1. An industrial group from LA
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.
The Last Laugh
Spahn Ranch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a school called a city
Now a vacuum
An entire room
Child speak from two sides
They never hide
Its sadly bliss
They never can see
I could see myself
In a pool of red
The chord snipped
A duet with ends
They never hide
Its sadly bliss
They never can see
The pace of it
Cementing the water
Pointing one to another
With barely an answer
Different name the owner
They never hide
Its sadly bliss
They never can see
The pace of it
The lyrics of Spahn Ranch's song The Last Laugh paint a picture of a world that is polluted, both physically and emotionally. The opening lines of "Swimming in cesspools / In a school called a city" indicate that the world is full of toxic waste, both metaphorically and literally. The use of the word "school" seems to suggest that this is something that people are being forced to endure, rather than something that they have chosen. The next line, "Now a vacuum / An entire room," adds to this sense of hopelessness, as it suggests that there is nothing left in this environment but emptiness.
The song then turns to the idea of communication, with "Child speak from two sides / They never hide." This indicates that even something as basic as language has become corrupted, with people speaking from multiple perspectives and hiding their true intentions. The line "Its sadly bliss / They never can see / The pace of it" seems to suggest that people are oblivious to the damage that is being done to them, perhaps because they have become so used to it over time.
The second half of the song continues this theme of broken communication, with "Cementing the water / Pointing one to another / With barely an answer / Different name the owner." This paints a picture of people pointing fingers at each other and blaming one another for the state of the world. However, no one is willing to take responsibility for their actions, leading to a sense of futility and despair.
Overall, The Last Laugh by Spahn Ranch is a bleak commentary on how the world has become a cesspool of violence, mistrust, and pollution. It speaks to the ways in which people have broken down and lost sight of what is truly important.
Line by Line Meaning
Swimming in cesspools
Metaphorically being stuck in dirty and undesirable situations.
In a school called a city
Referencing living in a big city with many people acting like a school, following each other and not questioning things.
Now a vacuum
The previous situation has vanished and now we're in a new one, but it's emptiness instead of freedom.
An entire room
The vacuum is all-consuming, and affects everything around it.
Child speak from two sides
People talking like children, only seeing things from one perspective or the other, never meeting in the middle.
They never hide
The children are open about their opinions and actions.
Its sadly bliss
The ignorance of the situation brings happiness but also sadness as they do not realize the bigger picture.
They never can see
Despite the open discussions, no one seems to get what's really going on.
The pace of it
The speed of the situation, how fast it's happening.
I could see myself
The artist sees themselves as part of the situation, a potential victim or participant.
In a pool of red
Assuming that something violent or bloody is going to happen in this new vacuum situation.
The chord snipped
The connection between people and things is cut off.
A duet with ends
Two people/parties working together but eventually being split apart in a bad way.
Cementing the water
Trying to harden or make solid the fluid situation when it should stay flexible.
Pointing one to another
Blaming each other for whatever the problem is, instead of working together to solve it.
With barely an answer
Not getting any responses or resolutions from anyone, despite trying.
Different name the owner
Despite different names, people are still stuck in the same old routines and problems.
Contributed by Isabella J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.