever happened to Michael Gira, in my opinion.

As musch as I love the old sludgy swans sound (old and new) , I think the lighter, more catchy songs actually suits him really well. What i love about Gira is that his records always sounds so familiar and yet refreshingly new a the same time.

on a side note i´m not really into the freak folk thing, but think akron/family is good! What the fuck is freak folk anyway? That devandre dude is annoying, is he freak folk or just neofolk? :cool:

Angels of Light were brilliant for the first four albums - I almost prefer that stuff to quite a lot of Swans - it was just when MG disbanded that lineup and replaced them with Akron/Family that I think it went bad.

This we can agree on :)

aol's we are him is wonderful.

i have this great album...some lyrics are weird, but i love it.
my favourite is "Seal It Over" - "a great mad noisy beat from hell"

I have yet to hear much of anything from Angels of Light :(

I've only heard random smatterings of Jarboe's recent stuff as well...

What I listened to of the collaboration between Neurosis and her was pleasant enough... I should probably give that whole disc a shot.

I love the recent Angels Of Light stuff, but it should please people around here that Gira isn't working with them anymore. I don't know if that means he's not doing Angels Of Light anymore or if he's getting new musicians or what...

Woah - I didn't know that. I think I'm probably the only one who'll be especially pleased about that, most people will probably be fairly ambivalent. I hope it's the beginning of a new Gira era though, I'd like to be able to be excited about the prospect of new stuff from him again.

His solo gigs are unfailingly brilliant.

Soundtracks for the Blind, Body to Body, Job to Job, The Great Annihilator, White Light from the Mouth of Infinity, andHoly Money are probably my top five favourite Swans studio albums. Body to Body... almost doesn't qualify, though.

As for live albums, which are a completely different affair, I'd go for either Swans are Dead or Public Castration is a Good Idea, followed by Feel Good Now.

I really enjoy Michael Gira and Jarboe's post-Swans material, and I admit that I enjoy some of it more than a few Swans albums. Anhedoniac and the first three Angels of Light albums in particular are exceptional.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature...his-own-words/

There's the link, he is definitely not working with Akron again. Although he didn't seem to know for sure if he was going to continue the Angels or not. This was a year ago I think, so it may've changed.

One final note...

Norman Westberg was sooo fucking hot in his hey-day.

i'm working my way towards later swans, to be honest, i'm enjoying every album and shit starting from prtty much the start.

Either way, i´m pretty sure a) he is not going to stop making records and b) they are gonna be great

I found Michael Gira's book "The Consumer", signed, in a Charity shop the other day for £3.50.
Has anyone got it, is it worth picking up for that money (bearing in mind i dont have much and im not really a hardcore Swans fan)? The signature just said "thanks Charlie" or something like that, nothing unremarkable.

edit; i didnt buy it, obviously, however if i had i might have been able to impress the inconceivably beautiful girl opposite me on the tube who was reading Thomas Pynchon. Maybe *sighs*