A Guide to SWANS

You ignorence of swans are dead is painful

Was hoping you'd talk about beautiful child when talking about children of God but other than that agree 100% with it

Damn, this video is almost as long as a song of theirs!

This video has the length of the Knot by swans

Will you update this video or add some information about the new albums that are going to come?

Nothing nothing nothing was like Cop when it came out; it wasn't like another record on the racks, nor something to be considered as part of a 'discography' or timeline since. It resonated with something 'else' when you saw it on the racks and when you listened to it, and to type any more dents into this so I won't.

I started with Filth & loved it, no clue how

Cool 😎 video 👍 thanks

I find that To Be Kind is one of the best albums ever created.

What an incredible overview of the band.. well done 🔥

I am the person that enjoys The Burning World. Honestly, I find it mesmerizing in its dark acoustic sound, like the music of alt country bands like Those Poor Bastards.
While by no means a great record, and understandably it's not everyone's cup of tea, it's still a necessary album, because I don't think that, without it, the much better received later output would even exist.
It's that off-kilter experimental record in Swans discography, as unorthodox as the rest of their output.

Lol I actually saw a guy with a public castration is a good idea tee in public a few weeks ago

Kinda brilliant that you inadvertently had a white light at the mouth of infinity ;)

Man I hate Jarboe, I skip every track she's the main vocalist on.

Michael Gira gave me an exhausted smile when he signed my copy of the seer and one of my copies of face/off

I had no idea how expensive their discography was! I knew it was huge but you've introduced me to like, five new records I've never heard anyone talk about!

The first time I saw this band live my ears rang for a week, the second time they destroyed the house PA barely 10 minutes into the set. The third time was a truly wonderful evening with an amazing bunch of people and a performance that can only be described as a spiritual experience.

I started with cop cos I love no-wave and noise rock, filth is prolly my most listened to album ever

The 1000 comment

Still waiting for STFTB Deep Cut, Brother

Deep cuts black country new road!!!

Deep cuts: I can't come up with words to describe their music
* Comes up with words describing their music *

I hope you make a living at this. I bought 3 of their Industrial albums when I was super young- like teens/ think I had greed and Time is money and something else. Back in those days- Music was very expensive and you bought what was there- it's not like it is now with amazon/apple Music du jour. I also saw them in concert @ 1st Ave but didn't know much about their earlier albums and couldn't really discern one song from another given the venue. Isn't it amazing the contrast from the musical landscape of old to new- Pre internet= I would've had no idea what they put out, when, lyrics to any songs unless they printed them on an insert in an album I bought/ so you kind of fly blind into groups and you get none of the detail you get now. And if you heard of an album from someone/ but none of the stores in your city had it, guess what? You weren't gonna get either than, lol. Just want to say this is a great video and I plan on watching everyone you make and slowly chewing through all of their content. I kind of have my regulars and barring the occasional one off= just listen to them. Thanks.

Early SWANS was the best ever . Brilliant brutal. I used to torture unwanted guests by playing SWANS very loud.

Filth’s vague heavy metal leanings melded with its no wave angularity and industrial experimentalism makes the record the pioneer of industrial metal, sludge metal, noise metal, art metal, alternative metal, avant-garde metal, grindcore and grunge. Cop aided in pioneering most of those genres, but also pioneered post-metal due to its use of space and texture, strongly influencing bands like Godflesh, Neurosis, The Young Gods, Agalloch, Melvins, Isis, Nirvana, Wolves in the Throne Room and many, many more. Children of God also helped create the post-metal genre and also pioneered post-rock, gothic metal, folk metal and chamber metal. And finally, The Burning World helped pioneer gothic country.

So few bands can boast such a vast array of innovations. Game-changing is an understatement.

Yes

Soundtracks is such an amazing record. I feel like it’s one of the better examples of truly well done experimental music. It’s kind of hard to find imo.

EN live was the first time I learned to appreciate earplugs for live shows.

This video is less than 3 minutes longer than The Beggar Lover (Three)

As Anthony Fantano said, The Seer, To Be Kind and The Glowing Man might be the best album trilogy of all time

Man this is some amazing shit!

Discovered the Swans because I was a joy division fan and they covered Love Will Tear Us Apart. While I never found that single at record stores back then in 1987, I stumbled into the “Burning World” album and became hooked. “Saved” is probably my all time favorite Swans song (Love Will Tear Us Apart wasn’t on the Burning World album I bought back then). White Mouth From the Light of Infinity and Love of Life came a few years later and both were my favorite albums around that time. After that, none of their subsequent albums did much.

The first two albums were boring. Hard to believe they were the same band.

Children of God Is the best album, no discussion needed. And Swans is best with Jarboe. Sad you did not live at the time yet.

the WHITE LIGHT looks cool

What a fantastic review!

Love Swans. Michael is great. Showed one of my friends, in Finland, the early concerts. He said :" Singer looks like he came of a sauna, after doing 30hours work days in a row." :D With the towel and everything.

Did Swans go through a slightly more gothic sound at some point in their career, like late 80s to early 90s?

People always shit on Burning World but i think it's great. It also marks that movement into my favorite era of swans

Loved this review. Rest in peace Mimi Parker 🕊️

This is a band that REALLY challenges and I just love them for it. Honestly Oxbow is the closest band I've heard reach towards that unapproachable sound you almost have to suffer through, but it's very rewarding music that sticks with you.

I'm only scratching the surface on Swans, Great Annihilator being the only album I've heard all the way through, but man that was the one that clicked for me, and now I have a launch pad to explore their other albums from.

Why are you so itchy? xD

Swans suck, really. Wheatus are a way better band. Wheatus.

not quite nelly,
not quite meek melle, not quite melle melle, not quite relle aka orell.
Not quite, kemosabe.

Voy a usar toda mi capacidad mental para entender un idioma que hablo como la mierda

Stoner rock of KISS

Saw them live, it was a religious experience

Filth was the first Swans album I heard and I was enamored with it. I was obsessed with Stay Here. Eventually I found To Be Kind and was shocked at how different it was compared to Filth. Now, I couldn't even tell you which one I like more. There's still so many songs I haven't heard but I'm still stuck on the same ones and will probably be for a little while longer.

Strange that you chose not to mention the reprise of Blackmail on Children of God - a stand out track from a desert island disk.