# explain post-rock **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005 "2005-05-02T02:14:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/1 "2005-05-02T02:14:57Z")
Ok, I know _explaining_ a reaction to a piece of music is not really possible, and taste is subjective, and so this question might seem a little ridiculous. But I have listened to a great number of those “post-rock” bands (A Silver Mt Zion, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and so on) and to me there’s just nothing in them that is actually musical. They all have the same effect: sort of a wall of sound - not unpleasant sound, mind you - that doesn’t really have a melody. It’s like ambient music taken to its ridiculous extreme, or the soundtrack to a really boring movie. It’s just texture, sort of pulsating texture - seems like what you’d play at a party if you didn’t want people to risk getting distracted by the music. Is there something I’m missing? Some classic album I should listen to that will help me understand this? It’s just strange to me that a lot of people really seem to like this genre of music, and I just don’t really experience _any_ sort of emotional response to it. No enjoyment, no dislike, nothing. Except for Tortoise, who I suppose is classified with these groups - their work is melodic and interesting to me. What am I missing here? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/2 "2005-05-02T02:52:53Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > What am I missing here? A taste for post-rock, from the sound of it. Amelodic music is not for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![marky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@marky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marky33)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/3 "2005-05-02T12:12:15Z")
I’m not that familiar with the recorded work of most of these bands but I did manage to catch Mogwai live recently. They have the fantastic ability of bringing in three/four guitars and bass, all at ear-splitting volume, all at precisely the same second, after five or six minutes of noodling, which is pretty damn impressive - although a little predictable when pulled for the sixth or seventh time. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/4 "2005-05-02T12:14:36Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] Some classic album I should listen to that will help me understand this? [QUOTE] A Storm in Heaven by Verve. ---
**Author:** ![orbitingio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@orbitingio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orbitingio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/5 "2005-05-02T19:40:54Z")
You’d likely do well to start with some Brian Eno, minimalist compositions, etc. If you don’t like that sort of thing, you’re unlikely to dig on too much post-rock. Personally, I think Godspeed is boring as hell, but I like A Silver Mt. Zion for whatever reason. Mogwai is thoroughly amazing, as is Sigur Ros. Allow me to recommend you check out some of the later work by a band called Ulver (they used to be like a folk-black metal band and were quite good at it, so the “later” caveat is important here). Explosions in the Sky is another band people seem to adore, although they definitely seem to be the most mediocre and predictable of the bigger post-rock entities. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/6 "2005-05-02T19:56:15Z")
Ulver’s later stuff is generally considered experimental electronica rather than post-rock, but it’s definitely recommendable. ---
**Author:** ![orbitingio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@orbitingio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orbitingio)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/7 "2005-05-02T20:11:42Z")
Getting too narrow once it comes down to things like experimental electronica vs. post-rock seems sort of pointless to me, but I suppose I can see the distinction. Ulver’s music has this sort of odd organic thing going on that I don’t find in most electronic music. Oh, some other recommendations: Efterklang (especially if you like Sigur Ros), and two locals: Silencio ([www.iamsilencio.com](http://www.iamsilencio.com)) – more Bungle/Zorn/Mahavishnu than anything else, but if you’re looking for stuff that’s “out there,” dig on this. Mortimur ([http://mortimur.wewantaction.com/](http://mortimur.wewantaction.com/)) – sounds a bit like Mogwai vs. Don Caballero, highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-post-rock/302005/8 "2005-05-02T20:35:23Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Ulver’s later stuff is generally considered experimental electronica rather than post-rock, but it’s definitely recommendable. I’ll second that recommendation. Ulver rocks (figuratively speaking, of course).