After I received my first paycheck from my summer job, I went out and bought a CD, my first in a few months. I picked up Panopticon, by Isis. It wasn't the first Isis album I'd heard; I bought The Red Sea a while back and liked it quite a bit. It is grandiose and abrasive and punishing. Maybe it's just the title of the record (and that of their 2nd most recent album, Oceanic), but it reminds me of a hostile ocean, inspiring fear and awe as giant waves of guitar, thundering drums, and acrid vocals crashed down in my ears. The only respite was a few samples from a David Lynch project, including a desperate recitation of some William Blake. It's a good listen if you're in the mood to be dazed and a little scared by your music.
5 years (and 5 releases) went by between The Red Sea and Panopticon, and the sound has changed. Compositions are calmer, more drawn out, and include more electronic bits. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Occasionally you may hear Isis called "post-metal", as in "post-rock" with metal touches, and Panopticon earns this title much more than The Red Sea, which had more in common with Neurosis than Godspeed You Black Emperor. Now songs begin with meandering guitar lines that become powerful chords; the "angry bear" vocals of previous albums are much rarer. There are still moments when the guitars threaten to crush you, holding you down for the drum hits to pummel you, but overall the album is a more atmospheric affair. Not indistinct or lazy, no. But where The Red Sea was an exhausting trip through hostile waters, Panopticon calms down long enough for you to get your bearings, and decide that you have no idea where the hell you are, but it's dark, and you'd rather be home. Then it shows its teeth.
But it's not just Isis's sound that can be considered artsy (if you believe that metal must be fast). Isis has certain lyrical fixations throughout their albums. As mentioned previously, the ocean comes up frequently. They also often refer to a central female figure, occasionally identified with a tower. It is this theme that gets a nod on Panopticon. It turns out that panopticon isn't just a cool word. Back in the early 19th century, Jeremy Bentham1 tried his hand at prison reform. His design was simple. A circular prison, with cells whose doors faced the center and windows faced outwards. In the center, there was a giant watchtower2.
The design hinged on two complementary principles. The prisoner can always be seen, not only from the watchtower but also by other prisoners across the circle, backlit by light coming in their windows. The guards in the central tower can never be seen, their presence hidden by blinds and the like. So as far as the prisoners know, they are always being watched. This leads to better behavior, and paradoxically allows the prison to have guards watching less often.
Bentham had high hopes for his design, but it's not best known as a practical prison layout. Instead, it is as an idea that it has proven to resonate strongest. It gained most of its notoriety when Michael Foucalt focused his attention on it, in Discipline and Punish. As I understand it, he argued that the Panopticon structure was a sort of ultimate version of hierarchy, with one (always unseen) party being able to exert control at all times over the other (always observed) party. Read more here. Later social theorists have pointed out that the modern prevalence of surveillance technology allows for a Panopticon-type social structure to be put into place (to be fair, George Orwell totally saw this coming). There's a lot to be said for this idea; surveillance cameras are pandemic (moreso in England, that den of brutes and thieves). Head over to Google Maps and you can see satellite images of just about anywhere on earth, generally of pretty high resolution. I can, in fact, see my house from here3.
Isis is full of smart guys, and they know all this stuff. I haven't mentioned these things completely randomly; the liner notes contain quotes from Bentham and Foucalt, as well as one regarding new technology. Not to mention the album art is composed entirely of satellite images. And hey, here's some lyrics from the song Backlit:
If the idea of a total surveillance society seems far-fetched, then you underestimate the incentive governments, corporations, extortionists, and Hollywood have to get you on camera. If the idea of a total surveillance society seems like a reality to you, then you should cut back on coffee and watching Enemy of the State. The big question is, quis custodiet ipsos custodes4? In the Panopticon, no one does. And it is this secrecy that is so threatening. I'm sure we can all think of some secrets that have come to light recently that made us feel the "unequal gaze".
Just saying. And the answer to the big question is obviously, "the people". Well, that's the idea, anyways. Here's hoping that continues to more or less work out for us.
5 years (and 5 releases) went by between The Red Sea and Panopticon, and the sound has changed. Compositions are calmer, more drawn out, and include more electronic bits. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Occasionally you may hear Isis called "post-metal", as in "post-rock" with metal touches, and Panopticon earns this title much more than The Red Sea, which had more in common with Neurosis than Godspeed You Black Emperor. Now songs begin with meandering guitar lines that become powerful chords; the "angry bear" vocals of previous albums are much rarer. There are still moments when the guitars threaten to crush you, holding you down for the drum hits to pummel you, but overall the album is a more atmospheric affair. Not indistinct or lazy, no. But where The Red Sea was an exhausting trip through hostile waters, Panopticon calms down long enough for you to get your bearings, and decide that you have no idea where the hell you are, but it's dark, and you'd rather be home. Then it shows its teeth.
But it's not just Isis's sound that can be considered artsy (if you believe that metal must be fast). Isis has certain lyrical fixations throughout their albums. As mentioned previously, the ocean comes up frequently. They also often refer to a central female figure, occasionally identified with a tower. It is this theme that gets a nod on Panopticon. It turns out that panopticon isn't just a cool word. Back in the early 19th century, Jeremy Bentham1 tried his hand at prison reform. His design was simple. A circular prison, with cells whose doors faced the center and windows faced outwards. In the center, there was a giant watchtower2.
The design hinged on two complementary principles. The prisoner can always be seen, not only from the watchtower but also by other prisoners across the circle, backlit by light coming in their windows. The guards in the central tower can never be seen, their presence hidden by blinds and the like. So as far as the prisoners know, they are always being watched. This leads to better behavior, and paradoxically allows the prison to have guards watching less often.
Bentham had high hopes for his design, but it's not best known as a practical prison layout. Instead, it is as an idea that it has proven to resonate strongest. It gained most of its notoriety when Michael Foucalt focused his attention on it, in Discipline and Punish. As I understand it, he argued that the Panopticon structure was a sort of ultimate version of hierarchy, with one (always unseen) party being able to exert control at all times over the other (always observed) party. Read more here. Later social theorists have pointed out that the modern prevalence of surveillance technology allows for a Panopticon-type social structure to be put into place (to be fair, George Orwell totally saw this coming). There's a lot to be said for this idea; surveillance cameras are pandemic (moreso in England, that den of brutes and thieves). Head over to Google Maps and you can see satellite images of just about anywhere on earth, generally of pretty high resolution. I can, in fact, see my house from here3.
Isis is full of smart guys, and they know all this stuff. I haven't mentioned these things completely randomly; the liner notes contain quotes from Bentham and Foucalt, as well as one regarding new technology. Not to mention the album art is composed entirely of satellite images. And hey, here's some lyrics from the song Backlit:
Always object
Never subject
...
Always upon you, light never ceases
Lost from yourself, light never ceases
Thousands of eyes, gaze never ceases
Light is upon you, life in you ceases
Never subject
...
Always upon you, light never ceases
Lost from yourself, light never ceases
Thousands of eyes, gaze never ceases
Light is upon you, life in you ceases
If the idea of a total surveillance society seems far-fetched, then you underestimate the incentive governments, corporations, extortionists, and Hollywood have to get you on camera. If the idea of a total surveillance society seems like a reality to you, then you should cut back on coffee and watching Enemy of the State. The big question is, quis custodiet ipsos custodes4? In the Panopticon, no one does. And it is this secrecy that is so threatening. I'm sure we can all think of some secrets that have come to light recently that made us feel the "unequal gaze".
Just saying. And the answer to the big question is obviously, "the people". Well, that's the idea, anyways. Here's hoping that continues to more or less work out for us.
1. Fun fact: Jeremy Bentham had himself stuffed, and his corpse "attended" board meetings from time to time at the college he founded.
2. See? It's a tower.
3. Here being my computer, of course.
4. Who watches the watchmen? Sorry, not trying to be fancy, it just sounds cool. Also it's in one of my favorite comics, Watchmen.
