I have so much respect for you for taking down the video to add more information that you learned after its initial posting. Doing that can hurt a video's success in the algorithm so I really appreciate that you prioritized being correct over getting more views. Your videos keep getting better and better, keep it up!
Fr though, I came back to watch this again after watching the first vid. I’m excited to see what else was added. Coil is one of the best to do it and this is one of my favorite albums
I’m glad someone made a video on this album and group. Not enough people talk about Coil on UA-cam and it saddens me because they are such a underrated group. The Ape of Naples is to me a depressing and forward thinking masterpiece. Truly a beautiful and poetic album.
the ape of naples is one of the few albums i genuinely consider to be perfect. the fact that the whole album from start to finish feels like an unbelievable fever dream, i find it so hard for anyone to come away from this album without feeling a deep sense of disorientation and unexplainable presence of loss. heavens blade is my favorite song from the project and it always leaves me entranced no matter how many times i hear it.
Really glad you made a video on this album and band. They're definitely a band that deserve more recognition, as their collective history as a band is like a whole other world. It's unfortunate that their founding members have passed away, who knows what sort of crazy experimental stuff they would've made today. Ever since I listened to this album when I was 15, something changed within my mind. It was definitely a gateway album that lead into my fascination with more experimental and gothic music. Just an additional note about this video, the lyrics to Cold Cell are actually from a Russian Orthodox prayer often said by convicts in penal colones. Once again, it adds a whole other level of depth and grief to the album.
The haunting nature of _The Ape of Naples_ isn't just because of how it's a reflection of John's passing, but _how_ it utilizes it. While the album didn't terrify me when I heard it, it sure did leave you rather...unsettled. Both in a depressing and unsettling way. While everyone uses "Fire of the Mind" or "It's in my Blood" as examples, I think the best one is "Going Up", just the slow progression of a TV series' intro, the mournful instrumental, François Testory's beautiful but still "unsettling" singing of a _furniture catalogue_ and ending with John's simple and final words that give us the blunt uncertainty of death: *_"It just is."_* ...I'm getting that tattooed down the line. Those words have forever followed me since.
This reminded that Balance has been gone almost 20 years. I am so happy I went to the show in NYC in 2001. I actually spent the evening with Peter, Jhonn, Tim (Thighpaulsandra), and a group of really cool people the night before the show. Good memories. Persistence is all
I was worried you just deleted the video because of some missed information man, I was bummed. Amazing video man! I bet after finding out about their relationship it completely changed the listening experience. Especially for tattooed man
Props for redoing this video when you learned new context about the group and the record. I was also quite young when I first heard Coil, incidentally back around the time that Jhonn passed in 2004 (I would've been twelve), and getting into their music, alongside that of their collaborators Current 93 and Nurse With Wound, was… transformative. The interest in magic and obscure literature, the very forward queerness which I had yet to acknowledge in myself, the endlessly fascinating production, all of these things did something to my brain which I have no words for. I remember when I was thirteen sending a fan email to Peter Christopherson asking about planned future Threshold House projects, and he was kind enough to reply. I have since lost access to that email address, but I treasure that memory dearly. I might not have become a musician were it not for Coil, and that's, well, a lot to process in its own right.
@@popeisyiyi1613 No, I mean that this guy gives a very superficial and sensationalistic portrayal of what Coil was, without even researching the general context that they spawned from. There's also several factual inaccuracies lead to a somewhat distorted interpretation of the whole thing.
This band changed my life. Sending me further down the paths of occult thought, a broader appreciation of both music and art in general. I see many people mentioning that this album feels dark, heavy, and intimidating but I have always felt overwhelming senses of love coming from all of these songs. But yeah, Sleazy and Jhonn were in a relationship at one point but they weren't lifelong partners. Certainly does add dimensions to this album-as-memorial though. Coil's legacy and legend will only grow as the years go by. They aren't the sort of art that captures immediate acclaim but they are the exact sort of art that will be remembered centuries later. RIP Sleazy, Jhonn, and Genesis.
Also, heavy recommend giving Dead Can Dance a listen if you aren't familiar with them. One of the few musical groups that comfortably sit as a logical recommendation pairing for a band as alien and beyond genre as Coil.
umm no offense, and great on you for doing your research... C O I L were and are still one of my top 10 favorite bands, since the mid 90s...but i kept waiting for you to actually PLAY some of "it's in my blood" (that's the standout in terms of dark, dissonant, and creepy i think you were first talking about). I've always wondered what Jhonn was saying during that part after the minute- long shriek when the drums and percussion drop. "ussah oosah ohsah INsah"!! LoL right? and "Dirty Sistah" i think. Did you know most of the material for that song was recorded at Nothing Studios (Trent Reznor's old studio in New Orleans, LA) right after they released "LSD"? anyway...good video, nonetheless. not great 😛
Really dislike the title format of this video, it strikes me as exploitative and disrespectful for the sake of clicks. I understand that youtube is a game and that this is how it's played, but I still see it as crass, treating The Ape of Naples and John's death as fodder for content. My normal response to such things is to simply leave an insult and move on, but this is a band and album that matter a lot to me, so I decided to actually go into detail for once. Really terrible stuff.
Myrninerest - "Jhonn" - uttered Babylon" is another album about the death of Jhonn. The live performance of In Your Mouth is Rome that can be found on youtube is very moving, though it might challenge your appreciation for non orthodox singing beyond what coil does.
This is definitely one of the most intensely dark albums I've ever heard, and it reveals more and more about its background with every listen. It also, on a less comfortable note, happened to be what I listened to immediately before an un-aliving attempt I had in may 2022. Don't worry I'm doing better now.
Brilliant video. If you enjoy Coil I really recommend checking out Chris Christopherson's project Form Grows Rampant (2007), it's a film/music video and the footage is all shot on a camcorder. Also worth mentioning Coil's cover of Tainted Love which has a far more sad undertone to it in its relation to the AIDS epidemic.
It's so weird when you find someone you only know they're online presence but you're 99% sure you'd be close friends if you ever met in real life. Jake expresses things that I think every day but can't put into words the same way. I love his videos because he makes the thoughts I already had clearer and easier to express. That's a very rare skill set.
It's an album I became aware of not too long after it came out, and didn't like much then. But I've found myself over the years going back to it regular, always intrigued by something it contained but couldn't quite get my finger on. And as the years passed by, listening to it more and more, it became my favourite record. I find it incredible and perfect, but it requires in my opinion a critical amount of ingested music and experience to really get.
LOL that you wondered wether the It's In My Blood video you used is copyrighted. The person who made it used bits of a very famous movie to make it. So you risked a copyright strike from both the copyrights holders for Coil and for Tetsuo The Iron Man.
I remember coming across this album when I was exploring a lot of experimental industrial a few years ago, but I didn’t enjoy it at the time and didn’t revisit it. I also listened to the spotify version with the inferior artwork lmao, and I’m not sure I finished the album the first time either. But I’m absolutely going to revisit it as soon as I can, you have reignited my interest
Did you know that the title The Ape Of Naples came from a discussion between the band, a member of whom worked in a porn shop in Soho. They were having a laugh coming up with different titles for porn movies ( specifically gay porn) and The Ape of Naples was the funniest. Also Jon and Peter had been lovers since 1981 but had a pretty fluid relationship and Jon had a new partner Ian at the time of his death, however they still lived together and obviously being so close to someone for all those years has an equally, if not more complex traumatic consequence.
Beautiful video. Coil are my favourite artists and this is the video I’ve been waiting for. It’s an album like no other and you have done a truly fantastic job.
It’s so rare to see recent UA-cam video discussions about Coil and you did a great job! I would still like to clarify that Johnn and Sleazy weren’t actually in a romantic relationship since the beginning of the 80s when they split up, but still created Coil. Ian Johnstone (as you mentioned, the creator of the covers) was instead his lover at the time of his passing. It’s possible to hear this story directly from Peter himself in this documentary, where he also mentions how in the last decade before Johnn’s death, dealing with his behaviour was unfortunately not that easy: ua-cam.com/video/vUd4y6cH8o8/v-deo.htmlsi=z28eYM-9tUeeHI1N
I first became aware of Coil when revisiting some films by Derek Jarman in the 00’s. If you are not familiar with this filmmaker, enjoy! When the music from those films caught my attention I told myself I needed to look into them, however, years went by and it wasn’t until, “The New Backwards” was released along with rereleases of earlier albums that I just happened upon at the record store one day that I recalled that earlier memory. Shortly after the later experience occurred did, “The Ape of Naples” showed up at the same record store and I had a similar experience regarding the album cover. It was extremely unsettling, even a bit frightening. Of course I bought it then and there, but, similarly again to your experience, I was not too much impressed by it, although it has grown on me as well. I have found that albums that take time to appreciate often become favorites. Great video! I appreciate the back story you have provided!!
I’ll solve the mystery of “A Cold Cell” for you. I’m Russian (and a huge fan of Coil) and I was astonished to hear this track when the album came out. This is an apocryphal “Prisoner’s Prayer” that’s been circulating online since I don’t remember when. I asked ChatGPT to summarize the subtle differences between the original Russian text and Coil’s lyrics. It did a fairly good job, result below. From me: my theory is that this poem, existing in many different variations, but this is probably the “classic” one. It’s either a genuine piece of Russian, or more accurately Soviet prison folklore, or a later poetic homage. In any case, the language is antiquated. Modern Russian inmates don’t really talk like that, with a few exceptions which are simply part of Russian daily, and especially online, vernacular. I think Coil picked it up on during their Moscow trip in 2001. The show was phenomenal, it was such a cathartic experience which I can’t begin to describe in its entirety. You can see and hear a distant glimpse of what it was like, but not the experience of being literally smothered, crushed by this wall of sound and color and movement. Apparently it was quite transformational for the band as well. Balance and Sleazy were interested in a lot of peculiar and rare artifacts (one of the anecdotes I heard was a request for a piece of mammoth tusk, apparently for some incredibly rare magick ritual), and I guess it was one of them. Mind you, that was way before Google Translate and most of the modern stuff we take for granted. They were old school people and made do with what they had, probably an old dusty copy of English-Russian dictionary. Anyway, here goes: Coil's translation of the "Prisoner's Prayer" in their track "A Cold Cell" contains some subtle misinterpretations of Russian prison slang, which may arise from the complexity of translating culturally specific language. Here's a look at where they may have missed some nuances or misrepresented the original intent: 1. **"От этапа дальнего" (From the far-away zone)** - **Original meaning**: "Этап" refers to the transportation of prisoners from one location to another, often over long distances in brutal conditions. The term "дальний этап" suggests a long, arduous journey to a remote penal colony. - **Coil's translation**: "From the far-away zone" misses the specific reference to prisoner transport and instead reads more like a plea to avoid being sent to a distant prison. The focus on "zone" lacks the same intensity of the journey. 2. **"От шмона капитального" (From being frisked)** - **Original meaning**: "Шмон" is prison slang for a thorough and often violent search or raid, typically done by prison guards. The word "капитальный" emphasizes that it's an especially invasive, complete search. - **Coil's translation**: "From being frisked" simplifies this to a regular body search, which dilutes the brutality and fear associated with a full-scale, aggressive search in a prison context. "Frisked" is too mild for the kind of violent inspection implied. 3. **"От хозяина-беса" (From the Devil or from the devil owner)** - **Original meaning**: The term "хозяин-бес" is metaphorical, with "хозяин" meaning "owner" or "master" and "бес" meaning "demon" or "devil." It refers to a tyrannical or sadistic prison warden or authority figure, who has control over the prisoners like a devilish master. - **Coil's translation**: "From the Devil or from the devil owner" is a more literal take but misses the nuance. In Russian prison slang, this isn't about a literal devil but about cruel, human authority figures who act like demons. Coil's translation may confuse listeners into thinking it's more of a religious plea rather than a condemnation of corrupt officials. 4. **"От пайки малого веса" (From small rations)** - **Original meaning**: "Пайка" refers to the food rations given to prisoners, which are often extremely meager. The phrase expresses a plea for survival in the face of starvation. - **Coil's translation**: This is fairly accurate, though it could have been slightly more specific-"small rations" works, but emphasizing the malnourishment or scarcity of food might have conveyed the desperation better. 5. **"От холодного подвала" (A cold cell)** - **Original meaning**: "Холодный подвал" means "cold basement," which in Russian prisons would be a reference to a particularly harsh form of solitary confinement, usually in a freezing, damp underground cell. - **Coil's translation**: "A cold cell" simplifies the concept by making it a general prison cell rather than the specific and more punishing "basement." The original emphasizes extreme physical discomfort and isolation in a specific place, whereas "cell" could refer to any kind of cold room. 6. **"От короткой стрижки" (And short haircuts)** - **Original meaning**: In prison, forced haircuts are a form of humiliation, symbolizing loss of individuality and control. It’s a dehumanizing ritual. - **Coil's translation**: "And short haircuts" captures this meaning but doesn't fully emphasize the degrading nature of the forced cut in a prison context. In Western settings, short haircuts are more commonplace and may not evoke the same connotations. 7. **"И защити от вышки" (Save us from the death penalty)** - **Original meaning**: "Вышка" is prison slang for "execution" (specifically the death penalty), derived from the word for "watchtower" (the place where guards monitor prisoners), as firing squads in Russia would sometimes be stationed at such locations. It was a euphemism for execution. - **Coil's translation**: "Save us from the death penalty" is accurate in its overall meaning, but it strips away the prison slang and subtle euphemism used in the original. "Вышка" has a more metaphorical quality that doesn't directly mention death. ### In summary: Coil's translation retains the overall sense of the poem but loses some of the depth and brutal imagery carried by Russian prison slang. The slang in the original is deeply embedded in the culture of the Soviet and post-Soviet penal systems, and some of this is softened or missed in translation. While the band's version makes the prayer accessible to a wider audience, it doesn't fully capture the harshness and specific context of life in a Russian prison.
Small correction to “from the capital punishment” - GPT is incorrect in assuming that firing squads would be lined up on watchtower (вышки). It was obviously not like that, it’s simply a contraction of “ultimate measure of punishment” in Russian (высшая мера наказания), which happens to be homonymous with “watchtower”
I actually knew tattooed man before I stumbled upon your video but had no idea how sad and tragic the story leading up to the release was. Thank you so much for making this video ❤
When I was younger, I interpreted the song as something in my dna that I could never change. The shadow self, the subconscious. My sickness self. Now after some years I wonder if he had aids and killed himself because of that.
I remember my first expirence witb coil was the alblum stolen and contamidated songs and eventually i decided to listen to there first alblum which i was not prepared for obviously i expected the bizzare electronic techno idm sound of stolen and contamidated songs but what i got was a very bizzare mix of synth pop and indistrial i loved it also tenderness of wolves scared the crap out of me when i first listend to it so did at the heart of it all although i think aphex twins cover is even more creppy
What do you think "infamous" means? Also did you listen to ...And the ambulance died in his arms? Or the last live performance of coil in Dublin? You def should, they are like the live predecessors of this album, in spirit if not sonically.
I'm glad that you corrected that oversight from the original upload. I said it on the last upload of the video but I'll say it again. Great work, really well made video and I'm glad more people are discussing/apreciating the art of coil
I saw some unhinged losers trashing you on twitter for the correction, I am glad that it helps you in making better content, but jesús cristo some people need to chill
Since you were a good sport to take down the video and reupload with the important piece of info for the band, I'll comment to help you get back on the algorithm flow. Thank you and much appreciated as a strong fan of Coil. I'm thankful of you posting this video to help new people get into this amazing band.
*Clicks video* "Oh neat. Another interesting essay similar to EATEOT" *Watches first few minutes* "Oooh, fascinating...." *Gets to **6:58* *"WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING F#@& IS THAT????!?!? JESUS!!"*
![Coil - The Ape of Naples (Album Review & Catalog In Brief) [Patreon Request]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ivHAd4Hqnls/mqdefault.jpg)
I have so much respect for you for taking down the video to add more information that you learned after its initial posting. Doing that can hurt a video's success in the algorithm so I really appreciate that you prioritized being correct over getting more views. Your videos keep getting better and better, keep it up!
Fr though, I came back to watch this again after watching the first vid. I’m excited to see what else was added. Coil is one of the best to do it and this is one of my favorite albums
So, who's gonna tell him that at the time of John's death he and Peter hadn't been together for years?
@@VuotoPneumaNNthey were together as a band and lived together, but yeah they weren't a couple
I’m glad someone made a video on this album and group. Not enough people talk about Coil on UA-cam and it saddens me because they are such a underrated group. The Ape of Naples is to me a depressing and forward thinking masterpiece. Truly a beautiful and poetic album.
This is less a video informing people about Coil than a poser shouting "look at me, I have very extreme and sophisticated taste in music".
@@VuotoPneumaNNwhy is that?
the ape of naples is one of the few albums i genuinely consider to be perfect. the fact that the whole album from start to finish feels like an unbelievable fever dream, i find it so hard for anyone to come away from this album without feeling a deep sense of disorientation and unexplainable presence of loss. heavens blade is my favorite song from the project and it always leaves me entranced no matter how many times i hear it.
The first coil video essay I’ve seen on UA-cam.
Took us long enough
this is a cool video but you keep saying the word infamous and i dont think you know what it means
My friend sent me this album years ago, and ever since then, I've felt like my life has been haunted
A good video deserves to be watched twice
music youtubers suck
Really glad you made a video on this album and band. They're definitely a band that deserve more recognition, as their collective history as a band is like a whole other world. It's unfortunate that their founding members have passed away, who knows what sort of crazy experimental stuff they would've made today. Ever since I listened to this album when I was 15, something changed within my mind. It was definitely a gateway album that lead into my fascination with more experimental and gothic music.
Just an additional note about this video, the lyrics to Cold Cell are actually from a Russian Orthodox prayer often said by convicts in penal colones. Once again, it adds a whole other level of depth and grief to the album.
Thank you so much for adding in that very important part about them being lovers. It makes the origins of the album even sadder.
I'm glad it wasn't just a fever dream this video being released
The haunting nature of _The Ape of Naples_ isn't just because of how it's a reflection of John's passing, but _how_ it utilizes it. While the album didn't terrify me when I heard it, it sure did leave you rather...unsettled. Both in a depressing and unsettling way. While everyone uses "Fire of the Mind" or "It's in my Blood" as examples, I think the best one is "Going Up", just the slow progression of a TV series' intro, the mournful instrumental, François Testory's beautiful but still "unsettling" singing of a _furniture catalogue_ and ending with John's simple and final words that give us the blunt uncertainty of death:
*_"It just is."_*
...I'm getting that tattooed down the line. Those words have forever followed me since.
This reminded that Balance has been gone almost 20 years. I am so happy I went to the show in NYC in 2001. I actually spent the evening with Peter, Jhonn, Tim (Thighpaulsandra), and a group of really cool people the night before the show. Good memories. Persistence is all
I was worried you just deleted the video because of some missed information man, I was bummed. Amazing video man! I bet after finding out about their relationship it completely changed the listening experience. Especially for tattooed man
Props for redoing this video when you learned new context about the group and the record. I was also quite young when I first heard Coil, incidentally back around the time that Jhonn passed in 2004 (I would've been twelve), and getting into their music, alongside that of their collaborators Current 93 and Nurse With Wound, was… transformative. The interest in magic and obscure literature, the very forward queerness which I had yet to acknowledge in myself, the endlessly fascinating production, all of these things did something to my brain which I have no words for. I remember when I was thirteen sending a fan email to Peter Christopherson asking about planned future Threshold House projects, and he was kind enough to reply. I have since lost access to that email address, but I treasure that memory dearly. I might not have become a musician were it not for Coil, and that's, well, a lot to process in its own right.
This video is literally "listens to Coil once" lol.
Isn’t that a good thing though? If listening to an artist once is compared to this video, then that should tell you something about Coil.
@@popeisyiyi1613 No, I mean that this guy gives a very superficial and sensationalistic portrayal of what Coil was, without even researching the general context that they spawned from. There's also several factual inaccuracies lead to a somewhat distorted interpretation of the whole thing.
all the more tragic
This band changed my life. Sending me further down the paths of occult thought, a broader appreciation of both music and art in general. I see many people mentioning that this album feels dark, heavy, and intimidating but I have always felt overwhelming senses of love coming from all of these songs. But yeah, Sleazy and Jhonn were in a relationship at one point but they weren't lifelong partners. Certainly does add dimensions to this album-as-memorial though. Coil's legacy and legend will only grow as the years go by. They aren't the sort of art that captures immediate acclaim but they are the exact sort of art that will be remembered centuries later. RIP Sleazy, Jhonn, and Genesis.
Also, heavy recommend giving Dead Can Dance a listen if you aren't familiar with them. One of the few musical groups that comfortably sit as a logical recommendation pairing for a band as alien and beyond genre as Coil.
umm no offense, and great on you for doing your research... C O I L were and are still one of my top 10 favorite bands, since the mid 90s...but i kept waiting for you to actually PLAY some of "it's in my blood" (that's the standout in terms of dark, dissonant, and creepy i think you were first talking about). I've always wondered what Jhonn was saying during that part after the minute- long shriek when the drums and percussion drop. "ussah oosah ohsah INsah"!! LoL right? and "Dirty Sistah" i think. Did you know most of the material for that song was recorded at Nothing Studios (Trent Reznor's old studio in New Orleans, LA) right after they released "LSD"? anyway...good video, nonetheless. not great 😛
GAY PEOPLE REAL!!!
I have been a female my whole life and I would like the support of gays, but the authorities would like to keep us apart.
“Careful what you wish for”was pretty prescient on the new Backwards! Drew Danny
Stephen Thighpaul Sandra Ossian … are still Very active!
I don´t know but perhaps you should try Einsturzende Neubauten´s "Halber Mensch ", in case you haven´t yet that is ...
Jhons name was Geoffrey, not Gregory.
One of the greatest bands of all time
Really dislike the title format of this video, it strikes me as exploitative and disrespectful for the sake of clicks. I understand that youtube is a game and that this is how it's played, but I still see it as crass, treating The Ape of Naples and John's death as fodder for content. My normal response to such things is to simply leave an insult and move on, but this is a band and album that matter a lot to me, so I decided to actually go into detail for once. Really terrible stuff.
completely agree
You were listening to Coil when you were ten years old? I think you're trauma bonded to this group brah. But they do make great music.
I listend to them when i was like 8 i wasent allowed to listen to it untill lke 2 years later
I need to check this band out now
Absolutely, personally I can't recommend their song Dark River enough from Love's Secret Domain
Myrninerest - "Jhonn" - uttered Babylon" is another album about the death of Jhonn. The live performance of In Your Mouth is Rome that can be found on youtube is very moving, though it might challenge your appreciation for non orthodox singing beyond what coil does.
Where are you John? "Babylon" uttered John
Still wrong about them departing PTV to make Coil. Coil was originally a solo project of John and Peter joined later.
Looks like you discovered Coil backwards, which is the correct direction.
Backwards
Everything's backwards
Eternity ends here
This is definitely one of the most intensely dark albums I've ever heard, and it reveals more and more about its background with every listen.
It also, on a less comfortable note, happened to be what I listened to immediately before an un-aliving attempt I had in may 2022. Don't worry I'm doing better now.
I'm sorry your flame was faint at that time & was nearly extinguished, truly, I'm glad that one more light didn't go out in the world.
Glad to hear you're doing better now and I can only wish you continue to hold on. Living suck but it does get better.
I'd argue that their Horse Rotorvator is much darker, but it's a personal preference.
@@IntenseCircumstancesI hope I remember this. This is such a good way of putting it I’m fuckin keeping this
@@R-H-B word to Chester Bennington. One More Light the song is the main reason for that expression.
That's a devastating album
Brilliant video.
If you enjoy Coil I really recommend checking out Chris Christopherson's project Form Grows Rampant (2007), it's a film/music video and the footage is all shot on a camcorder.
Also worth mentioning Coil's cover of Tainted Love which has a far more sad undertone to it in its relation to the AIDS epidemic.
It's so weird when you find someone you only know they're online presence but you're 99% sure you'd be close friends if you ever met in real life. Jake expresses things that I think every day but can't put into words the same way. I love his videos because he makes the thoughts I already had clearer and easier to express. That's a very rare skill set.
It's an album I became aware of not too long after it came out, and didn't like much then. But I've found myself over the years going back to it regular, always intrigued by something it contained but couldn't quite get my finger on. And as the years passed by, listening to it more and more, it became my favourite record. I find it incredible and perfect, but it requires in my opinion a critical amount of ingested music and experience to really get.
Okay, I knew this video wasn’t just in my mind. I was so confused seeing it reuploaded lmao
Don’t Loose Your Job beat in the background 🔥🔥🔥
LOL that you wondered wether the It's In My Blood video you used is copyrighted. The person who made it used bits of a very famous movie to make it. So you risked a copyright strike from both the copyrights holders for Coil and for Tetsuo The Iron Man.
Rewatching this because of how interesting it is
I remember coming across this album when I was exploring a lot of experimental industrial a few years ago, but I didn’t enjoy it at the time and didn’t revisit it. I also listened to the spotify version with the inferior artwork lmao, and I’m not sure I finished the album the first time either. But I’m absolutely going to revisit it as soon as I can, you have reignited my interest
Did you know that the title The Ape Of Naples came from a discussion between the band, a member of whom worked in a porn shop in Soho. They were having a laugh coming up with different titles for porn movies ( specifically gay porn) and The Ape of Naples was the funniest. Also Jon and Peter had been lovers since 1981 but had a pretty fluid relationship and Jon had a new partner Ian at the time of his death, however they still lived together and obviously being so close to someone for all those years has an equally, if not more complex traumatic consequence.
theres one creator on soundcould or whatever its called?? and all the songs are just bass boosted screaming and thats all
Beautiful video. Coil are my favourite artists and this is the video I’ve been waiting for. It’s an album like no other and you have done a truly fantastic job.
It’s so rare to see recent UA-cam video discussions about Coil and you did a great job!
I would still like to clarify that Johnn and Sleazy weren’t actually in a romantic relationship since the beginning of the 80s when they split up, but still created Coil.
Ian Johnstone (as you mentioned, the creator of the covers) was instead his lover at the time of his passing.
It’s possible to hear this story directly from Peter himself in this documentary, where he also mentions how in the last decade before Johnn’s death, dealing with his behaviour was unfortunately not that easy:
ua-cam.com/video/vUd4y6cH8o8/v-deo.htmlsi=z28eYM-9tUeeHI1N
Wow I never heard anyone else explain exactly how I felt when I heard the band Hovercraft for the first time!
Just don't play Heaven's Blade to self harmers....
I'll watch it again cuz the production is just that good.
Their entire discography is brilliant - music for musicians, by non-musicians. Capital "A" Art.
I first became aware of Coil when revisiting some films by Derek Jarman in the 00’s. If you are not familiar with this filmmaker, enjoy!
When the music from those films caught my attention I told myself I needed to look into them, however, years went by and it wasn’t until, “The New Backwards” was released along with rereleases of earlier albums that I just happened upon at the record store one day that I recalled that earlier memory.
Shortly after the later experience occurred did, “The Ape of Naples” showed up at the same record store and I had a similar experience regarding the album cover. It was extremely unsettling, even a bit frightening. Of course I bought it then and there, but, similarly again to your experience, I was not too much impressed by it, although it has grown on me as well.
I have found that albums that take time to appreciate often become favorites.
Great video! I appreciate the back story you have provided!!
well done. The album stands alone - a drastic difference from New Backwards - as a swan song for the band.
woo glad to see the video back up jake
Stolen and Contaminated album 'Who'll Fall'
I’ll solve the mystery of “A Cold Cell” for you. I’m Russian (and a huge fan of Coil) and I was astonished to hear this track when the album came out. This is an apocryphal “Prisoner’s Prayer” that’s been circulating online since I don’t remember when. I asked ChatGPT to summarize the subtle differences between the original Russian text and Coil’s lyrics. It did a fairly good job, result below. From me: my theory is that this poem, existing in many different variations, but this is probably the “classic” one. It’s either a genuine piece of Russian, or more accurately Soviet prison folklore, or a later poetic homage. In any case, the language is antiquated. Modern Russian inmates don’t really talk like that, with a few exceptions which are simply part of Russian daily, and especially online, vernacular. I think Coil picked it up on during their Moscow trip in 2001. The show was phenomenal, it was such a cathartic experience which I can’t begin to describe in its entirety. You can see and hear a distant glimpse of what it was like, but not the experience of being literally smothered, crushed by this wall of sound and color and movement. Apparently it was quite transformational for the band as well. Balance and Sleazy were interested in a lot of peculiar and rare artifacts (one of the anecdotes I heard was a request for a piece of mammoth tusk, apparently for some incredibly rare magick ritual), and I guess it was one of them. Mind you, that was way before Google Translate and most of the modern stuff we take for granted. They were old school people and made do with what they had, probably an old dusty copy of English-Russian dictionary. Anyway, here goes:
Coil's translation of the "Prisoner's Prayer" in their track "A Cold Cell" contains some subtle misinterpretations of Russian prison slang, which may arise from the complexity of translating culturally specific language. Here's a look at where they may have missed some nuances or misrepresented the original intent:
1. **"От этапа дальнего" (From the far-away zone)**
- **Original meaning**: "Этап" refers to the transportation of prisoners from one location to another, often over long distances in brutal conditions. The term "дальний этап" suggests a long, arduous journey to a remote penal colony.
- **Coil's translation**: "From the far-away zone" misses the specific reference to prisoner transport and instead reads more like a plea to avoid being sent to a distant prison. The focus on "zone" lacks the same intensity of the journey.
2. **"От шмона капитального" (From being frisked)**
- **Original meaning**: "Шмон" is prison slang for a thorough and often violent search or raid, typically done by prison guards. The word "капитальный" emphasizes that it's an especially invasive, complete search.
- **Coil's translation**: "From being frisked" simplifies this to a regular body search, which dilutes the brutality and fear associated with a full-scale, aggressive search in a prison context. "Frisked" is too mild for the kind of violent inspection implied.
3. **"От хозяина-беса" (From the Devil or from the devil owner)**
- **Original meaning**: The term "хозяин-бес" is metaphorical, with "хозяин" meaning "owner" or "master" and "бес" meaning "demon" or "devil." It refers to a tyrannical or sadistic prison warden or authority figure, who has control over the prisoners like a devilish master.
- **Coil's translation**: "From the Devil or from the devil owner" is a more literal take but misses the nuance. In Russian prison slang, this isn't about a literal devil but about cruel, human authority figures who act like demons. Coil's translation may confuse listeners into thinking it's more of a religious plea rather than a condemnation of corrupt officials.
4. **"От пайки малого веса" (From small rations)**
- **Original meaning**: "Пайка" refers to the food rations given to prisoners, which are often extremely meager. The phrase expresses a plea for survival in the face of starvation.
- **Coil's translation**: This is fairly accurate, though it could have been slightly more specific-"small rations" works, but emphasizing the malnourishment or scarcity of food might have conveyed the desperation better.
5. **"От холодного подвала" (A cold cell)**
- **Original meaning**: "Холодный подвал" means "cold basement," which in Russian prisons would be a reference to a particularly harsh form of solitary confinement, usually in a freezing, damp underground cell.
- **Coil's translation**: "A cold cell" simplifies the concept by making it a general prison cell rather than the specific and more punishing "basement." The original emphasizes extreme physical discomfort and isolation in a specific place, whereas "cell" could refer to any kind of cold room.
6. **"От короткой стрижки" (And short haircuts)**
- **Original meaning**: In prison, forced haircuts are a form of humiliation, symbolizing loss of individuality and control. It’s a dehumanizing ritual.
- **Coil's translation**: "And short haircuts" captures this meaning but doesn't fully emphasize the degrading nature of the forced cut in a prison context. In Western settings, short haircuts are more commonplace and may not evoke the same connotations.
7. **"И защити от вышки" (Save us from the death penalty)**
- **Original meaning**: "Вышка" is prison slang for "execution" (specifically the death penalty), derived from the word for "watchtower" (the place where guards monitor prisoners), as firing squads in Russia would sometimes be stationed at such locations. It was a euphemism for execution.
- **Coil's translation**: "Save us from the death penalty" is accurate in its overall meaning, but it strips away the prison slang and subtle euphemism used in the original. "Вышка" has a more metaphorical quality that doesn't directly mention death.
### In summary:
Coil's translation retains the overall sense of the poem but loses some of the depth and brutal imagery carried by Russian prison slang. The slang in the original is deeply embedded in the culture of the Soviet and post-Soviet penal systems, and some of this is softened or missed in translation. While the band's version makes the prayer accessible to a wider audience, it doesn't fully capture the harshness and specific context of life in a Russian prison.
Small correction to “from the capital punishment” - GPT is incorrect in assuming that firing squads would be lined up on watchtower (вышки). It was obviously not like that, it’s simply a contraction of “ultimate measure of punishment” in Russian (высшая мера наказания), which happens to be homonymous with “watchtower”
This was awesome dude! I will have to go and listen to this album now after watching all this. Subbed!
OMG I FUCKING LOVE COIL OMG
SAME
Deja-vu huh
Going up going up
Best music channel on YT, hands down
Coil is the shit.
This is the best music channel.
I actually knew tattooed man before I stumbled upon your video but had no idea how sad and tragic the story leading up to the release was. Thank you so much for making this video ❤
in ostiaaaaa
I was listening to this album for a while and never knew there is so much behind it. That would give much more depth to it. Thank you so much.
When I was younger, I interpreted the song as something in my dna that I could never change. The shadow self, the subconscious. My sickness self. Now after some years I wonder if he had aids and killed himself because of that.
The hard work behind this video is noticeable. Great job. Also very fond of The Ape of Naples and Coil.
Iirc there's no woodwinds in Fire of the Mind, it's hurdy gurdy. Also, it's not organ in the tattooed man but accordion
I remember my first expirence witb coil was the alblum stolen and contamidated songs and eventually i decided to listen to there first alblum which i was not prepared for obviously i expected the bizzare electronic techno idm sound of stolen and contamidated songs but what i got was a very bizzare mix of synth pop and indistrial i loved it also tenderness of wolves scared the crap out of me when i first listend to it so did at the heart of it all although i think aphex twins cover is even more creppy
What do you think "infamous" means?
Also did you listen to ...And the ambulance died in his arms? Or the last live performance of coil in Dublin? You def should, they are like the live predecessors of this album, in spirit if not sonically.
I love this album so much. Bought it when it was first released.
When I have so much pain deep in my soul, this album works as a cathartic vessel that heals me
I'm glad that you corrected that oversight from the original upload. I said it on the last upload of the video but I'll say it again. Great work, really well made video and I'm glad more people are discussing/apreciating the art of coil
Jake's video styles remind me of Wes Anderson movies
Here to comment to boost the the video in the algorithm
best group not best album but one of the deeper
One of the best albums of all time
Did this have to be reposted?
Yeah, he left out a huge piece of very important information that deeply affected the creation of the album and it's meaning.
fire. thank u for this i love coil
The boy out here making the best content
its always pinterest bro
I love that album!
Nice
incredibly good vid ❤
That's the stuff.
i've missed ya dude
Reupload?
I saw some unhinged losers trashing you on twitter for the correction, I am glad that it helps you in making better content, but jesús cristo some people need to chill
wow.
You uploaded this again ??
Yeah, he left out a huge piece of very important information that deeply affected the creation of the album and it's meaning.
🫡
Since you were a good sport to take down the video and reupload with the important piece of info for the band, I'll comment to help you get back on the algorithm flow. Thank you and much appreciated as a strong fan of Coil. I'm thankful of you posting this video to help new people get into this amazing band.
*Clicks video*
"Oh neat. Another interesting essay similar to EATEOT"
*Watches first few minutes*
"Oooh, fascinating...."
*Gets to **6:58*
*"WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING F#@& IS THAT????!?!? JESUS!!"*
why does it sound like love lockdown by kanye lmao
This makes me sad.
Mind posting a link to the original version?
Coil making you "traumatized"
wait till you hear about silencer
Silencer is more of a Creepypasta than anything
@@panchovalenzuela6114 Their album is sick though. and its a good creepy pasta
I wish "It's in my Blood" was my first Coil song. It's one of my favorites.
12:11 YOOOOOOOOOOOOO BURZUM REFERENCE 🗣🗣🗣
Had to watch this gem again, very recently got onto your channel and I'm very amazed ❤