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/lit/ - Literature

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5922868 No.5922868 [Reply] [Original]

Engrossing read, M. Gira is one of the most disturbed artistic minds of our generation.

>> No.5922889

Is it as pointlessly drawn-out as his music?

>> No.5922897

>>5922889
It's a collection of short stories essentially.

>> No.5922899

>>5922889
if his music is so drawn out, then why does it get BNM? have you not seen that the consensus on RYM is that TBK is the top album of 2014?

therefore, if you dont think his music is great, you are just being contrarian!

swans are dope but not _that_ great and most 'hardcore' swans fans annoy me

>> No.5922947

>>5922899
OP here:

Not actually a big fan of The Swans despite that style of music being my main listening.

>> No.5922950

>>5922897
Cool. I can dig that.

>>5922947
>The Swans

>> No.5922986

>>5922950
Swans* example of how much of a fan I am.

>> No.5922994

>>5922868
>The Swans
I'm pizging

>> No.5923014

Is it full of stories like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ysyB_rhAWs

>> No.5923075

>>5923014
Yes that's the kind of absurdities you can expect.

>> No.5923081

>>5922868
>Swans

Pretentious gypsy white noise.

>> No.5923155

>>5923081
wtf

>> No.5923364

>>5922947
>The Swans
>that style of music being my main listening

and pray tell, OP, what style is that?

>> No.5923408

Why the fuck is it >$50 on amazon wtf

>> No.5923487

After hearing about his prehistoric views of the digital age and piracy I thought he seemed like a complete dick. I certainly wouldn't be that interested in his book unless I could find a free epub of it. Fuck him eventhough I do like his music a lot.

>> No.5924224
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5924224

>>5923014
Jesus.

>> No.5924244

>>5922868
Wow this is awesome. Had no idea he wrote a book. I love Swans.

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats released a book recently as well (Wolf in White Van) that was actually pretty decent.

>> No.5926055

>>5923364
Instrumental music which uses harsh sounds to create very gritty soundscapes.

>> No.5926071

>>5923487
You can find copies on libgen

>> No.5926453

>>5923487
He's only pissy about piracy because all his life he's been broke as fuck.

>> No.5926462

>>5926055
That isn't a style of music. That's just a description of the music.

>> No.5926470

>>5923487
>After hearing about his prehistoric views of the digital age and piracy I thought he seemed like a complete dick.
yeah dude how dare you have to pay money for something he spent time and effort on

>> No.5926503

So is his work worth checking out? Are there any ideas one can grasp from his work? I would expect his stories to be similar to those found in Sartre's "The Wall" but what the fuck do I know, someone give me details please

>> No.5926521

>>5923014
>>5924224

When Gira was in jail on drugs charges he managed to keep to his own but there was one young guy that was more helpless and every night all the bigger guys would all crowd around that dude in a circle and gang rape him in the darkness while Gira tried to sleep through the pleading and tears. They did this every night. Kind of makes sense why the guy turned out like he did. I'm surprised he never tried to off himself to be perfectly honest. He has truly been through some bleak shit.

>> No.5926528

>>5923487
>prehistoric views of the digital age and piracy
>stop trying to guilt me into supporting your art

>> No.5926555

>>5923487
It's really not the same thing as Lars bitching about it, Gira could actually really use the money.

>> No.5926591

>>5923014
Lydia Lunch's segment from the same tape is actually quite good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaVd7leADs

>> No.5927160

>>5926503
The writing isn't great, the stories are dark and edgy like a cut-throat razor.

>> No.5927405

>>5926462
>That isn't a style
When will people like you finally come to terms with the fact that there exists no such thing as style.

>> No.5927875

>>5926462
"That's not a style, that's a description of the style." It's clearer than genre mashing to come up with an adequate adjective.

>> No.5927884

>>5927160
a cut-throat razor isn't dark fix yer prose

>> No.5927885

I used to like Swams when I was a teenager and into BDSM.

It's too ''hardcore'' for me now though.

>> No.5927919
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5927919

>>5927884
>a cut-throat razor isn't dark fix yer prose

Check mate.

>> No.5928027

To Be Kind is by far the worst Swans album.

Soundtracks for the Blind, Filth, Cop, and Children of God are the real masterpieces.

>> No.5928093

>>5926453
So what, so has most of the rest of the world.

>> No.5928101

>>5926555
He could accept that times have changed and do something about it like other artists have then.

>> No.5928132

>>5928027
it was my favorite

>> No.5928262

>>5928132
Why? It's incredibly repetitive, and adds nothing to the band's formula besides the horn swells.
All of TBK follows the same structure:
>introduce groove
>repeat groove, gaining intensity and volume
>horn swell, maximum intensity and volume
>repeat
For two hours.
The atmosphere is nowhere near as immersive as Soundtracks or Children of God, or even as The Seer (which was solid, but not as good as pre reformation Swans). The whole album shows no sign of restraint or taste. It comes off as Gira simply not caring anymore. Just having extended jam sessions based on a few licks he thought up after listening to some old funk, and releasing the product without editing it down into an actual album.

>> No.5930052

>>5928027
Everything after My Father has been shite.

>> No.5930070
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5930070

>>5922899
>have you not seen that the consensus on RYM is that TBK is the top album of 2014?

#blackalbumsmatter

>> No.5931238

>>5930052
Agreed

>> No.5931260

Again

50 fucking dollars on amazon.

>> No.5931281

>>5931260
That's what happens when books go out of print.

>> No.5931295

>>5931281
Where else besides amazon would one find a respectable price for a physical copy?

ebay has nothing.

>> No.5931316

>>5923014
This hit too close to home.

>> No.5931324
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5931324

>>5926521
Jesus fucking Christ, where did you hear this?

>> No.5931336

>>5931295
Download epub or PDF, find someone who will print it and bind it for you.

Out of print book for a cult artists, collectors eat this shit up.

>> No.5931350

>>5922868
Never even heard of him until seeing your post. I'm going to definitely read now, especially after seeing he's a rock-n-roller who has published a book. This always works, and I've just loved the literary works of Nick Cave, Ryan Adams, the guy from the Old 97s, etc...

Geniuses, these folks.

>> No.5931369

>>5931350
I wouldn't really call him a "rock n' roller" unless you'd consider this rock n' roll:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXHGTD-N8Xc

>> No.5931390
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5931390

>>5923014

>this tape is #245 of 300
>300 x 23 minutes = almost five fucking days worth of this

>> No.5931414
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5931414

>>5931390
do you even into small batch punk releases?

>> No.5931429

>>5931369
It's all rock and roll mate. It is not avant garde contemproary art music no matter how much you want it to be.

And even if it would be he still made more songs that are not in that style at all and are more or less typical post punk/alternative rock/folk rock

>> No.5931430

>>5931414
It's the material like this which makes me most thankful for the internet. The limited edition, limited print, heavily exclusionary material which pre-internet you wouldn't have a hope in hell of experiencing. With an internet connection and a half decent computer even the poorest pleb has the ability to reach the highest level of enlightenment, of even which the past rulers would be envious.

>> No.5931527

>>5931369
I wouldn't really call him a "writer" either. Possibly not even an "artist."

>> No.5931600
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5931600

>>5931295
It was published in czech, costs about 4euro.

>> No.5931604

Soundtrack for the Blind is the only good Swans album

>> No.5931655

>>5931600
slovakfag here, I've got this one and it actually cost me like 1.30 euro ... I couldn't fucking believe it, will have it signed on the next Swans show

the funny thing is, there's a bio on Gira on the back cover, where it says he's the frontman of The Swans lol

>> No.5932802

How does it compare to Consumed by David Cronenberg?

>> No.5932881

>>5928027
>>5930052

This. Every album before the breakup was a unique whole. The new ones, despite all the praise, are really neither.

>> No.5932884

>>5931527
Good quip, man. Witty quip.

>> No.5932911

>>5931429

This has a clear line from Stockhausen and other actual avant garde composers working with concrete and tape music and very little to do with any rock either before or at the time it was recorded. Gira started incorporating folk/pop/rock elements, as well as harsh noise and tonal drone later, all of which are part of an art music tradition.

>> No.5932943

>>5927405
never, your the only person who thinks that way

>> No.5932956

>>5931429
It's clearly a bit more nuanced than just "rock n' roll." Not even necessarily "artistically," just sonically the music clearly bleeds into other more niche genres. If you're going to just simply label it as "rock n' roll" I'd expect the album to sound like fucking KISS or Def Leppard, but I can't even draw cursory parallels between early Swans and those bands. They're literally nothing alike, this attempt to demean and condescend makes no sense when you just listen to the fucking music.

This isn't even really in defense of Swans, what you're saying just isn't factually correct.

>> No.5933527

>>5928027
>forgetting public castration