Antennas To Heaven
When Mono rolled through town a couple weeks ago I became acutely aware of the fact that I hadn’t really listened to a lot of “post-rock” (or whatever you want to call it) in ages. I didn’t end up going to see Mono but I did seem to make an unconscious decision to see if the post-rock genre still held some of the magic it did for me about seven years ago. This little musical journey led to, inevitably, Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Godspeed remain a band I love, despite the fact that I haven’t listened to them all that much recently (mostly due to the fact that the band announced an indefinite hiatus in 2003). I’m a fan of A Silver Mount Zion but I still can’t mentally get around the idea that ASMZ aren’t just a side-project (in fact, they’ve released more records than GY!BE) no matter how much I love This Is Our Punk Rock.
I miss the impact that a new Godspeed record had. Despite being a band that played instrumental music, the collective managed to say more about the state of the world with their overpowering music, striking images, and DIY attitude than nearly any other public figure. Every now and then I turn on the news and think that Godspeed should be providing some sort of soundtrack to the chaos I’m seeing. Put bluntly: I miss them.
All this led to a craving for unheard Godspeed stuff…which pretty much left me with live shows. Luckily, lots of them are available here if you want to check them out. These mp3s all come from shows on that site.
Download:
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Albanian (live 2003-03-27)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – The Sad Mafioso (live 2003-03-27)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Tiny Silver Hammers (live 2001-09-28)
Hopefully one of the annual “Godspeed seen in recording studio” rumours comes true. We miss you.
