Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (It's an event. It deserves its own thread. don't you think?)

plus more people are hearing it now. thoughts can go here.

http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2010/07/Swans-My-Father-Will-Guide-Me-Up-A-Rope-To-The-Sky.jpg

http://ihrtn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/news-10-07-swans-2.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0qXpGa9nQe4/TB_LKBJBNmI/AAAAAAAAAPk/lJsrrTZ7anY/s1600/MichaelGira_LeaningonBar_1_large.jpg

feel free to re-post what you already said about it on those two other swans threads.

anyway, i love it. but then i would. definitely, like i said earlier, in the LOL/White Light category and not in the Soundtracks category. maybe not as great as those two impossibly great albums, but if you are even half a fan you need the new one.

I've only heard a little bit (as you know) but I am dying to hear the rest. I'm not interested in the leak - waiting for the chance to pick it up and play it incredibly loud.

will definitely be buying this!

It sounds pretty swell on my Realistic ( a division of Tandy Corporation) brand System 1210 Three Way Loud Speakers with 120 watts of power handling capacity.

maybe not as great as those two impossibly great albums

Yes, well, considering White Light is one of the '90s absolute best albums (it was my #1 pick in the recent ILX '90s poll), that's a tall order to fill. If this is on par with pretty much any post-Children of God Swans album, I'll be ecstatic.

it is!

This is really good, easily on a par with their other work. also, the leak has piss poor sound, so all you folks who are waiting will be pleasantly surprised (i.e. don't bother unless you HAVE to hear it NOW).

What's that cover art about, btw? There's more on the artist's page (untitled series), looks like powder, dust and glue?

looks like a utech records cover. which is a good thing. not very swans-y though.

yeah i don't get the cover. i don't like it. it isn't the same aesthetic at all.

I believe it is a Hubble photo, but could be wrong.

this album is staggering. scott's otm about what swans-era it echoes. cannot believe gira is 56 and making music this powerful

Can't fucking wait for this.

But, yes, the front cover is poor. I very much hope that, as compensation, the typical SWANS full-frontal photos of the band members adorn the back.

Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (It's an event. It deserves its own thread. don't you think?)

i thought so :-)

Big ass version of the front cover here: http://younggodrecords.com/Gallery/?C=116 <- it's powder and dust and smoke or chalk or something.

And the rest of the series: http://beatricepediconi.com/work/untitled.html

I get the feeling there's probably some story behind them - maybe it's what happens if you drop something on a blackboard and that explains the swirling patterns?

Dry ice, pictured from above? <- but anyway. We'll soon find out as it'll be in every interview, probably. :-)

Ummm.... fucking hell, this is GREAT (even in leak quality audio)

"GREAT" in that I had to stop what I was doing and pay attention to this

What are you all talking about re: leak quality sucking? Eden Prison sounds exactly like the one they released a couple of days earlier on various websites - I don't think the final album will sound any different than this.

It is v. good but I'll admit that it does feel much more like a logical progression from recent Angels of Light stuff than an explicit return to LOL/White Light times. I do wonder how we'd all be thinking about it if he just released it as the next Angels album.

As for the cover, Metallica's Load comes to mind, minus the blood.

definitely. there are akron/family-isms in the rhythms, muted, to be sure, but detectable. i'm all for that

don't see any semen either ned

there are akron/family-isms in the rhythms, muted, to be sure, but detectable

haven't heard it yet, am waiting for the official release, but maybe akron/family got their rhythms from Gira in the first place?

I always read it as Akon/Family and my mind skips as I try to connect that with Gira. Sadly, I'd probably like it more than the Akron/Family stuff I've heard.

i'm only comparing it to other swans records because its a swans record. but, yeah, obviously there are similarities with AOL stuff. there would kinda have to be unless gira put out a solo ambient moog album out as a swans album. and to me it definitely has more of a LOL/White Light "vibe" - especially when it comes to the loud jamz - then the vibe you get from soundtracks or even annihilator. soundtracks era was more about nervous buzzing drone and LOL era was all about cathartic holy freakfolk symphony and love and appreciation for my hero jiddu krisnamurti. last stuff was also some sort of clash of the jarboe/gira titans. some of what i write here now is of course not true. also, AOL had more to do with something like "failure" (or "god loves america" or even some burning world stuff) than it did with, you know, "the sound" or "YRP" or whatever.

there would kinda have to be unless gira put out a solo ambient moog album out as a swans album.

That would be brilliant!

in any case, 11 studio albums and they are all well worth owning! that's quite an achievement. or 12 if you count the german thing.

i guess the body lovers stuff is as close as we will get to that, ned.

Ah so that was part 2 of 3. (Part 3 was him singing nursery rhymes.)

i don't own drainland anymore. haven't heard it in years. and i never heard the album that he made with the windsor for the derby guy. and i never heard this thing:

http://www.israbox.com/uploads/posts/2010-05/1274124867_michael-gira-i-am-not-insane-2010.jpg

so i'm not exactly a completist. didn't even buy every AOL album, i don't think. in the end, i'm a swans fan. and a world of skin fan. haven't heard every jarboe thing either. not even close. some stuff i really did like though. some stuff...well, i did play my beautiful people ltd cd at least twice. she sent me disburden disciple on tape in the most beautiful package way back when i was on her swans e-mail list. so nice.

This fuckin' album.

FYI, cover art is white paint powder floating on water -> http://asweweresaying.blogspot.com/2010/03/beatrice-pediconis-white-paint-on-water.html

Just about fell over to seeing a 2 CD deluxe edition of this at Amoeba in San Francisco today. The artwork is totally different from the Beatrice Pediconi image that's been advertised thus far: this version is the same layout/construction as their other 2 CD digipak releases, only this is white card stock with an oxblood splatter centered front and back, the word "No" on the front, and "Yes" on the back. The bonus CD is one 40:00 track titled "Look At Me Go", described in the liner notes as "Raw material compiled/mangled/edited/arranged at Seizure's Palace". Odd that Gira didn't mention this on his site- he's usually very thorough...

wtf WANT

Fabio on WFMU played a bit of the bonus disc yesterday and it was incredibly awesome. Really need to get this.

archive up today if you want a preview.
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/37346

I don't see any reference to this anywhere.

Me neither, although I did learn that this is being released on LP!!

"this" being the regular disc, not the bonus disc.

Are there more copies of this at Amoeba, Cold Stare of Hamilton Fletcher?

Oh wait here it is:

http://www.midheaven.com/item/deluxe-my-father-will-guide-me-up-a-rope-to-the-sky-by-swans-2xcd

awesome, thanks!

From that Midheaven Deluxe CD link: "Street Date: September 7th, 2010 Ship Date: September 6th, 2010"

Uh?

Really looking forward to this....

Yeah weird unannounced version of record w/ bonus disc?!?!?

Alex- I was in the checkout at Amoeba when I noticed it. They had four copies of the deluxe edition on the "New Releases" end-cap closest to the register, priced at $18.99. I didn't go back and check the Swans section itself. I did make further inquiries at the info desk and they told me they only have the deluxe version out at the moment, and that the regular CD version and LP version are both in, but will not hit the shelves until this coming Tuesday. They also said the bonus material is NOT included on the LP.

Listening now- wow!

OMG- trust me, folks...you want that second CD...much more in the sound collage arena of Body Lovers/Soundtracks For The Blind...INTENSE!!!

Mister Gira, I preorder your stuff (when no double disc was mentioned anywhere), I order early so you could record this album, I subscribe to the mailing list and this is what you do and how I have to find out?
I'm expecting at least the chance to upgrade my preorder so I can get this one instead. And an explanation. If you count on the benevolence of your fans you can't pull stuff like this on them.
Signed, angry in belgium.

live alb sold out

s/he who hesitates is lost

wow I bought one a few hours ago, the deal with the new studio 2CD as well.

Thank you, position² - missed your revive of this thread and only ordered yesterday b/c of the newsletter though, just in time as it turns out.

Don't worry if you want the live album, I'm sure there will be an unlimited edition with other/even better bonus material. (no, I haven't forgotten what they did with this thread's album)

That was awfully cruel. I am glad that Gira is having no problem selling these things out. So much for the death of music.

How about a non-handmade version for those wanting to hear the music but missed out on the sale? I'm all for artists doing cool shit with handmade editions and limited artwork, but I get annoyed when that becomes the only way to get the music.

I'd be mighty surprised if he doesn't do a second batch given that he has a solo tour coming up.

For 'surprised', feel free to read 'upset', since I missed out.

Haha, yeah, thats where I'm coming from.

"How about a non-handmade version for those wanting to hear the music but missed out on the sale?"

Uh I think you can figure how to hear a version on somehow, somewhere... just sayin'

Well, of course I can, but my point was that I'd like to actually support him and pay for it!

I think you can figure out other ways of doing that too.

sweeeeeeet

Mine turned up this morning.

anybody else have a broken last track on disc 1? doesn't play in the CD player, won't import to the computer, no obvious flaws. They were nice enough to hook me up with a WAV file, but still... kind of a drag that my numbered signed edition is defective.

Mine hasn't turned up yet, can't wait to hear it (during the acoustic demo thing for the next album, he says he's going to ask lady gaga and alan and mimi from low to sing on the next album, is that right or has my leg been pulled?)

How about a non-handmade version for those wanting to hear the music but missed out on the sale? I'm all for artists doing cool shit with handmade editions and limited artwork, but I get annoyed when that becomes the only way to get the music.

if you release the handmade thing as a general edition the people who bought the handmade thing get mad & won't buy your next handmade thing. if you just release it as a general edition you run the risk of not selling as many as you would have of the handmade thing, because "why should I buy this when it's free on the internet?"

if you release the handmade thing as a general edition the people who bought the handmade thing get mad & won't buy your next handmade thing

not sure abt that, I reckon if MG had said when this thing went on sale "this is a handmade edition of 1000 blah blah, and by the way I'll be releasing these recordings as a standard issue later" they would still have sold out. maybe not quite as fast. plus I'd be very surprised if he didn't release them as a standard issue in a year or so.

I thought I read somewhere there was going to be a regular double CD version (but without the acoustic demos of the new album) soonish

yeah the live thing is more than a single CD, the demos pad out the end of the second disc.

anybody else have a broken last track on disc 1?

― sleeve, Saturday, February 18, 2012 8:06 PM (2 days ago)

Nope, sorry, it's ok here.

Which makes yours the exclusive rare one! $$$$

lol, enjoy your non-skipping version of "Sex God Sex"

Finally heard this and really enjoyed it. I hadn't listened to any other post-80s Swans. Clearly I have some exploring to do. White Light from the Mouth of Infinity is the place to start?

And it is great. Don't know why I never listened to it before. This stuff is much better than the 80s Swans, actually.

White Light and Great Annihilator are both amazing, I personally go for Love Of Life and Omniscience a bit less.

I'm no expert but I'll add another vote to Great Annihilator.

Great Annihilator too

White Light and Great Annihilator are both amazing, I personally go for Love Of Life and Omniscience a bit less.

this is OTM. White Light is the strongest of post-Holy Money Swans imo.

guess I'm gonna have to be the dissenting opinion here but I don't like much of post 80s swans except soundtracks for the blind (not counting the recent reformation, cuz obv it is awesome)

soundtracks is my favorite as well but I haven't heard em all.

I might be the only one repping for Love Of Life here - it does repitition in the NuSwans way first, maybe. The title track certainly does.

soundtracks for the blind is their best

the live album was completely under my radar until a version of it turned up on a torrent site i frequent. i'm sad more copies weren't made, it's very very good. it was interesing to hear how they started treating the new material as the live dates went on. i saw them relatively early in their touring cycle and there were a lot fewer grooves c/o pravdica. i always thought the bridge between them and tool was a long one, but it turns out it was just a bass player.

People, check out Norman Westberg on Etsy NOW. I have bought one of both.

I mean, seriously? 75 discs printed with his brain scans?

plus I'd be very surprised if he didn't release them as a standard issue in a year or so

quicker than I thought, Gira announced the standard sale of them today

news! http://www.spin.com/articles/swans-crafting-double-disc-opus-seer-help-karen-o

VERY excited about the involvement of mimi and alan from low.

My Norman Westberg Etsy CD turned up today. It has a sticker of his MRI notes on it which reads:

PT. C/O HEARING LOSS RT. EAR

PT. IS A ROCK MUSICIAN

the live album was completely under my radar until a version of it turned up on a torrent site I frequent

Gira's plea in the liner notes that fans "please, please don't share on the internet!!!" has evidently been effective....

was always gonna happen when demand outstrips supply as heavily as it did in this case.

True.

My copy finally arrived yesterday. Really enjoying it. I managed to see them twice on this tour, at the beginning and closer to the end, and loved both gigs. It's great to have something that captures them.

i would have gladly bought a copy. i know that gira uses these things to finance the full albums, and i can appreciate the fact that it seems to work for him and his audience. i'll just try to be more on the ball next time!

We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head to get general release.

It will also be available in good independent record shops in the UK from 14th May, though there's only 300 copies being made available in this way.

The Seer DVD trailer

http://vimeo.com/42875372

so the seer will be a double album with a DVD?

DVD is supposed to be only for funders.

Swans -- The Seer

thanks!

Ouch - sorry :-(