Switch to full style
Everything related to our favorite Scottish duo.
Post a reply

Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:57 pm

Gemini:
I'm a Gemini, but I think this is a reference to "Project Gemini", as pointed out (somewhere)

Reach for the Dead

White Cyclosa:
This is a Cyclosa:
http://www.eurospiders.com/cyclosa_conica_2247.jpg
Found online:

Locality. Madras Beach, Ennur ; Kotagiri, Nilgiris.

A white Cyclosa (PI. V. fig. 7) which I obtained in Ceylon
has these two shoulder prominences and is probably merely a
variety of this species. It had the white ribbon of the stabili-
mentum as diameter with nine cocoons arranged along it.
These were about 5 mm. long and recalled in shape those of
Cyrtophora. They contained about thirty eggs in each.

Jacquard Causeway:

Jacquard:
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/essl/ ... ground.jpg
http://www.bivolino.com/ImagesSSO/Jacquard%20Fabric.jpg

Causeway:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoqKVbS-C_A/T ... ay-two.jpg

Telepath:
Play on words of 'telepathic'. Describing a 'literal path' formed from telepathy?

Cold Earth:
Cold War, Ice Age, Nuclear Winter, etc

Transmisiones Ferox
Ferox is a latin word meaning "Fierce"
Transmisiones is Spanish
Fierce Transmissions

Sick Times

Collapse

Palace Posy
Posy is a bunch of flowers -- perhaps a reference to heaven? A palace of flowers?

Split Your Infinites
Reference to atom-splitting

Uritual
Google search for the term:
hey {cannot be igjhored if one attempos to urider-nd the faith of Jthose who pfofess Vaisnavism, its rationale ia Panehthetsm (all i t God), its s: uritual mahifestatior is in Bha-k] L Worship of God i j absolutely e! Mfcehtial: ; Fortunatel i or unfor-ianately, myth and tra iitioh> syrn-sm and syncreti ;m, reason d hlthd beliefs

Nothing is Real

Sundown
End-times, end of an era

New Seeds

Come To Dust
ashes to ashes, dust to dust...


posted this in the TH thread but it got glanced over. How about a thread for discussing what the track titles mean / the theme of the album?
Calvin wrote:Track 17 - "Seeds of the Dead"

1.) Google searched "Semena Mertvykh". Nothing but BoC-related results.
2.) Decided to try searching "Semena Mertvykh -boards of canada"
3.) First result contained "he states: "Khristos iz mertvykh voskres, budet to" with the title "...Romance re- and Russian voz-"
4.) FoxLingo Translation --> Russian To English (Google Translate)
5.) Semena Mertvykh --> Semena Mertvykh ??
6.) "*Did you mean Семена Мертвых*?
7.) Семена Мертвых --> Seeds of the Dead

Another thought: the use of the Russian language in track-list (Cold War...)

Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:23 pm

Split Your Infinities - Possibly referring to the way we treat our natural resources as infinite, in terms of the way capitalism operates. So 'Split' as in to make smaller, to make more finite, to realise that our resources are dwindling.

Of course this is pure conjecture, but given that they are obviously very politically and environmentally conscious people, and that the information we have so far has a particular focus on catastrophe and desolation, I'd say it's very feasible that this is one of the intended interpretations.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:37 pm

^Yes, even just the idea of "splitting infinity" is an oxymoron -- infinity is infinite. To split infinity would mean you'd have to have two finite parts, or perhaps two-equally infinite parts? Or perhaps when "infinity" is split, instead of 'two halves', you just get a universe of fractals?

Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:07 pm

you can knock a minute or so of the opening static off the track in the tomorrows harvest video to make it around the 3.30 mark? cold earth?

Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:31 pm

Split infinities is a pun on "split infinitives".

Wed May 01, 2013 3:59 am

Is "nothing is real" possibly a reference to the Beatles? Doesn't seem much like BoC to include one, but you never know.

Wed May 01, 2013 4:09 am

Can't get Sick times out of my head, as well as the smog on the album cover shrouding the city... I personally believe it is a reference to chemtrails and the recent break out of flu diseases, honestly not sure if anyone else here has been as sick as I have this past year... could've been all in my head though.

Another is the track "Nothing is Real". It just really stood out to me... they've never really made a tracktitle that was so straightworthy and to a solid point, yet a very relevant one at that.

Wed May 01, 2013 4:37 am

Meddle wrote:Is "nothing is real" possibly a reference to the Beatles? Doesn't seem much like BoC to include one, but you never know.

Ah! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was reminded of The Beatles....Right when I read that track title, Strawberry Fields Forever started playing in my head. :P

Wed May 01, 2013 1:17 pm

Meddle wrote:Is "nothing is real" possibly a reference to the Beatles? Doesn't seem much like BoC to include one, but you never know.


Oh -- didn't think of that! Yes, good observation!

Wed May 01, 2013 2:02 pm

Calvin wrote:
Meddle wrote:Is "nothing is real" possibly a reference to the Beatles? Doesn't seem much like BoC to include one, but you never know.


Oh -- didn't think of that! Yes, good observation!

In fact, I just looked over the Boards of Canada Wikipedia page and noticed that they had said the Beatles were a big influence on them. All signs would so far indeed point out to the reference being towards their Psychedelic years, the ones that are said to have influenced Mike and Marcus.
For reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boards_of_Canada

Wed May 01, 2013 8:49 pm

"1969 in the sunshine" is very Beatles-esque. I wonder if there are any other 'psychedelic rock' references / Beatles references throughout their discography?

Wed May 01, 2013 8:59 pm

Since we're talking about The Beatles, anyone else got the feeling that Geogaddi is incredibly similar in tone and structure to Revolver? I can't really justify that with any examples atm, just a vague idea I have.

EDIT: In fact I've just realised you could also draw tonal comparisons between Campfire Headphase and Sgt Peppers. Both incredibly psychedelic. Almost oozing with psychedelia, pure euphoria at some points.

Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:01 pm

Aerial Boundaries wrote:Since we're talking about The Beatles, anyone else got the feeling that Geogaddi is incredibly similar in tone and structure to Revolver? I can't really justify that with any examples atm, just a vague idea I have.

EDIT: In fact I've just realised you could also draw tonal comparisons between Campfire Headphase and Sgt Peppers. Both incredibly psychedelic. Almost oozing with psychedelia, pure euphoria at some points.


Listen to Gyroscope and Tomorrow Never Knows back to back. Definitely some influence going on there. I wouldn't doubt that there aren't other references to psychedelia either in their music. Happy Cycling comes to mind first as being a supposed reference to LSD.

Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:52 pm

Boards of Canada is hella psychedelic.

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:40 am

I was reading the wiki page for David Koresh and noticed a line about how the law enforcement handled the situation. "the FBI resorted to pumping CS gas (tear gas) from a M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle with battering ram into the compound"

This might be a stretch, but it could be connected to the title of the fourteenth track from TCH, "Tears from the compound eye".

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Sun Jul 07, 2019 12:51 pm

These words are so baller

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:06 am

Mansin wrote:I was reading the wiki page for David Koresh and noticed a line about how the law enforcement handled the situation. "the FBI resorted to pumping CS gas (tear gas) from a M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle with battering ram into the compound"

This might be a stretch, but it could be connected to the title of the fourteenth track from TCH, "Tears from the compound eye".

That is always a possibility. I had always considered it a play on words in relation to emissions from a certain compound producing gland within the brain as the music fits in atmosphere very much.

Back to the aforementioned subject. The ATF used a darn flame-throwing tank as well despite their denial of the fact. It is on video. This entire thing about them setting themselves alight is a disgrace to the memory of the deceased, but that is just my take on things.

I had always thought that the children laughing/coughing/choking sample in IABPOITC was a reference to the use of CS gas on the compound or to the smoke inhalation as a result of the fire. The children were taken to an underground part of the premises which had its only entrance blocked off by the authorities before it was set alight.

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:35 pm

Not really analysis but I figured this would fit better here than the sample identification thread. I've been trawling old posts from the boardsofcanada Yahoo group and found this post from a guy who seemed close to the band judging by his posting history, part of which says
magma_0000 wrote:the new album [Geogaddi] is slowly being completed - it will have sitar and is more what BOC are about. Probably sound similar to "Golden Avatar" or at least somewhere in thre region.

I looked up Golden Avatar on discogs and it's a Hindu folk/prog band from the 70s, exactly the sort of thing the brothers would pull from. Check out this line from one of their songs:
phpBB [media]

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Thu Sep 12, 2019 10:25 pm

DILWeed wrote:Not really analysis but I figured this would fit better here than the sample identification thread. I've been trawling old posts from the boardsofcanada Yahoo group and found this post from a guy who seemed close to the band judging by his posting history, part of which says
magma_0000 wrote:the new album [Geogaddi] is slowly being completed - it will have sitar and is more what BOC are about. Probably sound similar to "Golden Avatar" or at least somewhere in thre region.

I looked up Golden Avatar on discogs and it's a Hindu folk/prog band from the 70s, exactly the sort of thing the brothers would pull from. Check out this line from one of their songs:
phpBB [media]

Haha. Good find. Strikes me with a bit of melancholy knowing we'll never hear the full WYLTBF though.

Re: Track Title analysis (/theme discussion)

Thu Sep 19, 2019 2:06 am

The song "Peacock Tail" from TCH could be a reference to manuscripts on alchemy, and the process involved in the creation of the philosopher's stone. According to one document, during a reaction in the alchemist's flask there would be "many coloured vapours resembling the tail of a peacock."

Here is a link to the levity.com alchemy page showing the Cabala Mineralis manuscript where this quotation was found.

In addition, the following quote reminded me of the title 'From One Source All Things Depend'

"the first matter of the stone is the very same with the first matter of all things".
- Thomas Vaughan, Welsh philosopher and alchemist. (17 April 1621 − 27 February 1666)
Post a reply