Coil spent the next period of its existence exploring visual media. In late 1984 they recorded a rendition of Tainted Love (originally recorded by Gloria Jones, but made popular by Soft Cell in the 80s), producing a widely banned, hallucinogenic video clip featuring Marc Almond as the Angel of Death; despite considerable controversy at home, the video ultimately found its way to the archives of the Museum of Modern Art. After spending several years working with filmmaker Derek Jarman on the feature The Angelic Conversation, Coil issued a remixed edition of their soundtrack. Following 1986’s Nightmare Culture, a collaboration with Boyd Rice produced as split release with Current 93, Christopherson and Balance invited Stephen Thrower to join the group in a full-time capacity. As a trio, they recorded 1986’s LP Horse Rotorvator, introducing orchestral, jazz, and middle Eastern textures into the mix; this album included The Anal Staircase.
In 1987, Coil issued The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser, a collection of atmospheric gothic instrumentals commissioned for but ultimately cut from the Clive Barker horror film, followed by compilation album Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders), a remixed history of the group’s first several years of work. Unnatural History, another career overview, effectively ended the first phase of the band’s career in 1990; when Coil resurfaced a year later with Love’s Secret Domain, their music reflected the strong influence of the acid house culture. Another long layoff brought on by financial difficulties ended in 1995, when the group - now consisting of Sleazy, Balance, and Drew McDowell - signed to Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records to release Backwards, an album which was never officially released, although it is available in a number of bootleg versions. Additionally, they recorded the LP Worship the Glitch, issued under the name ELpH, and in 1996 cut A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room as Black Light District.
1998 marked a significant stylistic shift for Coil, as the group moved away from the industrial dance sound they pioneered in the first half of their career towards what Balance referred to as "Moon Musick". This began with the release of four seasonal EPs throughout that year, coinciding with the equinoxes and solstices; this marked the group making further forays into ambient and neoclassical styles. Lyrically, there was a push towards naturalistic, pagan imagery, and an emphasis on free form, improvisatory chants. All four of these releases were later collected and released as Moons Milk (in Four Phases) in 2002. Coil also put out a purely drone based project, Time Machines, under that alias the same year.
In 1999 Coil started to work with Thighpaulsandra, and with him released the chilling Musick to Play in the Dark, a dark, meditative work featuring mostly intoned vocals from Balance, and exploring deeper electronic textures and pitches. A second volume followed in 2000. After years of refusal to do so, Coil started to perform live again in 1999. They released a number of albums containing the various shows they did in the period 2000 - 2004. Coil have released a lot of material in very limited editions, and have distributed certain records only at concerts. In 2003 they started a project to re-issue these tracks. Amidst their sporadic touring, and growing internal tensions within the group, Black Antlers was released in 2004, consisting of many of the songs played in concert at the time. This would prove to be the last studio recording put out in Balance's lifetime.
Jhonn Balance’s long-time struggle with alcoholism led to his death on 13th November, 2004. He fell from the second floor window at his home, while drunk, and died a short time after. Coil’s last live performance took place at Dublin’s City Hall on 23 October 2004 and is expected to appear on the forthcoming DVD box set “Colour Sound Oblivion”. A number of songs that were (as good as) ready were released in autumn 2005 as a last farewell to Jhonn.
Peter Christopherson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 25, 2010. Instead of sending flowers in memory of Peter Christopherson, people were asked to donate money to help children affected by AIDS in Thailand, the country he loved and died in.
http://www.thresholdhouse.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_(band)
Queens of the Circulating Library
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I have declared an amnesty
All books may be returned without a penalty
Return the books to me
Return the books
Don't burn the books
You cut down the trees to make paper disease
It's in the trees: it's coming
Return the book of knowledge
Return the marble index
File under "Paradox"
The forest is a college, each tree a university
I am a queen of the circulating library
I'm here to answer your enquiry
All knowledge resides within me
Your membership has expired
You are way past expiry dates
Words, words, words, words!
You may as well listen to the birds
The song "Queens of the Circulating Library" by Coil is a powerful statement about the importance of books and knowledge. The first stanza sees the singer declaring herself the queen of the circulating library, and offering an amnesty for overdue books. She urges listeners to return books and not to burn them, calling paper-making a "disease" that cuts down trees. She reinforces the notion that knowledge is power, and that books are essential in this pursuit.
The second stanza deepens the song's message, with the line "It's in the trees: it's coming." This can be seen as a warning about the consequences of destroying nature--the very source of paper, and thus books. The singer urges listeners to return two specific books--the book of knowledge and the marble index--perhaps a reference to books that contain essential knowledge for life. She cleverly suggests filing them under "Paradox," pointing to the fact that true wisdom can be contradictory or paradoxical. The final lines demonstrate the singer's confidence in her ability to answer any question or fulfill any need for knowledge.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a queen of the circulating library
I am someone who governs the lending library.
I have declared an amnesty
I have announced a pardon, where the penalty for the overdue books is nullified.
All books may be returned without a penalty
You can bring back any book that you still have without any extra charge.
Return the books to me
Please give back the books that belongs to the library.
Return the books
Please come back the books that you borrowed.
Don't burn the books
Don't set fire to the books as they're valuable intellectual assets.
You cut down the trees to make paper disease
You ravage the forest to create paper, a property of a pollution-like intention.
It's in the trees: it's coming
Doom or peril is incoming, as the foreboding signs can be sensed in its origins.
Return the book of knowledge
Please bring back the book that holds relevant or educational information.
Return the marble index
Please come back the book catalog that indicates the library contents.
File under "Paradox"
Organize the books by listing them under "Paradox".
The forest is a college, each tree a university
Nature is like an institution or a school and the trees are like scholarly departments.
I'm here to answer your enquiry
I'm available to respond to your questions or confusions.
All knowledge resides within me
All learned information is within my possession and duty to supervise.
Your membership has expired
Your authorized patronage has already ended due to account termination or probation.
You are way past expiry dates
You have borrowed materials that were overdue long ago.
Words, words, words, words!
The words of your language are the only reminder of how you expressed yourself.
You may as well listen to the birds
You might as well listen to the natural world than rely on frivolous, meaningless babbling.
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Broken Alice
Beautiful, you have my respect for keeping this alive.
Primitive In The Extreme
A hypnotic journey 🌀
subradial
Magick! 🖤
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
nice
Paul Ross
Good
imarocka100
just add dead mens trousers , and dont forget to take the chuffin books back!