Spiderland

Infobox Album
Name = Spiderland
Type = Album
Artist = Slint


Released = March 15, 1991
Recorded = August 1990 – October 1990 at River North Records in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genre = Indie rock
Length = 39:38
Label = Touch and Go
Producer = Brian Paulson
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:43o20r1ac48x link]
*"Melody Maker" rating|10|10 1991
*Robert Christgau (C+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Slint link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|2.5|5 2004
*Piero Scaruffi rating|9|10 [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/slint.html#spider link]
* "Spin" Rating|8|10 1995 [Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.129]
Last album = "Tweez"
(1989)
This album = "Spiderland"
(1991)
Next album = "Slint" (1994)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Back cover
Type = studio


Lower caption = The back cover of "Spiderland", including an image of a spider taken by Noel Saltzman

"Spiderland" is the second studio album by the American indie rock band Slint, released on March 27, 1991 on Touch and Go. Featuring dramatically alternating dynamics and vocals ranging from spoken word to shouting, the album contains narrative lyrics that emphasize alienation. "Spiderland" was Slint's first release on Touch and Go, and the group's last record.

The recording of "Spiderland" in 1990 is often said to have been emotionally demanding for members of Slint. Although "Spiderland" was not widely recognized on its initial release, it eventually sold more than 50,000 copies and became a landmark album in underground music after Slint broke up. The album has been highly influential on the styles of many bands in the post-rock and math rock genres, including Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and has been named a favorite of several indie rock musicians. In 2007, Slint reunited for a tour consisting of performances of "Spiderland" in its entirety.

Context

Slint formed in 1987 in Louisville, Kentucky from the remnants of the punk rock band Squirrel Bait; the founding members included Brian McMahan (guitar, vocals), David Pajo (guitar), Britt Walford (drums), and Ethan Buckler (bass). The band's debut album, the Steve Albini-produced "Tweez", was released on the group's self-owned label Jennifer Hartman Records and Tapes." [http://www.touchandgorecords.com/bands/band.php?id=70 Slint] ". Touch and Go Records. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] The album's sound has been described as a combination of "scratchy guitars, thumping bass lines, and hard hitting drums". [Jackson, Chris. " [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=6290 Slint - "Tweez" Review] ". Sputnikmusic, April 16, 2004. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] Buckler promptly left the band out of dissatisfaction with Albini's production, and was replaced with Todd Brashear. The band's second recording was for the instrumental extended play "Slint", which included a new version of "Rhoda" from "Tweez". The EP, which would not be released until 1994, was a departure from "Tweez"'s sound and reflected the band's new musical direction. [" [http://www.southern.com/southern/band/SLINT/biog.html slint > biography] ". Southern Records. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.]

After the band ended its brief tour in support of "Tweez" most of its members went to college. Around this time McMahan and Walford began writing together for the band's next record, creating six new songs which the band practiced throughout the summer of 1990. Slint entered River North Records in August 1990 to record "Spiderland". At that time there were no vocals or lyrics prepared for the album, so the band wrote them while in the studio. The album's producer, Brian Paulson, was known for his "live" recording style in the studio, with minimal takes.Parker, Chris. " [http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A23657 Brian Paulson: Studio aesthetics] ". "Independent Weekly", February 9, 2005. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] Paulson recalled "It was weird while I was doing ["Spiderland"] because I remember sitting there, and I just knew there was something about it. I've never heard anything like this. I'm really digging this but it's really fucking weird."

The recording sessions for "Spiderland" are reputed to have been difficult for the members of the band and were, according to Allmusic, "intense, traumatic, and one more piece of evidence supporting the theory that band members had to be periodically institutionalized during the completion of the album." Rumors circulated that at least one member of Slint had been checked into a psychiatric hospital. Walford later addressed these stories in an article in "Select" by saying, " [We were] definitely trying to be serious about things, pretty intense, which made recording the album kinda stressful." The recording was completed in four days.

Music

multi-listen item
filename=Breadcrumb Trail - Slint.ogg
title="Breadcrumb Trail"
description=A sample of "Breadcrumb Trail", the opening track from Slint's 1991 album, "Spiderland". This sample contains part of the song's verse, bridge, and chorus.
format=Oggmulti-listen item
filename=Good Morning Captain - Slint.ogg
title="Good Morning, Captain"
description=A sample of "Good Morning, Captain", the sixth track from "Spiderland". This sample contains part of the song's second verse.
format=OggThe music of "Spiderland" is noted for its angular guitar rhythms, dramatically alternating dynamic shifts, and irregular time signatures. McMahan's singing style interchanges between mumbling spoken word and strained shouting. The lyrics of "Spiderland" are often written in a narrative style. Influences on the record included Gang of Four, Black Sabbath, and Sonic Youth. Will Hermes of "Spin" summarized the album's sound as "mid-'70s King Crimson gone emo: screeching guitar chords and gorgeous note-spinning in odd-metered instrumentals speckled with words both spoken and sung".Hermes, Will. "Slint - "Spiderland". "Spin". July 2005.] Piero Scaruffi drew comparisons in "Spiderland"'s sound to the genres of blues and acid rock, as well as the slowcore band Codeine.Scaruffi, Piero. " [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/slint.html The History of Rock Music. Slint: biography, discography, reviews, links] ". Retrieved on November 11, 2007.]

The album's opening track, "Breadcrumb Trail", describes a day spent at a carnival with a fortune-teller. The song features a complex arrangement with sharp transitions, and the guitar fluctuates between a clean-sounding riff with harmonics in the verse to heavy distortion featuring extremely high-pitched notes in the chorus.Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:fvfyxxw5ld6e Breadcrumb Trail: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] "Nosferatu Man", the second track, is inspired by the 1922 German Expressionist silent film "Nosferatu". The song's verse includes a dissonant guitar riff, which uses high-pitched notes similar to those in "Breadcrumb Trail", and a drumbeat based on snare and toms, absent of cymbals. The chorus, featuring "jagged" distorted guitar and a thrash-influence beat, segues into an extended jam before the song ends with 30 seconds of feedback.Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:fvfyxxw5ld6e Nosferatu Man: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.]

"Don, Aman", which features no percussion or drums, contains the thoughts of an "isolated soul" before, after, and during a party at a bar. Almost the entirety of the song's lyrics is spoken. The guitar is strummed in a chord pattern which "if played at the correct tempo, would be melodious, but played with longer and irregular pauses, are only a sequence of chords". The tempo quickens throughout, and then becomes loud and distorted before slowing back to the original tempo.Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:hvfyxxw5ld6e Don, Aman: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] "Washer", the album's longest track, features a "barely audible" intro with guitar and cymbals before the rest of the band comes in. The song builds tension until the final verse, which features loud distortion, and is followed by a lengthy outro.Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:jvfyxxw5ld6e Washer: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.]

"For Dinner..." is an ambient instrumental track.Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=33:kvfyxxw5ld6e For Dinner...: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] Beginning with a quiet section of "brooding chords throb [bing] with the occasional rumble of muted toms and bass drum", the song cycles through sections of building and releasing tension. One guitar chord is repeatedly strummed for the last minute of the song before ending. The final song of the album, "Good Morning Captain", is based on the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".Maginnis, Tom. " [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:0vfyxxw5ld6e Good Morning Captain: Review] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] The song features a two chord guitar structure, a "spindly, tight riff" from the rhythm section and a "jerky" beat. During the recording of the song's final chorus, McMahan became physically sick due to the strain of yelling over the guitars. David Peschek of "The Guardian" compared "Good Morning Captain" to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", writing that "the extraordinary Good Morning Captain is [Slint's] Stairway to Heaven, if it's possible to imagine Stairway to Heaven bleached of all bombast."Peschek, David. " [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1426729,00.html Slint, Camber Sands Holiday Centre] ". "The Guardian", February 28, 2007. Retrieved on November 7, 2007.]

Imagery

The name "Spiderland" originates from McMahan's younger brother, who thought that the record sounded "spidery". The album's black-and-white cover photograph, which depicts members of the band treading water in the lake of an abandoned quarry, was taken by Will Oldham.McCarthy, Shannon. " [http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004609/Slint.html Slint Lyrics and Biography] " Musicianguide.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2007.] An article in "The Stranger" credited the cover for creating a mystique surrounding Slint, noting " [m] ost people only had seen Slint as four heads floating in a Kentucky quarry on Spiderland's cover. Listeners pondered the band's sparsely adorned black-and-white covers as if they were runes bearing secrets." [Segal, Dave. " [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=20786 Web of Influence] ". "The Stranger", March 10, 2005. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] Chris Gaerig of the "Michigan Daily" wrote "the cover of Slint's masterful "Spiderland" captures the joyous fear and violence of the album so precisely it shakes souls. The group—submerged in a lake to their chins with deranged smiles—seems to be stalking you, hovering out of the black-and-white façade." [Gaerig, Chris. " [http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/09/20/TheBSide/Cover.Stories-2980669.shtml Cover Stories] ". "Michigan Daily", September 20, 2007. Retrieved on November 8, 2007.] Several other promotional images have been taken from the same photo session with Oldham.

A photo of a spider taken by Noel Saltzman is used on the back cover, reflecting the album's title. The inside sleeve contains the message "interested female vocalists write 1864 douglas blvd. louisville, ky. 40205". [(1991) Album notes for "Spiderland" by Slint, [CD booklet] . Chicago: Tough & Go (TG64CD).] McMahan confirmed that this message was serious, and said "We did get some responses and we did listen to CDs and tapes. We didn’t end up doing anything immediately, so that idea of adding someone sort of fell by the wayside." [Simigis, Antonia. " [http://www.timeout.com/chicago/article/21063/slint On the record: Slint] ". "Time Out Chicago", July 12, 2007. Retrieved on November 8, 2007.] The message "this recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl" is printed on some compact disc issues of "Spiderland", demonstrating Slint's preference of analog audio devices.Agarwal, Manish. " [http://www.dontlookbackconcerts.com/us/nyc/slint/review Slint - Review] ". Don't Look Back, May 2007. Retrieved on November 9, 2007.]

Reception

"Spiderland" received minimal attention from major publications upon its release. One of the first major reviews of the album was written by Steve Albini, producer of Slint's previous album "Tweez", for "Melody Maker". Albini was highly positive about the album, awarding it "ten fucking stars", saying "Spiderland" is a majestic album, sublime and strange, made more brilliant by its simplicity and quiet grace. .... "Spiderland" is flawless. The dry, unembellished recording is so revealing it sometimes feels like eavesdropping. The crystalline guitar of Brian McMahan and the glassy, fluid guitar of David Pajo seem to hover in space directly past the listener's nose. The incredibly precise-yet-instinctive drumming has the same range and wallop it would in your living room. .... Play this record and kick yourself if you never got to see them live. In ten years, you'll lie like the cocksucker you are and say you did ..." [Albini, Steve. "Spiderland" review". "Melody Maker", March 30, 1991.]

Retrospective reviews of the album have been mixed. A review of the album from Dean Carlson of Allmusic praised the album as "one of the most essential and chilling releases in the mumbling post-rock arena", despite describing it as "slightly overrated". Carlson also criticized McMahan's singing style, saying that he "too often evokes strangled pity instead of outright empathy."Carlson, Dean. " [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:g9frxqu5ldje~T1 "Spiderland" > Review] ". He gave the album 4½ out of 5Allmusic. Retrieved on November 3, 2007.] Robert Christgau gave the album a rating of C+, calling Slint "art-rockers without the courage of their pretensions" and criticizing the album's lyrics. [Christgau, Robert. " [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Slint Slint] ". "Village Voice". Retrieved on November 3, 2007.] The "Rolling Stone" book "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" rated the album two and a half stars; while the reviewer Mac Randall favored the album over "Tweez" as an "easier listen, with longer, more developed songs", he wrote that " [t] he absence of anything resembling a tune continues to nag." [Bracket, Nathan and Hoard, Christian (2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition". (New York) Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743201698. p. 744–745]

Legacy

Though largely ignored upon its initial release, "Spiderland" has attracted greater attention through time. This growth in popularity has been attributed in part to the appearance of the track "Good Morning Captain" on the soundtrack to the 1995 film "Kids". The album has sold over 50,000 copies, [Frere-Jones, Sasha. " [http://sfj.abstractdynamics.org/archives/006014.html You Thought I Was Backing Out] ". sfj.abstractdynamics.org, July 25, 2005. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] though Kory Grow of the "College Music Journal" suggested that the album "has inspired countless bands (and therefore fans) far beyond its SoundScan numbers" [Grow, Kory. " [http://www.cmj.com/relay/?p=2591 Review: Slint Performs Spiderland in New York] ". "College Music Journal", July 19, 2007. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] "Spiderland" has become a landmark indie rock album and is considered, along with Talk Talk's "Laughing Stock", to have been the primary catalyst of the post-rock and math rock genres. [" [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:2682 Post-Rock/Experimental] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on December 14, 2007.] [Keefe, Michael. " [http://altmusic.about.com/od/genresstyles/p/post_rock.htm What is Post-Rock? A Genre Profile] ". About.com. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.] David Peschek said that the album is "the ur-text for what became known as post-rock, a fractured, almost geometric reimagining of rock music stripped of its dionysiac impulse."Peschek, David. " [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1426729,00.html Slint, Camber Sands Holiday Centre] ". "The Guardian", February 28, 2007. Retrieved on November 7, 2007.] Rachel Devine of "The List" called "Spiderland" "arguably the most disproportionately influential [album] in music history". [Devine, Rachel. " [http://www.list.co.uk/article/4190-90s-revival/ 90s revival] ". "The List", August 16, 2007. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.]

McMahan reflected on the album's success: "We worked really hard on "Spiderland". I mean, I definitely felt much more personal about it. I thought it represented us as people, musically, a lot more than "Tweez" did. That's about it. It seemed like when we were around, and actively playing and stuff, that people's responses to us were fairly ambivalent. I thought it was funny when the press picked up on it. For an independent release, it had a strange sort of audience and kept selling three or four years after we recorded it; it still sells more copies than when it first came out." [Modell, Josh. " [http://www.matadorrecords.com/bands/fc/milk.html The For Carnation] ". "Milk", April 1996. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] Touch and Go founder Corey Rusk said that "Spiderland" is "like an icon now. But when it came out, nobody cared! The band had broken up by the time the album came out, and it really didn't sell particularly well or get written about all that much in the year it was released. But it was a revolutionary, groundbreaking record, and it's one of the few instances where people catch up to it later on." [Crock, Jason. " [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/38254-interview-corey-rusk Interview: Corey Rusk] ". Pitchfork Media, September 5, 2006. Retrieved on November 12, 2007]

Post-rock bands Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Isis, and Explosions in the Sky have been influenced by "Spiderland". [Goldberg, Michael Alan. " [http://bestof.sfweekly.com/2007-07-18/music/the-last-time-we-reunite-except-for-that-next-time/ The Last Time We Reunite (Except for That Next Time)] ". "SF Weekly", July 18, 2007. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh member Lou Barlow said of "Spiderland", "It was quiet to loud without sounding like grunge or indie-rock. It sounded more like a new kind of music."Irvin, Jim (2001). "The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time". (Edinburgh) Mojo Books. ISBN 184195067X. p. 640] PJ Harvey has named "Spiderland" as one of her favorite albums, [Blandford, James R. (2004). "PJ Harvey: Siren Rising". (London) Omnibus Press. ISBN 1844494330. p. 37] and supposedly contacted Slint regarding the band's request for a female vocalist.Chen, George. " [http://www.sfbg.com/39/22/noise_slint.html Spidey powers] ". "San Francisco Bay Guardian". Retrieved on November 8, 2007.] Bob Nastanovich of Pavement [Jovanovic, Rob (2004). "Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement". (Boston) Justin, Charles & Co. ISBN 1932112073. p. 129] and Mark Clifford of Seefeel [" [http://www.furious.com/perfect/staff2.html Favorite Music of our Interview Victims] ". "Perfect Sound Forever". Retrieved on November 9, 2007.] have also cited "Spiderland" as among their favorite albums. The album cover of "Spiderland" was recreated by The Shins in the music video for "New Slang". [Mercer, Ben. " [http://www.dallasobserver.com/2002-07-11/music/the-shins/ The Shins] ". "Dallas Observer", July 11, 2002. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.]

Reunion

Despite having plans for a tour of Europe to promote "Spiderland", Slint broke up in 1991 for reasons that were not revealed. Members of the band went on to join other musical projects, including Tortoise, The Breeders, Palace, and The For Carnation. [Ankeny, Jason. " [http://wc06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:09fixqe5ldje~T1 Slint > Biography] ". Allmusic. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] Slint reunited briefly in 2005 for an eighteen-date tour. Pajo said, "We don't want to be a reunion band that keeps reuniting. .... I know that this is going to be it." [Harrington, Richard. " [http://www.staugustine.com/stories/032505/com_2970671.shtml 'Post-rock' Slint briefly reunites] ". "The Washington Post", March 18, 2005. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] However, in 2007 Slint reunited again for a tour featuring performances of "Spiderland" in its entirety as part of All Tomorrow's Parties' "Don't Look Back" concert series celebrating classic albums. [" [http://www.nme.com/news/27283 Slint announce more performances of 'Spiderland'] ". "NME", March 23, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.] The tour included appearances at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival [Solarski, Matthew. " [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/42492-gza-slint-join-sonic-youth-for-pitchfork-fest-kickoff GZA, Slint Join Sonic Youth for Pitchfork Fest Kickoff] ". Pitchfork Media, April 20, 2007. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] and Primavera Sound Festival. [Solarski, Matthew. " [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40491-slint-rock-ispiderlandi-at-primavera-sound-festival Slint Rock Spiderland at Primavera Sound Festival] ". Pitchfork Media, January 16, 2007. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.] McMahan said in an interview at the Pitchfork Music Festival that performing the album live was "pretty cool. It moves a little slower than it does on the record, but it's all there. .... It took some getting used to, some revisiting the material and rehearsing."Thompson, Paul. " [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/44244-pitchfork-music-festival-2007-friday Interview: Brian McMahan of Slint] ". Pitchfork Media, July 13, 2007. Retrieved on November 7, 2007.]

Critical responses to Slint's reunion has been mixed, with detractors commenting on the music's unsuitability for a live setting. "Chicago Sun-Times" music critic Jim DeRogatis wrote that although "fans greeted [Slint's performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival] as manna from heaven. .... the musicians' fragile, intertwining guitar lines, mumbled attempts at poetry and uninspiring shoe-gazer personas were poor matches for the setting and the occasion, especially during the static, percussion-deprived 'Don, Aman' and the bloated anthem 'Good Morning Captain.'" [DeRogatis, Jim. " [http://www.jimdero.com/News2007/Pitchforkdiaryandfeatures.htm Pitchfork Music Fest Diary and Features] ". "Chicago Sun-Times", July 15, 2007. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.] According to members of "The A.V. Club", Slint's performance of "Don, Aman" at the festival "captures the band's greatness "and" its greatest weakness: Slint completely lacks stage charisma, and playing a deathly quiet, moody song on a big outdoor stage just doesn't work."Gordon, Scott; Modell, Josh; O'Neal, Sean; Ryan, Kyle. " [http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/festival_diary_the_2007 Festival Diary: The 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival] ". "The A.V. Club", July 18, 2007. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.] Both Derogatis and the "A.V. Club" review also noted that the band's performance was plagued by sound problems. [DeRogatis, Jim. " [http://www.jimdero.com/News2007/Pitchforkroundup.htm Indie Oasis] ". "Chicago Sun-Times", July 16, 2007. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.] A "New York" review of a performance at Webster Hall opined "the deeply brooding, fussily executed album finally sounded, sixteen years later, like the existential, cosmos-annihilating shrug it was envisioned as. Which is to say: It sounded fucking great." [Catucci, Nick. " [http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/07/slint_plays_a_funeral_mass_for.html Slint Plays a Funeral Mass for the Album] ". "New York", July 18, 2007. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.]

Track listing

# "Breadcrumb Trail" – 5:55
# "Nosferatu Man" – 5:35
# "Don, Aman" – 6:28
# "Washer" – 8:50
# "For Dinner..." – 5:05
# "Good Morning, Captain" – 7:38

Personnel

*David Pajo – guitar
*Brian McMahan – electric guitar, vocals
*Britt Walford – drums
*Todd Brashear – bass guitar
*Brian Paulson – engineering
*Will Oldham – photography
*Noel Saltzman – photography

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to "Spiderland" is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net. [" [http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A836.htm "Spiderland"] ". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved on November 3, 2007.]

References

Notes

*cite book
last= Weisbard
first= Eric
coauthors= Craig Marks
title= Spin Alternative Record Guide
publisher= Vintage Books
year= 1995
isbn= 0679755748

External links

*MusicBrainz release|id=2c8cba8b-a80a-4d7f-9a7f-22c922f1a42e|name=Spiderland
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Slint/Spiderland "Spiderland"] at Last.fm
* [http://www.google.com/musicl?lid=4O9Mq5w1Od&aid=OPGpfOD5vTH&sa=X&oi=music&ct=result "Spiderland"] at Google Music