"The Sound They Make At Night" - GROUPER - A|A (Dream Loss / Alien Observer) POLL

MOON IS SHARP

"Vapor Trails" has always been my favorite, tho I didn't vote for it this time, it's definitely a more accomplished and expansive piece than "Atone." The first side of Alien Observer is in my bones.

I love both albums but I have *no idea* what the songs are called. For some reason this happens more often w/ me and Grouper.

there are maybe five Grouper songs I know the title of and none of them are on these albums but I still love them

The songs on Alien Observer are much more traditionally structured & founded on recognizable melodic motifs & phrases, whereas the songs on Dream Loss are a little more amorphous & harder to grasp, although “A Lie” breaks that trend & works as a perfect transition into Alien Observer.

this write-up of a 2009 show is really obnoxious but it does contain maybe the best description of A|A era Grouper I've ever come across: "4am in the middle of fucking nowhere."

http://78.media.tumblr.com/f4010b156198a5d9d69aca3aab0d0ee8/tumblr_ojqkivsFSl1qf2ic8o7_r1_1280.jpg

voted come softly bc it is v lovely and kind but i mean these are all my children m/l

gonna take a spaceship...

My boy, for years, woke frequently in the night; I'd go in and lie with him while he (slowly, very slowly) found his way back to the safety of sleep. This was often what I listened to. She's the soundtrack to those threshold consciousness states for me. A mystic of the night's narrow hours. I'm with Bateau in that I have no idea what the songs are called.

The AIA records taught me something fundamentally new about music. Don't make me choose.

but you must

imo Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill is still her masterpiece though. It has more of a human touch to all of its songs, which I guess i prefer over AIA's otherworldliness (it's still amazing though)

also I didn't vote for it but props to anyone who votes for the devastatingly quiet Come Softly

Come Softly

dream loss helped temporarily suspend a bad mood swing last night, so thanks grouper

my vote's for "no other," which is pure suspension

that and "wind return" are the only tracks on A|A that are still formless and unrecognizable to me- I couldn't recall a melody for those, unlike all the others. but that took a looong time

i haaate to do this but the best thing i ever read on "moon is sharp" was from piero scaruffi, who described it as "a slow-motion remix of Enya fronting the Cowboy Junkies in a cover of Blue Moon." still my favorite grouper track to just immerse myself in

wow i totally forgot piero scaruffi was a thing

lol you're not missing much

Don't remember where I read it (maybe a Paul Clipson obit), but Liz Harris curated or was part of some festival a few years ago where she played a programmed an evening of other media, anyway the movie she picked to show was Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Double Life of Véronique. I finally watched it tonight & even more than the Three Colors trilogy this was so close & so evocative of Grouper and this album in particular.

Devastating version of 'I Saw a Ray' at the end of this live set from last fall: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F460766655&show_artwork=true&dnt=1&secret_token=s-tHR28

I've been waiting

for you to

come gently

to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Btd9qL68A

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

all i am i am is a lie

As feels appropriate for Grouper, I have only a vague feeling that I participated in this poll but I can’t recall if I did, or what I voted for.

love these but I like the mirroring record a bit more, love the clarity in the recording and how their voices work together. it’s structured just like alien observer, almost feels like a do-over for that record kinda

I ended up voting for Come Softly but I still don't really feel like I know any of these as individual tracks very well

I adore these AIA records so much but as was said above I don't know which tracks are which. I honestly don't even really know which of the 4 slabs of vinyl are which anymore. There aren't any titles except on the little pieces of paper that came with - I'm a little too wasted to see if they're there still. I love this music. It's so pretty and so special.

here's "Dragging the Streets," the first song from Dream Loss - just caught it the other day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htq_8TMCg1s

that clip reminds me that the chicago show i recently saw featured one of the best ever crowds i've ever been a part of. there were a couple hundred there, at least, and it was as quiet as a mouse the entire time. the crowd is incredibly quiet in the clip above and it sounds like a house party compared to the one i went to; it was amazing

She loves me that way is her best song yet 0 votes. Crazy world.