― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 23 April 2003 18:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
(the term shoegazing alone annoys me)
― H (Heruy), Wednesday, 23 April 2003 21:20 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Thursday, 24 April 2003 07:50 (twenty-one years ago) link
well the comparison to post-modernism is completely valid, but I don't think that makes it useless. AT best, you could say that post-rock is a way to define a method or a mindframe rather than an actual recognizable signature sound. Maybe in that case the term cannot qualify as a "genre" but I'm happy with that. As with post-modernism, some guys reached the conclusion that there was really nowhere/nothing to look ahead and therefore started to look sideways (or in many cases looking behind). In other words, as with most other art forms, a general consensus emerged at some point in the 90s around the idea that linear musical "progress" was futile and that, to grow, rock had to incorporate approaches from other genres (and here i'm not talking about merely borrowing sounds or production tricks from other styles of popular western music, ie. "adding a dance element to your music")I guess the idea is not that new and that's why some of the post-rock stuff doesn't sound all that fresh (hello Can, jazz-rock, ...) but, hey, I still see a point in having a term for it.oder?
― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Thursday, 24 April 2003 09:09 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:12 (twenty-one years ago) link
― hstencil, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:17 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dzdaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― hstencil, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:36 (twenty-one years ago) link
― arch Ibog (arch Ibog), Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
If "post-rock" exists at all, it exists as a common tendency that is visible in a number of otherwise dissimilar bands of the mid to late 90s: the tendency to downplay certain traditional elements of the rock sound (loud guitars, riffs, blues influence, short songs, emotionally direct lyrics) and to deliberately adopt elements of other genres (tropicalia, jazz, classical, exotica). The bands that went the furthest in this direction are the ones to whom the term applies best (e.g., Tortoise), but for most bands that get tarred with the "post-rock" brush, these tendencies were only one part of a sound that still remained solidly within the confines of a recognizably "rock" style.
― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
You're thinking of Mark Perry on ALternative TV's first album. He has a lot of albums spread out on the floor and they're all fucking great, I think he has Beefheart, van Dyke Parks, Gil Scott Heron, lots of stuff.
― Dadaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
― arch Ibog (arch Ibog), Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus, Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
― arch Ibog (arch Ibog), Thursday, 24 April 2003 14:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
― duane, Thursday, 24 April 2003 15:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
There is no substance to this label (but then again that applies to a lot of labels).
There isn't much substance to the music either.
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 24 April 2003 15:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― original bgm, Thursday, 24 April 2003 16:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus, Friday, 25 April 2003 11:18 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Friday, 25 April 2003 11:31 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 25 April 2003 11:34 (twenty-one years ago) link
I can't stand these historically revisionist inaccuracies! We ALL had capes, but they were strictly for religious ceremonies.
― Sasha Frere-Jones (Sasha Frere-Jones), Friday, 25 April 2003 11:42 (twenty-one years ago) link
what about henry cow? area? 'lark's tongues in aspic'?
― j fail (cenotaph), Friday, 25 April 2003 15:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― M Matos (M Matos), Saturday, 26 April 2003 05:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
I go on the internet a few days later, and apparantly they have SURPASSED rock. Wow.
― David Allen, Saturday, 26 April 2003 05:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Saturday, 26 April 2003 05:46 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 26 April 2003 05:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
Postrock. A relatively new genre which continues to evolve in scope and definition, postrock is a treat to the ears. With bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Rós, Do Make Say Think, and Mogwai at the helm, it has slowly grown in recognition through movie soundtracks. Yes, there's quite a plethora of postrock bands, but is anything necessarily revolutionary, or just a rehash of past ideas brought into contemporary context?
― The JaXoN 5 (JasonD), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 19:28 (nineteen years ago) link
Is this true? ''Very few things are easier to play than adequate post-rock, which is why so damn many bands do it.''
― Daniel, Esq., Tuesday, 20 October 2009 11:38 (fourteen years ago) link
I wouldn't apply it to that album, which I've enjoyed a lot, but it's certainly easy enough to make a tongue-in-cheek post-rock bingo checklist and see it all played out to cringeworthy effect in any number of sub-par uninspiring instrumental bands.
― krakow, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 11:51 (fourteen years ago) link
I would say that statement is pretty true, you do need to attain a certain level of proficiency at your instrument, however once you have, there are a whole mess of songwriting & structural issues that you can completely ignore if you wish.
Play a lot of really vague, noodling open string interweaving guitar with practically no harmonic movement, add occasional noisy guitar effects and some laptop glitch/circuit bent toys for a bit of that modern flavour. If the drummers girlfriend plays violin or cello even better.
Thinking about it Drone music is maybe more applicable to that statement, trouble is both genres are easy and enjoyable to play, hence the surfeit of draggy-arsed post-rock and drone.
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 12:21 (fourteen years ago) link
fearlessTHE MAKING OF POST-ROCKJEANETTE LEECHThe definitive guide to some of the most groundbreaking music of recent decades, from Talk Talk to Slint to Godspeed You Black Emperor.Cover designed by Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis.Published June 6th 2017‘The best thing about the so-called post-rock thing was it had this brief moment where the concept of it was to make music that came from the indie scene but had no limitations.’ KIERAN HEBDEN, FRIDGE/FOUR TET‘There was no earthly reason, no logical reason, no pragmatic reason, to function the way that most bands functioned.’ EFRIM MENUCK, GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR‘The main reason we were coming together to try these songs was as an alternative flavour to being in a rock band. Not to replace that experience, but in addition to it.’ RACHEL GRIMES, RACHEL’S‘We were young and naïve.’ STUART BRAITHWAITE, MOGWAI‘When you don’t know anything, you’re much more fearless about it.’ GRAHAM SUTTON, BARK PSYCHOSISIn 1994, the music critic Simon Reynolds coined a new term: post-rock. It was an attempt to give a narrative to music that used the tools of rock but did something utterly different with it, broadening its scope by fusing elements of punk, dub, electronic music, minimalism, and more into something wholly new.Post-rock is an anti-genre, impossible to fence in. Elevating texture over riff and ambiance over traditional rock hierarchies, its exponents used ideas of space and deconstruction to create music of enormous power. From Slint to Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise to Fridge, Mogwai to Sigur Rós, the pioneers of post-rock are unified by an open-minded ambition that has proven hugely influential on everything from mainstream rock records to Hollywood soundtracks and beyond.Drawing on dozens of new interviews and packed full of stories never before told, fearless explores how the strands of post-rock entwined, frayed, and created one of the most diverse bodies of music ever to huddle under one name.Published June 6th 2017 • 392pp paperback, with dozens of rare imagesJeanette Leech is a writer, researcher, DJ, and music historian who contributes regularly to magazines including fRoots and Shindig!. She also writes extensively in the health and social care fields. Her first book about music, Seasons They Change, a history of acid folk, was widely praised as ‘an engaging celebration of music from the fringes.’ She lives in Canterbury, England.
The definitive guide to some of the most groundbreaking music of recent decades, from Talk Talk to Slint to Godspeed You Black Emperor.Cover designed by Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis.
Published June 6th 2017
‘The best thing about the so-called post-rock thing was it had this brief moment where the concept of it was to make music that came from the indie scene but had no limitations.’ KIERAN HEBDEN, FRIDGE/FOUR TET
‘There was no earthly reason, no logical reason, no pragmatic reason, to function the way that most bands functioned.’ EFRIM MENUCK, GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR
‘The main reason we were coming together to try these songs was as an alternative flavour to being in a rock band. Not to replace that experience, but in addition to it.’ RACHEL GRIMES, RACHEL’S
‘We were young and naïve.’ STUART BRAITHWAITE, MOGWAI
‘When you don’t know anything, you’re much more fearless about it.’ GRAHAM SUTTON, BARK PSYCHOSIS
In 1994, the music critic Simon Reynolds coined a new term: post-rock. It was an attempt to give a narrative to music that used the tools of rock but did something utterly different with it, broadening its scope by fusing elements of punk, dub, electronic music, minimalism, and more into something wholly new.
Post-rock is an anti-genre, impossible to fence in. Elevating texture over riff and ambiance over traditional rock hierarchies, its exponents used ideas of space and deconstruction to create music of enormous power. From Slint to Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise to Fridge, Mogwai to Sigur Rós, the pioneers of post-rock are unified by an open-minded ambition that has proven hugely influential on everything from mainstream rock records to Hollywood soundtracks and beyond.
Drawing on dozens of new interviews and packed full of stories never before told, fearless explores how the strands of post-rock entwined, frayed, and created one of the most diverse bodies of music ever to huddle under one name.
Published June 6th 2017 • 392pp paperback, with dozens of rare images
Jeanette Leech is a writer, researcher, DJ, and music historian who contributes regularly to magazines including fRoots and Shindig!. She also writes extensively in the health and social care fields. Her first book about music, Seasons They Change, a history of acid folk, was widely praised as ‘an engaging celebration of music from the fringes.’ She lives in Canterbury, England.
― heaven parker (anagram), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:11 (seven years ago) link
I'll definitely pick that one up. Curious where she ends, on what subset of bands.
― On Some Faraday Beach (Le Bateau Ivre), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 13:15 (seven years ago) link
seasons they change is dope
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 5 April 2017 14:33 (seven years ago) link
And here's an excerpt from the book. Great read
http://thequietus.com/articles/22977-post-rock-fearless-tortoise-bastro-gastr-del-sol-book-review
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 17:41 (six years ago) link
Funny how TNT was perceived - also by McEntire - as a 'difficult' album to get into. It had an immediate 'swing' to it, sounding way more organic than anything they ever did.
The excerpt certainly selling the book, can't wait to read it.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 18:46 (six years ago) link
Which is crazy considering they recorded it one part at a time (was reminded of this in McEntire's Trap Set interview recently).
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 8 August 2017 18:53 (six years ago) link
By the artists quoted/cited in that books' promo blurb above and this thread generally, "post-rock" houses some of the few "rock" acts from the 90s I still really like (Tortoise, Stereolab, Rachel's, Talk Talk, Slint, that Louisville/Chicago spectrum generally) and the stuff I still viscerally feel annoyed at ever having to hear back then (Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Sigur Ros).
I wonder if the divide is between people who listened broadly to music, and then made music informed by eclectic tastes; vs. those who thought they were "post" everything without ever listening to almost anything, such that they just made boring epic rehashes of Universe Zero and Crispy Ambulance and Savage Republic kind of stuff and thought they'd reinvented rock music because they didn't have a singer?
― Soundslike, Wednesday, 9 August 2017 02:42 (six years ago) link
Is Storm Static Sleep by Jack Schuter any good? Anybody read it?
― Stevolende, Wednesday, 9 August 2017 12:33 (six years ago) link
McEntire is such a douche and Doug is so cool
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 9 August 2017 13:53 (six years ago) link
Reading Fearless now, unexpected appearance of The Police in the first chapter
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Friday, 11 August 2017 02:19 (six years ago) link
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, August 8, 2017 1:46 PM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
That is weird. I remember friends trying to sell me on Tortoise and I just didn't really *get it* until TNT. Then I went back and listened to the first two records and they made sense to me.
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Sunday, 13 August 2017 02:47 (six years ago) link
Very much enjoying this, am gathering vast playlist of stuff to listen to as I go
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Sunday, 13 August 2017 09:59 (six years ago) link
q: what do you call a group of post-rock lawyers?
― reggie (qualmsley), Sunday, 13 August 2017 13:40 (six years ago) link
a: the torteoisie
i'm here all week, folks
In the words of James Murphy I was there, so curious what I might get out of a book like this. At the time, I just thought a lot of the groups were kind of proggy and really into Morricone, which was fine with me. I really wished Tortoise, full of jazzbos with good chops, improvised more. But Gastr, I thought what they were up to was totally different. Same, obviously, with bands like Sea and Cake. It's kind of like the CBGB scene, when every band was branded Punk but no two bands sounded remotely similar.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 13 August 2017 13:54 (six years ago) link
That Jack Schuter book Storm Static Sleep is an earlier book on the history of post-rock that I've had turn up on Amazon recommend searches several times.I think it's been out for a few years so I thought at least somebody on a post-rock thread might have come across it.I don't think there are an abundance of books on the subject.So has anybody here actually read it?
― Stevolende, Sunday, 13 August 2017 14:06 (six years ago) link