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United Nations (2014) (New LP on Temporary Residence LTD)


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Does anyone else have problems with Pitchfork's streams? Every time they premiere an album I try to listen to it and can never make it through a whole song without it just stopping.

Every time. Wish they'd stick to soundcloud.

 

It's actually working for once. Also, I want each copy to come with that coin. That would be awesome.

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Decided to cave and listen to the album stream and have to admit this album is incredible. Definitely going to be one of my favorite albums of the year. Glad they uploaded lyrics with the album stream too. Stoked for this release and to see how the boxset comes out. Also, had problems with the advance stream and just went to the toggle tracklist in the left corner and selected the first track and played from there on out.

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and the 10-inch is where we get into our pretentious phase of trying to sound like Godspeed [You! Black Emperor]… Depending on the groove you land on, it has two different endings. It’s like a fork in the road, and the needle ends up in one or the other.

So it will be like the Jack White album? that would be cool

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Alright, so I'm listening to this for the first time.  I've never listened to these guys before, but I'm a big Godspeed fan.

 

Does anyone care to explain the significance of F#A#$?

 

I also noticed the "I haven't even got a mind that's that inhumane", at the end.

 

 

Geoff Rickly said:

 

"A low for me would probably be when Efrim [Menuck] from Godspeed You! Black Emperor started a fight with us for no reason. I've never met him. I guess he thought we were somehow ripping his band off, which was disappointing for me because I've always loved them, so that was pretty low for me. I still love the band! I don't care that he hates us. It definitely stung at the time. Like, man! You don't want one of your heroes you've never met telling everyone how much of an idiot you are. It was a few years ago on a Thee Silver Mount Zion tour. From stage every night he would say "This shitty emo band called Thursday stole from us and we're stealing it back," or something along those lines. I had to look up the song and see what he was talking about. They were the same lyrics, but I totally stole that from like a South American poet! Maybe you stole it from the same person that I did! [Laughs] I sent him an email being like 
"Hey, I think you might be wrong!" But he never wrote back. I still haven't met him but I saw Godspeed on this last tour, and they were fantastic. As always."

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Bruce beat me to it. Literally had that exact quote in this post, which I'll now omit.

Aside from the "inhumane" line at the end, the first verses are riddled with references to the album, band, and their sound.

“When we found out that the car on fire was just another product, and the driver, asleep at the wheel, was on Ambien™... it hurt like hell. But we opened our wallets up. And they were full of money. Now we’re too worn out to sing the Dead Flag Blues. With every marching step, another build-up leading us to nowhere.”

Geoff's got beef with Efrim. I guess it dates back to ~2008 or so. He talks about it in this interview, which Bruce cited above.

I can't find it at the moment, but Geoff also wrote an article on one of Godspeed's more recent shows with NIN. (Last year, I believe.) He raved about the musical performance, but then went on a rant about GY!BE being a walking contradiction, since they're riding in these huge tour buses, playing arenas with Nine Inch Nails, and falling victim to "commercialism" while writing songs about poverty and government rebellion.

I personally think it's a little ridiculous. GY!BE more or less laid the blueprint for post-rock in the late 90s, and have had a cult following ever since. It's why you read "influenced by Godspeed" or "has Godspeed vibes" in so many musical reviews. They're an ingredient to the sound of [most] modern instrumental artists. Their name and legacy is huge. So 15 years later, he's become disenchanted with how they operate as musicians, I guess? I know Efrim recently had a child, and that both the newborn and wife live with the band on the road. Not sure how raising a baby in the back of a rickety tour van would work, but it seems less than ideal. And as far as playing arenas, with larger bands, and branding in the background? (The horror!) – I don't know. If it's bringing the band money and allowing them to write, record, and produce new material... I don't see the problem. It's not like this band is a commercial tyrant. They had to be begged to have a snippet of one of their songs featured in 28 Days Later, and that's literally the only exposure their music has had on the silver screen / TV / whatever.

I guess Geoff is romanticizing a band that plays bustling street corners in the heat of summer, and travels from venue to venue by the way of steam-engine trains. Maybe he thinks they should exclusively accept donations, and work on new music when they're not publicly painting pictures of the apocalypse. I don't know. But what I do know is that Thursday's last / farewell tour had them playing some massive venues. Complete with fancy lighting and confetti cannons... and I'm willing to bet they didn't charge free admission. Seems to me like Geoff should be practicing what he preaches before writing a song that critiques a band that's king of their respective genre. But as Geoff said in recent interviews, the band is a joke. The album is a joke. Their message is a joke. So maybe F#A#$ is just one of many punchlines. My only gripe with that concept is that there are a lot of "jokes" on The Next Four Years that are funny because they're ugly truths of the world we live in. But I feel like he just completely missed the head of the nail with F#.

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And for those curious about who ripped off what - and who are familiar with both Godspeed and Thursday - I suspect it's "Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River"... which is the fourth track off the Silver Mt. Zion album Born Into Trouble As the Sparks Fly Upward (2001), and also the first line of the chorus of Thursday's For the Workforce, Drowning.  Which kicked off their 2003 record War All the Time.  Those who aren't aware, A Silver Mt. Zion is a side-project of Godspeed that features Efrim and a handful of other GY!BE members.

 

That's what I assume the quarrel is over.  Seems pretty dumb.

 

Alright, so I'm listening to this for the first time.  I've never listened to these guys before

 

Please, please do yourself a solid and pick this up.  As it stands, I'd call it their best material.  (We'll see how this new release stacks up over time.)  It's 4 years old and I still revisit it regularly.

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Geoff Rickly said:

 

"A low for me would probably be when Efrim [Menuck] from Godspeed You! Black Emperor started a fight with us for no reason. I've never met him. I guess he thought we were somehow ripping his band off, which was disappointing for me because I've always loved them, so that was pretty low for me. I still love the band! I don't care that he hates us. It definitely stung at the time. Like, man! You don't want one of your heroes you've never met telling everyone how much of an idiot you are. It was a few years ago on a Thee Silver Mount Zion tour. From stage every night he would say "This shitty emo band called Thursday stole from us and we're stealing it back," or something along those lines. I had to look up the song and see what he was talking about. They were the same lyrics, but I totally stole that from like a South American poet! Maybe you stole it from the same person that I did! [Laughs] I sent him an email being like 
"Hey, I think you might be wrong!" But he never wrote back. I still haven't met him but I saw Godspeed on this last tour, and they were fantastic. As always."

 

 

Might also be a joke about the fact that Godspeed opened NIN shows at corporate sponsored arenas.

 

 

Bruce beat me to it.  Literally had that exact quote in this post, which I'll now omit.

 

Aside from the "inhumane" line at the end, the first verses are riddled with references to the album, band, and their sound.

 

“When we found out that the car on fire was just another product, and the driver, asleep at the wheel, was on Ambien™... it hurt like hell.  But we opened our wallets up.  And they were full of money.  Now we’re too worn out to sing the Dead Flag Blues.  With every marching step, another build-up leading us to nowhere.”

 

Geoff's got beef with Efrim.  I guess it dates back to ~2008 or so.  He talks about it in this interview, which Bruce cited above.

 

I can't find it at the moment, but Geoff also wrote an article on one of Godspeed's more recent shows with NIN.  (Last year, I believe.)  He raved about the musical performance, but then went on a rant about GY!BE being a walking contradiction, since they're riding in these huge tour buses, playing arenas with Nine Inch Nails, and falling victim to "commercialism" while writing songs about poverty and government rebellion.

 

I personally think it's a little ridiculous.  GY!BE more or less laid the blueprint for post-rock in the late 90s, and have had a cult following ever since.  It's why you read "influenced by Godspeed" or "has Godspeed vibes" in so many musical reviews.  They're an ingredient to the sound of [most] modern instrumental artists.  Their name and legacy is huge.  So 15 years later, he's become disenchanted with how they operate as musicians, I guess?  I know Efrim recently had a child, and that both the newborn and wife live with the band on the road.  Not sure how raising a baby in the back of a rickety tour van would work, but it seems less than ideal.  And as far as playing arenas, with larger bands, and branding in the background?  (The horror!) – I don't know.  If it's bringing the band money and allowing them to write, record, and produce new material... I don't see the problem.  It's not like this band is a commercial tyrant.  They had to be begged to have a snippet of one of their songs featured in 28 Days Later, and that's literally the only exposure their music has had on the silver screen / TV / whatever.

 

I guess Geoff is romanticizing a band that plays bustling street corners in the heat of summer, and travels from venue to venue by the way of steam-engine trains.  Maybe he thinks they should exclusively accept donations, and work on new music when they're not publicly painting pictures of the apocalypse.  I don't know.  But what I do know is that Thursday's last / farewell tour had them playing some massive venues.  Complete with fancy lighting and confetti cannons... and I'm willing to bet they didn't charge free admission.  Seems to me like Geoff should be practicing what he preaches before writing a song that critiques a band that's king of their respective genre.  But as Geoff said in recent interviews, the band is a joke.  The album is a joke.  Their message is a joke.  So maybe F#A#$ is just one of many punchlines.  My only gripe with that concept is that there are a lot of "jokes" on The Next Four Years that are funny because they're ugly truths of the world we live in.  But I feel like he just completely missed the head of the nail on F#.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm assuming you guys have read this: http://cstrecords.com/statement-from-godspeed-you-black-emperor-on-polaris/

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