Number 53: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Release: October 9th, 2000
Genre: Post Rock
Favorite Tracks: Storm, Static, Sleep
Where I heard it:
Like several great personal music discoveries of mine, Godspeed You! Black Emperor came very suddenly and unexpectedly into my life around late 2015. I barely remember mindlessly browsing a Reddit thread that wasn't even music related, when someone made reference to the spoken word opening of The Dead Flag Blues by GY!BE. Curious, I clicked the link to check it out, and ended up staying for the entirety of the song's sixteen minute runtime. I was moved by the drama of its mysterious monologue, and couldn't help but be subsequently pulled in by the band's eloquent storytelling through song. To be honest, I don't think I'd heard experimental music quite like GY!BE in anything other than modern avant-garde classical works. I was certain that The Dead Flag Blues' residing album F#A#∞ was a slam dunk to make this list, but I took a closer listen GY!BE's proceeding album Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven just to be sure of my decision. In comparison, F#A#∞ just feels too desolate and ambiguous to me when compared to the artistic vision of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. In another stunning album upset, I present to you my observations.
And when you penetrate to the most high God
You will believe you are mad
You will believe you've gone insane
But I tell you, if you follow the secret window
And you die to the ego nature
You will penetrate this darkness
Oh yes, there's many a man or woman
That's been put in the insane asylum
When this has happened to them
And they're sitting they're today
People think they're insane
But they saw something that's real
And they see it when they're on drugs
~ Static
What to expect:
Named after a 1976 Japanese documentary on biker gangs, Godspeed You! Black Emperor is comprised of ten members that include the entire standard violin family, two drummers, and a film director. Additionally, the band contains pieces for a typical rock band, sans for a vocalist. Each member plays a vital role in shaping the meticulous structure of their second album Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. Like a fine orchestral arrangement, the combination of specific instruments help emphasize a song's tone during a particular passage, while others may go several minutes waiting for their dramatic entrance. Over the course of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, you might hear anywhere between three to seven movements of varying lengths within four mammoth productions, all of which create a unique atmosphere of dissonant amalgam and powerful emotion. The lengthy song times gradually allow the music to slowly burn its fuse, passing a phrase all around the band before igniting at its cacophonous climax. These explosions can come in the form of the album's opener Storm during its beginning portion Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven..., which crescendos into a majestic march that fades into my favorite part of the album Gathering Storm. More often, GY!BE favor eerie, atonal segments of noise that proliferate towards total madness, much like Static's first two movements Terrible Canyons of Static and Atomic Clock. Each portion sets the scene with appropriate musical accompaniment, as well as the occasional voice sample like in Sleep that provides context to a track's overall concept. Although its themes are vague with the music alone, the album's liner notes come with artwork and photographs as a visual aid, establishing a story arc to follow along to. Furthermore, live shows from GY!BE will project short films behind the band that channel feelings of anarchy and rebellion. The stories weaved through each selection on Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven are captivating and intricate through methods unlike any instrumental music I've heard before.
They called it the playground of the world over here
When I was very small, I even got lost in Coney Island
But they found me on the beach
And we used to sleep on the beach here, sleep overnight
They don't do that anymore
Things changed, you see
They don't sleep anymore on the beach
~ Sleep
Why it's my favorite:
I was fortunate enough to catch a live performance from GY!BE back in 2015. Their enthralling stage presence fascinated me, watching the members collaborate with each other in real time to improvise new parts within songs. I have a terrible habit of executing deep dives on bands after I see their show, and GY!BE was no exception. Witnessing the band beforehand strengthened my appreciation for all the moving parts that it takes to develop the long-form style of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. GY!BE as a whole perceives the format of music as art without sounding overly contrived or vain. Their material explores the spectrum between minimalism and extremism, seamlessly transitioning between the two with deliberant delicacy. The range of emotions achieved within the album's hour and a half runtime feels akin to that of a feature film, which GY!BE sound perfectly tailored for. Albums like Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven preserve the magic of devoting your full attention towards an artist's full work. This album will always remain one of the most engrossing listening experiences for me to listen through.
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