Swans: "The Beggar" Review: The Dark Gospel of a Timeless Dying Man
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2023
- Celebrating 30 years of being a fan but not a fan of Swans. Plus, way too much singing from me. @OfficialSwans
Skye's Stamp (Example song) • Swans - The Beggar
The Keats article I referenced; www.theparisreview.org/blog/2.... 
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if you haven't heard the trilogy The Seer - To Be Kind - The Glowing man you really should give yourself time do that if you can, 3 life changing albums
Definitely Definitely Definitely. 3 Life changing albums 3 of the best ever made albums!
The Seer is so good
I noticed it's a pretty common trend for fans of early swans to completely miss the trilogy, it's a shame because imo the trilogy + the beggar are the best albums from the band, hope he finds the time to catch up
5:45 I'm dying 🤣
It’s funny you mentioned The Doors. In an interview Gira said their self titled album was the first record that truly meant something to him, and he plays it regularly to this day.
Broooo, you MUST listen to the album with the baby on it. To Be Kind is just amazing. You'd enjoy the experience. AVAA
To Be Kind and Soundtracks For The Blind are Swans’ magnum opus.
When this album was announced for the first time in the summer of 2021, Michael Gira said that he was unsure which album would be his last and he went into this album and the last couple with the intent of making each album like it's his last. Not necessarily in the way of putting a cap on the discography...and then some more....and then some more but more in the way of ensuring quality and making sure that his career ends on a great musical statement.
And they continue to succeed every time 👼
For posterity, the off the chain, goof-tastic! temporary title that Skye went for this week is “just wet wet mud”
No coffin please! Just wet, wet mud
I have the temporary titles as a reward for those that “ring the bell” and for those that keep me on their timeline
Yeah skye, you're a swans fan, hmm ... well if you're a real fan, name every song on every album and reverse engineer every single one of them in garage band perfectly
Love the Smiths reference about Keats and Wilde
Was hoping that would make a few people raise an eyebrow.
(True story; I went on a pilgrimage to the actual Cemetery Gates in Manchester)
AVAA and thanks for the review! I feel like Michael lyrically confronts mortality in more of an accepting and sometimes even joyous way than on any of his previous albums. I hope he is healthy though. His music got me through my mandatory college existential crisis. I haven't heard any Swans' fans or music reviewers talk about it, but I see a lot of connections between Gira's music and Nietzsche's idea of Dionysian art. I disagree with a lot of Nietzsche's ideas, but I really like his ideas of art and music expressing the beauty and terror inherent to life. Swans' music captures that perfectly imo. Plus, Gira's lyrics seem to dance around nihilism while transcending it through the act of artistic expression.
Anyways, I will also be listening to this one on stream and headphones, since most of my friends and family are reasonable people who aren't the biggest fans of stare-death-in-the-face-and-contemplate-life's-meaning music lol
(Sidenote: it seems like a weird coincidence that both this album and Bending Hectic came out near the same time and used a Shepard's tone. Ik it's a pretty known technique among musicians, but I don't hear it used too often)
I've slowly started really getting into your channel, love the "always positive" style and no scores, just your thoughts. I don't like this album very much, but I was still excited after hearing it to listen to what you'd have to say about it. AVAA!
I have something embarrassing to admit... I've never heard a Swans song
You should sometime
A Piece From the Sky, as a mere suggestion. As beautiful as music can get
Wasn’t expecting a shoutout lol. Love how deep you go into the push and pull Gira feels in regards to death. I also noticed the trinity you described although I just figured the third component was The Beggar. Great work as always!
Started this video when it released, decided to finish it today! Great one as always, AVAA
I do that all the time with RUclipsrs I like: thanks for coming back
AVAA I listened to this album once so far, dug it. I am a young(ish) Swans fan (24), saw them live in Brooklyn during The Glowing Man tour. Incredible, definitely see them live. They played The Knot, which I was so excited for, that's probably my favorite Swans song (that or The Glowing Man).
I read The Beggar as the addicted voice. And how it's hated, but also deserves love in the same way all of your being deserves love. I also found this album to be the "nicest" Swans album I've heard. Very wholesome stuff.
I am another person that is recommending the recent Swans trilogy, but really I think The Glowing Man is Swans masterwork. To Be Kind is also amazing, perfection and aggressive and dark and incredible. But The Glowing Man is... It's God. It's God in music form. I know you will probably hate reading that, but goddammit, if just is. I didn't know music could do what that does. I think some things come close. Some John Coltrane stuff. I think the last Pharoah Sanders record gets to some similar places. But I am yet to find anything that TRULY feels like meeting God (for reference, I am not religious, but was raised Christian) outside of The Glowing Man. Highly recommend the listen.
Anyway... I didn't love the sound of some of the songs on this, the more traditional rock sounds... But the lyrics were amazing (outside of in Ebbing, lyrics didn't hit for me on first listen there). I could see Bob Dylan singing No More of This. Loved that. And absolutely loved the first two tracks.
I had/have a strong feeling this will be the last Swans album, and that Gira will be dying soon. And like... That's a fact. Whether it's in a year, or a few years, or 20 years... It's all soon. Heavy stuff, but dealt with in a real, yet beautiful manner. I wish you covered more of the lyrics in No More of This (the second verse is truly so nice, such an unexpected beautiful departing wish). But great review, as always. Favorite RUclipsr that talks about music.
100% agree on The Glowing Man. It can make you levitate. I don't love every song, but Cloud of Unknowing and The Glowing Man are probably my two favorite Swans songs. I can't believe Skye managed to miss the 3 best Swans albums. You must visit the Trilogy.
“Maybe Gira’s body will be as timeless as his music”
That sounded beautiful ;(
I'd legit pay Skye to listen to and review the trilogy
Very insightful review. Many good points and observations.👍
Great work as always. I feel like an easy trap with this album is to see the forest for the trees.
The album is definitely iterarive of their previous work, but is a larger statement of swans' career. Even the title might be a reference, to how the latest albums were funded by the fans, with hand painted CD's containing acoustic outlines for the planned songs.
If this is really the end, it's been an honor.
P.S, "In" is from their 1995 album "The Great Annihilator"
One of your best videos!!
greatly enjoyed this album & review, but i must say that the trilogy of swans records from seer-glowing man really have a transcendental quality that is a priceless experience as a listener and especially as an established fan of swans
Thank you for reviewing an album and artists that are seriously confronting age and death. Your personal observations on the subject were very insightful.As a person now old who , like most young people, spent my youth pretending that somehow death would not touch me, I realize now ,everything is about birth and death and it's both profoundly beautiful and horrifying at the same time.I think of it as one big science experiment.
Glad you saw this one. You even got a shot out!
@@professorskye That was a nice surprise, thank you.
Love the review. Hope you will check out their 2014 album To Be Kind, it's a life changing album for me.
they will be playing a show in Belgrade beginning of November, so if you're in the neighbourhood...
"In" is from "The Great Annihilator"
I am completely with you on your fandom of Swans. I like and listen to a bunch of Swans music and Soundtracks for the Blind is my favorite of theirs too. But I dont really listen regularly and it does get pretty tiring. I would love if you reviewed the recent Swans albums on this channel cause it would give me a good excuse to go back to them
I’m a huge fan of the Glowing Man. And the two that preceded it are magnificent!
One of your better reviews 👍🏻
AVAA. Please, please, please listen to "To Be Kind". Not to review it, but to experience it.
If you reviewd the triolgy id cry its so good
New Alchemist Ep Dropped tonight. Curren$y & Harry Fraud as well, appreciate you professor.
Deliquescing Deli made me laugh way harder than it should have
Really want to hear your thoughts on Herbert by Ab-soul, especially since you love Lupe so much
I mean how many times can you blow out the pipes? The records are one trip that for me is less rewarding each release post to be kind. Live is a whole other animal now
39:37 having a close family member with alcohol addiction what he’s saying here is too real 😞
I loved Leaving Meaning. The Beggar is great too, but I reallllly loved Leaving Meaning.
Will you review Fontaines D.C front man Grian Chatten's solo debut? AVAA
Oh wow! I think the exact same thing about Bukowski and people that like Bukowski. However.. I'm also one of those people who are reeally into Tom Waits (even if I don't drink). Conclusion: I must be as annoying as the people who are really into Bukowski.
Never heard a single song from the Swans, I'll try to start from the album you suggested.
Balasevic and Swans fan! Nice :D
Check out my many Balasevic videos!
@@professorskye I did, thats the reason I subscribed! 😁
avaa :3
The new Youth Lagoon I’d a Far superior album than either of the ones you’re discussing. I’m kinda surprised that Pitchfork seems the only media interested in YL when Heaven is a Junkyard is such an incredible album
I swear you are the only cool
Music person that lives in the same state as me it’s sick
UmMmM tHe "A" iN sWaNs Is AcTuAlLy PrOnOuNcEd LiKe ThE "a" In "HaT"
Hey can i ask where did you get that franz kafka poster(i want it so bad)
Got it in Prague back in ‘02. It’s out of print as far as I know, unfortunately
I know this comment is 10 months late, but the comment about how all of swans/m.gira music is timeless and "the same" seemed strange to me. They're very much a band that has had a massive stylistic shift through their lifespan, also in their themes. It is true that their themes have been pretty consistent since I'd say White Light? But before that (in what is known as their "no wave era" the themes were still very dark but in a very different way.
Avaa 😋
AVAA
Its kind of unnerving how the internet put Swans on this pedestal where people who never would have listened to them now feel pressured to have some kind of relevant opinion about their music.
I'd never listened to one of their albums until I heard all the buzz about The Beggar.
I'm a fan of a ton of drone and experimental stuff so I thought I'd give it a go, and I really don't get it. I mean it was fine, but people talking about this new album being life-changing and stuff are clearly being pretty biased by their love for the band. Which is ok! Nothing wrong with enjoying something and art is subjective after all. I just really didn't understand the hype.
Day 141 of Asking you to Review Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youth
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