Featured Genre: Post Rock

TalkingHead · 06-17-2005, 01:27 PM

Although not called post rock at the time, two bands exemplified the sound and influenced future musicians throughout the 80's. The first was Durutti Column. Vini Reilly, the mind and guitar behind Durutti Column, was a former punk who had an affection for folk and jazz guitar. His compositions heavily featured an arpeggio guitar effect and often little more than a drum line and vocals. From the beginning and even more so in the late 80's, the songs of the Durutti Column had a much different tone than that of their contemporaries of the Factory Records circle like Joy Division, Section 25, A Certain Ratio and later New Order. With dense atmospheric guitar textures, the songs had a base in rock but sounded like something else, often bordering on new age. The albums of the Durutti Column are hailed as ambitious and brilliant.

The other 80's band to have a major impact on the post rock phenomena is Talk Talk. Although most people only know them for their early songs which were pure synth pop, by 1986 they were well on their way to creating some of the most unclassifiable and respected music ever. Their album The Colour Of Spring featured their most accomplished synth pop based songs, but also included the song "Chameleon Day" which was a totally different direction for the band. The song was simply sparse piano, very emotive vocals and some sort of odd sounding horn. On the 1988 album Spirit Of Eden the electronics were gone and in their place was an ensemble of horns and acoustic instruments. The band had rejected structure in exchange for atmosphere and were completely outside of anything rock based. Talk Talk's last album Laughing Stock stepped even further in this direction, incorporating elements of free jazz, ambient and organic sounds. They had become the polar opposite of the straight forward and highly structured band of their beginnings.

The actual term "Post-Rock" was coined in 1993 when writer Simon Reynolds was describing the debut album Hex by Bark Psychosis. The album is a mixture of lush landscape textures, acoustic instruments and moody overtones, which drew heavily from Talk Talk's later period material. Not coincidentally, Talk Talk member Lee Harris appears on the album as an "assistant."

The other, more traditional side of Post Rock's beginnings can be found in the Louisville Kentucky band Slint. The 1991 album Spiderland is one of the most influential and underrated albums of the 90's. Slint used the basic guitar, bass, drums and vocals set up but, they were revolutionary in the way that they used them. Spiderland featured toned down angular twin guitars interspersed with unrestrained sonic bursts. The song progressions were long and rambling but seemed very mathematically calculated. The music was accentuated by the barely audible spoken vocals of Brian McMahan. Their sound has been so copped by other bands, that it's become a running joke in the indie community to say "they sound just like Slint" when describing a band.

Another scene sprang up in the early and mid nineties in Chicago's Wicker Park. David Grubbs, who was coincidentally also a native of Louisville Kentucky, was involved in a New York thrash metal project with John McEntire called Bastro. Grubbs had moved to Chicago (soon followed by McEntire) to attend grad school and was studying the writings and music of experimental composer John Cage and other contemporary poets. Bastro soon changed their name to Gastr del Sol to persue a new direction. GdS's first album, The Serpentine Similar from 1993, was a cut and paste collection of dissonant atmospheres, odd piano chords, noisy bursts and interspersed guitar lines. It took influences from John Cage and questioned the basic ideology of "rock" music, an intentional backlash to the testosterone fueled music of Nirvana. Soon after, GdS musicians John McEntire and Bundy K Brown moved on to form Tortoise, while Grubbs called on Jim O'Rourke to help with the second GdS record. Since then, the work of GdS, Tortoise and subsequent solo outing's have been highly acclaimed and influential.

Today, Post Rock has come to be a term used for a band who has roots in indie rock, but incorporates other styles into the music making it nontraditional. Bands like Tortoise, Labradford, To Rococo Rot, Cul de Sac and Third Eye Foundation don't really sound anything alike but, they all incorporate something other into the music, be it jazz, ambient, electronic or ambient into their sound, creating something entirely. Flying Saucer Attack, Amp and again, Third Eye Foundation all use heavily effected psychedelic guitar mixed with elements of folk. Rodan, June of '44, The For Carnation, Don Cabellero, The Sonora Pine, Rex and dozens of others all sound just like Slint (to one degree or other).

The Post Rock scene is an exciting alternative to recycled alternative. There is constant growth from established artists and always a new and interesting band on the horizon. One newer band, Sigur Ros use huge swells of bowed guitars and completely otherworldly vocals over their mellow bass, drums, organ and piano line up to create something of amazing beauty. Another band, Hood started out as a band with Slint dynamics but have evolved into an guitar based ambient group with an autumnal feel. While the term "Post Rock" is silly in that it is a label to categorize bands that don't fit into other categories, the artists usually associated with it are some of the most creative and purely honest bands around today.

Two other note worthy me mentions are

1) Mogwai, whome are simply grand, these guys can make a song go into huge dynamic changes in a short while. though that Mogwai is more song divided than bands like GYBE, ASMT and MONO, for me to appreciate those bands I usually have to listen to whole albums and go on a great sound journey, but with Mogwai I can actually just turn on one song and still appreciate it, but it still doesn't top listening to an whole album of Mogwai.

That doesn't mean that Mogwai can't go noise-harcore on your *** tough, just listen to "Ratts of the Capital" and "Stop Coming to my House", these both songs have amazing "noise" (better word?) parts that are still incredibly musical and full of melody. Those are my two favorite tracks of the whole Happy People album.

Do you understand what I'm saying sir?

2) Godspeed You! Black emporer (and its side projects: A Silver Mount Zion, Set Fire To Flame and Fly Pan Am)..just get everything by them

Reccomendations

Slint
1) Spiderland

GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!;
1) Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada
2) F#a#oo(Infinity Symbol)
3) Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

Sigur Ros
1) Von
1) Agaetis Byrjun
2) ( )
3) Svefn-G-Englar [EP]

Gastr Del Sol
1) Camoufleur
2) The Serpentine Similar

A Silver Mt. Zion;
1) He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
2) Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward
3)This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather & Sing
4) Pretty Little Lightning Paw
5) Horses In The Sky

Explostions in the sky;
1) How Strange, Innocence
2) Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
3) Earth Is not A cold Dead Place
4) Friday Night Lights

Do Make Say Think;
1)&Yet & Yet
2)Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
2) Do Make Say Think
4)Goodbye Enemy Airship The Landlord Is Dead

Mogwai
1) Mogwai [EP+2] [EP]
2) Happy Songs For Happy People
3) Young Team
4) Come On Die Young
5) Rock Action

Tortoise
1) TNT
2) Millions Now Living Will Never Die
3) Standards
4) It's All Around You

Bark Psychosis
1) Hex
2) Codename

ust sucker

TalkingHead · 06-17-2005, 01:58 PM

Well, hope you like this guys. Feel free to add mroe recs and Ill add them to the post.

~~EightMilesHigh~~ · 06-17-2005, 01:59 PM

That was cool. It was very detailed, especially considering post-rock is kind of a hard genre to nail down.

gaslight · 06-17-2005, 02:10 PM

Nicely done, I remember reading that brief history of Post-rock on an internet site once.

Mogwai are easily one of my favourite bands in the world.

Interstate · 06-17-2005, 02:13 PM

Sweet FG man

I can't really think of anything to add.

Wanker · 06-17-2005, 02:18 PM

Nice FG. But..

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaslight

Nicely done, I remember reading that brief history of Post-rock on an internet site once.

123 :-/

biografiend · 06-17-2005, 03:07 PM

Good job, but I have to agree with Wanker on the :-/ . You could have easily paraphrased it and made it your own.

Isn't Sigur Ros releasing an album this year, too?

Wanker · 06-17-2005, 04:28 PM

Oh, and for more records:

1-Speed Bike - Droopy Butt Begone
Sigur Ros - Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do (or however it goes)
Fly Pan Am - Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am - Ceux qui inventent n'ont jamai
Flying Saucer Attack - New Lands
Flying Saucer Attack - Flying Saucer Attack
Hope Of The States - The Lost Riots
Set Fire To Flames - All of their records

br3ad_man · 06-18-2005, 07:50 AM

Post-Rock bands I love:

Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai

I like Godspeed and a couple of Do Make Say Think songs too.

Nicely done FG.

Iai · 06-18-2005, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Med57

Good work (even if plagiarism is one of the seven deadly sins of the Internet).

other six plz

gaslight · 06-18-2005, 08:39 AM

1 - Misrepresentation of gender during teh cyber secks.
2 - ...I could think of one why couldn't I think of five more

.

pixiesfanyo · 06-18-2005, 08:54 AM

I've been looking for some Bastro for months.

I hear they own.

Wanker · 06-18-2005, 10:27 AM

I'm having a tough time getting in The Red Sparowes, Isis and June of 44.

Mono and Mum are quite good though.

biografiend · 06-18-2005, 12:55 PM

Yay for Mono and Múm!

even more records:
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O.
Múm - Finally We Are No One
Múm - Please Smile Make My Noise Bleed
M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us
M83 - Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
Ester Drang - Infinite Keys
Unwed Sailor - Marionette and the Music Box
The Workhouse - The End of the Pier

Tangy zizzle · 06-20-2005, 11:44 PM

No US Maple or Dirty Three?

For shame.

ATM · 06-20-2005, 11:48 PM

Mono are incredible

Daniel! · 06-20-2005, 11:52 PM

Do all these bands sound like Sigur Ros? Because unless I'm in the right mood, Sigur Ros just bores the heck out of me. Please don't kill me.

Wanker · 06-21-2005, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strummerliveson

Do all these bands sound like Sigur Ros? Because unless I'm in the right mood, Sigur Ros just bores the heck out of me. Please don't kill me.

They don't all 'sound' like Sigur Ros. But most of them use the same dynamics of build-up, climax, recede.

gaslight · 06-21-2005, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strummerliveson

Do all these bands sound like Sigur Ros? Because unless I'm in the right mood, Sigur Ros just bores the heck out of me. Please don't kill me.

Nah they don't. I love post rock but I can't stand Sigur Ros either.

Delay Pedal Boy · 06-22-2005, 10:24 PM

Pictures! Just kidding, Post-Rock is one of the styles where the performers' appearance is completely irrelevant. Well done, though.

06-17-2005, 01:27 PM	#1
TalkingHead Landlord Is Dead Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 645	Featured Genre: Post Rock Although not called post rock at the time, two bands exemplified the sound and influenced future musicians throughout the 80's. The first was Durutti Column. Vini Reilly, the mind and guitar behind Durutti Column, was a former punk who had an affection for folk and jazz guitar. His compositions heavily featured an arpeggio guitar effect and often little more than a drum line and vocals. From the beginning and even more so in the late 80's, the songs of the Durutti Column had a much different tone than that of their contemporaries of the Factory Records circle like Joy Division, Section 25, A Certain Ratio and later New Order. With dense atmospheric guitar textures, the songs had a base in rock but sounded like something else, often bordering on new age. The albums of the Durutti Column are hailed as ambitious and brilliant. The other 80's band to have a major impact on the post rock phenomena is Talk Talk. Although most people only know them for their early songs which were pure synth pop, by 1986 they were well on their way to creating some of the most unclassifiable and respected music ever. Their album The Colour Of Spring featured their most accomplished synth pop based songs, but also included the song "Chameleon Day" which was a totally different direction for the band. The song was simply sparse piano, very emotive vocals and some sort of odd sounding horn. On the 1988 album Spirit Of Eden the electronics were gone and in their place was an ensemble of horns and acoustic instruments. The band had rejected structure in exchange for atmosphere and were completely outside of anything rock based. Talk Talk's last album Laughing Stock stepped even further in this direction, incorporating elements of free jazz, ambient and organic sounds. They had become the polar opposite of the straight forward and highly structured band of their beginnings. The actual term "Post-Rock" was coined in 1993 when writer Simon Reynolds was describing the debut album Hex by Bark Psychosis. The album is a mixture of lush landscape textures, acoustic instruments and moody overtones, which drew heavily from Talk Talk's later period material. Not coincidentally, Talk Talk member Lee Harris appears on the album as an "assistant." The other, more traditional side of Post Rock's beginnings can be found in the Louisville Kentucky band Slint. The 1991 album Spiderland is one of the most influential and underrated albums of the 90's. Slint used the basic guitar, bass, drums and vocals set up but, they were revolutionary in the way that they used them. Spiderland featured toned down angular twin guitars interspersed with unrestrained sonic bursts. The song progressions were long and rambling but seemed very mathematically calculated. The music was accentuated by the barely audible spoken vocals of Brian McMahan. Their sound has been so copped by other bands, that it's become a running joke in the indie community to say "they sound just like Slint" when describing a band. Another scene sprang up in the early and mid nineties in Chicago's Wicker Park. David Grubbs, who was coincidentally also a native of Louisville Kentucky, was involved in a New York thrash metal project with John McEntire called Bastro. Grubbs had moved to Chicago (soon followed by McEntire) to attend grad school and was studying the writings and music of experimental composer John Cage and other contemporary poets. Bastro soon changed their name to Gastr del Sol to persue a new direction. GdS's first album, The Serpentine Similar from 1993, was a cut and paste collection of dissonant atmospheres, odd piano chords, noisy bursts and interspersed guitar lines. It took influences from John Cage and questioned the basic ideology of "rock" music, an intentional backlash to the testosterone fueled music of Nirvana. Soon after, GdS musicians John McEntire and Bundy K Brown moved on to form Tortoise, while Grubbs called on Jim O'Rourke to help with the second GdS record. Since then, the work of GdS, Tortoise and subsequent solo outing's have been highly acclaimed and influential. Today, Post Rock has come to be a term used for a band who has roots in indie rock, but incorporates other styles into the music making it nontraditional. Bands like Tortoise, Labradford, To Rococo Rot, Cul de Sac and Third Eye Foundation don't really sound anything alike but, they all incorporate something other into the music, be it jazz, ambient, electronic or ambient into their sound, creating something entirely. Flying Saucer Attack, Amp and again, Third Eye Foundation all use heavily effected psychedelic guitar mixed with elements of folk. Rodan, June of '44, The For Carnation, Don Cabellero, The Sonora Pine, Rex and dozens of others all sound just like Slint (to one degree or other). The Post Rock scene is an exciting alternative to recycled alternative. There is constant growth from established artists and always a new and interesting band on the horizon. One newer band, Sigur Ros use huge swells of bowed guitars and completely otherworldly vocals over their mellow bass, drums, organ and piano line up to create something of amazing beauty. Another band, Hood started out as a band with Slint dynamics but have evolved into an guitar based ambient group with an autumnal feel. While the term "Post Rock" is silly in that it is a label to categorize bands that don't fit into other categories, the artists usually associated with it are some of the most creative and purely honest bands around today. Two other note worthy me mentions are 1) Mogwai, whome are simply grand, these guys can make a song go into huge dynamic changes in a short while. though that Mogwai is more song divided than bands like GYBE, ASMT and MONO, for me to appreciate those bands I usually have to listen to whole albums and go on a great sound journey, but with Mogwai I can actually just turn on one song and still appreciate it, but it still doesn't top listening to an whole album of Mogwai. That doesn't mean that Mogwai can't go noise-harcore on your *** tough, just listen to "Ratts of the Capital" and "Stop Coming to my House", these both songs have amazing "noise" (better word?) parts that are still incredibly musical and full of melody. Those are my two favorite tracks of the whole Happy People album. Do you understand what I'm saying sir? 2) Godspeed You! Black emporer (and its side projects: A Silver Mount Zion, Set Fire To Flame and Fly Pan Am)..just get everything by them Reccomendations Slint 1) Spiderland GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!; 1) Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada 2) F#a#oo(Infinity Symbol) 3) Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven Sigur Ros 1) Von 1) Agaetis Byrjun 2) ( ) 3) Svefn-G-Englar [EP] Gastr Del Sol 1) Camoufleur 2) The Serpentine Similar A Silver Mt. Zion; 1) He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms 2) Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward 3)This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather & Sing 4) Pretty Little Lightning Paw 5) Horses In The Sky Explostions in the sky; 1) How Strange, Innocence 2) Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever 3) Earth Is not A cold Dead Place 4) Friday Night Lights Do Make Say Think; 1)&Yet & Yet 2)Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn 2) Do Make Say Think 4)Goodbye Enemy Airship The Landlord Is Dead Mogwai 1) Mogwai [EP+2] [EP] 2) Happy Songs For Happy People 3) Young Team 4) Come On Die Young 5) Rock Action Tortoise 1) TNT 2) Millions Now Living Will Never Die 3) Standards 4) It's All Around You Bark Psychosis 1) Hex 2) Codenameust sucker

06-17-2005, 01:59 PM	#3
~~EightMilesHigh~~ Banned Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: because sleep is the cousin of death Posts: 19,811	That was cool. It was very detailed, especially considering post-rock is kind of a hard genre to nail down.
	Digging: Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

06-17-2005, 02:13 PM	#5
Interstate Fear & Loathing Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: UK Posts: 9,699	Sweet FG man I can't really think of anything to add. Last edited by lostandalone2; 06-17-2005 at 04:20 PM.

06-18-2005, 08:54 AM	#12
pixiesfanyo huffing & puffing Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: idyllwild, ca Posts: 17,776	I've been looking for some Bastro for months. I hear they own.
	Digging: Do Make Say Think - Other Truths

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06-17-2005, 01:58 PM	#2
TalkingHead Landlord Is Dead Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 645	Well, hope you like this guys. Feel free to add mroe recs and Ill add them to the post.

06-17-2005, 02:10 PM	#4
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 27,478	Nicely done, I remember reading that brief history of Post-rock on an internet site once. Mogwai are easily one of my favourite bands in the world.

06-17-2005, 03:07 PM	#7
biografiend waif Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,468	Good job, but I have to agree with Wanker on the :-/ . You could have easily paraphrased it and made it your own. Isn't Sigur Ros releasing an album this year, too?

06-17-2005, 04:28 PM	#8
Wanker 107 reasons why Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Box Company Cubicle: #4815162342 Posts: 10,134	Oh, and for more records: 1-Speed Bike - Droopy Butt Begone Sigur Ros - Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do (or however it goes) Fly Pan Am - Fly Pan Am Fly Pan Am - Ceux qui inventent n'ont jamai Flying Saucer Attack - New Lands Flying Saucer Attack - Flying Saucer Attack Hope Of The States - The Lost Riots Set Fire To Flames - All of their records

06-18-2005, 07:50 AM	#9
br3ad_man out of touch Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 14,634	Post-Rock bands I love: Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai I like Godspeed and a couple of Do Make Say Think songs too. Nicely done FG.

06-18-2005, 08:39 AM	#11
gaslight Some place better Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sydney Posts: 27,478	1 - Misrepresentation of gender during teh cyber secks. 2 - ...I could think of one why couldn't I think of five more .

06-18-2005, 10:27 AM	#13
Wanker 107 reasons why Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Box Company Cubicle: #4815162342 Posts: 10,134	I'm having a tough time getting in The Red Sparowes, Isis and June of 44. Mono and Mum are quite good though.

06-18-2005, 12:55 PM	#14
biografiend waif Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,468	Yay for Mono and Múm! even more records: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Yanqui U.X.O. Múm - Finally We Are No One Múm - Please Smile Make My Noise Bleed M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us M83 - Red Seas & Lost Ghosts Ester Drang - Infinite Keys Unwed Sailor - Marionette and the Music Box The Workhouse - The End of the Pier

06-20-2005, 11:44 PM	#15
Tangy zizzle Hell and Haydevils Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Zealand! Posts: 8,774	No US Maple or Dirty Three? For shame.

06-20-2005, 11:48 PM	#16
ATM Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 27,003	Mono are incredible

06-20-2005, 11:52 PM	#17
Daniel! I Care About Nutrition Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: California Posts: 2,671	Do all these bands sound like Sigur Ros? Because unless I'm in the right mood, Sigur Ros just bores the heck out of me. Please don't kill me.

06-22-2005, 10:24 PM	#20
Delay Pedal Boy \m/ Foot-foot \m/ Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 168	Pictures! Just kidding, Post-Rock is one of the styles where the performers' appearance is completely irrelevant. Well done, though.