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Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven | 
| Artist: Godspeed You Black Emperor
Label: Kranky
Category: Music
List Price: £14.99
Buy New: £10.08
You Save: £4.91 (33%)
New (7) Used (2) from £8.99
Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 7979
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.8 x 0.2
UPC: 718751972827
EAN: 0718751972827
ASIN: B00004ZBMO
Release Date: December 1, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven/Gathering Storm/Il Pleut A Mourir/Clatters Like Worry/W | | • | Terrible Canyons Of Static/Atomic Clock/Chart #3/World Police And Friendly Fire/Buildings They Are S |
Disc 2
| • | Murray Ostril: They Don't Sleep Anymore On The Beach/Mo nheim/Broken Windows Locks Of Love Part III | | • | Moya Sing 'Baby O'/Edgy Swingset Acid/Glockenspiel Duet Recorded On A Campsite In Rhinebec |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
With no vocals (the closest they get is spoken word samples) God Speed You Black Emperor let the music speak for itself. The two CDs which make up Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven divide into four compositions (each about 20 minutes long) that see a continuation of GSYBE's orchestral exploration of space rock, utilising instruments such as violins, cellos and French horns along with the rock standard guitars. These are used to create richly woven and layered music which rises into dramatic crescendos and--when combined with subtle percussion and feedback--falls back into ambient soundscapes. This enables God Speed You Black Emperor's music to have a narrative, cinematic feel as it moves between intense emotions like anxiety, loneliness and anger, often within a single track. For some this is a weakness in Lift Your Skinny Fists..., making it more fragmented than Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada--it is clear GSYBE are trying to say something, its just not clear what. For others however, this is their beauty. --Caroline Butler
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| Customer Reviews: Read 32 more reviews...
 Very slight music with some originality July 30, 2007
5 out of 15 found this review helpful
This music is generally catorised as "post rock"; in fact it has nothing to do with rock. From a theory perspective this is music which explores the concept of "less is more" - it's a kind of minimalism that is exploring similar ground to many modern classical composers who have pared music down to a few key components and frequently dispense with rhythm, melody and other conventions of music. There is a strand in modern classical music referred to as "sacred minimalism" which seeks to make this approach listenable and take it beyond the fringe of pure creativity. I think that this is where GYBE is probing.
For me - and having auditioned this music on numerous occasions - this production fails on all counts; there is simply so little content that the music disappears. Clearly music doesn't have to be all about noise, vocals and chord progressions; the pared down minimalism of Arvo Part, Philip Glass or even John Taverner are vastly preferable to GYBE. Try there instead.
 Amazing February 7, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Probably the most moving album I have ever heard, the four tracks are like quarters of a life in reverse, I thought godspeed are saying the USA are stuck in the third. Such a great album.
Lift Your Fists and Give Thanks for This Band!! February 3, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Godspeed You Black Emperor! enjoy a pre-eminent position in the post-rock field, proved by the fact that the majority of other bands in this genre are compared to them in reviews. Most pale by comparison.
`Lift Your Skinny Fists..' is generally reckoned to the band's defining work and with good reason. The power and gravitas that the nine musicians achieve is simply extraordinary. Your CD player will tell you that there are only four tracks over the two discs, but in reality the work is split into over twelve passages that segue into one other to form an album that needs to be listened to as a whole to be fully appreciated.
Musically, the range and breadth of styles here is dizzying. There are gentle passages of mournful strings, piano and plucked guitars which in the next heartbeat may build to fearsome guitar crescendos. Godspeed You Black Emperor also employ `field recordings'; found sounds and samples of spoken words which are by turns mundane, banal, nostalgic and evangelical. The sense of atmosphere that the band evoke is thrilling, yet the music is also accessible and melodic.
There are few relevant musical reference points here, because the band's large personnel allow them to create an orchestral power that is virtually unique, but I was reminded in places of the equally epic `Soundtracks for the Blind' by Swans. This is most apparent in the pounding drums that cut in towards the end of `Gathering Storm' on the first CD. Godspeed You Black Emperor's use of spoken word samples also owes a debt to Swans in my opinion. If you love this CD and have not heard `Soundtracks for the Blind' do check it out - you will not be disappointed.
Essential stuff for any serious music fan. Five stars well deserved.
 Am I alone? November 10, 2006
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
I just don't get this.
Track 1 Doesn't resolve itself and goes nowhere. Skip the bulk of the track and listen to the last 3 minutes which is interesting in a mild kind of way.
Track 2 Is unlistenable. The most nauseating racket I've ever heard.
Track 3 More sampled voices and found sounds - so what's new? What exactly is so clever about this?
Track 4 Yoiks! A decent track. Interesting and actually MUSICAL. So what was the rest of the album for?
This leaves me cold, and is filed along with "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and "Brain Salad Surgery" to gather dust.
Still if I had a penny for every naff album I've ever bought then I might be able to buy a slap up feed at Mrs Miggins' pie shop.
The Best Of Post Rock June 3, 2006
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
With this album GYBE simply sweep aside the rest of the field. Sprawling over 2 discs, the epic 'Lift Your Skinny Fists...' is a tour-de-force of GYBE's unbelievable ability to create beautiful yet shatteringly powerful `soundscapes'. The wall of sound they have become known for is better than ever, the powerful moments are sure to get your adrenaline pumping and the softer periods are just so touching, they make me feel like a big lumpy sack of uselessness. This album will hit you hard if you let it.
The first track 'Storm' instantly (well, over its 20 minute course) shows what GYBE are all about. The mood changes are simply perfect, the band weave in and out of themes, from beautiful and calming melodies to sinister driving sections. 'Static' is my favourite GYBE song, it takes a while to get going with numerous samples and introductory themes, until it enters its main motif played sinisterly by the strings, gradually building to a full band onslaught that defines crescendo. 'Storm' is a touching piece, once again a great use of sampling, but this piece is a showcase of the fabulous and inventive guitar playing, the sound is quite unlike anything I have ever heard...soaring...wailing...something completely ethereal. The title track is probably my least favourite of the four, but is still a fine piece.
GYBE simply destroys the boundaries. Every piece and every individual movement inside it, is utterly compelling and brutal. If your interested in post rock, or are already a post rock fan but without this (gasp!), then I cannot recommend this enough.
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