Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind ALBUM REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 10 січ 2024
- Listen: swans.bandcamp.com/album/soun...
Swans' once-swansong is still a mysterious masterpiece of underground rock and collage-based music.
More classic reviews: • Classics
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Team: Jeremy - Lead Edits / Anthony - Final Cuts / Austen - Proofing, Posting
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SWANS - SOUNDTRACKS FOR THE BLIND / 1996 / YOUNG GOD / SOUND COLLAGE, DARK AMBIENT, EXPERIMENTAL ROCK, POST-INDUSTRIAL
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
(this is one of my fav albums and I won't stand for the Animus slander 😤 -Austen)
YES THIS IS ALL I EVER WANTED! THANK YOU! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Lmao
I cant believe this
Lil Radish Shifu
OH MY GOD
very happy for ya brad
Soundtracks For The Blind is probably the most requested album for a classic review that I’ve seen. I never thought I’d see the day
Only saw so many requests in that stream
Never thought that if it's the most requested? What
never thought id see an Uzi pfp talk about Soundtracks for the Blind
@@carter5325 RB a real one
@@ttarkusa very obvious pun is STARING you in the face
brad taste in music creaming rn
Creamy ranch dressing
he is
POP CHAMPAGNE OHHHHHHHHHHHH 🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾
mid stream stopped to hear this shit
Lmfao
As a blind man, I can definitely say this is a soundtrack fosho 😎
I hope don't feel under-represented by the sunglasses-emojis provided for use, stay strong brother 🕶
What about QOTSA's Songs for the Deaf tho
@@nicolasriveros943 nah I can hear I’m not gay
🫷🤏👎👉👌👌🤞🤘🫱🫱🙏🤙👇👐
How on earth did he not mention I Was A Prisoner In Your Skull? That track to me is the heart of the album.
Because everyone knows that *you* are fucked up
Because I know, and you know, that he is fucked up
he forgot one thing.....
Well fUck haha
He posted it on his story shortly after the review if that’s any consolation
I swear, this year's classic reviews were MADE for me. Thanks!
Your profile pic reminds me that we also need a classic review for the greatest album of all time lol
i thought the same. This week was definitely for the fans :)))
I've been waiting for this review since like 2017
we NEED a classic review of Vespertine!!
@@insecondss he did like a worst to best so he basically reviewed it
This classic week has been absolute fire. Getting more reviews than usual and the ones you're picking are albums I 100% mess with. Thanks again for the content Anthony.
Helpless child is an incredible song
It is! But I'd argue the live version on "Swans are Dead" is miles ahead.
@@damando6631That version really destroys everything
Helpless Child, Beautiful Child, Children of God, baby heads album cover, etc.
This Michael guy need his hard drives checked.
@@user-ex7yq6xq9s He IS the Helpless Child, though.
The Sound better.
This album is visceral, disturbing, in your face, and uncomfortable, yet it manages to hold onto the listener on a level that I haven’t really felt on a record in recent memory.
📮
Among us pfp😭😭😭
Giving this a smiley ball, amirite
steal soul
Common redsus W
A lot of people talk up "Helpless Child" and "The Sound", but I think "Animus" has maybe the best melody Gira has ever written.
(But I love this entire record! Whenever I go on a long drive by myself, I put this album on.)
I also love its lyrics.
I don't think the more recent Swans albums surpass this one because I don't think they're trying to. This album has such a unique atmosphere and assortment of sounds and ideas that I think it stands out singularly as a culmination of their sonic experiments at that point in their career, an exploration of new sounds and ideas, and something almost alien. Saying Swans improved on the ideas of this album in future releases, and were more focused on previous releases is almost like comparing a swiss army knife to a chef's knife . Sure, other albums are better in specific areas, but none of them come together the way Soundtracks for the Blind does to create a multi-faceted experience.
This argument could be used as an excuse for any unfocused and bloated album to justify its lack of polish, but what I think binds SFTB together is this creepy atmosphere, and almost "lost-footage" like quality.
Couldn’t have said this better myself, this is an amazing comment and I completely agree - this is exactly why I reckon this review to be incredibly reductive and a disservice to a record like SFTB (I would honestly even risk saying Fantano does not understand this record at all tbh).
“Lost-footage” is one of the best ways I’ve heard Soundtracks described, I always like to compare it to a Stanley Kubrick film how on the surface it’s still very unnerving, but there’s this weird sense of foreboding. Like underneath it all there’s something bigger and more haunting at play that truthfully only the people who made the album will ever know the answer to.
W
100 years later this album still hits
That one guy's gonna be super happy.
This review is shorter than Helpless Child
Helpless Child and The Sound are two of the best songs ever made
Jokes aside, Helpless Child made me cry the first time I listened to it. It feels like experiencing the end of your life, the final moments and all your memories being flashed in front of you, the good, the bad and the horrible. Such a powerful and trascendental song.
damn, thats the exact way i feel about earthmover
When i graduated from high school my parents offered to buy me a holiday abroad. I declined and asked for a copy of "Soundtracks for the Blind" instead. Somehow it all makes sense: Years of rough studies and training behind me, I was now ready to embrace the real thing. When I got the album I spent several days avoiding the enormousness of it all. At some point I did listen to it and still remember the feeling I got: The world would never be the same again, the naive childhood days of pre-soundtracks era were over.
lol nice rym copypasta
corny. Drake >
amazing chill
The Sound is such an incredible song.
The live version of Blood Promise is better. Both are incredible though
One time I listened to it lying in bed staring at the full moon through a gap at the top of my curtains, it was life-changing tbh
@@coldercoronet6248"better" that's your opinion
absolutely, the middle section totally crushes me.
@@hyjaph The Sound was life changing as well ngl (also tell Bradcord I said I miss them :( )
I saw Swans, with Jarboe, live 3 months after this release. It was at a small venue in Albuquerque, Burt's Tiki Lounge (now closed), and we were so close to Gira and Jarboe that we could reach out and touch them. It's still one of the best experiences of my late twenties. It gladens my soul to see the love and appreciation for Gira and co. 28 years later.
the name being soundtracks for the BLIND surprises me, because i cant imagine how terrifying listening to this being blind would be
wear a blindfold and find out 😈
i listened to it for basically the first time and wore a blindfold, it was awesome and horrifying
The first time I listened to this album was after a snowstorm and I was shoveling my driveway at 7 pm. Truly a transcendental experience.
What an album! Can’t wait for “Soundtrack for the Deaf” soon 🔥
Well we have Songs for the Deaf and it would be sick if we got that review too
This is probably gonna have 2k likes tomorrow
by the band Ducks
Swans inspires me.. My parents said if i get 70K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally
Begging..
@@shade4835 I've been asking Fantano forever for that one.
When I say I jumped out of my seat and started celebrating that’s no exaggeration. This is literally my all time favorite album. Sometimes it’s hard to even imagine humans created this album, every single emotion and feeling is forced out of me when I give Soundtracks for the Blind a full listen. I haven’t even watched the review yet I’m so excited
Its a shame he only spent half the review actually talking about the music
@@damando6631 and judging by what he says its mostlikely a 7 to him lmao
@@damando6631Exactly, thoroughly disappointed by this review - especially given that his Abbey Road and Flockaveli reviews in this very same classics week were actually pretty fantastic
Fun Fact: "The Final Sacrifice" is actually a reworking of a song by World of Skin (Gira/Jarboe's first side project) called "One Small Sacrifice". The WoS version is scary and vampiric, while the Soundtracks version is transcendent and almost sacred feeling.
I still don't understand how anybody could think something like To Be Kind is their best if they've heard Soundtracks; it's insane how much better it is (not to talk down upon TBK).
It's a question of your entry point to Swans.
If you've been following their career from early days, the amount of growth to Soundtracks is just incomprehensible. There's flavors from the stomp and grind days, but if you were to pull something from Cop and anything from Soundtracks upon an unsuspecting listener and told them they were the same band, they wouldn't believe you.
Swans mk ii were certainly more refined in taking Soundtracks' ideas and just redeveloping them.
But it starts with Soundtracks. Not to mention Jarboe's touches have been sorely missed.
@@quintessenceSL you're absolutely right. I got into them from hearing Stay Here off of Filth, and I was hooked. Going to their recent releases, it sounded so much different than I expected, so I foolishly stayed away from their newer material for too long.
honestly no, there’s no song on to be kind worse than hypogirl or empathy in my opinion. and i’m not saying this because i think sftb>tbk is a bad take, just that in some aspects tbk is superior (just like sftb is in others)
Stupid comment
TBH i like To Be Kind but it's not my favourite post-reunion Swans album (The Seer is better imo)
Brad's life is truly like a video game, he wanted the review to get released and it did
He's truly the main character
He tried so hard he finally beat the stage
all while he was still collecting coins@@Jacob_Hingst
FINALLY. This album is still the most visceral, uncomfortable, overwhelming listening experience of my life. So happy you reviewed it!
Helpless child is easily one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard.
Been really enjoying the classic week choices. A bit off-topic, but you've really helped me expand my music tastes, Fantano, thanks for being one of my favorite UA-camrs.
You don’t know how happy I was when I first saw the thumbnail of this video.
The Swans are my favorite group of all time, and this is my favorite from them. Helpless Child truly moved me, Volcano did too but in the opposite way, Animus is almost as beautiful as Helpless Child is, and the 2 1/2 hours feel more like 45 minutes whenever i let this record play. I even wrote an essay for school on Soundtracks. Needless to say, this album is possibly the greatest of all time, and my love for it won’t stop anytime soon.
I absolutely agree, I find albums that run over 90 minutes a bit exhausting but every now and again I’ll just get this pull to re-enter Soundtracks and I just get sucked in from beginning to end
If they're your favourite group of all time, why do you call them The Swans instead of their actual name?
@@smoshbooz idk man it just sounds natural plus i say the Swans instead of The Swans bc i’m not referring to that as their actual name
You can tell people haven’t watched the video yet since there’s no angry comments about how Melon said the album has flaws.
Perhaps one of his most negative classic reviews, I’d be shocked if the psyched comments didn’t 180 in a few hours.
Haven’t heard the album so I can’t comment on it
I would say that I agree with him tbh, the 20 min epics of the Trilogy are better and the pacing and songwriting was better on The Great Annihilator
All Lined Up is still one of the scariest songs I've ever heard. It's so good.
Y'all know the Brad Army gonna go INSANE over this. Also, glad you finally got around to reviewing this after so long Anthony
🍫⭐️🐟 gang
fantano is slowly but surely classic-reviewing the entire /mu/core canon
i mean vast majority of /mu/ IS classics…
We need Pet Sounds, American Football and Merriweather Post Pavillion, and he's done with the 15 core albums.
@@johngerygooz3251He did Merriweather Post Pavilion back when it came out. He just had to delete the video because of copyright concerns.
@@PaulAndroid I know, but the video being deleted could mean he re-reviews it.
Deathconciousness when
The cutoff after "You had to call me to come show you-" haunts me TO THIS DAY. What the fvck is the rest of the line???
Also, there are portions of the soundscapes that show up on both discs, i liken each disc to two people running past the same fire in the forest and seeing each other briefly through the smoke.
Thanks for this review! I've been waiting for it for a very long time, like many on this channel :)
I was at their concert in Kyiv and even as a fan and thinking that I am ready for everything that the group has to offer... and it was an absolutely incredible experience that it is impossible to prepare for! During the concert, people literally fell into a trance and got lost in the space of the soundscapes created by Gira and the company. It was as if they were throwing sound drugs off the stage, which seeped through the pores of your body and kept you in a two-hour catharsis. I was 19 years old and I carry this experience in my memory and envy those who are able to hear them live more often or are just discovering their discography. And I can say with confidence that it is better to listen to them in closed venues, because there their sound is fully revealed. And already 10 minutes after the start of the concert, you begin to suffocate and cannot understand whether it is because of the stuffiness in the enclosed space or because of the density of the sound coming from the stage. Love this band!
Both Kyiv shows were a hell of a ride! Benn there too.
@@Divuar yeah, 100%
Helpless Child is arguably the Most Beautiful Song ever made..
Along with After the Flood by Talk Talk and Moonchild by King Crimson imo..
I’m touching you
Myrrhman clears!
Lover you should’ve come over by Jeff Buckley is up there
New grass???
Robert fripp: random guitar notes
ah yes very beautiful
The Sound still stands as one of the most awe-inspiring things I've ever laid ears on. It feels like something you can't escape from but don't necessarily want to.
Helpless Child and The Sound are two of the best pieces of music ever created.
the best day of brad taste in music’s life
The first time I listened to this album I was falling asleep to it, when Hypogirl came in I almost fell out of bed. Later STFTB became my favourite album ever.
hello fellow current 93 enjoyer
It is worthy to be everyone's favorite album.
Absolute masterpice: a journey into the depths of the mind. Even if records like Cop or Filth should also be rediscovered, they made one milestone after another
Ever since i heard red velvet corridor years ago I've been meaning to look more into swans, i think it's about time i do i love that track so much
Start with the live version of Blood Promise off Swans Are Dead. It’s one of the single greatest pieces of music ever made imo
to me it feels like this album has some kind of special cohesion only ones as abstract as Soundtracks have. you do not know what the album's gonna do next for sure, but somehow the overal dynamics of the tracklist feel perfect in their own way
Next year's classics album review should be The Ape of Naples by Coil.
We need a "swans album bracket" now.
HOLY SHIT SWANS JUMPSCARE
It’s also very surreal seeing albums I’ve heard before on new classics reviews
Edit: Holy shit this review sounds like you're going to give it a strong 7 to light 8. I was not expecting that
You haven't heard Abbey Road before?
@@johngerygooz3251 no what I was saying is “I heard the album before the classic review, because I usually hear an album because of a review”
So yes I did hear Abbey Road before the review, and it’s weird to see that review
@@neminem233 I get what you said! I just thought you said it because SFTB's the first time it happened.
@@johngerygooz3251 oh my mistake, no it’s not, just that this is maybe(?) the last one
@@neminem233 We'll see. There's two more this year, right?
This album was the most "I get it now" I've ever experienced. Before I heard it, I didn't think there was any way Swans could live up to the hype, but I'm happy that I turned out to be wrong
I'm glad to see Anthony has found his monogamous soulmate in blue flannel.
loved Austen’s note in the description. I see u buddy
this is beautifully long week of classics
Thank you for doing the double classics week! Great reviews
this is honestly the best album of all time. ive never heard and never will hear anything like this ever. the dark ambient and field recordings give out such an eerie atmosphere ive never heard any album replicate. helpless child and the sound are the greatest songs ever made.
you stole my pfp >:(
Love the Glenn Branca pfp man :)
His sounds pioneered so much of what Gira (and others contemporaries) would then make their own and evolve into the masterpieces we have now. Literally discovered him days ago and fell totally in love with his catalogue.
@@robertfrippgaming6924 shut up
Soundtracks feels more like a collage, which it is, but it truly manages to coat this collection of tracks with a creepy, sinister cohesive substance which acts as the connecting tissue instead of a more conventional storyline or context.
Every track is unique, and some of Swans' best work ever is on the album. It's an album that takes you wherever it wants you to, and you don't get to decide where that is. It doesn't give a f about what the listener wants.
It's an amazing experience. An absolute 10/10.
YESSSSS!!! You've no idea how many YEARS I've been waiting for this one!!
Having discovered this (and most of the rest of Swans’ discography) somewhat recently, I do agree it is an absolute clusterfuck of an experience in the best way possible. There are very few pieces of media that have crushed, unsettled and inspired me quite like this horrifically beautiful album
Listening to this album is one of the most frightening experiences I have ever had, from the very beginning and until it is over, it makes me feel the creeps, it feels evil, it feels wrong, as if there is something odd around and that feeling does not stop until I pause it. No other album has ever made me feel like that
I gasped at the sight of a brand new Classics Review
Thank you for your incredibly correct opinion on The Great Annihilator
I just blind bought this 2 weeks ago. I keep going back to it, but don’t understand why I love it so much. It is the shortest feeling 2 hours 22 minutes I’ve experienced
Yeeees thank you!! Melon I needed this!!! For me this album is pretty much perfect even though I 100% agree that they have bettered some if not most of the ideas here presented I do find that only this album has this abstract collage feeling to it, that with the meaning it has just creates what in my view are beautifully horrible memories of a broken person looking into the world and his own existance which just connects with me the most as an overall experience even though I really love the new albums. Great Vid!!
I feel that White Light... and Love of Life don't get the attention they deserve. There's nothing those records even in Swans' discography. Most of the songs are either uplifting or utterly depressing. From one track to the next, it's like, I've found hope! No, it's all over! Now it's hope again! I want to die! I want to live!
Do classics week usually last this long? I keep checking thinking it’s a new album lol
No, he usually does 5 classic albums, but seemingly he's doing 2 classic weeks this year so we should get one final(?) review tomorrow
Masterpiece of an album, I'm so glad I have a signed copy of the 4LP box set. This has been a solid list week dawg
this is a pretty great review, sound track for the blind has a very high reputation that i could never see. to me it always felt overshadowed by swans are dead or the body lovers (check out the body lovers its incredibly underrated)
I have been waiting for this review since 2011!! I'm so happy
*WHEN THEY GONNA MAKE AN ALBUM FOR ME?!*
*SOUNDTRACKS FOR THE CHUBBY* ☹️
soundtracks for the unfunny
I like you
I remember listening to this album in 2009, completely changed my view of music/art. Love this album
I adore this album. The Beautiful Days is one of my favourite tracks. The constant repetition of 'It's a beautiful day a sunny day' over the unsettling instrumental and then the contrast with the man at the end. It's really unsettling.
bradley is going to be happy to see this
Brad taste in music shaking in his boots
Absolutely
shaking his boots live on stream lmao
my favorite swans album. red velvet corridor, prisoner in your skull, helpless child, the sound, blood section, live through me, animus, how they suffer are amazing
In my top 5 favorite albums oat alongside Godbluff, Pure Comedy, Selling England By The Pound, and Joes Garage.
Helpless Child and The Sound are some of the best songs ever made
OH❗ MY❗ GOD ‼😨 I 🙂 CANNOT ❌ BELIVE 🤔 THIS ‼‼ I 🙅♂ CANNOT 👎 BELIEVE 😱THIS ‼🤯💥
PSA: NEVER listen to this album before bed.
I tried it once, woke up to "I Love You This Much", and I felt like I was in the middle of a horror movie!
Same experience, worst night I've hard in years lol
Mr. Fantano!!!!! wassuh mayn. I have a request for the classic reviews. Can we get an incubus album? I've always been curious about your opinion of their music. I was a big fan as a kid. Always appreciated their ability to transtion into different soundscapes with each album they dropped. Maybe the early nu metal stuff, or a Morning View review, which was obviously their biggest. Either way, hope to see one in the near future 🙏
anthony could u make a video on how to get into swans music, best album to start of and etc
Flood review when‼️‼️🗣️🗣️⁉️⁉️‼️
Of course swans needed another review of a classic record.
It would be awesome if you did a non-english record, maybe one of the thousands of classics from brazil?
Very nice impression of The Predator at the start of the video, Anthony. I was almost expecting you to kill a Xenomorph at some point during the review.
I hope this double classics week becomes the norm, its been a lot of fun
melon: i dont want to review old swans cause ive covered a lot of their catalog already
also melon: soundtracks for the blind classic review 😃😃
Not complaining tho you should cover their entire discog
One of my favourite albums, so glad to finally have my opinion on it :')
Don’t know if you’ve checked out “En Dormir sin Madrid” yet. It’s a colab album between Argentinian producer Bizarrap and Argentinian rapper Milo J. The tracks are really well composed and Milo’s vocal are pretty good especially considering he’s 16. It’s pretty short though but worth a listen. And the music video on Bizarrap’s channel is also pretty well made.
i'm so happy you affirmed my thoughts on this record. it's not bad at all, but there's clearly a lot of bloat that makes the album jarring here and there and doesn't work to the fullest. it's still a great listen overall though and i feel that everyone should tune into it, if they have the patience. i would personally give it an 8/10. i feel like to be kind is soooooo much better
Anyone else think yum yab killers is the strangest song on this album?
Can't believe he's only just listened to this album now, what a plum
Anthony I’ve been DM-ing you for years asking you to review this. Glad to see you’ve finally done it
Amazing Album🔥 Any chance for an Illinois review this year?
Brad is crying rn, so happy for him
That one guy is going to be so excited.
"The Great Annihilator is one of the best Swans ever" Yeah! *Layne Staley voice*
An absolutely phenomenal album. This and Filth are some of my favorite albums personally. I also agree Great Annihilator is up there too.
BTIM right now is probably like, "Im feeling... a 10. 'Cause I'm feelin' like I'm running
And I'm feelin' like I gotta get away, get away, get away"
I love this album but it really freaks me out... like, it SOUNDS sinister. like the music itself is out to get you. the best way I can describe it, is when I'm listening to this album I feel like I'm being stalked by ... something.
You are.
Pink Floyd, Dj Shadow, Lee Perry, The Beatles, Moody Blues, Crystal Method, Uberzone, Laura C, Janine John, Hans Zimmer, Jamine Winans, REM, White Stripes, Steve Miller, Bjork
fantano, melon, the great, please do the breeders - last splash as a classic review. my associates and I would really truly appreciate it
brad is gonna scream with joy
Brad is crying so hard right now
You should do a tier list of swans projects
I went to see Swans on their To Be Kind tour in 2014. I'm deaf, and got there early to stand in front of the speakers. 3 hour concert, amazing experience. I didn't wear earplugs because tinnitus is like an old friend that can say hello every now and then.
Me today. Saw them last night at Lodge Room, then met a guy in a wheelchair and went back to his tent with him. 😮 I'm deaf.