Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is some of the most beautiful music ever made by man. I've always interpreted about a man's life. "Storm" tells the the birth of a man, his childhood, and the dread of working a dead end job at a convenience store or a supermarket. The first half of Static, I've always seen as a depressive episode. Harsh ambience and radios depict his mental state. Harsh & chaotic. Then, later, he finds a God, or God, a religion of sorts.

His disillusionment turns into religious shallowness. The man is left a shell of himself. disillusioned by religion, he joins the military. The second half of Static is him in war. He sees the horrors of war, seeing humanity kill its-self through sheer brutality, trench warfare and melee combat. I've always seen this war as something akin to World War 1 or World War 2. But, it could be any war. The last movement of Static, The Buildings, They are Sleeping Now shows how he doesn't cope well with PTSD.

Sleep starts off with a man, talking about Coney Island. Reminiscing about Coney Island. I've seen this as his grandpa talking about how Coney Island was great, how they used to sleep on the beaches of Coney Island. The first half of Monheim is how our man finds himself homeless, hopeless on the streets of a major U.S. city. Abandoned by his government. Later, he starts to build himself up, tries to find hope on these streets. When Monheim begins to build up into the crescendo of beauty, the peak of the whole album, is the peak of his life. He finds hope in a wife, in a family. He copes with his PTSD, and begins to live a good life.

Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III. / 3rd Part shows how he raises his children to not be like him, to give them a good life. How he offers hope to his children through education, his stories and experiences in the military, and how he doesn't want them to ever be like him back then. Homeless, sad and hopeless.

The last song, Antennas to Heaven shows how he reminiscences on his childhood, and raising his children. In his old age, he lies on his death bed. The movement She Dreamt She was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She was Alone in an Empty Field depicts that on his death bed, a burst of energy comes through him. His life, his memories. Despite his challenges. He lived a good life. Deathkamp Drone shows also, his dread of dying. If there is a God or not. As he dies, a layer of fear washes over him.

The last movement, namesake of the song, Antennas to Heaven, he finally brings himself to be at peace. He dies peacefully. And is remembered fondly.

I believed I have already spoken about this album, but it's just so good. How can I not talk about it twice?

Listen Here

Despite the little views, this is the highest quality archive I could find. If you want to listen to it movement by movement,

Here.