Boards of Canada tells your inner child that it’s okay, that there is no monster in the closet, and that life may suck, but to get past the bumps you must climb them, pass the horrors of emotion to reach the top. And “creepy” songs tell you that life is scary.
I once put on this EP in my car stereo, driving down a mountain road after a lazy afternoon sunbathing with some mates. The sun was low, the light was perfect, the sky so clean. I remember nobody said a word. There was absolutely nothing to say. We must have all felt high, without any dope. I drove as slowly as I possibly could to just prolongue the bliss. When we got back, nobody still said a word. I just put Geoggadi on and drove back up.
@@theshipoffoolsgiven the widespread legality of more potent herbal remedies, I bet they're all giggling in a circle of skunky smelling smoke bobbing heads, legs, knees, hips, etc. with smiles like kids on Christmas morning.
Makes me feel like I'm sitting in the backseat, as a child, staring out the window on a Sunday afternoon (getting closer to when the blinding sun starts to set in; kinda hard to describe that feeling). While staring out into the mountains, where I live, I drown out the sound of my family talking about whatever is on their mind, and I look at the passing cows or horses, and I feel at peace.
+Meowingtons_64 why can't people respond a little more eloquently? I can't begin to explain how upset I get when I'm acknowledged by a one word response such as this. Would it kill you to respond with more than one word? Especially considering the thought and emotion guy put into making his comment, well put by the way.
Rusty Shackleford sorry, I had to go somewhere at the time, so I rushed the comment. I totally agree that if I'd put as much effort, time and emotion into a comment and received a one word reply I would be abit disappointed.
alone? PLEASE! i've been addicted to it ALL through the years. currently "meth" is my thing. and i don't sweat it. i accept it as what it is and enjoy my life. it is easier being retired with no responsibilities though. but i've been a self medicator since 16 years of age and i'm 64 now. and i must say; NO REGRETS.
This kind of old footage always fascinates me in a certain way. People just doing their thing, but a long time ago. What kind of things were they thinking about in their everyday lives? What did their life look like? Where are these people now, or are the dead? Seeing them go about, and knowing the things that they'll encounter in their future life (man on the moon, Vietnam war, the invention of the mobile phone, etc.) feels kind of weird.
I do sometimes think of that. When I see my two young boys running around, playing, I sometimes wonder what they will experience in their future world.
We still will be using old footage after 20 years ahead in time. Only even older, then. Sad thing is that I cannot imagine what will survive as retro from this time. It is really applicable what we meant by wondering what will the future people think of us. We don't go to the moon nor make great things anymore, mostly just shortsighted crap. Still, eternal things survive by definition. What is eternal, then, you'll ask.
@@schumispecial1 Nostalgia for the 50s, 60s and 70s, it's becoming increasingly clear, really is recognition of a kind of golden age and not just a product of the filter of history or idealising the past. Not that there weren't huge problems then too, but in the west at least it was a time of both technological progress, prosperity and equality basically without equal or precedent in human history. Mass production was still allied to great craft and design skill, giving rise to really good quality products that were widely available and affordable. The democratisation of education hugely enriched culture, e.g. with working class kids forming bands based not just on their love of rock 'n' roll, but their readings of Camus, Sartre, Marx, McLuhan etc. And it was all documented on film, one of the most magical and beautiful mediums of all time, now rendered 'obsolete' in our downward rush into the cold dematerialised homogeneity of everything must be digital.
I remember listening to this song a bit over a week ago. I had my eyes closed and the melodies and ambient canvas these two put together brought back the most incredibly vivid memories from my distant, distant childhood. I'm turning 22 in 3 week, I don't know where the time went. The nostalgia and warmth and sadness I felt all at once was so powerful, I cried because of the sheer beauty. And the words being repeated over, and over in this song...must be related to what they experienced as kids, maybe when they moved to Canada at a young age? I mean I know they're referencing the Davidians, but that's it- the sheer peculiarity that is that entire situation. What the people had going through their minds, what they desired, and how wrong it all went. How are we an different in theory? It reminds me of the kind of life I'd like to live (not with the occult lol). Of the power of the possibility we all have to live in our own little worlds and how blown out of proportion our modern countries are. Boards of Canada never fails to impress and inspire me.
You are 22....just you wait how strong those feelings will be once you are over 30 :-). Still nicely written, dear Sir. I wish that you can live your life fully, without regrets but also without intentionally hurting others.
The vocal sample was spoken during a sermon buy George Roden, a bishop for the dividians who was planning to take over for his mother who was the current leader. Bizzarely, he was forced out of the compound later by Koresh, who was having an affair with Roden's mother, and he eventually lead a shootout which drove Roden off the compound. The way I see it, the song is less nostalgic and almost dreadful. It's impossible to know but you can't help but wonder how Koresh lead those dividians into their demise. Koresh was a megalomaniac and horrifically abusive leader- how many people stayed there because they believed it was a holy armageddon, or because the abuse left them little choice? It gives me chills just pondering. 25 children died in the waco siege.
i remember a strange little place outside my 4 year old sensibilities; it was an odd patch of turned up old bricks where someone had tossed a few coins. We found those coins and declared it a place where you find coins and we went many times getting less successful each time.
I wish I knew the place. I'd go there once a week and just dump a bag of coins for the next generation of mystics who will be yearning for fiat currency.
xander j. Everyone experiences a life era where that thought is the most prioitized. But the same faith will commence upon you no matter what What kind of wannabe wiseass do i think i am lol
Not as much hate and personal attacking someone as you :) glad you needed my comment to try justify shown the level of inner hate you disguise as a defence.
Also try early Steve Reich - violin phase, piano phase, Come Out, Clapping Music, etc. And Terry Riley, In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air. Also check out Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds for Baby.
As a Canuck who came of age in the 80s and 90s and was surrounded by sepia-tinged, crackling NFB and CBC film strips hinting at a bygone golden cultural age, I can't help but be flattered and impressed that people overseas recognized its genius as well. As a fan of electronic music, I'm blown away by the artists' ability to render that sense of nostalgia and zeitgeist into rich musical tableaus
I first heard this in my bed as a teenager while listening to some underground Parisian radio station. I was awestruck at it's beautiful intricate simplicity. As of from nature. Our own.
The video is perfectly matched to the music in that there is something sombre and unnerving behind the pleasantness. Like a false sense of security, if you will.
with only one line and a video, I've somehow interpreted Boards of Canada's curiosity with the fascination of the simple life and why people would enjoy it... and how there's something eerie and mind control-esqe about the whole thing
Boards of Canada always leaves me behind with one hell of a nostalgia boost and lots of indescribable emotions , their music isn’t from this planet I’m sure of that .
I love this song. I bought this EP in June 2014 and I was in my final weeks of first year at Uni. In my halls, most if not all people had left for the summer. I listened to this and the music and peaceful vibes on campus made me feel like I was on a non-spiritual retreat.
Still a masterful piece of music, and still as relevant today as it was when I first heard it on MTV over 20 years ago... back when MTV was all about breaking boundaries in music and promoting new & upcoming artists. Miss those days.
it actually makes nostalgic, in a bitter way. So much I could've done, that I didn't. BoC tells me it's alright and I follow that feeling while, at the same time, my thoughts are still on sadness.
I like that the main chord sequence is pretty much the same as that from 'Everything You Do is a Balloon', giving the two pieces an eerie comparability
mallemall012 its just that the real, and the intellectually talented, are hardly recognized in this sick brainwashed society, that's the point of that comment, at least in my mind.
boards of canada is simply the greatest electronic music ever composed. and i listen to everything from dubstep to house music. this music is perfect for anyone
Am I the only one getting a slightly eerie tone from this? "Come out and live in a religious community in a beautiful place out in the country." Sounds a little like Jonestown or maybe just hippies I don't know
I wish BoC would just release an album every week. Every time I hear something by them that I haven't heard before, it makes me wonder why I listen to anything else.
This song invokes so many feelings! These people in the video are oblivious! But they are doing there best, and the Alien is relaying his observation to his superiors! I love it!! Just Beautiful!!
a friend gave this to me on vinyl 10 years ago, i never bothered to read the label that said 45 rpm, i've experienced this at 33 rpm over and over and over, not even knowing it was intended to be heard at 45, until today! I like it at 45 too, extremely gorgeous at 33 though...
I can't imagine listening to this at the wrong speed. It's trippy enough at the RIGHT speed. I thought BOC blew my mind but you just beat them hands down by saying this.
One of my favorites of all time, and always will be. I love listening to BoC whenever I'm creating something, because it puts me into that frame of mind.. into that beautiful place out in the country..
@pimmagrimm I could not agree more,I love going camping in Scotland to remote areas, sitting round the campfire with a few friends with the Boards playing in the background makes me feel more alive than anything.
So ahead of its time, I got into BOC because of adult swim's music & youtube suggestions. When I found out gyroscope in sinister being made by BOC i lost my shit. I couldnt believe some random group I stumbled upon on my own also made a random banger I loved from the getgo. I felt I was meant to listen to BOC & fall into a trance blissful mental state of mind. No one else I know can really resonate with BOC & the feelings & thoughts it provokes within me so I simply bask in the sound on my own when the opportunity arises. So peaceful, so unbothered, its like my past is flashing within the present, like moments in dreams are merging with reality. Like fake memories being mixed with the real ones. Maybe its just me coping, I feel good though.
I met the love of my life when I first started listening to this song :) ... Listening to this song makes me fall in love again and again and again... :)
Whenever I hear Boards of Canada and Messiaen’s music, I remember these quotes by Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, respectively: “There is something going on here in life beyond just a job and a family and two cars in the garage and a career. There is something more going on. There is another side of the coin, that we don’t talk about much. We experience it when there are gaps. When everything is not ordered and perfect, when there’s a gap, you experience this inrush of something. And a lot of people have set off throughout history to find out what that was. Whether it’s Thoreau, whether it’s some Indian mystics, or whatever it might be.” - Steve Jobs "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” - Albert Einstein
Ashley T, I thought the same thing. What's creepy though was that I was watching a CNN documentary called "Escape from Jonestown" at the time. I believe the dialog snippets are from someone talking about the Branch Davidians or something though.
Maghen Hamilton Yep. Hence why I talked about the Branch Davidians. Just saying that the imagery and stuff reminded me of Jonestown too, which Ashley T talked about.
Wow this is really eerie. Makes me think of a small, isolated town where everyone is brainwashed into thinking life is perfect with all happy sunshine and rainbows, and if anyone tries to say otherwise by mentioning war or poverty or some shit they're never heard of again.
Boards of Canada make some of the most beautiful music ears can possibly hope to hear ...One thing I think a lot of people look past is how PERFECT the beats sound ...These guys could be Hip Hop producers in NYC.
BOC has a way of creating a calm, abstracted, distant feeling for me. Their videos remind me of the past, or, like that dayvun cowboy video, of the magnitude of the world; in both cases you become aware of the vastness of time and space compared to yourself and your situation. That's sad, or comforting, depending.
BOC is all about nostalgia in this track and in many other tracks. I especially like this song, even though it makes me sad that it reminds me of the events of April 19, 1993 and April 19, 1995. I used to live halfway between the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before I joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve and moved away. Such sad memories and loss of life. This track also reminds me of how much distrust I have in the U.S. Government.
