Genesis - Tresspass


Speaking of knife wounds, here's what i consider the first Genesis album, Tresspass. It's not technically their first album, but From Genesis To Revelation was really just your standard singles collection culled from early demos that went nowhere and neither Decca nor the band cared to renew their contract. Tresspass is their first album conceived as an album after deciding to be a real professional band. It's also a pre Phil Collins album, because he was actually their 3rd drummer. The artwork depicts an actual knife slash through itself, and it specifically warns you that it contains tape hiss and other analog artifacts, so that's fun. Digital vs analog certainly fits our developing theme of all out nonsensical culture wars for prophet [snap] i mean profit.


"Some of you are going to die...for the freedom that i will provide." Yep, that's totally not how freedom works. Violent revolutions merely result in different dictatorships. That's actually Marx in a nutshell, and I got no argue at all. Peace is protest, freedom can only ever be taken away. The album gradually builds and defines the mythos of the usurper, ending in the prescient irony of The Knife.

It's tough to write about such complete and perfectly constructed albums, they just feel so completely self explanatory that my brain shuts down and all i can say is "this is lovely." There's nothing to decipher or be confused about, there's nothing that needs to be explained or contextualized, it's a musical/textual work of art that completely speaks for itself. I guess you could hate it, lots of people and record labels did at the time, but as for myself i don't really know how, i'd publish something like this in a heartbeat. It's lovely.

I suppose it could be that Madonna and Live were so overwhelmingly blatant in their conflating of sex and religion that my mental palate is fried, but i don't really believe that. This is just unequivocally good, all the words are pronounced correctly with metrically acceptable placement and they present a perspective with which i wholeheartedly agree. Boo to monarchic despotism and the farcical aquatic ceremonies used to defend and perpetuate its power over people. 

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