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Joined: October 12 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 6446
Posted: October 27 2012 at 01:28
Swans are a band that have been on my 'listen to' list for awhile; all the talk on the webz about the new album got me interested again. From what little I knew about them I thought they were some kind of noise-rock group. Apparently they are one of those groups who change their sound every few albums. I heard the entire new album and these are my thoughts...
It would make a great fit for Post. Not only does it sound like Post but Swans are sometimes referred to as 'post rock' and have a similar musical background to a lot of the early PR bands. Generally the music is in a similar territory to the darker, more orchestrated PR stuff but also has elements of Krautrock-influenced Post as well. About the only tracks that are not very post-y IMO would be "The Seer Returns" which sounds like TMV at their most bluesy, and the song with Karen O on vocals. Even that noisy, avant track sounds like GYBE.
OK, now that's all fine and dandy but here's the problem: currently only two of the four members of the PR team have been voting/posting. As it stands, a new suggestion needs three 'yes' votes. Not only Swans but every artist that is being suggested to the team will not be added until they can get a third 'yes' vote. So, I really don't know what's going to happen.
Joined: May 03 2011
Location: MA
Status: Offline
Points: 1940
Posted: October 27 2012 at 09:35
I'd say from Soundtracks For The Blind onwards they were quite post-rock. The song "Helpless Child" is a monster of a track that predates a decent portion of these groups that spend full albums replicating that idea.
As for their stuff beforehand, it's not traditionally prog in the instrumentation, but the ideas are certainly progressive if nothing else. In the 80s, when a song from something like Greed comes on some college radio station, there was no mistake within a few seconds as to who that band was. Swans really had their own thing going on back then. I need to hear this new album of theirs, since it seems it really fits the post rock label according to everyone.
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
Posted: October 29 2012 at 06:44
I love the Swans, but I have to admit this is probably a tough call. Only one album is required to qualify a band as prog, but if a band's done non-prog (progressive perhaps, but not prog; a distinction I've come to accept here) albums for 30 years and makes one prog album, does that really make them a prog band? Just playing devil's advocate here, because of course I'd love to have the chance to officially review their albums here, but I trust the teams' judgment to make the right call here.
My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
^I am glad I'm not the only one who feels that way then
This would, of course, all be rendered moot, if we had individual tagging - ahem...... Then we could also show to the world of progressive music fans, that we don't think of A Passion Play as prog folk - and that we also hear the overt symphonic qualities of the first Crimson album, even if they reside in the eclectic quarters. Then again, that is obvious isn't it?
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
Joined: February 03 2007
Location: The Heartland
Status: Offline
Points: 16913
Posted: December 31 2012 at 14:55
HolyMoly wrote:
I love the Swans, but I have to admit this is probably a tough call. Only one album is required to qualify a band as prog, but if a band's done non-prog (progressive perhaps, but not prog; a distinction I've come to accept here) albums for 30 years and makes one prog album, does that really make them a prog band? Just playing devil's advocate here, because of course I'd love to have the chance to officially review their albums here, but I trust the teams' judgment to make the right call here.
While this was the stated rule for a long time (the "one and in" rule), it apparently came out of the founder's initial desire to get bands added and build up the database. These days this "rule" has been discussed and reconsidered by some collabs and at least one member of the A team that I'm aware of....whereas the thinking would be that when an artist has a huge discog, there really should be more than just "one prog album" to their name. Rather, they should have a few, enough to call a portion of their career a "prog" period.....if that makes sense.
Keep in mind this is just my take on discussions I've had....not PA policy.
Joined: April 06 2012
Location: Faro, Portugal
Status: Offline
Points: 124
Posted: February 26 2013 at 06:51
Finnforest wrote:
HolyMoly wrote:
I love the Swans, but I have to admit this is probably a tough call. Only one album is required to qualify a band as prog, but if a band's done non-prog (progressive perhaps, but not prog; a distinction I've come to accept here) albums for 30 years and makes one prog album, does that really make them a prog band? Just playing devil's advocate here, because of course I'd love to have the chance to officially review their albums here, but I trust the teams' judgment to make the right call here.
While this was the stated rule for a long time (the "one and in" rule), it apparently came out of the founder's initial desire to get bands added and build up the database. These days this "rule" has been discussed and reconsidered by some collabs and at least one member of the A team that I'm aware of....whereas the thinking would be that when an artist has a huge discog, there really should be more than just "one prog album" to their name. Rather, they should have a few, enough to call a portion of their career a "prog" period.....if that makes sense.
Keep in mind this is just my take on discussions I've had....not PA policy.
José Cid has released only one full-length prog album, and that's the only album he has in PA. Maybe the same could be done with Swans... Anyway, I'm not sure this is their only prog album, they're certainly an experimental band
Edited by ArturdeLara - February 26 2013 at 06:53
"Those who are not shocked when they first come across Prog theory cannot possibly have understood it." - Niels Bohr
"If you think you understand Prog, you don't understand Prog." - Richard Feynman
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Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 37575
Posted: February 26 2013 at 06:55
Eh? José Cid only has one album listed here because no one has bothered to add the others - if you feel like adding more José Cid albums then please, be my guest.
We've had this discussion a couple of times before, but what perhaps is one of the key reasons(and probably also one of the hardest to grasp really) for not including an act like Swans, is not that they aren't progressive, because they are, but because they aren't prog. There is a difference.
I don't know what to stamp The Seer with, other than it was my pick of the year for 2012, but in regards to PA - I haven't got a clue.
Sometimes bands can be extremely progressive and foreseeing, yet still they don't seem to fit in at PA. That's the truth, and also the reason why some folks get their panties in a twist, because the likes of Boris, Future Sound of London, Pharoah Sanders and fellow minded pioneers aren't included.
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
Posted: February 26 2013 at 07:19
It is a tough nut to crack, yes it is.
And to reply to Electrocuted somewhat sarcastic comment, we are not arguing over what is and isn't prog just because we're a bunch of nerds who have nothing better to talk about (or "babies in a filing cabinet" as you said). The scope of music covered by this site is something that's taken pretty seriously, and lots of people take great care that the boundaries of "prog" don't get trampled on too badly. Not because "prog" is an exclusive club that's better than anything else, but because a more defined scope of musical styles is necessary to keep things orderly here. Years ago, they were a lot more lenient (in fact very little oversight at all) about what bands could be added, and the database became unmanageable and the site suffered as a result. Teams were then built to provide this oversight and handle band suggestions. Perhaps someone who was around back then could confirm this, but that is the story I have heard. I say this because I remember when I was new here, and wondered why the hell everyone was so hung up on what prog is/isn't, and why they were so picky about what bands should be included. I understand now.
As for Swans, they are possibly my favorite band at the moment. They are progressive and forward-looking, especially nowadays. Yet I feel no slight at the idea that they are probably not a good fit for this site. I still love the band, and I can discuss them in other areas of the forum. What have I lost? Nothing.
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It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
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