Tomorrow's Harvest

[gfxtwin]

Also, side note, while listening to the album and looking at the photos I had a passing thought that TH on some level might even be a sort of follow-up to ABPOITC. Like, maybe if ABPOITC is a portrait of one of those lost, samey same, cultish communities out in the middle of nowhere (basically the parts of the country that have already had an apocalypse lol) as experienced through the perspective of innocence, TH could maybe be a more objective sonic portrait that portrays the horrific and bleak reality of them, I dunno. Living near Waco Texas (the proud former home of the Branch Davidians, lol) you hear horror stories about these kinds of communities from time to time. Come to think of it, the bros are credited as designing all of the album's art, right? What if they were extra ballsy and the photos they took (and maybe some of the footage in the RFTD video) were taken at the actual locations of these creepy outskirts communities!? Maybe even some field recordings too that made it into the album? It's creepy as fuck and also interesting/fun to think about, but I guess I'm also sorta cautious about talking about it in detail too much on the internet myself TBH, heh. Maybe I'm crazy or a pussy, but it is what it is.

[arvy]

I think there are two bigger themes on the album, the first is our world and modern day society, they said that people are greedy, I kind fo agree, but if you think deeper, it's nothing more than the fear of deprivation, survivalism, fear always is the driving force.
The second I think is our life and death understanding, they said that "I hope that it works to make the listener pause and consider where we are right now, where we're going" I think it's more about inevitable stage of our self, that everyone of us will be gone eventually and even your realisation of your own death will be gone, it's kind of depressing thing I think, because everything you did or will do eventually will not matter. But it's important to have fun, it's like, if you are standing in line, you can sit and wait or you can enjoy the sideshow, it's your choice, eventually everyone's time will end.

[Valotonin]

Anyone else notice that this is their first official long play without a Japanese bonus track? Leads me to reconsider some of the theories surrounding extra content on the disk.

[Valotonin]

Also yeah. ^ Listen to arvy.

[gfxtwin]

Just started posting again and the computer breaks around the time my college library card expires today, ha! Gonna feel weird not posting on message boards for so long, but fuck it all, probably for the best.

Anyway, saw that Ex Machina movie today and it articulated some of my thoughts/worries about A.I. and also while watching it I thought of BOC (especially the juxtapositions of emotional/cold, natural/artificial, tangible/digital, beauty/horror).

To the point, on some level, TH = maybe allegory for inception of A.I., effect on humanity and aftermath?

[Najlepsiejszy]

The moment they started with the idea of a political message, TH was doomed

Do you guys really like the idea of "oh my god robots how are we gonna live"?

[Cold Birth]

Assuming scientists have not given up the ghost in trying to develop A.I. as much as possible (to the point of transcending its existence from tool into a sentient being) I think he has a point though. Think about it:

Tomorrow's Harvest: The beak future of no humanity that has been wrought by today's generation.

Has anyone seen Ex Machina? As the protagonists in the film said upon creating it and giving it form, something to the effect of, "one day we'll be gone and the only trace of our existence will be our fossils in the ground. And we'll be remembered by them as Neanderthals are to us."

Was listening to TH the other day and started wondering if that might be one aspect of the inevitable stage the brothers mentioned being concerned about. Seems like it could happen one day, when you think on it. Computers are increasing with complexity rapidly to the point that their destiny might be out of our hands (or rather in our hands, lol. We're totally dependent on tech, especially phones). If they grew to be more advanced than us we would never know it until it was too late.

He's also right about how BOC as a project is in many ways about marrying the emotional and organic with the cold and digital, etc (if not existing as an experiment to totally extract the lformer from the latter) so I started analyzing the tracks and saw some things that could maybe be interesting. There might be a loose narrative that anyone who's familiar with theories of AI and Sci-Fi Novels can probably see traces of (and might already have).

Guess at some point I still gotta look more into the samples and subliminals, but sofor example Gemini = in mythology an image of twins...hmmmm…mirrored lifeforms, RFTD = just going by the title and the mood of the track, maybe its an attempt at incepting a plea to a cynical future society verging on blank minds to approach technology the way older, now “obsolete" generations used it, White Cyclosa = an organism that mimics other organisms...hmmm...). Plus, one of the few things the bros have said on record (literally) is an expression of cautiousness if not outright dislike of technology!

And if nothing else, maybe it's all an allegorical cautionary tale about the way tech technology programs our minds to feel less, thus becoming more robotic.

[Najlepsiejszy]

You guys...technology is a set of algorithms. I don't think anyone has put in "become smart enough to conquer the world".

Our phones sure are smart (hence the name, right?), but they are nothing without our input. Phones are dependent on satellites, which in turn depend on humans to be repaired and, uh, launched into space. All technology is dependent on us. And it would be really stupid of us not to include some on/off switches when making intelligent robots. There is no way we will ever be taken over by machines. When we die, they go with us. That's just how I feel

[arvy]

You guys...technology is a set of algorithms. I don't think anyone has put in "become smart enough to conquer the world".

Our phones sure are smart (hence the name, right?), but they are nothing without our input. Phones are dependent on satellites, which in turn depend on humans to be repaired and, uh, launched into space. All technology is dependent on us. And it would be really stupid of us not to include some on/off switches when making intelligent robots. There is no way we will ever be taken over by machines. When we die, they go with us. That's just how I feel

this is good post,

also
one my favorite quotes on this is by aphex from syro interview, 'We're half-cyborg already, whether we like it or not. Everything is based on computers – our whole economy, and most of our creative pursuits, as well. We're not physically connected to them, but that doesn't mean they're not part of our brains."

also ex machina was mediocre, it has good storytelling and beatifly shot tho.opinion

[Cupz]

more action in the city...

This is exactly what TH sounds like btw.

[Cold Birth]

Sentient-ish A.I. consciousness is still only a theory, but there are active scientific fields that are literally making it a goal to turn it into a reality. If a machine is programmed by humans to be capable of learning and mimicking human emotion to the point of appearing to have consciousness indistinguishable from our own, it also means it will inherit the flaws of the human programmers, such as traits like bad judgement, cruelty, fear, violence, etc, especially if its own existence is threatened. Yes, it is still only theory though at this point and I doubt A.I. as it exists now is anything close to being beyond a tool of programmed actions or whatever in most cases, but A.I. now is way beyond what it was a mere six years ago and there is no solid evidence that some form of artificial sentient consciousness absolutely could NOT come to fruition, be it intentional or by happenstance.

[Cold Birth]

Also, can't speak for gfx, but IMHO if there is a message of caution against A.I. in the album, it is just a thread in the overall tapestry of themes about the bleak outlook of humanity's near future being explored. Obviously it could also be about social collapse, cultural, political, environmental (were there not recent reports in Science journals that a new mass extinction is on the verge of happening?), and more. Obviously this album seems to be a kind of soundtrack to an imaginary film that's the lovechild of some incredibly heavy reading, feeling and thinking about something deceptively complex that most of us BOC fans have probably yet to codecrack, which is of course awesome.

[Cold Birth]

more action in the city...

Hello, new desktop wallpaper. I shall find a hi res version of this.

[Cold Birth]

You guys...technology is a set of algorithms. I don't think anyone has put in "become smart enough to conquer the world".

Our phones sure are smart (hence the name, right?), but they are nothing without our input. Phones are dependent on satellites, which in turn depend on humans to be repaired and, uh, launched into space. All technology is dependent on us. And it would be really stupid of us not to include some on/off switches when making intelligent robots. There is no way we will ever be taken over by machines. When we die, they go with us. That's just how I feel

this is good post,

also
one my favorite quotes on this is by aphex from syro interview, 'We're half-cyborg already, whether we like it or not. Everything is based on computers – our whole economy, and most of our creative pursuits, as well. We're not physically connected to them, but that doesn't mean they're not part of our brains."

also ex machina was mediocre, it has good storytelling and beatifly shot tho.opinion

Agree, Ex machina is in lots of ways a regurgitation of many themes about A.I. that have already been explored (as usual, Kubrick did it first) in several films. It was also easy to guess most of the plot twists before they occurred, though in the first thirty minutes I figured Ava would

Spoiler: show

masterfully manipulate the two dudes into offing themselves in the end after playing one of them to free her. But once the mute housekeeper/prostitute character came into the picture it was obvious where it was gonna go

. That said, although familiar sci-fi, it was presented in a refreshing way IMO, especially with the special effects and limited storytelling aspect.

Anyway, that's a good Aphex quote and he's likely concerned with how technology is effecting our brains as well, especially of future generations. For example, when many of us in our mid 20's and up were teenagers our interests in art and literature probably included BOC, Kubrick films, H.G Welles novels, graphic novels, playing video games at parties, etc more than staring at a screen, trolling, creeping on friends or sharing memes via social media, which is all the rage with younger family members and their friends.

[oldmanrant] Fond memories of watching Kubrick films like ACO, 2001, TS, and FMJ at age 16 not knowing who the director was but laughing my ass off at how well they mocked humanity. Videogames (like Final Fantasy and System Shock) were immersive distractions, yeah, but also valuable creative inspiration. Not to mention there was a time where the internet didn't exist and going outside was often done in its place. Now the dominant form of entertainment with lots of geeky kids seems to be watching youtube vids of dudes reacting to videogames/movies/etc for them, ha. Lord help us, the harvest is upon us lol [/oldmanrant]

[Najlepsiejszy]

At least now we don't put politics on our goshdarn records!! Autechre's Anti was OK because it was a cool idea, TH is just boring

[arvy]

You guys...technology is a set of algorithms. I don't think anyone has put in "become smart enough to conquer the world".

Our phones sure are smart (hence the name, right?), but they are nothing without our input. Phones are dependent on satellites, which in turn depend on humans to be repaired and, uh, launched into space. All technology is dependent on us. And it would be really stupid of us not to include some on/off switches when making intelligent robots. There is no way we will ever be taken over by machines. When we die, they go with us. That's just how I feel

this is good post,

also
one my favorite quotes on this is by aphex from syro interview, 'We're half-cyborg already, whether we like it or not. Everything is based on computers – our whole economy, and most of our creative pursuits, as well. We're not physically connected to them, but that doesn't mean they're not part of our brains."

also ex machina was mediocre, it has good storytelling and beatifly shot tho.opinion

Agree, Ex machina is in lots of ways a regurgitation of many themes about A.I. that have already been explored (as usual, Kubrick did it first) in several films. It was also easy to guess most of the plot twists before they occurred, though in the first thirty minutes I figured Ava would

Spoiler: show

masterfully manipulate the two dudes into offing themselves in the end after playing one of them to free her. But once the mute housekeeper/prostitute character came into the picture it was obvious where it was gonna go

. That said, although familiar sci-fi, it was presented in a refreshing way IMO, especially with the special effects and limited storytelling aspect.

Anyway, that's a good Aphex quote and he's likely concerned with how technology is effecting our brains as well, especially of future generations. For example, when many of us in our mid 20's and up were teenagers our interests in art and literature probably included BOC, Kubrick films, H.G Welles novels, graphic novels, playing video games at parties, etc more than staring at a screen, trolling, creeping on friends or sharing memes via social media, which is all the rage with younger family members and their friends.

[oldmanrant] Fond memories of watching Kubrick films like ACO, 2001, TS, and FMJ at age 16 not knowing who the director was but laughing my ass off at how well they mocked humanity. Videogames (like Final Fantasy and System Shock) were immersive distractions, yeah, but also valuable creative inspiration. Not to mention there was a time where the internet didn't exist and going outside was often done in its place. Now the dominant form of entertainment with lots of geeky kids seems to be watching youtube vids of dudes reacting to videogames/movies/etc for them, ha. Lord help us, the harvest is upon us lol [/oldmanrant]

I honestly could not agree more,

as for the movie the moment when Isaac came in working on heavy bag was a cliche for me, tho I enjoyed his character and the scene where he was stabbed was just heartbreaking, this movie was lightyears from Kubrick, duh! also how about Looper? as for the movie which I enjoy, Th has so many ideas concentrated in one, every track could start something,
as for Aphex. sometimes I feel he just too wild and fun for Boc, but density of Boc work makes it, as reading for the first time the tracklist of Th was something from lost knowledge for me, which they share and something that I was thinking about all the time, as I never met them, even being from other part of the world

[ZosoCon]

It's kinda of crazy to see BoC in a top 40. Tomorrow's Harvest #32 in top vinyl sales of the decade so far.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/11640651/Music-industry-struggling-to-keep-up-with-demand-for-vinyl-Harvey-Goldsmith-says.html
I remember a discussion on this topic btw. We need more vinyl production plants and craftspeople for sure.

[Opothecary]

It's kinda of crazy to see BoC in a top 40. Tomorrow's Harvest #32 in top vinyl sales of the decade so far.

What's even more cool is that if you put aside all the vinyl reissues of classic albums, its more like 15th or 16th. I'm not a big proponent of sales = good music, but its nice to see them getting some visibility.

[Cold Birth]

Yeah, something about the way it was presented as..."just a stabbing scene!" lol.

It's amazing how when you watch and research the making 2001 you can almost begin to see the way they saw the future/modern times back then so fucking vividly somehow. Apparently, Kubrick and Clarke conceptualized the internet before shooting 2001. And when you see the way technology is presented as something stemming from the design of the monolith...and then look down at your smart phone...fucking chills.

Looper was really good and I liked how they didn't try to get too caught up in making it an accurate time travel movie and had fun with it. Primer kinda did the former though and watching that movie made me feel like I was a caveman trying to make sense of modern films, lol.

Yeah, AFX almost kinda seemed to've stopped making "serious" music altogether not too long after the ambient works phase, lol. Might have been some time not too long before the supposed gig he did where he apparently made all the beats with an eggbeater or something, lol. Fucking nut.

What do you mean about reading the tracklist of TH? Like their seemingly supernatural way of tapping into everyone's subconscious and stirring emotions/memories with their tunes, etc? Gotta admit, that album's concept kinda came a bit out of left field for me, though TBH. Didn't enjoy it at the time but somehow have been almost obsessive about it in the last year or so, lol.

[Cold Birth]

Alright, I know TH might seem more political but that almost makes it one of their more interesting albums for me.

Anecdote: Right after I blind bought "The Bleeding Edge" this year based on last year's hype around "Inherent Vice", I stumbled on a review of Tomorrow's Harvest (I think on Vice.com, oddly enough lol) that wasn't very good but was interesting in how the writer ( also oddly enough) really, really wanted to compare the Sandisons to Pynchon.

Still haven't read his books yet, so it remains to be seen how I feel about that, but when I listened to a podcast featuring PT Anderson later on he said something about Pynchon that immediately rang true with feelings toward BOC, which was something to the effect of, "It's like he knows something that nobody else in the world knows and refuses to say what it is." Weirdly, it also seems like in addition to that, the bros also know something that everyone feels but doesn't always know how to express, and that kind of contradictory enigma, for me, seems to have carried over via the sound of TH and then some. Still can't really describe the effect the album has on me that well.

It's like I didn't really care about what the previous albums meant, just loved the way they make you feel some primal emotion y'know, but something about TH feels almost like there's a message in there they're intending to communicate. Political or not, it keeps pulling me back for some reason to get an even more vivid image of the soundscapes. But given their superhuman ears and how they use subliminals, I doubt I will decode whatever it means any time soon, lol, assuming there is a kind of statement in there. Totally possible they intercepted that interpretation and used it as a joke to base the ad campaign on, lol. And now to spin TH again...