I have a complicated relationship with SWANS. I get it - I truly get it. Pushing envelopes and provoking thought in realms of sound and humanity is itself an art form, and few artists were doing either with as much verve as SWANS in the 1980s. The sounds....? There was Glenn Branca and of course SONIC YOUTH so the casual deep diver would be intrigued but not shocked. Challenging traditional concepts of music is one thing, but sitting down with "Time Is Money (Bastard)" when I was in high school was something entirely different. Hearing Gira mumble "You should be violated. You should be raped. Don't fight back: I need you." as a fourteen year old will stick with you, you know? I truly wonder if you can push boundaries artistically without pushing them in in reality, and later encounters with people in and around Gira's circle would give credence to what was once simply a wonder. Does it negate the art....? I don't think so. But it makes my relationship with the art more complicated. The whole point was to make the consumer uncomfortable, so....success?
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