When I think of dedication to artwork and not letting execs or critics influence their body of work, one of the best bands that comes to mind besides Radiohead are SWANS. Theres probably an overlap between the two fan bases right?

Yup, I’m in that overlap. Glad to see this thread. Love Swans, honestly haven’t dug into the post-2010 the way I have with the pre-1997ish, but I have listened to almost everything from that time - just not over and over like, say, Soundtracks, or Public Castration. Incredible band, of course.

I've been getting into Swans lately and I like it a lot! I think I'm opposite to previous reply, I didn't tap into early stuff compared to recent. Birthing is really good album, a solid continuation of The Beggar ideas. any recs what I should go with in pre-1997 albums?

15 hours ago, tetheredspirit said:

I've been getting into Swans lately and I like it a lot! I think I'm opposite to previous reply, I didn't tap into early stuff compared to recent. Birthing is really good album, a solid continuation of The Beggar ideas. any recs what I should go with in pre-1997 albums?

Always start with The Great Annihilator

For light(er) stuff, the trifecta of Burning World / White Light / Love of Life is amazing. Soundtracks is too much to digest immediately but it’s arguably their masterpiece; another side of GA/STFB is shown on the live (and incredible) Swans Are Dead. The earlier, punishing stuff (Filth through Children of God) is all amazing and what they’re known for. Don’t miss any of: Filth, Cop, Public Castration, Children of God. That about covers it.

28 minutes ago, thefourthcolour said:

Always start with The Great Annihilator

For light(er) stuff, the trifecta of Burning World / White Light / Love of Life is amazing. Soundtracks is too much to digest immediately but it’s arguably their masterpiece; another side of GA/STFB is shown on the live (and incredible) Swans Are Dead. The earlier, punishing stuff (Filth through Children of God) is all amazing and what they’re known for. Don’t miss any of: Filth, Cop, Public Castration, Children of God. That about covers it.

got it, all noted! what's your fav song if there's one you can name? I listened to The Great Annihilator back in 2020, I think my fav song is Mind / Body / Light / Sound or Blind, it came in Blend playlist one time and I was stunned by its beauty :)

I love M/B/L/S, planning on getting a tattoo for it :)

White Light and Great Annihilator are absolutely the best places to start, and I would also reccomend listening to Swans Are Dead!

2 hours ago, tetheredspirit said:

got it, all noted! what's your fav song if there's one you can name? I listened to The Great Annihilator back in 2020, I think my fav song is Mind / Body / Light / Sound or Blind, it came in Blend playlist one time and I was stunned by its beauty :)

Favorite song on Great Annihilator? Maybe Telepathy. Or M/B/L/S. Overall favorite song? Hard not to pick an obvious one like Helpless Child or The Sound, but throw a dart at the hits from White Light to Soundtracks, honestly.

Blind is amazing, too; created during White Light sessions but held off and included eventually on Drainland (Swans-related project aka Gira solo album), where it belongs IMO. Feels a little random inserted into White Light the way it is on the remaster; additionally, I prefer the original version of White Light, not the variously longer, shorter, different, etc. edits you’ll find on the major streaming services now. But it’s not too big of a deal.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by thefourthcolour

5 hours ago, thefourthcolour said:

Favorite song on Great Annihilator? Maybe Telepathy. Or M/B/L/S. Overall favorite song? Hard not to pick an obvious one like Helpless Child or The Sound, but throw a dart at the hits from White Light to Soundtracks, honestly.

Blind is amazing, too; created during White Light sessions but held off and included eventually on Drainland (Swans-related project aka Gira solo album), where it belongs IMO. Feels a little random inserted into White Light the way it is on the remaster; additionally, I prefer the original version of White Light, not the variously longer, shorter, different, etc. edits you’ll find on the major streaming services now. But it’s not too big of a deal.

I completely forgot that Michael had other projects, I have to check them too!! also thanks for sharing the story how Blind came to life, even when I'm not a big fan (compared to what I'm with Radiohead, you know) I love reading about recording sessions or how particular songs were made