Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Studio album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Released	October 9, 2000
Recorded	February 2000 Chemical Sound Studios Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Post-rock
Length	87:21
Label	Constellation CST012 Kranky KRANK043
Producer	Daryl Smith
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Almost Cool (8.25/10.0) link CanuckistanMusic (very positive) link Pitchfork Media (9.0/10) link
Godspeed You Black Emperor! chronology
Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada (1999) Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000) Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)
Vinyl sleeve
Various pictures printed on the double vinyl sleeves. The flip side features black-and-white art by William Schaff.

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (also known as Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven and Levez Vos Skinny Fists Comme Antennas to Heaven) is a double album released by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was released on both Kranky and Constellation Records in 2000. The album was recorded at Chemical Sound Studios in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2001, Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.^[1]

Structure and details

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is unusual in being structurally and conceptually closer to a symphony than a conventional pop or rock album. The four tracks are composed of internal movements, with different sub-titles, that fade into each other. The whole album is instrumental, except for sampled voice inserts, and starts with an almost orchestral crescendo somewhat reminiscent of Ravel's Bolero. The inner panels of vinyl edition released by Constellation contain an interesting diagram used to illustrate the song names and lengths; each movement is drawn, by Efrim Menuck,^[2] as a square block and the length of the block is governed by how much of the song it takes up. Some of the blocks slowly move upwards to show a raise. The movement title and the numerical length are either above or below the square. The interior covers of the CD feature art by the Rhode Island-based William Schaff.^[2] The double vinyl edition presents the same art, but on the sleeves instead. The flip side contains various images taken by the band.

Track listing

The album consists of four continuous tracks on the Compact Disc release. Time lengths of individual movements are taken from the official discography. Times for each movement appear in the album's cover art, but those times are very inaccurate. While the movements of the tracks are listed, the names of the four tracks that make up the album are unlisted on the CD.

Disc one

1. "Storm" – 22:32
   • "Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven..." – 6:15
   • "Gathering Storm/Il Pleut à Mourir [+Clatters Like Worry]" – 11:10
   • "'Welcome to Barco AM/PM...' [L.A.X.; 5/14/00]" – 1:15
   • "Cancer Towers on Holy Road Hi-Way" – 3:52
2. "Static" – 22:35
   • "Terrible Canyons of Static" – 3:34
   • "Atomic Clock." – 1:09
   • "Chart #3" – 2:39
   • "World Police and Friendly Fire" – 9:48
   • "[...+The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now]" – 5:25

Disc two

1. "Sleep" – 23:17
   • "Murray Ostril: '...They Don't Sleep Anymore on the Beach...'" – 1:10
   • "Monheim" – 12:14
   • "Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III." – 9:53
2. "Antennas to Heaven" – 18:57
   • "Moya Sings 'Baby-O'..." – 1:00
   • "Edgyswingsetacid" – 0:58
   • "[Glockenspiel Duet Recorded on a Campsite In Rhinebeck, N.Y.]" – 0:47
   • "'Attention...Mon Ami...Fa-Lala-Lala-La-La...' [55-St. Laurent]" – 1:18
   • "She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She Was Alone in an Empty Field" – 9:43
   • "Deathkamp Drone" – 3:09
   • "[Antennas to Heaven...]" – 2:02

Notes

• "Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III" was originally named "3rd Part."
• "She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She Was Alone in an Empty Field" was originally named "John Hughes."
• "Monheim" and "Chart #3" were broadcast on January 19, 1999 on John Peel's radio show before the release of Skinny Fists as the first two movements of a piece called "Hung Over as the Queen in Maida Vale." The closing movement was named "Steve Reich" after the minimalist composer.

Personnel

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

• Roger Tellier-Craig – guitar
• Norsola Johnson – cello
• Efrim Menuck – guitar
• Mauro Pezzente – bass
• David Bryant – guitar
• Thierry Amar – bass
• Sophie Trudeau – violin
• Aidan Girt – percussion
• Bruce Cawdron – percussion

Other musicians

• Brian and Alfons – horns

Technical

• Daryl Smith – producer
• John Golden – mastering

References

External links

• Constellation's Album Information Page on Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
• Speech Transcript at Static Track