Gira is a true intellectual. He did a lot of, shitty, drugs and didn't really have an education...and yet when he talks, he just has this way with his words that he truly knows what he is doing and that he strongly believes in what he is doing.
I don't understand why some are calling him "arrogant". He just stated that he doesn't have a sentimental attachment to Ian or his work, he just wanted to cover that song.
He did have a reputation of being hard to interview. I heard in the 90ies he hit a record company guy and wasn't allowed to play in Belgium for 5 years, don't know if it's true
Thanks heaps for posting this. Not many Gira/Swans interviews from the early days are floating around here, so I was really happy to find this. Cheers.
listened to punk and indusstrial and weird music my whole life, but shrugged off swans a long time ago maybe because i heard a slow one... and never bothered again until recently. i don't think that kind of oversight has ever happened to me before. great band with catchy songs also.
Let's be honest with ourselves... Gira probably saw A LOT of "poseurs" attached to Ian Curtis/Joy Division that were only around after Ian killed himself. Gira isn't wrong in what he said. I even saw it as well with MY friends growing up. They all wore Ian's suicide like some badge of honor. Notice how Joy Division's popularity soared after Ian's suicide - that's the definition of romanticizing.
wee poo so i saw this video about a year ago, I love the song (that I now is "love will tear us apart") and your comment helped me find one of my favorite bands of all time (and my sisters)
Kim Clark Champniss from City Limits show on the Much Music(Canadian equivalent of MTV) calling him out on BS at the end. Was Gira's reply at the end supposed to be a joke?. I doubt supermarkets had muzak in the late 80's, or even radio much less playing playing Joy division a band most people would of never heard of. Most people who were into post punk underground or alternative outside of the UK didnt know who joy division was until the mid 2000's or even later
he must have read a lot on all his travellings of the world-MAN,I HAVE READ NECRONOMICON-where theres a warning in the front of the bookurvive,about Reading it....And the Things this Gira is talking/Reading in his books,is way,way,way darker!!!I havent seen anything so full of darkness and horror as this guy is telling in his story of his life-I must say I find this mann facsineting and have respect for his ability to survive!!!!
some type of psychological suggestion of things you may not be able to cope with ive read the Necronomicon supposedly the original text is a collage along with modern book of ancient majick rites but yeah I got to the part where you summon the watcher and never made it past that but that includes I would believe some type of astral projection and the ''watcher'' is there to guard so no other spirit possess your body like a neuro conducter or medium message shell when your detached disembodied spirit is else where in those dimensions
While toddlers were watching Big Bird recite the alphabet, a little boy with the head of a melon was watching this interview. Does anyone know what Anthony is up to these days?
Gotta be honest I love Swans and Michael Gira is a musical genius, but hearing him say "no, a lot of people have this sentiment attached to him cause he hung himself" is really cringe and cocky and embarassing. It's not *because* he hung himself you dope, it's his life story and his lyrics, his baritone voice, everything. That came off so badly, I'm embarassed for him.
Nope, he’s right. It’s like nowadays when pop stars die suddenly people start caring about their music, they start acting like they’ve always been fans, etc. Seems like such a thing goes back many, many years.
He's right. Same thing happened to Kurt Cobain and every other artist that commits suicide, people ignore the struggles of these artists until they die and then suddenly have such an emotional connection to their music. Fake ass bullshit
IMO it's true. People who love Joy Division both for Curtis' talent AND the story both exist, but once you know that Curtis hung himself it's kind of hard to not read that into like, all of their music
gira looks cool. he always has. and i like new mind. but he dismisses Ian Curtis and love will tear us apart when the one idea wonder (gira not Curtis) hasn't wrote a really memorable tune. EVER.
I love both bands. Michael Gira is not slacking off Ian Curtis. I guess their LWTUA cover was a millstone around their neck. I have like 300 Swans items but I still think Joy Division were better.
