One day in 1999 8 guys woke up and proceeded to create the best song of all time

I love how his voice breaks and he's ready to cry when he says : they don't sleep anymore in the beach

How is this even possible

When the doctor says you have 23 minutes left to live

To me this whole phrase "they don't sleep anymore on the beach" is very heavy for the reason that we just heard almost a minute of a man reminiscing his youth, you can feel he has good memories, and this sends us all back to all the good times we had. We all have good childhood memories, we can all relate. And he gets lost in the past, apparently remembering even more about this place where he spent a part of his childhood, and then comes the phrase, a return to reality, and the realisation that this time is over. Not only that Murray Ostril is now an old man who doesn't sleep on the beach, but also "they" don't sleep anymore on the beach. The new generation will never live an experience like he did, making it a thing of the past forever. And i cant stop thinking about Murray Ostril's sleep on the beach, how it's a finished thing and all memories of it will be gone when he passes, just like we and all traces we ever existed are washed away by the tides of time and i see the first lights of the morning as I tell myself "don't think about it, sleep" Which is why I think this song is named sleep. Sleep, as in reach the state of mind numbness where you do not think about the fact we are all doomed to be forgotten, the state of mind where such an idea is tolerable. Which is why the music is so calm, but breaks into crescendo at times, because such a state is not possible to maintain constantly, and we all scream at this harsh fate during some pointless rebellion against the inevitable way things are. Then it ends, then all things end, then the song ends.

this song makes me feel like the loneliest human in the world, and it's beautiful beyond words.

sounds like a thousand souls are wailing

They played this last night at The Observatory, soon as everyone heard the first word from the beginning monologue a wave of cheers and applause filled the room.

you're dead inside if this song doesn't make you shiver

I was born in Coney Island, and am sad that I never got a chance to sleep on the beach... things change.

the drum beat that starts at 18:20 is wonderful

I don’t even deserve to listen to this

I grew up in the post Soviet time in the post Soviet country, and there would be a whole bunch of abandoned panel buildings and factories everywhere. I live in US now, but the gloom is with me forever. And this music captures it unlike anything else.

I first listened to this song roughly a month after my mother passed away of breast cancer. I’ve heard of the band before and how revered they were but haven’t actually listened to any of their music. This song blew me away and made me bawl my eyes out, but the whole time I was listening I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother. Reminiscing on all the great times I’ve had with her and how beautiful of a person she was. I felt her energy surrounding me with the each passing note. Listening to this song to me feels like a portal into reconnecting with her spirit. I remember my mother telling me that she will continue to visit me in the afterlife and my mother haunts this song in the most beautiful way possible. No better way than through art. This will forever be my favourite song. Thank you GY!BE, I love you mom.

18:20 your future self is watching you right now through memories

Someday, I'll go to Coney Island, listening to this, and sleep.

18:19 makes me feel everything is going to be all right

This song has been my comfort song for probably over a year now. Whenever I feel anxious or sad or stressed I turn it on and play it on repeat. I could listen to it forever. It brings a sense of melancholy and nostalgia at the same time and it gives me shivers. I disappear when it plays and it gives me a sense of perfect calmness that nothing else can give me. It’s like they took a feeling no one can describe and turned it into a masterpiece that transforms the mind. It’s perfect.

I wish I could listen to this for the first time again

Amazing how something without lyrics can describe how I feel so much

This song grabs you by the soul. In my opinion, one of the greatest songs ever made

No doubt. Beginning at 18:00 is GSYBE's all time peak. A cross between Island era King Crimson and the best of shoegaze.

this band is out of this planet.....

They don't sleep anymore on the beach...

there are two things in the world that are 23 minutes long and cause me immense joy; any chapter of Seinfeld and this song.

@Iconoclast12100 The voice is of a man named Murray Ostril and he's simply talking about the good old days where things were simple and people seemed to trust each other more. On its own I'm sure it wouldn't stand out; all of us have heard our grandparents talk about the old days, but in the middle of an album comprised of mostly anti-capitalist messages it stands out quite a bit which is why I'm not surprised people are moved by it so much. As for the point of the album, it's up for argument.

When you see a song's length and it's 23:17 thats overwelming, but when you listen to it and it's over befor you know it.

I like how GYBE let's the instruments do all the lyricism. I can feel the message even though nothing was spoken.

if i had to choose what to play before dying, i'd definitely play this song one last time.

The last 5 minutes of this song are absolutely beautiful

This is the logical conclusion to music.

Everyone is talking about the last five minutes but around 4:00 that silent guitar is just hitting the spot for me, then the build up into around 6:30 oh my god...

I feel like this community has changed, Most of these are from years ago. I hope everyone who commented is okay. I feel for all of y’all, this music is something from somewhere we’d have to die to know. It’s 430am and is not okay but it’s something my life is in desperate need of. CLEAR MY SOUL

it's like falling in love this track, soft at first, and then all your wildest feelings emerge and overwhelm you completely...

This is the first song by Godspeed You Black Emperor that I've ever listened to. I closed my eyes and let my back straighten, like I was meditating, and cried for most of the song. It doesn't follow reason - music very rarely makes me that emotive, unless the piece in question bears personal meaning or an associated memory. That was beautiful.

Hearing all this chat about 21:00 makes me extremely exited, and I think this is the best song I've ever heard at 6:00. I must be in for a damn good ride.

literally one of the greatest bands in the history of music

Best part starts at 0:01 and it never ends. It just makes everything so much better

This song holds a special place in my heart. I've always listened to the first 2 songs of this album (Storm and Static) since i've known this album ( 2 years) but this song and Antennas to Heaven for some reason never made me interested. Fast forward to last week and i'm depressed, high on LSD, failing in everything (college, friends, family, work, etc) and feeling trapped like i have never felt in my life. It didn't help to realize that a lot of my current situation was my own fault and i felt worst because of this. So as high as i was i started looking for records to listen to and i remembered this album. "Storm" made me wept with tears of joy but the end of the song made me remember that there are worst things up ahead. "Static" slowly unraveled and left me paralyzed when it ended. So far so good. They were the songs that i've known and love for over 2 years. Then this track came in. The slow building that starts at 1:08, note after note described me a man defeated, unable to fight back, remembering every little fucked up thing, every sin, every mistake and all the anguish he felt (that i felt) given his situation. The melody became intolerable until it reached 9:25 . The song takes an unexpected turn and suddenly it feels like a weight has been lifted. Suddenly life doesn't feel that heavy and memories start come back. Good memories, of your friends, your family, your first love. That is until the minute 13:00 and you realize that memories aren't good enough, that you want to improve your situation and become a better person. The song takes a break and at 16:00 comes one of most life affirming experiences that i've ever had. It eruptes with joy and you can't help but smile all the way through till the end. When the track ended i felt the urge to search in the internet for opinions of this track, to tell everybody to listen to this album, to not miss out in this experience, maybe someone who felt the same might have some fun reading this comment. This album and this track in particular will always be an integral part of who i am, of course i didn't solve my problems but it will always remind me there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I just listened to this whole thing on repeat for hours just staring at the wall, questioning my existence while the tears came silently… chat I think I’m broken 💀

this music makes me realized that i need to enjoy where I am, what I am. Before its too late and no one will ever recognized how it feels like being in that situation.

18:18 is heartbreakingly beautiful

timeless

This is still the greatest piece of music in all of history.

The 3rd movement is just beyond words, the type of music that echoes throughout the whole cosmos

18:20 to end - some of the finest drumming I've ever heard

I want to marry this song.

possibly the best song to exist. Monheim is a testament to the potential of minimalist music, Broken Windows is different from it yet pretty much pure beauty at the same level

I slept on a beach once. Rode up near the Great Bear Dunes with some beautiful, nice, girl. We hopped a fence at a state park. Trespassing on miles of gorgeous shorelines. Mid-spring, too early to really be sleeping outside, but just close enough to the frosts of winter where you just need to be outside again. And you'd suffer to just get the freedom again. There were animals tracks all along the coast. We ate fish on a brush-fire. The waves were deafening in the otherwise quiet of night. We got closer, and we slept. And then awoken by a violent storm. We scattered back into the car, running for a while, and climbing the dune and chain-link. We laughed for a while, drying off all too slowly in my little sedan. And it was glorious. Sleeping on the beach is badass. If you haven't slept on a beach, you should really consider it.

I used to listen to this song a lot circa 2009-2010. It has definitely aged well. gives me chills down my spine.

Man, to think one day they slept on the beach and didn't realize it would be their last. Almost like how you once played outside with your friends not knowing then that it would be the last time

One of the best pieces of art ever created. That crescendo at 21:00 is just the greatest thing.

This song is a caleidoscope for your soul.. magnificent.

everytime 21:00 starts, I just have to close my eyes and smile

this is seriously one of the most inspirational songs I've ever heard

Listening to one of the greatest songs of all time, 14 seconds left to fully conclude the song "Writing's not that easy. Luckily, grammarly can help!"

It's not just a song, it's a story.

"they don't sleep anymore on the beach" Gets me everytime.

18 years since I first heard it... and it still makes me cry.

i cry everytime i listen to 20:42, its so perfect.

I’ve heard a lot of songs. This is one of the best I’ve ever heard.

y'all are talking about crying at 18:00 but meanwhile I was already tearing up by 11:50

This fucked me up specifically as somebody who’s been working with old people for several years

Whenever I feel like shit I just listen to this and feel good again.

Maybe I've just been smoking too much weed lately, but I really love this section that starts around 10:19. The way the drummer is playing for his life, the energy is palpable, he's putting everything he's fucking got into it; contrasted with this powerful, droning wall of noise, it feels like really strong wind gusting in your face. As if to say this is humanity pushing back against the current of time, the inevitability of death. It's so hauntingly beautiful, there's such a nobility in the human experience. To know we're all born to die and to carry on despite it all. To know that much of what we do in this lifetime, what we do as part of this project, is to be enjoyed not by us, or even our children's children, but by future generations that will come long after your name, face, and very existence will be forgotten to time. It's such a powerful thought. I tear up a little sometimes when I listen to this song.

This is a piece that really builds your soul and your existence, perfectly reflects the feeling of the ups and downs that define our lives and the seminal conquest at the end of the journey. This piece helped me several times, and still helps me when I need it, no medicine will be as effective as this, do not waste your time on artificial solutions, put a phone in your ears, close your eyes, drink your favorite beverage while enjoying, forget about what is around you, create your own reality and renew your energies with what you will hear, simple like this ... yes, it's that simple, believe me !!

Just found this band... This is an immensely emotional piece of work, I feel nostalgic for experiences I've not been a part of, I feel emotions from memories that aren't mine. The entrancing noise seemingly turns into a sort of distorted operatic vocals filled with despair of a happy time long ago, when everything wasn't in a state of abysmal chaos and disorder. This is what the true magic in music is, sadness is sometimes a good feeling.

I slept on the beach on the new year's eve. All I could think about was about this tune.

I listened to this in a house that overlooked the entirety of Sheffield and cried. This song shows that even a place as large and great as sheffield, in time, will shrink down to almost nothing. Fucking ace band

I like the fact how this song appeared in my suggestions out of the blue in a period when i actually needed that. I also like the fact that this song talks about youth and at the same time is 23 minutes long. I don't know if it's a coincidence but 23 is when I feel my youth kinda ended. So many good memories up until then. But I'm still gonna make some good new ones :')

The last ten minutes of this song are pretty much unmatched

I never get tired of hearing GY!BE material, always sounds new and fresh.

This band inspires me to become a better musician.

I saw GY!BE for the second time last year here in London, in September. They played 3 dates, and I only found out about them late so was only able to go to one of the 3 dates. Because of that feeling of missing out, I saw they were playing in Stockholm in April of this year, and I immediately booked a ticket and a flight and went with just a backpack, crashing a friend's couch. Midway into their set, we heard the "It was Coney Island...." vocals and the whole room went absolutely insane, screaming and cheering. They played the 'Monheim' movement, and it brought tears to my eyes hearing it. That was my third time seeing them live. I very much hope it wasn't my last (I still want to hear "Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls" live)...every time I see them, I feel like it's more than music I'm experiencing. It's hard to describe...it's almost like it's a philosophy for life, made into music. I go somewhere else, mentally - only a few bands have taken me to that almost purely meditative state through different means. Swans, Sunn O))), Spiritualized, Lightning Bolt. I've introduced friends to this band via this song, and they always have some kind of emotional reaction to it, very often tearing up.

its not fucking long enough how am i still tearing up after listening to this countless times

all i can think about is me crying on her shoulder. i messed our relationship up so bad. you don’t realize what you really have until it’s gone

The best song of all the times.

the haunting collapse of a high trust society now reduced to nihilism and narcissism.

i dont know why, and i cant explain it either but this song is so beautiful its just so amazing its one of the more emotive songs ive ever heard in my life and the fact that this is an instrumental makes me like it more, thank you godspeed you . . .

This song is an emotional rollercoaster. You hold back the tears 18:05 but then at 18:19 you break.

one of the best music ever made

This music to me is perfect. Loved this album for near 15 years...still will.

I'm imagining this record being the last surviving evidence of human life and the aliens who find it just listening in awe

my best friend and i live a hundred miles away. and i hadnt seen her in two years until recently. we used to have spotify jams all the time but now shes so busy. when i saw her i took her for a drove around some backroads playing this song. we had gotten pretty far away by the end of the first act, so we turned back. she asked to go to a park as the second act started to pick up. i put it in park as it swelled and rain starts falling from the clouds. it was beautiful. at the very end i looked over to her and saw her wipe a tear from her face. this is the best song man has made and i think everyone should know that.

the first time i heard this song it made me cry my fucking eyes out. but that's just a testament to the musical weight these guys throw around. you know your music is majestic when it can move grown adults to tears.

This song always makes me think of the movie Requiem for a Dream for some reason. Both this album and the movie are masterpieces.

this drummer is just level 100 epicness

I like the darker colours in the picture for this video better than the actual album cover.

I've listened to this so many times in the past week that it just plays in my head now even when I'm not listening to it.

the year 2000, wow, it's been almost 2 decades now

It means a lot when music reflects your actual mood.

I love the hell out of this song, but the more I listen to it, the more creeped out I get from the man talking at the beginning. There's like a hint of emptyness in his voice that give me goosebumps. Anyone else agree?

The sentiment that I pick up from the monologue in the beginning is that western countries (more specifically America, in my personal experience) have simply become too socially hostile for you to be as publicly vulnerable as people could afford to be in the past.

Hey, whoever linked me this on Omegle in that spy beta question thing, thank you. I'm the one who asked the question. This is actually pretty damn good.

the entire song is amazing... the best GY!BE song so far...

This song, I was once playing it loud in my house and it lured a pothead neighbor from about three houses down to ask me "who is that playing?" Said he really liked it. Gave him Godspeed You Black Emperor and had to repeat it to him twice. But he really wanted to know. This song lures people in.

I'm back here again and listening to this song after my US History Midterm Exam. The only reason I got the question about Coney Island correct is because of this song. You introduced me to post rock, made one of my favorite albums of all time, and even help me with school. What can you guys not do? :)

Holy shit what is that haunting sound from 6:19-9:24, a violin, choir tapeloops, a guitar? Whatever it is, it's so simple but adds so much to the song.

I wish to find a woman with the same music taste like me. That would be very wonderful!

This band is def in my top artists of all time. So far I’ve got: . Radiohead Godspeed You! Black Emperor Sigur Ros Björk