Spiderland

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Spiderland
Studio album by Slint

Publication
(s)

March 27, 1991

admission

August 1990 - October 1990

Label (s) Touch and Go

Format (s)

CD , LP

Genre (s)

Post-rock
post-hardcore

Title (number)

6th

running time

39:38

occupation

production

Brian Paulson

Studio (s)

River North Records, Chicago , USA

chronology
Tweez
1989 		Spiderland Slint
1994

Spiderland is the second studio album by the American post-rock band Slint . It was released on March 27, 1991 on Touch and Go Records . It includes many dynamic changes as well as singing, whichrangesfrom spoken word to shouting . The lyrics are narrative about distance and alienation. Spiderland was Slint's first release on Touch and Go, but it was also the band's last album.

Although Spiderland didn't get much attention when it was actually released in 1991, it still sold more than 50,000 copies and became a fixture in underground music after Slint broke up. The album is considered a huge influence on many bands in the math rock and post rock genres . Bands like Mogwai or Godspeed You! Black Emperor were referring to this album. It is still considered a favorite for numerous indie rock musicians.

In 2007 Slint performed live again to play songs by Spiderland .

History of origin

Play Slint from Spiderland at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival

Slint was founded in 1987 in Louisville (Kentucky) , consisting of the members of the older punk rock band Squirrel Bait . The original members were Brian McMahan (guitar and vocals), David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford (drums, vocals) and Ethan Buckler (bass guitar). The band's debut album, Tweez , which was produced by Steve Albini , was released on the self-operated label Jennifer Hartman Records and Tapes . The sound of Tweez has been described as a combination of "scratchy guitars, pumping bass tracks and hard, firm drums". Bucker left the band pretty quickly afterwards due to dissatisfaction with the way Albini was produced. He was replaced by Todd Brushear. The band's second release was the instrumental EP Slint , which included a new version of the song Rhoda from the Tweez album. The EP, which was only released in 1994, is seen as a departure from the tweez style towards the new direction of the band.

After the band finished the short promotional tour for Tweez , most of the members went to college. Around this time, McMahan and Walford began writing new songs together. They wrote six new songs that the band practiced in the summer of 1990. Slint joined River North Records in August 1990 to record Spiderland . There were no vocals or lyrics for the album at the time, so they were written in the studio during the recording time. The album's producer, Brian Paulson, was known for his “live” recording technique with decidedly few recording takes. Paulson recalled:

“It was weird while I was producing Spiderland because I remember sitting there and just knew there was something special about this album. I've never heard of it before. I really love that, but it's really fucking strange. "

The recording sessions for Spiderland were difficult for the band members and, according to allmusic, were "intense, traumatic and yet another piece of evidence for the theory that band members had to be briefed during the recording." checked into mental hospital . Walford later referred to these stories in Select magazine , saying, "[We tried] really to be serious about these things, really intense, which made the recording pretty stressful." The recording was completed in four days .

Music and style

The music on Spiderland contains edgy guitar rhythms , dramatically changing dynamic changes and irregular time markings. McMahan's singing style alternates between mumbled spoken word and tense shouting . The texts on Spiderland are often written in a narrative structure. Will Hermes von Spin summed up the sound of the album as "the mid-70s King Crimson who have gone emo : screeching guitar chords and glorious note spinning in weird instrumentals sprinkled with words that are both spoken and sung." Piero Scaruffi drew comparisons from the Spiderland sound to blues and acid rock as well as the slowcore band Codeine .

Breadcrumb Trail

The album opener, Breadcrumb Trail , describes a day at a fair that the singer describes with a clairvoyant. The song contains complex arrangements with sharp transitions. The guitar changes between a clear sounding riff with harmonies in the verse to strong distortion with extremely high notes in the chorus . Danny Eclestone of Mojo declared Breadcrumb Trail as part of the "pantheon of post-hardcore psycho-Slowies" while Drowned In Sound-author Richard Riggs wrote that the " Black Sabbath song can Black Sabbath seems to be the starting point for the reef in the chorus of Breadcrumb Trail , but the 'bluesy' Genudel that follows has nothing to do with Slint's post-hardcore structures. "

Nosferatu Man

Nosferatu Man , the second track, is inspired by the German expressionist silent film Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror (1922). The verse of the song includes a dissonant guitar riff that plays high notes (similar to Breadcrumb Trail ) and a drum beat without a cymbal . The chorus features a distorted guitar and a thrash metal- influenced beat before the song ends with 30 seconds of guitar feedback.

Don, Aman

Walford sings with Don, Aman and plays guitar. Sung in a murmur, the lyrics convey the thoughts of an "isolated soul": before, during and after an evening in a bar. The guitar is pounded. "If played at the correct tempo, [the guitar pattern] would be melodic, but with longer and irregular pauses, they're just a sequence of chords." The song's tempo keeps increasing and then getting loud and distorted until it slows back down to the original tempo.

Washer

Washer , the longest track on the album, consists of a barely audible intro with guitar and cymbals before the rest of the band joins. The song builds up tension right up to the last verse, which is loudly distorted and then followed by a long outro .

For dinner ...

For Dinner ... is an instrumental ambient track. It begins with a quiet section of "seething chords with the occasional rumble of muffled toms and bass drums," then the song revolves around sections of building and decreasing tension. A guitar chord is repeated over and over for the last minute of the song.

Good morning captain

The album's final song, Good Morning Captain , is based on the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge . The song uses a guitar structure with two chords, a “dry, tight riff” and a “jerky” beat. During the recording of the song's final chorus, McMahan felt nauseous from the heavy, tense shouting across the guitar walls. David Peschek of The Guardian compared Good Morning Captain to Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin . He writes that "the extraordinary good morning is Captain Slint's Stairway To Heaven, if it is possible to imagine Stairway to Heaven bleached from all the bombast."

Artwork

A billboard for Slint's performance at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival

The name Spiderland comes from McMahan's younger brother, who said the record would sound "crazy". The black and white album cover, which shows the band members treading water in a lake in an abandoned gravel pit, was shot by Will Oldham . An article in The Stranger newspaper praised the cover for creating a mystical atmosphere around Slint: “Most people saw Slint as just four swimming heads swimming in a gravel pit in Kentucky. Listeners soon thought that the band's sparse black and white cover was like a rune of secrets. ”Chris Gaerig of the Michigan Daily wrote,“ The cover of Slint's masterful Spiderland captured the album's fun- filled fear and violence so precisely it shook it up. It seems as if the group - swimming up to their chins in a lake with morbid smiles - stalking you and lurking in the black and white facade. "

A photo of a spider - shot by Noel Saltzman - is used on the back cover, which reflects the album title. The booklet contains the message:

“Interested female vocalists write 1864 douglas blvd. louisville, ky. 40205 "."

McMahan acknowledged the seriousness of the message and said, “We received a few replies and listened to CDs and tapes. In the end we didn't do anything straight away, so the idea of ​​adding someone to the band somehow became unimportant. ”The message“ this recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl ”(“ This record should be heard on vinyl as a record ”) ) can be found on some CD copies from Spiderland . This reflects Slint's preference for analog audio players.

reception

publication country Award placement
Alternative press United States The 90 greatest albums of the 90s 34
Nude as the News United States The 100 overwhelming albums of the 90s 23
Pitchfork Media United States Top 100 albums of the 90s 34
Melody Maker UK Top 100 albums of all time 55
New Musical Express UK 100 best albums 53
Pitchfork Media United States The 90 greatest albums of the 90s: Redux 12
Spin US 100 greatest albums 1985-2005 94

Spiderland received minimal attention from major music magazines upon release. Steve Albini , producer of the first Slint album Tweez , awarded “ten fucking stars” to the album and wrote: “ Spiderland is a majestic album, subtle and strange, made even more brilliant by its simplicity and subtle dignity. [...] Spiderland is flawless. The dry, unadorned album is so revealing that it sometimes feels like an eavesdropping. Brian McMahan's crystalline guitar and David Pajo's glass, liquid guitar seem to pulsate in the room just behind the listener's nose. The incredibly precise, yet instinctive drumming has the same power and impact as if the drums were in your living room. [...] Play this record and beat yourself if you never got to see it live. "

Later reviews of the album have been generally positive. A review by Dean Carlson of allmusic hailed the album as "one of the most essential and terrifying albums in the post-rock arena," although he described it as "a little overrated". Carlson also criticized McMahan's singing style, saying that it "evokes too often choked compassion rather than sustained compassion." The music critic Robert Christgau gave the album the grade C + and called Slint " art rocker without the courage of their ambitions" and criticized the album's lyrics. Rolling Stone's book , The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , gave the album two and a half stars, while writer Mac Randall liked the album more than Tweez because it was "easier to hear," with "longer and better developed songs." He wrote that the "absenteeism of anything resembling a melody was starting to get on your nerves."

The German magazine spex placed the album at # 76 on the VIVA Zwei list The 100 Records of the Century .

resonance

Although Spiderland was largely ignored initially, the album has received more attention over time. This increase in popularity was based, among other things, on the fact that Good Morning Captain appeared on the soundtrack for the film Kids . The album was sold more than 50,000 times, although Kory Grow of the College Music Journal suspected that the album "inspired countless bands (and therefore fans)" and thus determined sales figures were secondary. Spiderland has become a milestone in indie rock and is considered the earliest trigger of post-rock with albums such as Spirit of Eden or Laughing Stock by Talk Talk , DI Go Pop by Disco Inferno and Soundtracks for the Blind by Swans . David Peschek wrote that the album was the "original text for" what became known as post-rock, a fractured, almost geometrical remeasurement of rock music - snatched from the Dionysian impulses. "Rachel Devine of The List magazine named Spiderland the "disproportionately most successful album in music history".

McMahan reflected the album success:

“We worked really hard on Spiderland . I mean, I really felt a lot more personal about it. I thought it represented it as a human, more musically than Tweez did. And that was it. It seemed that the response from people to us was rather ambivalent when we were still active and playing together. I thought it was fun when the press accepted the album. For an independent release, it had an odd audience and sold on for three or four years after we recorded it; it still sells better than after the actual release. "

Touch and Go founder Corey Rusk said Spiderland “is now like an icon. But when it came out, no one cared! The band broke up around the time it was released, and it really didn't sell that well, nor was much written about it in the year of release. But it was a revolutionary, harrowing record and one of the few events where people only realized the potential later. "

The post rock bands Mogwai , Godspeed You! Black Emperor , Isis and Explosions in the Sky were influenced by Spiderland . Lou Barlow , a member of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh , said of Spiderland , “It went from loud to quiet without sounding grunge or indie rock. It sounded more like a new form of music. ” PJ Harvey named Spiderland as one of her favorite albums, and has also contacted Slint with a request for a new singer. Bob Nastanovich from Pavement and Mark Clifford from Seefeel have also named Spiderland as one of their favorite albums. Spiderland's album cover was recreated by The Shins in the music video for New Slang .

reunion

Although Slint had plans for a promotional tour of Europe, they broke up in 1991. The reasons for this were not made public. Members of the band continued to work in other music projects such as Tortoise , The Breeders , Palace and The For Carnation. Slint teamed up in 2005 for a tour with 18 appearances. Pajo said: "We don't want to be a reunification band that keeps reuniting ... I know that was a good thing." Nevertheless, they reunited in 2007 for a short tour with pieces by Spiderland and as a guest of All Tomorrow's Parties festivals and the Don't Look Back concert series celebrating well-known albums. The tour included a performance at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival and the Primavera Sound Festival McMahan said in an interview at the Pitchfork Music Festival that playing the album live was "pretty cool". "It's a bit slower than on the record, but it's all still there ... You had to get used to it again, review the material and practice."

Track list

  1. Breadcrumb Trail  - 5:55
  2. Nosferatu Man  - 5:35
  3. Don, Aman  - 6:28
  4. Washer  - 8:50
  5. For Dinner ...  - 5:05
  6. Good Morning, Captain  - 7:38

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ " Slint ". Touch and Go Records . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Chris. " Slint - Tweez Review ". Sputnikmusic, April 16, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  3. ↑ " slint> biography ( memento of the original from July 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ". Southern Records . Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.southern.com
  4. ↑ a b c Parker, Chris. " Brian Paulson: Studio aesthetics ( Memento of the original from March 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. " Independent Weekly , February 9, 2004. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.indyweek.com
  5. ↑ allmusic , 2005.
  6. ↑ a b Hermes, Will. "Slint - Spiderland ". Spin . July 2005.
  7. ↑ a b Scaruffi, Piero. " The History of Rock Music. Slint: biography, discography, reviews, links ". Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  8. ↑ a b Maginnis, Tom. " Breadcrumb Trail: Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  9. ^ Eccleston, Danny: Fugazi - Disc of the day . Mojo . Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 1, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mojo4music.com
  10. ↑ a b c Maginnis, Tom. " Nosferatu Man: Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  11. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cmj.com
  12. ↑ a b Maginnis, Tom. " Don, Aman: Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  13. ↑ a b Maginnis, Tom. " Washer: Review ". Allmusic . Written on November 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ a b c Maginnis, Tom. " For Dinner ...: Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  15. ↑ a b Maginnis, Tom. " Good Morning Captain: Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  16. ↑ a b Peschek, David. " Slint, Camber Sands Holiday Center ". The Guardian , February 28, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  17. ^ A b McCarthy, Shannon. " Slint Lyrics and Biography " Musicianguide.com. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  18. ↑ Segal, Dave. " Web of Influence ". The Stranger , March 10, 2005. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  19. ↑ Gaerig, Chris. " Cover Stories ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. " Michigan Daily , September 20, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / media.www.michigandaily.com
  20. ^ (1991) Spiderland by Slint , [CD booklet]. Chicago: Tough & Go (TG64CD).
  21. ↑ Simigis, Antonia. " On the record: Slint  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. " Time Out Chicago , July 12, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.timeout.com  
  22. ↑ Agarwal, Manish. " Review ". Don't Look Back, May 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  23. ↑ Spiderland ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . AcclaimedMusic.net. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.acclaimedmusic.net
  24. ↑ The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s . Rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  25. ↑ Scaruffi, Piero. 23. Slint - Spiderland ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Nude as the News . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nudeasthenews.com
  26. ^ Top Albums of the 90s ( Memento June 4, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). Internet Archive .
  27. ↑ Melody Maker All Time Top 100 Albums - 2000 . Rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  28. ↑ NME's 100 Best Albums . Rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  29. ↑ Petrusich, Amanda. Top 100 Albums of the 1990s: Spiderland . Pitchfork Media , November 17, 2003.
  30. ↑ Albini, Steve . " Spiderland review". Melody Maker , March 30, 1991.
  31. ↑ Carlson, Dean. " Spiderland > Review ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  32. ↑ Christgau, Robert . " Slint ". Village Voice . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  33. ^ Bracket, Nathan and Hoard, Christian (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition . (New York) Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 . p. 744-745
  34. ↑ a b Chen, George. " Spidey Powers ". San Francisco Bay Guardian . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  35. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha. " You Thought I Was Backing Out ". sfj.abstractdynamics.org, July 25, 2005. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  36. ↑ Grow, Kory. " Review: Slint Performs Spiderland in New York ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. " College Music Journal , July 19, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cmj.com
  37. ^ " Post-Rock / Experimental ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  38. ↑ Keefe, Michael. " What is Post-Rock? A Genre Profile ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. " . About.com. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / altmusic.about.com
  39. ↑ Devine, Rachel. " 90s revival ". The List , August 16, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  40. ↑ Model, Josh. " The For Carnation ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. " Milk , April 1996. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.matadorrecords.com
  41. ↑ Crock, Jason. " Interview: Corey Rusk ( Memento January 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )". Pitchfork Media , September 5, 2006. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  42. ↑ Goldberg, Michael Alan. " The Last Time We Reunite (Except for That Next Time)  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. " SF Weekly , July 18, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / bestof.sfweekly.com  
  43. ↑ Irvin, Jim (2001). The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time . (Edinburgh) Mojo Books. ISBN 1-84195-067-X . p. 640
  44. ^ Blandford, James R. (2004). PJ Harvey: Siren Rising . (London) Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-433-0 . p. 37
  45. ↑ Jovanovic, Rob (2004). Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement . (Boston) Justin, Charles & Co. ISBN 1-932112-07-3 . p. 129
  46. ^ " Favorite Music of our Interview Victims ". Perfect Sound Forever . Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  47. ↑ Mercer, Ben. " The Shins ". Dallas Observer , July 11, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  48. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. " Slint> Biography ". Allmusic . Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  49. ↑ Harrington, Richard. " 'Post-rock' Slint briefly reunites ( Memento of the original from February 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ". The Washington Post , March 18, 2005. Retrieved November 14, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.staugustine.com
  50. ^ " Slint announce more performances of 'Spiderland' ". NME , March 23, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  51. ↑ Solarski, Matthew. " GZA, Slint Join Sonic Youth for Pitchfork Fest Kickoff ( Memento from May 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )". Pitchfork Media , April 20, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  52. ↑ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42492-gza-slint-join-sonic-youth-for-pitchfork-fest-kickoff ( Memento from May 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  53. ↑ Solarski, Matthew. " Slint Rock Spiderland at Primavera Sound Festival ( Memento of March 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )". Pitchfork Media , January 16, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  54. ↑ Thompson, Paul. " Interview: Brian McMahan of Slint ( Memento of July 24, 2007 on the Internet Archive )". Pitchfork Media , July 13, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2010.