Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. For example, 2015 had a Friday the 13th in February, March, and November; 2017 through 2020 had two Friday the 13ths each; and the years 2021 and 2022 will both have just one occurrence each.

Friday the 13th occurs in any month that begins on a Sunday.

So for today I thought that we put some focus on just the number 13, not the unlucky and pick a tune by the Canadian post-rock group SILVER MT. ZION, a band that which formed in 1999, originating from Montreal, Quebec. Variations of the name used on the band's releases include A SILVER MT. ZION, THEE SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA, THE SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA & TRA-LA-LA BAND, THE SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA AND TRA-LA-LA BAND WITH CHORI and THEE SILVER MOUNTAIN REVERIES); the group use the shorthand SMZ and their name is most often simplified to SILVER MT. ZION. The group has undergone almost yearly personnel changes, evolving by stages from a mostly instrumental trio at the time of their first recordings into an eight-piece group, and then in 2008 into a strongly vocal quintet.

SILVER MT. ZIONs music has been described as post-rock, though singer and guitarist Efrim Menuck identifies with the punk rock ethos and aesthetic. The band has released seven studio albums and three EPs, publishing them through the record label Constellation.

Today's tune "13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed" is taken from the debut album "He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms…". The album was recorded by guitarist Efrim Menuck and bassist Thierry Amar at the Hotel2Tango in 1999, mostly during breaks while touring with GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR. It was published by the Montreal-based record label Constellation on March 27, 2000.

The album was born out of a desire by Efrim Menuck to record something for his dog Wanda, who died of cancer while GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR were on tour. Menuck described the recording of the album as a "Jewish experience", due to his immersion within a small, friend-based Jewish community in Montreal. Indeed, Menuck also stated that, as a result of the community, the album title and songs have a sense of Judaism, although the band tried to not make it conspicuous. There is some Jewish imagery in the lyrics to the track "Movie (Never Made)", but their exact meaning remains cryptic.

The album was initially to be named "He Has Left Us Alone", but it was decided that this was too weak, and didn't convey the proper mood. Menuck professed that he was confused with the idea that songs or album titles should only be a few words in length and be perfectly clear. Instead, Menuck believes that things of that nature can be described with many words, giving sensibility and a "frame" to the work.

On the original vinyl release, the songs were arranged into two tracks; on CD releases, the songs were indexed into four parts each, resulting in eight tracks. The sleeve artwork lists inaccurate track times, all rounded to even minutes.

The track "13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed" was featured in Harmony Korine's movie "Mister Lonely". It also features in Series 3 episode 10 of Top Boy when Sully supposedly shoots Dris on top of a London Building.

The video for today is featuring "Steamboat Willie", from 1928, enjoy!



More info @

Official Silver Mt. Zion Bandcamp

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