Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak

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Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak
Cd DS Deathsentance Negativland.gif
Soundtrack album by
Negativland
ReleasedOctober 1, 2002
Recorded2002
Genre Experimental
Length45:00
Label Seeland
Producer Negativland
Negativland chronology
These Guys Are from England and Who Gives a Shit
(2001)		Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak
(2002)		 No Business
(2005)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 59/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Magnet Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Pitchfork 4.3/10 [5]
Stylus 6.7/10 [6]
Uncut 4/10 [7]

Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak is an album and booklet by Negativland. The band describes the project as "a 6 by 12 inch 64-page full-color book which comes with a 45-minute CD soundtrack." [8]

Contents

CD and Track listing

"The CD is a meticulously-layered, ever-shifting electro-acoustic soundscape created to accompany the book. No bass lines, no melody, no dialogue, no singing, no beat - the sound of Negativland's recording studio being destroyed in a car crash." [8]

All tracks by Negativland:

  1. "Only You Can Rock Me" – 2:37
  2. "Pack It Up" – 3:05
  3. "Arbory Hill" – 3:26
  4. "Ain't No Baby" – 5:29
  5. "Lookin' Out For #1" – 2:51
  6. "Hot & Ready" – 1:39
  7. "Cherry" – 5:40
  8. "Don't Fool Me" – 5:48
  9. "#1 Rep" – 2:59
  10. "One More For The Rodeo" – 4:44
  11. "Born To Loose" – 2:08
  12. "When They Ring The Golden Bells" – 4:10

Booklet

The accompanying booklet is a 6 by 12 inch 64-page full-color book packaged inside of a large die-cut automotive courtesy envelope. The band's website describes the book as "a poignant, voyeuristic, disturbing, and occasionally funny glimpse into lives which may be very different from your own...or eerily similar." [8]

Compiled by band member Richard Lyons, the book comprises photos of smashed-up cars in a junkyard; next to each crumpled car is reprinted the text of a note or letter or list found in the car.

In 1997, long before the book was released, Richard Lyons described the project and read excerpts from selections of the found text for an episode of the Public Radio program This American Life .

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Deathsentences of the Polished & Structurally Weak by Negativland". Metacritic .
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Negativland's chugging cacophony seems a fitting and grisly tribute to human road kill. [#11, p.138]
  4. ↑ Even at 42 minutes, it's hard to take iin at one sitting. But it recalls ambinet Eno and Nurse With Wound's Spiral Insana by effectively blending abrasive elements with moody atmosphere. [#56, p.101]
  5. ↑ "Negativland: Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak". Pitchfork .
  6. ↑ Burns, Todd (November 13, 2002). "Negativland - Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak". Stylus . Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ The lovely packaging far outshines the formless and dated rumblings within. [Nov 2002, p.113]
  8. 1 2 3 Official Site: Negativland - Deathsentences. Archived 2009-06-01 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: July 07, 2009,
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