Mark Moschino

4y

no to be honest, i don't think too much before i hit post on ktt2. But to answer your question, the position i take on this is that the galaxy brain moment is when you realize that all because a song as experimental elements it does not necessarily make interesting experimental music. yes they have fifteen minute songs but why? improvisation is cool but to my knowledge i havent heard any codified stances on this from them. if there are i'd appreciate you enlightening me. what i think is interesting about an album like yeezus is that it uses experimental elements to make an innately more pop focused record. And due to its popularity people are introduced to new things. how many people were introduced to acid house, or these dark abrasive sounds because kanye put them out? to me that is a million percent more valuable than a song that could probably have been cut for time.

cold mountain

4y

and op isn't even wrong in how rap fans parade kanye around as if he's some sort of living testament of the genre's artistry, they always hide behind him when there's niggas that don't predominantly/solely listen to hip hop/rap discussing all time greats and legends in other genres because they are insecure

kanye is amazing, but he isn't on the level of a Stevie Wonder, a Bowie, a Prince etc. and that's perfectly fine, he doesn't need to be in order to be great

glassrainbow

4y

Stevie’s another one of my all time favorite artists and i would totally say Kanye belongs at that level

cold mountain

4y

well because swans isn't very accessible lol, and most of the people you attempt to show them to, they either say it's too monotonous or just dont get "it"

which is fine, but it kind of feeds into the complex by itself by acting like people are weird for liking swans, they have something for everyone

cold mountain

4y

it is their best run, you have no idea what you're talking about

PostPunkJung

4y

Better than The Seer, To Be Kind & The Glowing Man?

Better than F# A#, Slow Riot & Lift Your Skinny Fists?

Better than The Party’s Over to Laughing Stock?

Or is it just something rap fans try to tell themselves because people with a higher taste level look down on their genre of choice?

glassrainbow

4y

wait this is the same guy that made that other thread a day ago about kanye falling off crine

PostPunkJung

4y

Better than The Seer, To Be Kind & The Glowing Man?

Better than F# A#, Slow Riot & Lift Your Skinny Fists?

Better than The Party’s Over to Laughing Stock?

Or is it just something rap fans try to tell themselves because people with a higher taste level look down on their genre of choice?

rico

4y

He was also in another thread arguing that Kanye is only successful in fashion cause he's famous. Bro made an account on a Kanye forum just to hate on Kanye

PostPunkJung

4y

It feels like fame is a huge factor here.

Are we talking solo artists or just bands?

I mean, does Kanye have a better run than Pink Floyd for example?

Mark Moschino

4y

yeah he does imo. animals is pretty boring, and i don't like any of umagumma up to dark side, and then the wall on is pretty rough imo as well

cold mountain

4y

yeah no one said that just because a song has experimental elements makes it interesting, clearly if it's heavily acclaimed there's certain aspects of it that make it interesting and/or particularly appealing to the people who are enjoying it

gauging the quality of an artists' work based on who got introduced to new genres through it is an odd metric and not one that would work very well in just about any other genre whatsoever, kanye is popular and marketable

obviously 15+ minute epics and a disregard for conventional song structure, let alone traditional post rock production in general (and it's up in the air if Swans even makes post rock) isn't. that's not fair to any of the other artists' who have made amazing work who haven't been commonly heard, regardless to each their own

their music is not "improvised" whatsoever, i don't know what you were hearing that gave you that vibe at all. everything that they do on those records are completely intentional. gira is heavy into spiritual literature and philosophy there's an interview out there somewhere that says that when the music is extremely loud that it essentially destroys his "self" and he is consumed by the noise, in the manner of how buddhist monks and co meditate and attempt to transcend themselves and their bodies

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/06/swans-michael-gira-tour-interview

"Everybody’s searching for something bigger than themselves. Gradually I found it in my music and it’s the closest I get to God."

https://vandalamagazine.com/2016/09/02/interview-mortality-and-god-with-michael-gira-of-swans/

"The word spiritual is fraught with all sorts of hokey new age meanings these days but I see what you are trying to say. I can imagine seeing the Stooges back in the day must have been something similar. It is what it is. The guitars and the volume and the overtones and the sheer carnal abandon of it leads to something greater than the sum of its parts."

through the use of these large builds up, repetitive riffs and loud choruses, it's supposed to capture these mystical states that are found in major religions such as Christianity, Hinduism etc. think about how certain forms of meditation encourage you to chant a mantra over and over again (or think it) that's simply transposed to repetitive riffs and rhythms in Swans music in an attempt to get closer to the divine through what they make

if that's not interesting to you so be it, but it isn't long for no reason or just self-masturbatory guitar wanker-y - that's the nature of their music