
Letter of Recommendation: Sleep, ‘Dopesmoker’ - rashkov
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-sleep-dopesmoker.html
======
AdmiralAsshat
You know your week is off to an interesting start when an article about an
obscure* stoner metal band is on the front page of Hacker News.

* Obscure by mainstream standards, insofar as most people can't tell you what "doom" or "stoner" metal means. They're fairly well-known within the circle.

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yekim
This article is absolutely hilarious! I rarely laugh out loud when I'm reading
stuff, but this line just got me.

"Because I’m overeducated and insecure, I package my banal observations in
semantic finery, so I feel a kinship with lines like ‘‘Earthling inserts to
chalice the green cutchie/Groundation soul finds trust upon smoking hose,’’
which is a fancy way of saying ‘‘a guy smokes some weed.’’ The thesis of
‘‘Dopesmoker’’ may boil down to ‘‘smoke dope,’’ but first-time listeners
should be forgiven for wondering if it’s actually an anthropological study of
Qedarite tribes in the pre-Christian Sinai Peninsula."

Totes hilare. Any song with lyrics that complex and earth shattering, deserves
a listen. Plus - metal. Ya. Rocking out to the epic tune now!

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sakri
For the lazy, listen to it here :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIw7oeZKpZc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIw7oeZKpZc)
(or don't bro, it's all good)

~~~
milge
Dragonaut by Sleep is also pretty good:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-FjO3E8K-E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-FjO3E8K-E)

One of the few songs where the low quality makes it sound better.

~~~
cmpb
Completely agree. Sleeps quality of recording (not shitty, but not overdone)
contributes a lot to their unique sound, including their earlier more "punky"
stuff.

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avolcano
I don't listen to a lot of stoner/doom metal (Pallbearer's about the closest I
get, really), but I absolutely adore this album. It's so extreme in concept,
but very easy to digest. It's an absolute masterpiece of musicianship (and has
some of the funniest lyrics I've ever heard). Very happy to see the Times, of
all places, give it a plug.

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jpmattia
> _According to Billy Anderson, the recording engineer, the guitar tracks were
> recorded three separate times to thicken the sound, using custom-built amps
> so powerful that it wasn’t possible to stand in the same room with them.
> Each amp was recorded with seven or eight microphones, which gives you a
> sense of the dedication required to create something so loud._

[facepalm] The triumph of hype over signal analysis.

~~~
darkr
Yeah... Though I think an analysis of the lyrics would suggest that they
weren't in a sober signal-analysis kind of mood when making this record..

    
    
        Drop out of life with bong in hand
        Follow the Smoke toward the Riff filled Land
        Drop out of life with bong in hand
        Follow the Smoke toward the Riff filled Land
        ...
        Creedsmen roll out across the dying dawn
        Sacred Israel Holy Mountain Zion
        Sun beams down on to the Sandsea reigns
        Caravan migrates through deep sandscape
        Lungsmen unearth the creed of Hasheeshian
        Procession of the Weed-Priests to cross the sands
        Desert Legion Smoke-Covenant is complete
        ...
    

Plus, if you've spent all your advance on custom amps and weed, you might as
well put them to use.

~~~
grubles
The band name "Sleep" and song titled "Dopesmoker" didn't tip you off?

~~~
darkr
Dude, I saw them in 2009 at their first reunion show. I've been tipped off for
a while now.

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mjgoins
If you like Sleep's Dopesmoker, the next logical step is Conference of the
Birds, by OM.

~~~
goldbrick
Electric Wizard's Dopethrone is another venerable classic.

~~~
WaxProlix
Dopethrone is _definitely_ the way to go if you like Sleep, and Electric
Wizard's Witchcult Today offers some slight stylistic branching out while
retaining the doom metal vibe, if folks are interested in further listening.

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huuu
I't not obvious from the article but Dopesmoker is in fact a single.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_and_Dopesmoker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_and_Dopesmoker)

~~~
darkr
It's definitely an album.

The definitions are fairly woolly, but generally speaking, to be classed as a
single, a release can have up to three tracks, with each track up to 10
minutes and in total no longer than 30 minutes runtime.

Anything with three to five tracks, with a total run time of up to 25 or 30
minutes (depending on who you ask) can be classed as an EP.

Anything with a more than five tracks, and less than 30 minutes runtime is a
mini-LP.

Anything with a longer runtime than this, is an LP, otherwise known as an
album. Even if it only has one track.

------
hrnnnnnn
I did not expect to see Sleep on the front page of HN! If you want to hear the
logical conclusion of Black Sabbath, give this record a listen :D

~~~
chubot
I feel like it's the logical conclusion of _part_ of Sabbath's catalog -- ONE
BRANCH. Sabbath is amazing because one or two songs contain the seeds for
entire subgenre of metal ... and another song, a completely different
subgenre. They were around before metal split into thrash, doom, stoner, etc.
obviously.

The band "Thou" IMO is the best candidate for heirs to Sabbath, in that they
are super literate. They have a specific doom/black metal sound, but borrow a
lot from outside of metal.

~~~
hrnnnnnn
Awesome, I'll check them out :D

------
Drup
> The essence of heavy metal is discipline in service of the preposterous. At
> its best, the genre solemnizes the impulses of adolescence.

Eh, that's an interesting (if very partial) view of heavy metal.

~~~
pessimizer
Ask kids to say "I'm a monster!" in a monster voice. You will hear every non-
operatic metal vocal style. If one of the kids does something you _haven 't_
heard in metal yet, start a band and rip the kid off.

------
ErikAugust
I love this album. Great for long (stoned) afternoon runs in a canyon.

Always thought it sounded like Sleep decided to take up where Black Sabbath's
"Sweet Leaf" left off.

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vezzy-fnord
I actually enjoy the original recording _Jerusalem_ more than _Dopesmoker_.
The lo-fi production makes it sound even rawer and more penetrating.

That said, I've probably played both over a dozen times each. It truly is a
journey and one that seldom gets tedious for some reason.

~~~
AdmiralAsshat
IIRC, Jerusalem wasn't the original, but a bootleg. The album was cut up into
several tracks, if memory serves.

I will say, however, that the bootleg cover art by Arik Roper is probably my
favorite of the bunch:

[http://www.roadburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sleep-
jer...](http://www.roadburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sleep-jerusalem-
bootleg-cover11.jpg)

I prefer it over the recent reissue cover, even though Roper did that as well.

~~~
ionised
Yeah, the original was one continuous track, as Dopesmoker is but the record
label deemed it 'unmarketable' and demanded the band change it.

They responded by basically keeping it the same, but cutting it up into
smaller ~10 minute tracks, which the label again deemed unacceptable.

The band split as a result rather than change their work (which I give them
mega props for). Years later fans managed to raise enough money to get it
released in its original, unedited form which is the Dopesmoker we have now.

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supernintendo
Oh, Sleep is great. I'm also surprised none of the comments (up to this point)
have mentioned High on Fire, Matt Pike's other doom metal band. They're
incredible live.

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RUG3Y
I think a better starting point is Sleep's live performance at Hellfest - see
it on youtube. This music is much better understood in a live context.

~~~
monksy
Would you suggest seeing them live? I have a chance to see them tomorrow at
Thalia Hall in Chicago, but I'm just not sure on that yet.

~~~
rawaid
Yes, 100%. They're playing with Bongripper who are also amazing and you'll be
happy you went.

~~~
monksy
Just got it for the Wednesday show.

~~~
sitkack
Both shows are sold out. Must wait at door.

~~~
monksy
Stubhub.

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careersuicide
If you enjoy Sleep I highly recommend "Dopethrone" by Electric Wizard.

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failrate
Great to read this. I just read a vice article with Billy Anderson describing
his work on Pallbearer's new album while learning the bass line for their song
The Legend. If you like Sleep at all, you will probably love Pallbearer. Sleep
are one of those bands that are greater for their inspiration for bands that
followed than the quality of their own seminal work.

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swayvil
Sonic Titan. Snappiest song on the album. My fave.

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jaredandrews
Hah, funny seeing this here. I have never been able to get into this album no
matter how "prepared" I get for it. The vinyl reissues of it are real pretty
though so maybe one of these days I'll buy it and try again :)

~~~
JonnieCache
_> The vinyl reissues of it are real pretty though_

Unfortunately, coloured vinyl/picture discs sound pretty awful and degrade
much more quickly. A novelty item only.

Although tbf unless you're a DJ any vinyl record is sort of a novelty item.

~~~
codq
Which is why when the reissue was pressed in 2012, I snapped the black vinyl
copy as soon as time allowed.

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ionised
I love that album.

Listening to it from start to finish in one sitting is an experience. It's
meditative.

~~~
jay-saint
Agreed, I put on my noise isolation headphones and started listing to it near
the end of the day. When I stopped coding and the album was almost over, I
realized I was last one in the office by probably 30 minutes.

~~~
ionised
Man, I wish we were allowed to wear headphones in the office here.

The boss is old-fashioned as hell and thinks its unprofessional. He also
thinks we have to wear a shirt and ties every day and that trade unions are
communism.

I'm currently looking for other opportunities lol.

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jcpst
Excellent, Sleep on HN!

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astazangasta
Non sequitur objection to the whole 'potsmoker == lazy, unproductive' bit.
When will we get over that one? Half of Silicon Valley is likely stoned at
work right now, busily hacking away.

~~~
morgante
What part of taking 4 years to write down a single song isn't lazy?

~~~
ionised
A 1 hour 10 minute song?

