The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
| The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 29, 2001 | |||
| Genre | Ambient, minimalist, drone | |||
| Length | 123:54 | |||
| Label | Kranky | |||
| Producer | Brian McBride, Adam Wiltzie | |||
| Stars of the Lid chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid is the sixth studio album by ambient drone music group Stars of the Lid. It was released in late 2001 on the Kranky label, on two CDs and three LPs. The album features long minimal, droning compositions created from heavily treated guitar, horn, flute, piano, and other classical instruments.
The second track, "Requiem for Dying Mothers, Part 2", features a sample from the final scene of Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker, where the character Monkey pushes a glass across a table by way of telekinesis as a dog whines and a train whistle blows in the distance.[1] The third track, "Down 3", contains a sample from the soundtrack to John Frankenheimer's 1966 film Seconds.
The track "Gasfarming" includes a brief sample of a telephone dialing to Big Ed Hurley's voice (Everett McGill) the owner of Big Ed's Gas Farm from the 1990's television series Twin Peaks.[2]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | 10/10[4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.6/10[5] |
| Stylus Magazine | A−[6] |
The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid was generally praised by critics. Thom Jurek, writing for AllMusic, stated:
There is a progression in all the music here, but it is so subtle, so quiet and un-intrusive, the listener would have to pay very careful attention to everything that is happening. More realistic, however, is for those who take pleasure in SotL's music and inner space explorations — for this truly is a music of the inner terrain — to offer themselves little distraction other than a comfortable chair or resting place in order to let this music enter at will, naturally, and expand until it takes you over the edge into something resembling sleep, but far more delicious.[3]
The music review online magazine Pitchfork placed The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid at number 187 on its list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[7] In 2016, Pitchfork ranked the album number six on its list of the 50 best ambient albums of all time.[8]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Requiem for Dying Mothers, Part 1" | 6:36 |
| 2. | "Requiem for Dying Mothers, Part 2" | 7:37 |
| 3. | "Down 3" | 5:46 |
| 4. | "Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 1" | 2:48 |
| 5. | "Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 2" | 12:18 |
| 6. | "Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 3" | 5:47 |
| 7. | "Broken Harbors, Part 1" | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Broken Harbors, Part 2" | 6:47 |
| 9. | "Broken Harbors, Part 3" | 9:16 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mullholland" | 6:48 |
| 2. | "The Lonely People (Are Getting Lonelier)" | 10:07 |
| 3. | "Gasfarming" | 3:20 |
| 4. | "Piano Aquieu" | 10:54 |
| 5. | "FAC 21" | 3:08 |
| 6. | "Ballad of Distances, Part 1" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Ballad of Distances, Part 2" | 3:00 |
| 8. | "A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 1" | 6:45 |
| 9. | "A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 2" | 8:05 |
| 10. | "A Lovesong (For Cubs) +, Part 3" | 7:45 |
References
[edit]- ^ Dyer, Geoff (21 February 2012). Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-90701-1. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Savlov, Marc (25 November 2011). "Going Back for 'Seconds': Cinema Club and Wiley Wiggins revive a Sixties thriller". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid – Stars of the Lid". AllMusic. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Eyers, Tom (April 9, 2002). "Album Review: Stars of the Lid – The Tired Sounds Of..." Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Richard-San, Mark (September 24, 2001). "Stars of the Lid: The Tired Sounds of..." Pitchfork. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Burns, Todd (September 1, 2003). "Stars of the Lid – The Tired Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200–151". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ "The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. September 26, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
