F♯ A♯ ∞

I wrote another essay for my class lol. Final essay, its definitely not as good as the first one but I still want to put it here.

Jason Trumbo
MUS307
Prof. Hudde
12/13/24
F♯ A♯ ∞, Its potency, And its Lack of Lyrics
Imagine being able to tell a story without saying a single word, and being able to create a world charged with intense emotions and visceral visuals. Only a few people can do that, it's arguably an impossible task for traditional means. However, only some can tell this kind of story. “Godspeed You! Black Emperor” is a band that can turn music into a story while having no lyrics throughout many tracks. F♯ A♯ ∞ is the most mysterious album I've ever heard, one of complete darkness that envelopes you completely. A story only told through spoken word and symphony. This story is told through the titles, field recordings, documents included with the physical media, and most importantly the music. You would be hard-pressed to find any of the band members singing over this massive project, let alone the entire discography. Started by orphan Effrim Maneuk, GY!BE is a masterclass act of drone, post-rock, and creating luscious soundscapes that can draw the listener in and tell a compelling audio story, one that is hardly rivaled by those with even the most imaginative lyrics. Often, saying nothing in a song is as important to conveying its message as its lyrical content.
Efrin Maneuk comes from a very low-income area in Canada, growing up in poverty and in an orphanage. He grew frustrated at the world for casting him down into this, as is the unlucky roll of the dice in this unfair world. “I was homeless, broke, and fucked up, and everyone I knew was homeless, broke, and fucked up. That was when everything clicked in my head. I realized the world was unjust, that the game was rigged.”. He initially channels this frustration through filmmaking, in which some snippets of dialogue can be heard at the beginning of “The Dead Flag Blues”. This didn't end up going anywhere however so he turned to music. Making his first tape “all lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling” a solo debut under the name Godspeed You! Black Emperor. A project that was released only on cassette to the people closest to him, it got leaked onto the Internet a few years ago for the world to hear. Initially supposed to be a one-and-done project he teamed up with fellow orphanage friends Mike Moya, Mauro Pezzente, and a few others. Together they created what Efrim thought would be a small project to finalize GY!BE and Efrims run with music. It didn't work out that way for him, finding massive success in niche circles. Later going on to create many more projects, even releasing an amazing album this year covering the tragedy of Gaza and Palestine. Done effectively and tactfully while only providing context through the titles of songs and projects. F♯ A♯ ∞ is no different; it is tactfully done throughout the entire thing, with just the right amount of contextual additions to the music to draw the listener in.
“The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel. And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides, and a dark wind blows. The government is corrupt, and were all on so many drugs with the radio on and the curtains drawn. We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death. The sun has fallen down, and the billboards are all leering, and the flags are all dead at the top of their poles. It went like this, the building toppled in on themselves, mothers clutching babies, picking through the rubble, and pulled out their hair. The skyline was beautiful on fire, all twisted metal stretching upwards. Everything was washed in a thin orange haze. I said kiss me you're beautiful, as these are truly the last days. You grabbed my hand, and we fell into it, like a daydream or a fever. We woke up one morning and fell a little further down. For sure it's the Valley of Death, I open up my wallet, and it’s full of blood.” The Story of F♯ A♯ ∞ is one of the end of the world, in a quite literal sense. The apocalypse has begun, and there is nothing but the slightest tinge of hope that causes us to move forward through the fire. The quote is from the song, a prologue to provide a little context to the world of the GY!BE gives us a peek into it. A dark and corrupt world that's on the verge of crumbling. This is added to by the music. Two things to take from the music’s sound are despair and hope. When listening to this album or any GYBE project you hear this underlying message of hope for things to get better. This message is covered by the most dooming and depressing sound that the genre has to offer. Long winding deep drones, rising and falling action, abstract sounds, and playing, all of these add to the sound of this album. The atmosphere that they create on the project is akin to watching the world burn. There is so much detail within the tracks as well, as it's possible to find stuff that's never been heard before even on the 5th or 6th listen. You just think to yourself, how did they come up with something like this? Where does this frustration and darkness come from? That is what GYBE is trying to portray in their music. Frustration at the world, all in the hope it gets better, done best through the sound of the music. One thing to also note is how long the songs are, not a single track on this 3 song LP is under 15 minutes. This is important to take note of as well, as every track is composed of multiple tracks. This is intentional, as each song tells a separate story in the whole narrative of the album. The album ends with a locked groove on the vinyl, which is important for the message of the album as well. Similar to the ouroboros, the snake that devours itself, the album goes on for theoretical infinity. Which in itself is extremely important, given how we are often told that history repeats itself in ways that we are not always aware of. This album has no finality to it, there is no traditional ending to the album. Just like there is no end to human suffering on this planet, but just like the main message of the band, it's still important to hold out hope.
Let's answer our question that pertains to the topic. Do you as the viewer and consumer of art need to be told what to think? No, one of the beautiful things about art is the interpretation of it on an individual basis. How something makes you feel is entirely different from how it may make someone else feel. That in itself is special, giving us our individuality. Yes, having lyrics in music is one of the special things about it for many people, as it can create a world for the listener to occupy. Often lyrics are the backbone of songs, which in some cases can be to the detriment of the song. As for many singer-songwriters, it is lyrics first, music second, screaming out to the void for those who are willing to listen. However GY!BE does this differently. The potency of no sung lyrical content in the music is important, especially for retention and absorption of the media. The way you get sucked into the musical world that GYBE envelopes around you is arguably down to the lack of singing. It brings us back to a youth-like wonder and awe in what our brain is showing us when we listen to the music. We can subconsciously understand what is trying to be put across without being told directly. The criticism of government, companies, and even individuals is understood most through the music and its exposition. There is an ambiance and space that is created that is filled with our ideas and feelings, guided masterfully by the band. Something to also note about the band is their live shows. As they are always aided with a projector, however unlike most bands there is significance and relevance to how they use their visuals. To start off every show they have a tradition known as the 'hope drone’, which is supplemented by the word hope flashing onto the wall with very rough text. This drone acts as a grounding message to all who are listening. Even with all the hell on earth, and all the rough times and evil people that are in the world, they are telling us to hold out hope. The tone is dark, with a heavily distorted whirlwind of sounds coursing through the music. Contrast this is Effrim on the guitar with his off-rhythm picking of a heavily distorted guitar. It cuts through the darkness that is created by the band, similar to how hope cuts through the darkness for many. It's the thing I love most about GY!BE, having the ability to create such visceral and emotional music without saying a word.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor makes music for those who need not be told what to think. But for those who want to question and critique the world around them. They provide a perspective not often seen in modern music, a classical rendition of societal issues that affect all of us whether we know it or not. It couldn't be done as effectively without the brilliance of the music, and the world GYBE can put you in without you realizing it. It's a sound that is completely indescribable in how it makes you feel, being put in trance while being completely focused on what the band is saying. While each song starts with a spoken part, I believe it is important context and detail that GY!BE deliberately adds without overwhelming the listener with both the sound and lyrics. Diving into the lore and significance of each track is up to the individual, and enveloping themselves in the world even more. They create a potent and beautiful sound that says so much without really saying much at all.

Bibliography
Leech, Jeanette. Fearless: The Making of Post-Rock. Jawbone Press, 2017.

“Godspeed You! Black Emperor: ‘You Make Music for the King and His Court, or for the Serfs Outside the Walls.’” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Oct. 2012, www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/11/godspeed-you-black-emperor-interview.

“Efrim Menuck on... Fatherhood, Tape Trading, Punk Rock Politicking and the Paralyzing Power of Fear - Self-Titled.” Self, 24 Feb. 2015, www.self-titledmag.com/interview-efrim-menuck-on-fatherhood-tape-trading-punk-rock-politicking-and-the-paralyzing-power-of-fear/.

Inner Contents of F♯ A♯ ∞ Physical Release. Constellation Records, https://cstrecords.com/products/godspeed-you-black-emperor-f-a-1995-1997?srsltid=AfmBOorZc1L5Gkekw1XlDRRGAz79UJLT1rik8pBwRGDGaw-nTBBuHCkA. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

Carpenter, Lorraine. “Interview in Amazeine, August 1998.” Dead Metheny - Interview in Amazeine, 12 Nov. 2002, brainwashed.com/godspeed/deadmetheney/interviews/amazeine.htm.