Noise

[Mueti]

I recently discovered this genre, even though I'm pretty sure some people, if not most wouldn't even refer to it as "music". I myself would never have thought I'd be able to get into it when I heard a Merzbow track for the first time. But it was interesting, I mean it had to have something to it if people could enjoy this pure noise. And damn it does. After listening to 1930 two times straight the other day I couldn't resist putting it on a 3rd time. And slowly I began enjoying what I heard.
And now, I'd actually call the album awesome. The energy, dynamics and rough beauty of it are astounding.

For those of you who haven't heard any of this stuff before, here are two clips, the first one by Merzbow, the second one various live performances of Masonna. If nothing else you gotta admire the passion/insanity of the man, whichever you choose to call it.

Apart from the few obvious replies in which I will be declared insane, does anybody else enjoy this genre as well? Any other thoughts are welcome as well.



btw, is it just me or is youtube really damn slow lately?

[Spark]

Yeah... you're insane. That first clip sounds like Galaga on speed. :P

Although I do have to admit, that certainly is an interesting genre you've found there. I've never heard of it before. I'll give it another listen over the next few days and let you know if it grows on me or not.

and uh... it's just you ^^

[Kyomi]

Sorry, can't really get to like it, sure describes well what it is though.. Noise. Kinna annoying. Sure wouldn't pay to see a live show of his.

[mir]

So you get this by rapidly changing radio stations? Nuts I'd say...

Actually no, those reminded me of that one trial where they tried to play rock songs backwards looking for subliminal messages.

[Mueti]

Originally Posted by Spark

Yeah... you're insane. That first clip sounds like Galaga on speed. :P

Although I do have to admit, that certainly is an interesting genre you've found there. I've never heard of it before. I'll give it another listen over the next few days and let you know if it grows on me or not.

and uh... it's just you ^^

That's actually a more positive reply than I would've expected. I have to say that I'd be surprised if it grows on you after listening to just a few tracks though.


mhh, ok. ^^

Originally Posted by Kyomi

Sorry, can't really get to like it, sure describes well what it is though.. Noise. Kinna annoying. Sure wouldn't pay to see a live show of his.

I don't know...I think if I had the chance I certainly would go see Masonna. The only thing that might put me off is the chance of the show being over after a few seconds.

Originally Posted by mir

Actually no, those reminded me of that one trial where they tried to play rock songs backwards looking for subliminal messages.

http://jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm
Ok, most of it is bullshit but the ELO one is actually cool. ^^

[Spark]

Heh. Even though it sounds like crazy stuff out of an old Godzilla movie, I have to admit for some reason I do find the clips slightly more attractive than before.

Still dunno if I'd pay to see this stuff live tho.

[nonfiction]

Do Ruins, Boredoms, and Melt Banana count as noise?

Anyway, if you're into noise you should probably check out the movie Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?. It stars Tadanobu Asano, and it's pretty cool.

Some plot information on it:
In the year 2015, a strange and deadly virus is plaguing humanity. Latching on to the optic nerve it corrupts visual stimulus, bombarding the brain with messages urging it to self destruct. The result? A terminal sense of hopelessness labeled the Lemming Syndrome, a syndrome that has already led to the suicides of millions and threatens forty percent of the remaining population.

When a wealthy industrialist discovers that his granddaughter - his sole remaining family member - carries the virus he bends his resources to find a cure, only to discover that there is only one known hope: the music of a pair of experimental noise musicians, music which appears to alleviate Syndrome symptoms in those who encounter it. Rock and roll may save us all.

[Mueti]

Originally Posted by Spark

Heh. Even though it sounds like crazy stuff out of an old Godzilla movie, I have to admit for some reason I do find the clips slightly more attractive than before.

Maybe that means that you could get into it if you had a full album. ^^

Originally Posted by nonfiction

Do Ruins, Boredoms, and Melt Banana count as noise?

I wouldn't call them noise, Noise-Rock would be appropriate I guess. But they're certainly awesome, especially Boredoms.


And thanks for the suggestion on the movie, it definitely sounds interesting, I'll have a look.



edit: Having listened to a bit more of his work now, I have to say I'm surprised at the diversity of Merzbow's discography. There's stuff that's more free noise-jazz than just noise, songs with an appeal similar to minimal-musicians like Steve Reich or Terry Riley, beat-heavy stuff, dark ambient, etc, etc...

[-KarumA-]

i feel sorry for the guitar >.> it should sue the handler for abuse.. rofl
nah i dont like it, its too mental even for me..

[dmckafka]

Noise is brilliant, but my one complaint with its fans is that you generally don't get people even trying to acknowledge non-Japanese artists who work with the genre. Artists like pykrete, KYLIE MINOISE (admittedly horrible name, but the compositions are interesting), V/Vm, Thurston Moore's experimental recordings, etc. etc...

...But I digress. Since I like to support anyone getting into the exciting world of harsh-noise music as much as I can, here are some links. V/Vm Test Records has a brilliant page with a bunch of 'lost' noise recordings (supported by the original artists, don't worry moderators) including some Merzbow if that's really your thing here.
If you're interested in music from other genres with obvious inspiration from noise artists DJ /rupture's free mixtape "gold teeth thief" is as good a place to start as any if you're into hip-hop or dancehall by any chance, while Washington-based group Old Time Relijun is one of the most consistently entertaining noise/free-jazz fusion groups anywhere in the world - as an aside, the first song that my band (since broken up, but I digress) recorded was actually a cover of OTR's "Earthquake".

...Well, that's about all I have to contribute. Hope you enjoy the links

[Mueti]

Thanks for the links, I'll have a look at it. The noise-inspirated Hip-Hop tape sounds especially interesting. And, Old Time Relijun as well, since you're specifically pointing them out. I'll give some feedback once I've got time to listen to it.
As for the non-Japanese thing: I don't really pay attention to the origin of the artists but I'm sure some of the ones I have checked out so far (among others: Prurient, Burning Star Core, Brighter Death Now, Whitehouse, Kevin Drumm, Ramleh, 16 Bitch Pile-Up, The Goslings, ...) aren't from Japan. But so far, Merzbow is still my favorite. ^^

[dmckafka]

Being a Merzbow fan is fine as long as you never go insane and actually buy the Merzbox. There are some things in this world no human was meant to possess.

[Mueti]

I know of this release, 50 CDs of finest Merzbow...if I could afford it my money might actually be in danger.