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Baker's Dozen

Thirteen Masks: Jarboe's Favourite Music
Spyros Stasis , August 28th, 2019 08:28

Jarboe guides Spyros Stasis through 13 favourites in this week's Baker's Dozen, taking in the likes of Arvo Pärt, Kendrick Lamar, Janis Joplin and her relationship with Swans

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Swans - Children Of God
I liked Children of God because it was a throwback to the idea of the concept album. it is eclectic in a way that 666 by Aphrodite’s Child is, a take on the epic album, the epic experience. There are certain things that address the abuse of biblical terminology and reference the television evangelists and this kind of thing and it also explores the sincerity of certain passages of Christianity and faith, and showing the true violence of the Old Testament. It addresses all of that and, this is my impression and I am not speaking for anyone else involved in the album, it addresses the abuse of the spirituality with media.

This recording was a really good experience for me because I took a very demanding instruction, like actresses take very demanding instructions from directors, or like a symphony musician might take extremely demanding guidance from the conductor. They know you have that skill set so you are not going to stop until you get there, to the very bare bones. Michael was an introduction to what I later read about some actresses and what they go through with the way they interact with filmmakers, like Liv Ullman went through this kind of breakdown. The relationship between Liv Ullman and Ingmar Bergman is the perfect example of what I am talking about. There is a relationship of trust and intimacy there to take a person beyond and try to tap into what they can do.