listening to "helpless child" by swans

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Dear boomers: It's a meme. In the original video- the girls weren't actually reacting to Helpless Child.

[@demogorgonn]

Figured that of course...what are they actually reacting to?

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

@@demogorgonn BTS.

[@chadking5988]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 lmao zoomers and their effeminate pop idols

[@qboxer]

@@chadking5988 to be fair.. I am not sure that New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys and NSynch were much better.

[@TheBurrito171]

@@chadking5988 Oh please. Millenials had no better out of all the myspace emo/screamo bands filled with falsetto-sounding men in tight pants and black nail polish who were all secretly in it to sleep with 14 year olds.

[@mmmm_lemon]

Two years ago I've had a surgery. I was lying in a hospital bad tripping balls after anaesthetics listening to Soundtracks for the Blind for the very first time. I think hearing the instrumental part of Helpless Child that day made me go through a near-religious experience as if some devine power transcended into the hospital room. Love this song to death now.

[@saturatedneowax]

lift yr skinny fists is my go to soundtrack for staring up at those spongey ceiling tiles whenever I go to the hospital

[@mediastarguest]

Listening to the entire song would be enough to induce the necessity of surgery on any previously healthy person. This "music" should carry a health warning: "may inflict damage to the brain cells." But I approve of it: it confirms four fundamental laws of nature and one important fundamental law of Rousseau's social contract ; 1.That nature and the natural world has a time and place for everything, even crap like this. 2.That even the talentless may be successful in some shape or form. 3.While some people see only shit, others see edible shit to be enjoyed and eat lots of it repeatedly. 4.The relationship between different forms of psychological manipulation (brainwashing): both the fact that if most people like something, others will simply like it too, as opposed to when hardly anybody likes something there will always be a small reactionary group of people who like it - simply because others don't. 1. from Rousseau's social contract: giving everybody and anybody the right to vote democratically was a huge mistake.

[@mmmm_lemon]

@@mediastarguest 🤓🤓🤓

[@carloseduardogonzalezsalga7947]

​@@mmmm_lemon🤓👆

[@fishguise6818]

@@mediastarguestoh my god

[@joaovalente7806]

this is me after the 2h30min of soundtracks for the blind

[@KroisikLP]

love your profile picture

[@joaovalente7806]

@@KroisikLP thank you friend

[@milkmedia1657]

Mediocre record tbh

[@joaovalente7806]

@@milkmedia1657 I don't respect that statement

[@milkmedia1657]

@@joaovalente7806 I was just really bored by it ngl

[@Ja_Crispy69]

I remember listening to this for the first time. For a moment it felt like nothing else existed.

[@halfalligator6518]

it really is tectonic. Feels like something mother earth would make. I heard it while tripping balls and my goodness...

[@bondfall0072]

I had listened to this album before, but the first time i really *heard* it was when I was really depressed and sick in my dorm room, trying to get some sleep. The section played in this video was the moment it felt like my soul left my body. Just an out of this world, delirious experience. God bless Gira and his cowboy hat.

[@someguy779]

18 no job, no gf, no plans and living in a rented room blues

[@danielparsignault3869]

I used to love listening to this album blissed out on the couch in a twilight sleep state that the music would induce. Then the live version of "Yum yab" would snap me back to reality.

[@bodywithoutorgans172]

AND BLOW YOUR BRAINS OOOOOUUUTTTTT OOOOOO OOO OOOOO OOOOOO OOOOO OOOOUUUTTTTT

[@EatPieYes]

Once every year or so, I go to bed listening to this album, and I'll usually be drowsy by The Beautiful Days, half asleep for the next couple of songs until All Lined Up completely obliterates my peaceful rest. Then I'll power through until the first disc is done (Animus is especially powerful in that last waking moment), go to sleep and then wake myself up to Jarboe singing about some gift...

[@CYB3RC0RP]

I think every Swans fan vividly remembers the first time they heard this incredible track.

[@arch_dornan6066]

I don't wanna sound pretentious or anything but it's so beautiful. After how depressing the song is the beautiful synth comes on and it feels like everything is going to be okay

[@emomu]

nice pfp :)

[@CaitPepsi]

@@emomu ik where your pfp is from, nice pfp :)

[@markusendresen9172]

I like to think of it as a long hug after a loooong day :)

[@emomu]

@@CaitPepsi beach house bloom, tysm :)

[@user-bf6gz8ej4o]

I see it like "It's all going to be okay because nothing is going to be okay but that doesn't matter anymore now."

[@painsorrow3062]

the organs and synths tear me up

[@hectorsalamanca7149]

Fell asleep once to this song and had a dream about climbing a mountain of corpses using only a sword. Was ascending towards this heavenly white light while this angel choir kept getting louder and louder in my head. Some real shit

[@jimmyiscool1239]

some ppl have dreams of just falling and waking up, then there is you

[@charluspupuce]

Berserk dream

[@plankthereturn]

Griffith?

[@seamusthatsthedog4819]

Ancestral memory. 100% real.

[@chriss6136]

that's fucking cool

[@user-xj4vk2yu8t]

They are indeed Swans fans. As you can see, they are wearing tshirts with the initials BTS ''Bring The Sun'' .

[@MDK2_Radio]

I got to see them play this in person on their 95 tour. Fucking godhead moment.

[@notsanger]

i would pay upwards of a million dollars to see them during the swans are dead tours

[@jimmyiscool1239]

you are the luckiest guy in the comment section and beyond

[@jack_rabbit]

dude, i saw them w low as the opening act on the soundtracks tour in philly. it was the loudest concert i ever went to.

[@rodders215]

That was the best show I ever saw from them before they split up. Their music had a a blend of beauty, horror, and madness They really delivered it well that night. Wish I saw more of that tour.

[@rodders215]

@@jack_rabbit Most of that night was new material that I don’t think ever got to the studio. The live album was superb, still… The direct they were heading with soundtracks, I was so looking for more studio output from them.

[@GravityBouncer]

this album is so full of dread to me, it dredges up all these locked away memories and makes me feel grossly alive, it’s honestly such an effective work of art imo

[@thomdipol5724]

i totally agree. ive listened to this album at least 100x since it came out. it takes me to a place that i have trouble describing, but you did it well. thanks

[@kinderjunior8235]

I never thought I would find something like this because it’s rare to find swans related content aside from music, but I can agree with this

[@themandownstairs4765]

Is the Swans fandom getting more memes or have we been shitposting since Filth and I just didn't notice?

[@subsanity667]

Saw the Swans way back in 1989 when the band started playing in this more mellow ethereal style instead of the pummeling and harsh dirges of the previous records. I loved that show and it was still really loud and made an impression on me. “Raping a Slave “ and Holy Money were the songs I was familiar with at the time only later did I realize that Godflesh was kinda emulating the early Swans sound only with drum machines. Anyway it’s interesting that these young people are giving this band a listen because the Swans music across the board is gonna clear the room of most casual music lovers. Whether it’s the abrasive and transgressive early albums to the more textured and beautiful sounds of later post 1980s works the Swans are a challenge to listen to.

[@rubberboy9381]

…who gon tell him?

[@person_people8134]

Yeah, we love all of it. Their newer material from the past decade is just as good if not better than the old stuff. Helpless Child might be fav song of all time, it’s beautiful.

[@person_people8134]

Also, Anthony Fantano. That too. His influence is pretty crazy.

[@scottcharney1091]

@@rubberboy9381 I will.

[@scottcharney1091]

Mike, this isn't the original video. In the original, the girls are listening to BTS, the Korean boy band depicted on their shirts. It's become a meme, a self-replicating idea. Whoever made this video has made it look like they (the girls) are reacting to Swans.

[@phogue1]

Not sure why I got this in my recommendations, but this is one of the most underrated albums ever.

[@honeycomblord9384]

Overlooked might be a better description, since this album seems to get a lot of praise from those who've heard it.

[@beerserker196]

First listen be like

[@sammieslaterjr.8982]

if you're a peak human being this is your exact reaction to it

[@lindseyclaridge4505]

This truly makes my day

[@newjerseydiablo]

I would’ve never thought that a single song could trigger an existential crisis in me and make my entire past flash before eyes for an entire 15 minutes straight…. CHRIST, I WAS DEAD WRONG!

[@HMz83]

Whenever that organ comes in I feel like I've gained mountains worth of knowledge I wasn't supposed to know.

[@ash-iggdrazil]

So what's in the screen? Gira's killing the child?

[@CorvusSynths]

This song blew my mind. It was overwhelming for so long.

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Why is this getting views so fast right now? Where the hell are you all coming from?

[@TheSPY1997]

showed up in my youtube homepage

[@pDreams-ct9ri]

i love swans

[@Koettnylle]

The algorithm works in mysterious ways

[@youngmordek]

saw it on my feed, i listen to a lot of swans. maybe that's why?

[@MDK2_Radio]

@@TheSPY1997 same with me.

[@hyoonoot]

Too real that song fucked me up

[@mikuchan8798]

This is me every time I listen to the live version of Blood Promise

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Or just the studio version. Blood Promise live or not live is fucking beautiful.

[@mramirez430]

the Swans are Dead version of Blood Promise is heartbreaking

[@ktiitfa2491]

gawd this fucking anime shit

[@willo7734]

My favorite album. It got me through some rough times.

[@uwagajedzietramwaj_]

this is genuinely how helpless child gets me

[@OnceWasRStrathfield]

I reacted like this to Swans when I was a teenager. Michael Gira puts the fear in all of us!

[@rayrayfad3654]

Once he looked me dead in the eye. Scared the shit outta me

[@OnceWasRStrathfield]

@@rayrayfad3654 Same! I want my innocence back!

[@lacanian1500]

swans memes are top memes What's the original video?

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4TWYodqobampsk

[@lacanian1500]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 thank you brother. glad to have a comrade with based politics and cool music taste.

[@billybobmybutt]

I'm not a big SFTB fan, but Helpless Child genuinely is one of the most depressing songs ever made

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Same. STFTB is overrated tbh.

[@garrettmartin5081]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 what would you put above SFTB? I think as a whole the album isn't their strongest, but Helpless Child and The Sound are like their best songs in my opinion. I still haven't really listened to the Hanged Man, but I've done every other album.

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

@@garrettmartin5081 Every studio album of theirs except Greed, Holy Money, and The Burning World is above STFTB. It's the album I find myself returning to the least due to its length and the fact that I find it a bit of a mess (one of the worst combinations in music). The album is simply too disjointed, bloated, and inconsistent for it to be a 10 in my opinion. YRP 2 and Yum-Yab Killers sound like they were recorded through a potato (the latter also disrupts the flow of the album); Blood Section and Fan's Lament sound like outtakes from other albums so they don't fit the STFTB in an aesthetic sense; The Final Sacrifice sounds worse than its Swans Are Dead counterpart (this is also true for Yum-Yab and both YRPs) and doesn't do a good job of justifying its length; Jarboe's delivery on Hypogirl sounds cartoonish. Of course Helpless Child and The Sound are absolutely amazing but they are 2 out of 26 songs. STFTB is a good album but it good have been great.

[@TomatoKetchup1000]

pfffffffffff hahaha

[@limeboo3731]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 Buy one of the vinyl pressings and listen to it on some good speakers, I wonder if you might change your mind

[@AReallyLongAndUnremakableUser]

This is me after listening to Ed Sheeran.

[@seamusthatsthedog4819]

I want to see a Prisoner In Your Skull reaction where it's just someone having a panic attack

[@jack_rabbit]

soundtracks for the blind is THE prize jewel on the already glorious crown that is the swans' discography.

[@nicknickson3650]

except for Yum Yab and Hypogirl. Remove those two songs and it's a 10/10

[@cryingmakesmehorny4632]

@@nicknickson3650 nah, they add variety and a bit of humour in this dark trip

[@user-xq1bc5qx2p]

​@@nicknickson3650Dunno. Yum-Yab has grown on me a lot after a while and live version of Hypogirl is amazing (although I miss a scream in the beginning)

[@kaaynelagermat]

This song made me fuckin cry in awe

[@MYNAMACHEF]

instant tears

[@cesarmaluco769]

Listening to swans after finishing silent hill was nothing but I loved how it felt like an extension of it

[@StevieDamnit]

Added to my "Music" playlist.

[@Petfal]

Real art is art that moves you ❤️

[@JohanSundberg1971]

This is the sole purpose of internet.

[@saraivatoledo1842]

Imagine Gira watching this .

[@coba3220]

I love this so much.

[@parkerdangaruss]

SInce where all telling stories about our experience with this dru- I mean song. this entire album felt like a psychedelic experience even while stone sober. then I listened to it on weed lsd and dmt..... i have not before and have yet to have a psychedelic experience that can match it in how incredible it was.

[@emly7808]

i need to listen to this on lsd

[@lazartlol]

real asf

[@The8bitdin0]

I kid you not this song literally altered my vision while I listened to it, it was a surreal experience

[@zaphyra-]

rcb x swans

[@giovanniparadiso1519]

thanks to you sir I will be listening to this song on repeat for another week

[@ktiitfa2491]

why is all this anime shit styled like how we grew up

[@SeanGleason-tj2ht]

Soundtracks for the blind made me come to terms with being neurodivergent/having Asperger’s

[@marcellixxx]

This is blissful heaven in my own deceased mind 👹

[@torstenatterberg5788]

Best song of all time

[@abstract505]

Sounds pretty good. Think I'll check em' out

[@user-sp2ey8yi2c]

Pretty much my reaction, chilling in my mates room whilst sipping a jack and coke...

[@idkwhat5492]

The algorithm has chosen you

[@pizzafreak1175]

Oh, God, where is this video with the Godspeed song?

[@tonyajm8289]

It's a brilliant track but you have to check out 'Feel Happiness'

[@Rmepapi69]

Thanks for the tip. Gonna check it out now.

[@vvhitepriest]

listen to this song on 220ug. I’m a puppeteer in a puppet’s skin and bones playing actor director and producer of my universe it’s so ruthlessly beautiful. I’m joker in the mirror and christ on the cross it all lives through me i bare the pain with love. Thank Swans for reminding me of this experience of being. I’m being played by god but it’s alright.

[@neorox7538]

theres no time like the first time my god

[@Vomitbukkake]

This is me listening to blind 3x in a row

[@Ispowzfmanalog15]

I suppose it was about 1990 when I first heard the Swans… then it was Skinny puppy and all the rest after that. Angels of light is also highly recommended.

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

How I Loved You is a 10/10 album.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Never doubled over over Swans before

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Best lyrics in a Swan song is a repetition of the line - " God bless you, damn you to hell."

[@scottcharney1091]

I would genuinely like to try this for real, by getting a couple of young girls, and seeing how they react to the song.

[@cryingmakesmehorny4632]

They would probably get bored :(

[@lautaromontoya3993]

I showed like 10 seconds of animus to my cousin and she loved it, she's 14 y.o.

[@scottcharney1091]

@@lautaromontoya3993 Neat!

[@skeesuschrist2162]

So true.

[@royghosn18]

Wonder what they actually reacting to

[@scottcharney1091]

Apparently, it's BTS.

[@dislodge]

I'm pretty sure they're watching that alligator eating a family's dog video that's kicking around the Tube

[@NixityNullt]

Do i have to listen to the entire album to get this or just the song?

[@cryingmakesmehorny4632]

Both

[@bruh-rt7sr]

the song works well on its own but the entire album is good

[@yogicentralyt]

highly recommend listening to the entire album

[@mammal777]

so what is the video they are actually reacting to? I've seen this meme a bunch and want to know.

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

BTS or some shit.

[@theskoolmustard00]

I mean can you blame anyone, it's really a devastating song

[@TheMrbasebll]

Hey, that's me listening 2 swans

[@JayBigDadyCy]

They look like they're watching 2 girls one cup for the first time

[@spothra8862]

from a facebook shared link

[@battousai12]

Damn I felt this way on my first listening, either. Helpless Child is unmatched.

[@pDreams-ct9ri]

what is the original vid?

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4TWYodqobampsk

[@ellie-kc4kj]

now i really want to know wat they were really listening to

[@scottcharney1091]

BTS (apparently)

[@Felipejvcsful]

i thought that swans was immune to cringe reaction videos

[@groovyhat9282]

Anyone else appreciating OP's profile picture from Pyroclasts?

[@Shakenmike117]

What’s the original meme from?

[@scottcharney1091]

According to other comments, they're listening to BTS.

[@tooolest32]

I've reported this video to Michael Gira.

[@maxgill6738]

what are the girls originally reacting to ? jw ..they prob just acting aint they

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Kpop music video or some shti

[@StringierHail56]

swans but make it hopeful

[@maxolydian9115]

Yum Yab is where you get scared, not Helpless Child. HC is a gorgeous, unending trance-dirge. SFTB is on par with the Holy Triptych, imo

[@pipgang]

real

[@ceef8688]

another searing lampoon from the 'burbs...I am glad that's still how it is there, frivolous social critique without the tension of the urban interface!

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

What?

[@ceef8688]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 I feel that I get this video

[@ceef8688]

all us who searched "m gira breaks dust" or "dog reacting to swans blaring near food bowl" got routed here

[@realnegajpeg9935]

This sounds so Australian

[@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382]

Okay but wtf was the original video they were reacting to? Was it like an Isis beheading or something??

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

They were reacting to BTS. I *wish* they were reacting to a beheading instead.

[@yetanotherrandomyoutubecha4382]

Oh haha that puts the video in a bit of a different light

[@Sloppatola]

LOL

[@DrunkUncleJesse]

You're a freak, whoever made this video. Thumbs up.

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

You are more fucked up than me.

[@junocallow4702]

what were they originally reacting to?

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

BTS.

[@spatrk6634]

@@youtubeuserdan4017 what the hell is "bts"

[@ktiitfa2491]

@@spatrk6634 korean boy bands who raid our cultures styles and attach our cultures to the worst music ever

[@scottcharney1091]

@@spatrk6634 A boy band from South Korea.

[@Waltar100]

​@@ktiitfa2491dude it's just a korean boy band, it's not that deep

[@1000-years]

glad i'm not the only one who gets emotional at this part. i get the same effect from the swans are dead version of blood promise

[@industrialworld1]

me irl

[@wanneske1969]

Helpless children listening to Helpless Child. Swans have made far louder and 'worse' music btw, especially in 1982-1985

[@youtubeuserdan4017]

Cop > STFTB

[@pathogensmusick]

You are correct! Early Swans is terrifying in comparison to this stuff.

[@scottcharney1091]

@@pathogensmusick Boom crash boom crash "ARHSHDSIUFHKSAHDK!!!" Boom crash...

[@ringoflicks9573]

he ain't wrong tho

[@TomatoKetchup1000]

XD

[@marioi.carrillo6264]

the way they are reacting makes you think that they are actually watching some tragic, sad or morbid stuff they were reacting to a bts music video

[@mildryfrr9970]

this is extremely accurate though

[@davidwilkey7389]

That's exactly how I reacted to my first Swans record.

[@thomdipol5724]

this was my first swans record. still my fave next to To Be Kind

[@josessuarezz]

I love you youtube algorithm

[@antipassion]

Me bet GOT (Red Wedding)

[@NothingHumanisAlientoMe]

Ambience will fuck you up man. Kids stay away from vibes.

[@PatrickTouma]

finally someone understands

[@bugoobiga]

two girls and five guys and a cup

[@aaba1938]

Well...well, fuck. I mean, I just don't know what to say.