Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#∞

The car is on fire. And there's no driver at the wheel. And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides.

For Chris, because he seems to be exploring post-rock. Personally, I consider GY!BE to be essential listening to anyone showing interest in the genre and this is my favourite release by them.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor!; abbreviated to GYBE) is a Canadian post-rock band formed in 1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec. One of the first musical acts to publish their albums through the Constellation Records label, they have since released three studio albums and one EP.

The nine-piece group is well-known for working on a near-orchestral scale, utilizing such techniques as wide dynamic ranges and prepared guitars with altered timbre—typically achieved using a screwdriver (a technique originally used by Sonic Youth)—to reach their often brooding sound. They are also known for their lengthy songs, which are composed in a classical manner with multiple movements.

The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2003 with no foreseeable plans to reconvene. A misquoted interview in February 2008 reported the band had broken up, but this was later confirmed as false.

F♯A♯∞ is the debut album of the Montreal-based band Godspeed You Black Emperor! (later punctuated Godspeed You! Black Emperor). It was released twice, first in 1997 as a vinyl LP by Constellation Records and then again on CD in 1998 by Kranky. The tracks are split into various named movements. The CD version was remastered and edited, and includes some extra material, including an extra track and a hidden track. The album focuses on the end of the world and thoughts of a coming apocalypse.

The original vinyl was limited to a pressing of 500 copies, and came in a handmade package with various inserts, including original photographic prints, posters, and a Canadian penny that had been crushed by a train. The record sleeve and jacket made no mention of the track titles. The names were instead scratched into the run-off groove space, accompanied by the catalog number and side indication. The final track is a locked groove that loops indefinitely on certain record players. The album's title is technically F Sharp, A Sharp, Infinity, a reference to the keys in which each side begins and to the endless loop at the end.

The track "East Hastings" is named after a street in Vancouver's blighted Downtown Eastside. With the band's agreement, an edited portion of the track was used in the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's 2002 horror film 28 Days Later, though it does not appear on the film's soundtrack album. Danny Boyle was heavily inspired by this album during the making of 28 Days Later, saying that the entire film was cut with this as the soundtrack in his mind.

The vox pop interviewee included at the beginning of the song "Providence" references "A Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams, Jr., and is apparently the same man that quotes Blaze Bailey in "BBF3" on the band's Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada. This sample was used by the band to end their performance of "Steve Reich" during their live session for VPRO Radio in 1998.

Artist: Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Album: F#A#∞
Genre: Post-Rock

Track Listing:
1. The Dead Flag Blues (16:27)
2. East Hastings (17:58)
3. Providence (21:20)

Download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TAL9UFKK

NOTE: I'm just cross-posting this from the old Stormblog, so let me know if the link doesn't work anymore. It should.