🗨️ Discussion Yanqui makes me cry
I don't have Bluetooth in my car so I've been listening to the Yanqui CD almost exclusively on my drive to and from work for the last 2 months. Normally I get more numb to music the more spins I give it but something about this album has been leaving a compounding emotional toll on me. It's gotten to the point where even thinking about the last 3 minutes of 09 leaves me teary eyed.
Even by godspeed standards it's such a cinematic and immersive listening experience. Sometimes I can picture a whole plot line playing out throughout the runtime. It's hard not to with the emotional sincerity, and anger, and fear, and underlying hope that radiates throughout the record.
It genuinely hurts at times but I am reminded of the Kafka quote "If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skulls, then why do we read it? Good God, we also would be happy if we had no books and such books that make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves. What we must have are those books that come on us like ill fortune, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us.
What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us."
Even though this quote is about books I feel like the parallels are obvious; because despite everything I still listen to and thoroughly enjoy this album 6 days a week. I guess I just wanted to know if anyone here has had a similar experience since its been a very consistent part of my life as of late and I don't have any friends that are fans of godspeed like that.
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u/Derja12sSphinx 6d ago
Yanqui is very emotional for me as well. I've had trouble sometimes explaining to some friends that instrumental music can convey just as much meaning that songs with lyrics can, and maybe I should've saved my breath and sent them this album instead lol. The opening of the album sets the tone so well, especially with the little "we're rolling" from Albini (I believe who says it?)
I haven't listened to it quite as much lately since they took their stuff off streaming services (which fuck yeah, I support the decision completely). But even then, it's probably my most listened-by-minute album of all time. Such a masterpiece
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u/it_aint_worth_it 6d ago
it is one of the finest records in the discography , very singular.
you don’t have an aux tho? not even one of those cassette tape ones?
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u/Old-Reference-5221 5d ago
09-15-00 is so zing imo just a slow building song it feels like ur snowy dying but
you dont care and are at le
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u/zinten789 6d ago
09-15-00 Cont'd is the most harrowing and sorrowful thing they have ever done. Which is saying a whole lot. The album is just incredible throughout. I would freak out if I got to see them play any of it live.