Tomorrow's Harvest -- It needs to be said at this point

[WATER_CAN-_-]

I posted this analysis on r/boardsofcanada as well. Because I think it's important, and with my level of frustration I am also posting this here. Ven diagrams and such.


Now that the 10th anniversary of Tomorrow's Harvest is upon us, I think that it's time to point out some things to everyone so that the album's significance becomes more clear.

If we look the band's body of work we may notice some patterns that are evident. The one that I would like bring attention to is their love and respect for the natural world that comes across in their music and art. I present the following evidence for this assertion (which is not comprehensive by any means):

General:
The band name is inspired by the NFB, an organization which produced many nature documentaries

BOC Maxima:

• The album cover (the band standing outside in nature)

• Wildlife Analysis

• Chinook (Weather phenomena or tribe of indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• ROYGBIV (color spectra)

• Nova Scotia Robots (Nova Scotia province with a lot of natural beauty)

• Niagara

• Skimming Stones (an activity done at a body of water)

• Red Moss

• Whitewater (may be referring to river rapids)

Music Has the Right to Children

• Album cover is likely the Mike and Marcus with their family as young kids at a scenic Banff overlook

• Wildlife Analysis

• An Eagle in Your Mind (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter 1983)

• Kanai Industries (reference to indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• Rue the Whirl (Birds can be heard chirping)

• Pete Standing Alone (reference to the NFB documentary about an indigenous man of the Blood Tribe who learns to have appreciation for the old ways)

• Happy Cycling (bird calls)

Geogaddi

• Dandelion (reference to a Sea Dandelion from a 1979 nature film)

• Sunshine Recorder

• The Smallest Weird Number (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter and can hear birds chirping)

• The Beach at Redpoint

• Dawn Chorus (birds singing at day break)

The Campfire Headphase

• Peacock Tail

• Dayvan Cowboy (video showing high altitude dive from the edge of the atmosphere down to the ocean)

• Oscar See through Red Eye (a type of fish with a red spot on its tail perhaps evolved to fool predators)

• Tears from the Compound Eye (many insects and crustaceans have compound eyes)

• Macquarie Ridge (an incredible natural formation under the ocean)

Peel Sessions

• The cover art of the original 1998 version has a majestic looking eagle on the cover

In A Beautiful Place out in the Country

• The name of the EP as well as the cover art (picture of a bird of prey)

Trans Canada Highway

• Dayvan Cowboy (video)

• The highway goes through many National Parks and scenic areas

Societas X Tape selections

• Dreamers Clock - The Coconut Pearl

• These Trails - Garden Botanum

• Dolphins into the Future - Dolphins into the Future

• Christian Chevalier - Sea Cathedral

(much credit to bocpages.org)

Though I am sure I can go on, but I will leave it at that.

What is my point?

My hypothesis about Tomorrow's Harvest is this:

Tomorrow's Harvest represents an end to all things meaningful to the band (and probably should to everyone else). It represents the Anthropocene extinction, a mass extinction event of our own making. An extinction like this would the mean the end to happy memories of growing up with family and friends (another major theme of their work), and end of being able to appreciate the all of the natural world as we have an opportunity to do in this moment.

This leaves us with this one question. What is with all of the cult references, and a fascination with beliefs, and mass manipulating people (Geogaddi, Amo Bishop Roden, etc)?

I think the answer to this question comes to a head with Palace Posy. I think Palace Posy represents the consequences of allowing so many people to become indoctrinated and irrational. So many people cannot tell what is real any more if they were ever able to. This may be the very thing that prevents us from steering the ship in the other direction. "Why do anything if it's God's will?". "Humans cannot affect the planet, it too big!".

Societas X Tape came out after Tomorrow's Harvest. What track do we find there? A cynical track by coL , "This Flat Earth".

Need I say more.

Perhaps this is the reason we haven't gotten a new album. Because too many people don't follow, and maybe it wasn't as impactful as the band had hoped as artists. I can go on about meaning in Tomorrow's Harvest, but I think what I stated is really the crucial piece so many people don't seem to grasp. I hope I'm wrong.

[CKAT-1]

Where have you been man? people this people that, I’m sure you know what is real and what is not

[arvy]

Beautifully written

Spoiler: show

[steeldancer-x]

I posted this analysis on r/boardsofcanada as well. Because I think it's important, and with my level of frustration I am also posting this here. Ven diagrams and such.


Now that the 10th anniversary of Tomorrow's Harvest is upon us, I think that it's time to point out some things to everyone so that the album's significance becomes more clear.

If we look the band's body of work we may notice some patterns that are evident. The one that I would like bring attention to is their love and respect for the natural world that comes across in their music and art. I present the following evidence for this assertion (which is not comprehensive by any means):

General:
The band name is inspired by the NFB, an organization which produced many nature documentaries

BOC Maxima:

• The album cover (the band standing outside in nature)

• Wildlife Analysis

• Chinook (Weather phenomena or tribe of indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• ROYGBIV (color spectra)

• Nova Scotia Robots (Nova Scotia province with a lot of natural beauty)

• Niagara

• Skimming Stones (an activity done at a body of water)

• Red Moss

• Whitewater (may be referring to river rapids)

Music Has the Right to Children

• Album cover is likely the Mike and Marcus with their family as young kids at a scenic Banff overlook

• Wildlife Analysis

• An Eagle in Your Mind (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter 1983)

• Kanai Industries (reference to indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• Rue the Whirl (Birds can be heard chirping)

• Pete Standing Alone (reference to the NFB documentary about an indigenous man of the Blood Tribe who learns to have appreciation for the old ways)

• Happy Cycling (bird calls)

Geogaddi

• Dandelion (reference to a Sea Dandelion from a 1979 nature film)

• Sunshine Recorder

• The Smallest Weird Number (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter and can hear birds chirping)

• The Beach at Redpoint

• Dawn Chorus (birds singing at day break)

The Campfire Headphase

• Peacock Tail

• Dayvan Cowboy (video showing high altitude dive from the edge of the atmosphere down to the ocean)

• Oscar See through Red Eye (a type of fish with a red spot on its tail perhaps evolved to fool predators)

• Tears from the Compound Eye (many insects and crustaceans have compound eyes)

• Macquarie Ridge (an incredible natural formation under the ocean)

Peel Sessions

• The cover art of the original 1998 version has a majestic looking eagle on the cover

In A Beautiful Place out in the Country

• The name of the EP as well as the cover art (picture of a bird of prey)

Trans Canada Highway

• Dayvan Cowboy (video)

• The highway goes through many National Parks and scenic areas

Societas X Tape selections

• Dreamers Clock - The Coconut Pearl

• These Trails - Garden Botanum

• Dolphins into the Future - Dolphins into the Future

• Christian Chevalier - Sea Cathedral

(much credit to bocpages.org)

Though I am sure I can go on, but I will leave it at that.

What is my point?

My hypothesis about Tomorrow's Harvest is this:

Tomorrow's Harvest represents an end to all things meaningful to the band (and probably should to everyone else). It represents the Anthropocene extinction, a mass extinction event of our own making. An extinction like this would the mean the end to happy memories of growing up with family and friends (another major theme of their work), and end of being able to appreciate the all of the natural world as we have an opportunity to do in this moment.

This leaves us with this one question. What is with all of the cult references, and a fascination with beliefs, and mass manipulating people (Geogaddi, Amo Bishop Roden, etc)?

I think the answer to this question comes to a head with Palace Posy. I think Palace Posy represents the consequences of allowing so many people to become indoctrinated and irrational. So many people cannot tell what is real any more if they were ever able to. This may be the very thing that prevents us from steering the ship in the other direction. "Why do anything if it's God's will?". "Humans cannot affect the planet, it too big!".

Societas X Tape came out after Tomorrow's Harvest. What track do we find there? A cynical track by coL , "This Flat Earth".

Need I say more.

Perhaps this is the reason we haven't gotten a new album. Because too many people don't follow, and maybe it wasn't as impactful as the band had hoped as artists. I can go on about meaning in Tomorrow's Harvest, but I think what I stated is really the crucial piece so many people don't seem to grasp. I hope I'm wrong.

They've said they don't necessarily allow outside pressures to impact them. I don't think it's that people aren't following per se, but they're making up their own ideas and running away with them. Tomorrow's Harvest is an album all about futility, and realizing you've got to let that go. It's a hard album to listen for some bc ppl aren't used to seeing a sour look on BoC's faces.

[CKAT-1]

The man needed only 10years to come up with such understanding of things. Self awareness is tough nut to crack

Time flies

[luminousdusk]

While I was about to come to the realisation that TH was completely devoid of nature, There are beautiful roses, trees and bushes in the RFTD video.. So.. Yeah
Also a posy is a bunch of flowers

Side note: In the Small town of Linlithgow in Scotland, about 20 miles from Edinburgh there is a bar called the Rosey Posey bar which itself is about 500 meters from Linlithgow Palace

While posy and posey are different words with different meanings, I do find this a marvellous coincidence

[Orbited insanitarium]

Beautifully written

Spoiler: show

It's clear that this person spent a long time writing that through a love of the music.

If you like it, then you like it. If you didn't, then don't.

[arvy]

Love it, you are good guy Orbited, you live and you learn

I will be watching this thread

[WATER_CAN-_-]

The man needed only 10years to come up with such understanding of things. Self awareness is tough nut to crack

Time flies

Not really, but I have kept it to myself for a long time hoping the art would speak for itself. The artist cannot say things explicitly, otherwise it loses its impact. It needs to be interpreted by the observer.

[CKAT-1]

Love it, you are good guy Orbited, you live and you learn

I will be watching this thread

Stop carrying so much, it’s just a music. Imagine it is 2033 and you making this post

[Orbited insanitarium]

Love it, you are good guy Orbited, you live and you learn

I will be watching this thread

[WATER_CAN-_-]

Love it, you are good guy Orbited, you live and you learn

I will be watching this thread

Stop carrying so much, it’s just a music. Imagine it is 2033 and you making this post

Thanks for partly proving my point

[Geogandhi]

Really? that's all you came up with? If you're looking for things, maybe look deeper, open the wrapper, don't just stare at the label and list of ingredients.

You could find meaning and narrative in the album Come on over by Shania Twain if you really put the effort in.

[WATER_CAN-_-]

Really? that's all you came up with? If you're looking for things, maybe look deeper, open the wrapper, don't just stare at the label and list of ingredients.

You could find meaning and narrative in the album Come on over by Shania Twain if you really put the effort in.

Let's see something profound or meaningful come out of you.

I see so far I cannot get any intelligent responses here, unlike on Reddit. I guess I expected too much.

[luminousdusk]

I appreciate your post

I also think most people get the jist of the album, It doesn't really need to be spelled out

"it's better if listeners find the narrative themselves" - Mike

[Frindia]

Hell of an insight, to be honest.

All-in-all, I find it doubtful that this is the reason they have yet to release an album since Tomorrow's Harvest. There are so many elements in SxT that would make me believe the absolute opposite, actually. I did see your post on Reddit this morning and thought it was interesting how you tied all of that together but let me level with you.. we really do not even know if their vision is for themselves, for us, or both. I believe both, and all of it is a gift no matter who has understood and who hasn't. Let us say that you are 100% correct and that every Boards of Canada fan "gets it." Everything would still be exactly as it is now, and ones with the knowledge would not have the amount of hands to fix every issue we seem to have encountered in the last 10 years. I say this because I don't believe BOC blames us for that, so why deprive? No, there is more to it and more to come.

I appreciate your post, WATER_CAN-_- it definitely gave me some food for my mind today.

[WATER_CAN-_-]

Hell of an insight, to be honest.

All-in-all, I find it doubtful that this is the reason they have yet to release an album since Tomorrow's Harvest. There are so many elements in SxT that would make me believe the absolute opposite, actually. I did see your post on Reddit this morning and thought it was interesting how you tied all of that together but let me level with you.. we really do not even know if their vision is for themselves, for us, or both. I believe both, and all of it is a gift no matter who has understood and who hasn't. Let us say that you are 100% correct and that every Boards of Canada fan "gets it." Everything would still be exactly as it is now, and ones with the knowledge would not have the amount of hands to fix every issue we seem to have encountered in the last 10 years. I say this because I don't believe BOC blames us for that, so why deprive? No, there is more to it and more to come.

I appreciate your post, WATER_CAN-_- it definitely gave me some food for my mind today.

Thank you so much, Frindia, and for your thoughtful response.

I appreciate any sincere response on the topic, unlike those attempting to gaslight me above.

[hexagonFox]

I posted this analysis on r/boardsofcanada as well. Because I think it's important, and with my level of frustration I am also posting this here. Ven diagrams and such.


Now that the 10th anniversary of Tomorrow's Harvest is upon us, I think that it's time to point out some things to everyone so that the album's significance becomes more clear.

If we look the band's body of work we may notice some patterns that are evident. The one that I would like bring attention to is their love and respect for the natural world that comes across in their music and art. I present the following evidence for this assertion (which is not comprehensive by any means):

General:
The band name is inspired by the NFB, an organization which produced many nature documentaries

BOC Maxima:

• The album cover (the band standing outside in nature)

• Wildlife Analysis

• Chinook (Weather phenomena or tribe of indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• ROYGBIV (color spectra)

• Nova Scotia Robots (Nova Scotia province with a lot of natural beauty)

• Niagara

• Skimming Stones (an activity done at a body of water)

• Red Moss

• Whitewater (may be referring to river rapids)

Music Has the Right to Children

• Album cover is likely the Mike and Marcus with their family as young kids at a scenic Banff overlook

• Wildlife Analysis

• An Eagle in Your Mind (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter 1983)

• Kanai Industries (reference to indigenous people who have tended to have reverence for nature historically)

• Rue the Whirl (Birds can be heard chirping)

• Pete Standing Alone (reference to the NFB documentary about an indigenous man of the Blood Tribe who learns to have appreciation for the old ways)

• Happy Cycling (bird calls)

Geogaddi

• Dandelion (reference to a Sea Dandelion from a 1979 nature film)

• Sunshine Recorder

• The Smallest Weird Number (samples On the Tracks of the Wild Otter and can hear birds chirping)

• The Beach at Redpoint

• Dawn Chorus (birds singing at day break)

The Campfire Headphase

• Peacock Tail

• Dayvan Cowboy (video showing high altitude dive from the edge of the atmosphere down to the ocean)

• Oscar See through Red Eye (a type of fish with a red spot on its tail perhaps evolved to fool predators)

• Tears from the Compound Eye (many insects and crustaceans have compound eyes)

• Macquarie Ridge (an incredible natural formation under the ocean)

Peel Sessions

• The cover art of the original 1998 version has a majestic looking eagle on the cover

In A Beautiful Place out in the Country

• The name of the EP as well as the cover art (picture of a bird of prey)

Trans Canada Highway

• Dayvan Cowboy (video)

• The highway goes through many National Parks and scenic areas

Societas X Tape selections

• Dreamers Clock - The Coconut Pearl

• These Trails - Garden Botanum

• Dolphins into the Future - Dolphins into the Future

• Christian Chevalier - Sea Cathedral

(much credit to bocpages.org)

Though I am sure I can go on, but I will leave it at that.

What is my point?

My hypothesis about Tomorrow's Harvest is this:

Tomorrow's Harvest represents an end to all things meaningful to the band (and probably should to everyone else). It represents the Anthropocene extinction, a mass extinction event of our own making. An extinction like this would the mean the end to happy memories of growing up with family and friends (another major theme of their work), and end of being able to appreciate the all of the natural world as we have an opportunity to do in this moment.

This leaves us with this one question. What is with all of the cult references, and a fascination with beliefs, and mass manipulating people (Geogaddi, Amo Bishop Roden, etc)?

I think the answer to this question comes to a head with Palace Posy. I think Palace Posy represents the consequences of allowing so many people to become indoctrinated and irrational. So many people cannot tell what is real any more if they were ever able to. This may be the very thing that prevents us from steering the ship in the other direction. "Why do anything if it's God's will?". "Humans cannot affect the planet, it too big!".

Societas X Tape came out after Tomorrow's Harvest. What track do we find there? A cynical track by coL , "This Flat Earth".

Need I say more.

Perhaps this is the reason we haven't gotten a new album. Because too many people don't follow, and maybe it wasn't as impactful as the band had hoped as artists. I can go on about meaning in Tomorrow's Harvest, but I think what I stated is really the crucial piece so many people don't seem to grasp. I hope I'm wrong.

The force is strong in this one.
Follow your heart. Follow the rabbit holes. Ignore the haters. Come to wild theories.
This is the Age of BOC! and YOU! get to live in it.
Listen! Dig for samples, make connections and cherish the music.
Nothing is real and everything is exactly as it should be.
This is creative, make more!

[Frindia]

Thank you so much, Frindia, and for your thoughtful response.

I appreciate any sincere response on the topic, unlike those attempting to gaslight me above.

NP. And to add to your thought on Whitewater, which very well could be the meaning, I could not resist mentioning this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_Ski_Resort
Whitewater Ski Resort in British Columbia

Great location for skiing and snowboarding of Canada

[WATER_CAN-_-]

Thank you so much, Frindia, and for your thoughtful response.

I appreciate any sincere response on the topic, unlike those attempting to gaslight me above.

NP. And to add to your thought on Whitewater, which very well could be the meaning, I could not resist mentioning this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_Ski_Resort
Whitewater Ski Resort in British Columbia

Great location for skiing and snowboarding of Canada

Haha, yeah. Unless the band has come out and said explicitly, we cannot be completely sure about any of the meanings behind the names of different tracks and so on. Of course, I realize this. All we can do is try our best to analyze and interpret ourselves, which is what my post is all about. Provoking thought.

It's just disappointing to me when I see how the band has gone to such painstaking lengths to create such a masterpiece as is Tomorrow's Harvest, and the takeaway is something to do with John Carpenter films. Yeah, maybe musically and the with the 80s score nature of it. But to start talking about a zombie apocalypse or something ridiculous and fictional with no meaning as the takeaway. I mean come on.

I think it should be obvious to anyone paying attention at this point that everything they decide to share with us has a tremendous amount of thought and care put into it (and is almost certainly a balloon)