Like Herod
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| "Like Herod" | ||
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| Song by Mogwai | ||
| from the album Young Team | ||
| Released |  21 October 1997 27 October 1997 |
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| Recorded | MCM Studios Hamilton, Scotland  |
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| Genre | Post-rock | |
| Length | 11:39 | |
| Label | Chemikal Underground CHEM018 Jetset TWA07CD |
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| Producer(s) | Paul Savage | |
| Young Team track listing | ||
| Music sample | ||
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"Like Herod" (file info) |
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| from the album Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 | ||
| Length | 18:32 | |
| Label | Matador OLE-646 |
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| Chronology | ||
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"Like Herod" is a song by Scottish Post-rock Mogwai from their 1997 debut album, Young Team.
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[edit] Overview
As well as being a fan-favorite, and a live staple, it is perhaps the most extreme display of Mogwai's quiet/loud contrast method. An 18 minute-long version of "Like Herod" (recorded live by Steve Lamacq from a BBC Radio Session at the BBC Recording and Broadcast Studio in Maida Vale in March 1999[1]) appears on Mogwai's live compilation album, Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003.
[edit] Musical structure
The song begins with a sinister bassline, played by Dominic Aitchison, which is joined at (0:04) by a guitar, doubling the bassline, played by Stuart Braithwaite, and at (0:16) by cautious drumming, played by Martin Bulloch, and an additional disorientating guitar counter-melody, played by John Cummings. At (0:46), the song progresses into an alternate melody, based around the chord of C7M, which is repeated, then the song goes back to repeating the main melody until (1:30), where the alternate melody is repeated once more. The drums then begin to get quieter and quieter, coming to a halt at (2:15), leaving only the guitars and the bass to play the main and alternate melodies themselves, which they do until (2:57), when all the instruments explode in a barrage of deafening noise, featuring a heavy drumbeat and highly distorted, screeching guitars, with intent to frighten the listener. This continues until (4:51), where the original bassline is introduced once more, and the original drumbeat begins playing. At (5:17), the drumbeat stops abruptly and all that is heard is the bassline, and a guitar, plucking a muted note. This continues, with the plucked note becoming gradually more erratic, until (6:15), when all of the instruments explode into another torrent of noise, almost identical to the last one, albeit with more guitar feedback in the background. This continues until (8:08), when the drumbeat becomes calmer, the guitar feedback becomes more subdued, and the bass can be heard quietly in the background, repeating a heavily distorted note at the start of each bar. At (10:11), the drumbeat ends and all that can be heard is the steady pulse of the ride cymbal, the distorted bass note, and a guitar feedbacking, until (10:20), when it seems to go gradually upwards in pitch, ending at (10:29). Snippets of feedback are heard momentarily as the bass note continues to be played, until (11:05), when the bass note plays one last time, and begins feedbacking, along with subdued guitar noise in the background, until (11:35), when all the instruments cease playing and the song ends.
[edit] Trivia
- The song title is most likely derived from Herod the Great.
- The song was originally titled "Slint"[2], referring to the influential Post-rock band Slint, and their frequent usage of the quiet/loud dynamic contrast.
- Stuart Braithwaite has said that "Like Herod" is his favourite song from Young Team.[3]
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
| Mogwai |
|---|
| Stuart Braithwaite • Dominic Aitchison • Martin Bulloch • John Cummings • Barry Burns |
| Discography |
| Albums: Young Team • Come on Die Young • Rock Action • Happy Songs for Happy People • Mr. Beast • Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait |
| Compilations: Ten Rapid (Collected Recordings 1996-1997) • Kicking a Dead Pig • EP+6 • Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 |
| EPs: 4 Satin • No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew) • Mogwai:EP • Travels in Constants • U.S. Tour EP • UK/European Tour EP • Travel Is Dangerous |
| Singles: "Tuner"/"Lower" • "Angels vs Aliens" • "Ithica 27ø9"/"Summer" • "New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 1"/"New Paths to Helicon, Pt. 2" • "Club Beatroot, Part 4" • "Do The Rock Boogaloo" • "My Father My King" • "Friend of the Night" • "Black Spider" |
| Related articles |
| Rock Action Records • The Recording of Mr. Beast • Castle of Doom Studios • Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle • Chemikal Underground |
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