Spahn Ranch is the name of two bands:
1. An industrial group from LA Read Full Bio ↴Spahn Ranch is the name of two bands:
1. An industrial group from LA
2. A post-punk act from Detroit

The first and most well known is the Los Angeles electronic-industrial music group, formed in 1992 by Matt Green and his New York-based collaborator, Rob Morton. The group signed to Cleopatra Records. That same year, a self-titled, four-song EP with vocals supplied by Scott Franklin (later to become bassist for The Cramps), was released. In 1993, they added vocalist Athan Maroulis and recorded their debut album Collateral Damage. Their sophomore effort, The Coiled One, appeared two years later in the midst of Morton leaving the band due to creative and logistical differences. After his departure, the line-up was expanded to include Christian Death drummer David Glass, Screams for Tina guitarist Kent Bancroft, and Tubalcain drummer Harry Lewis. This offered a beginning of the fuller, more diverse, dark electro-industrial sound that Spahn Ranch would continue to pursue. By 1997 Spahn Ranch pared themselves down to a tight, three-piece unit of Green, Maroulis and Lewis.
Architecture, released in 1997, featured contributions from Killing Joke/Prong bassist Paul Raven and Rockats/Nancy Sinatra guitarist Danny B. Harvey. This album took an even more experimental appraoch to the Spahn Ranch sound, incorporating elements of drum and bass, dub and for the first time, live guitar parts. Beat Noir, in 1998, followed a similar path even further and included work with Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist David J.The band regularly toured throughout North America during their existence with the likes of Front Line Assembly, Front 242, Switchblade Symphony and The Electric Hellfire Club. Spahn Ranch also made a couple of European treks prior to their demise as a group in 2000. Closure was a posthumous release in 2001 of their final album recorded in 2000.

The second band was formed in Detroit, MI in 1986 and released one album in 1987 called Thickly Settled. In it's infancy, the band played in many local venues on the bill with various local bands. Quickly a strong following developed, which immediately precipitated a self titled cassette release of six tracks on the Ikthus Network label. After having missed their own billing at a show, the band was introduced to Eric Cope of Insight Records from San Francisco, CA. He offered them a contract with Insight after reviewing their cassette and video work. The band accepted and began recording their first LP, 'Thickly Settled' in California where they were welcomed by receptive audiences. 'Thickly Settled' was hailed as one of the best albums of the year by England's Underground Magazine, and also met favorable reception in the U.S.A. None of the members of Spahn Ranch had any formal music training and had not played an instrument prior to forming the group. "The sound they create is tense and raw, not polished to distract from the music itself. Drummer Odell Nails lays down a thick, almost tribal drum beat, accompanied by Hobey Echlin's bass foundation for the music. Guitarist Bradley Horowitz adds the energetic, consuming guitar melodies, changing the tunings for each song in order to make no two sets alike. Bob Sterner's vocals with a touch of folk influence, mesh with the instrumental sounds that give the finished product, intense music which envelopes and audience." Hobey Echlin later joined the band as bassist.

Cesium 137
Spahn Ranch Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pierce my eyes
Tell me stories
Rip my wrist
Disciplined seeding
Allegiances pledged
Consumer teaching
The youngest mind
Perpetual televised breeding, heating, seeding

Farm the child's mind
Bleach the mind
The mind
Bleach
Mind

Her yeast infection burned and scratched
Then she stood in front of the class
Warping imperialist webs on empty heads
Cuffed the mind and smashed the neck
Because I eyed the window ledge
At her desk she lifted her polyester dress

Fingering her crotch through stocking net
Tomorrow there's a test

Overall Meaning

These lyrics from Spahn Ranch's song "Cesium 137" depict a disturbing scene of manipulation and exploitation of young minds. The first few lines call for the listener to pierce the singer's eyes and tell them stories, perhaps a metaphor for the extreme measures taken to indoctrinate and influence people's beliefs. The next lines mention disciplined seeding and consumer teaching, indicating an intentional cultivation of the minds of young people for a specific purpose. The repeated phrase "bleach the mind" is a chilling call to erase individuality and independent thought.

The second stanza paints an even more disturbing picture, with gruesome details including a yeast infection, sexual imagery, and violence. The line "warping imperialist webs on empty heads" suggests a deliberate manipulation of young people to further a political agenda. The violence of "cuffed the mind and smashed the neck" further emphasizes the dangerous consequences of this kind of indoctrination. Finally, the mention of a test to come highlights the pressure and conformity enforced in the education system.

Overall, the song is a harrowing commentary on the ways in which young people's minds are molded and controlled by those in power, and the dangers that can arise from such a process.

Line by Line Meaning

Pierce my eyes
Invade my thoughts and control me

Tell me stories
Feed me propaganda and warped ideologies

Rip my wrist
Inflict pain and establish dominance over me

Disciplined seeding
Controlled indoctrination of the next generation

Allegiances pledged
Forced loyalty to a destructive cause

Consumer teaching
Teaching consumerism and materialism as the ultimate goals in life

The youngest mind
Targeting and brainwashing children

Perpetual televised breeding, heating, seeding
Constantly broadcasting messages of control and power to further the agenda

Farm the child's mind
Converting the minds of children to further the cause

Bleach the mind
Erasing individuality for the sake of a common goal

The mind
Complete control over the thoughts and actions of the people