What is the Philosophy of noise?

[jibberish]

That guy with the feedback-punching act has sort of an "art schtick" thing going on there.

I have listened to that video with the 2 raging sax players
I have listened to HMC tunes.

this stuff spans the range from zero music tones being played all the way to almost being regular music like the blemished record song.

this then becomes a composition freakout for me.    IS this the most open genre ever? 

How does one go about getting the ideas for songs?

[neighbor664]

That guy with the feedback-punching act has sort of an "art schtick" thing going on there.

I have listened to that video with the 2 raging sax players
I have listened to HMC tunes.

this stuff spans the range from zero music tones being played all the way to almost being regular music like the blemished record song.

this then becomes a composition freakout for me.    IS this the most open genre ever? 

How does one go about getting the ideas for songs?

The only art going on in the posted video tantrum would be the `art'  of convincing suckers that there was something musical or artistic trying to happen there at all. Convincing people that the random noise he haphazardly vomited out with complete disregard for pitch, rhythm or any sort of musicality whatsoever may be an `art form', but the byproduct is not art. Calling it `performance art' might be a stretch too.

[jibberish]

That guy with the feedback-punching act has sort of an "art schtick" thing going on there.

I have listened to that video with the 2 raging sax players
I have listened to HMC tunes.

this stuff spans the range from zero music tones being played all the way to almost being regular music like the blemished record song.

this then becomes a composition freakout for me.    IS this the most open genre ever? 

How does one go about getting the ideas for songs?

The only art going on in the posted video tantrum would be the `art'  of convincing suckers that there was something musical or artistic trying to happen there at all. Convincing people that the random noise he haphazardly vomited out with complete disregard for pitch, rhythm or any sort of musicality whatsoever may be an `art form', but the byproduct is not art. Calling it `performance art' might be a stretch too.

haha.  you should have been the one to yell at billy Madison.   i'm just trying to get a handle here so idk what to think yet.

[RacerX]

i'm just trying to get a handle here so idk what to think yet.

Maybe you should try thinking for yourself.

[mortlock]

im going to go ahead and try and help out here, since this is all my fault to begin with. I know me posting about 'noise' on a stoner rock board is going to fall flat for most people, but I love it and ive been here for a long time so fuck it. I figured if I can turn someone on to something they might not otherwise get exposed to then that's a good thing.

most everyone here is probably going to have the opinion that neighbor664 has. they are not going to like it, they are not going to see the 'art' in it, it will not be accepted and thats cool. im not going to say you 'don't get it' because thats elitist bullshit. having said that, it does walk the thin line of someone looking at a Rothko or Pollock and saying 'my 5 year old could paint that'. music is subjective, all art is.

ive always tended to gravitate towards the most extreme shit I could find in music, which is why I find myself liking the shit I like. it was a progression. metal lead to death metal which lead to grindcore which lead to noisecore. miles davis electric period sent me down the trail to more extreme free avant garde jazz. sun ra, then borbetomagus..etc..on and on.

im going to try and answer jibs questions here as best I can.

the noise scene is really not new. the term 'power electronics' was first used by William Bennett of whitehouse back in 1980. you can go back further and look at the work of modern 20th century composers like Stockhausen, cage, varese, to name a few.
the point was to make 'anti-music'. to be extreme and maybe even offensive. maybe not for the composers but for whitehouse and their offshoot Sutcliffe jugend as well as german noise duo 'cluster'. that music influenced a whole new era of power electronic artists, of whom 'wolf eyes' would probably be considered the leader of the modern pack.

is this the most open genre ever? maybe. theres lots of room for experimentation.

anal cunt took things to the next level with extreme noisecore/grindcore. the point was to be as offensive as possible. that spawned a whole crapload of bands including my own.

what is our philosophy? we never looked that deep into it. it was 3 idiots getting drunk and high and making retarded noise with stupid songs.
song ideas just flow. I mean you listen to our shit and its not rocket science. noise, feedback and a sense of humor.
we've been at it since 1999 and theres others that came before us. I love anal cunt, deche charge, none of your fucking business, and a shit ton more.

I think the point is NOT to over think anything. its anti-music. NOT FOR THE WEAK. its nonsense for the sake of nonsense. the mission statement of my band was to be the crappiest band in the world. everyone wants to be the best. fuck that, we want to be the worst. and here we are 16 years later still at it and there are people who like us. I guess we failed at our mission in that respect. ha.

im just excited that there is a thread about this crap that I didn't start.


   

       

[Lumpy]

I can get the same rush from a good noise band that I get from seeing good punk and metal bands. A lot of similar textures and high volume, stimulation, similar expression of intense emotions. But often minus the stupid genre rules of metal and punk (sometime with dumb rules of it's own). A lot of you guys dislike Sunn, they are a good gateway band into the genre for people who like heavy rock but don't know about noise. Sunn is pretty much a noise band using deconstructed doom riffs (sorry for using the word "deconstructed"  -- I probably could have said it another way). If you don't like Sunn at all, you probably won't like noise either. Sunn are not exactly noise but have one foot in that world for sure, IMO.

Try approaching it as pure sound. Don't worry if there isn't a clear structure. Just like what Mortlock said regarding painting. There doesn't always have to be a clear narrative with an art form (painting is maybe the best example of this), sometimes it can just be about experiencing something and the reaction you get from it. Not a great example, hard to tell from photos sometimes, but if you stood in front of a Mark Rothko painting, you might feel something or be affected (pic to show scale) -  noise can be like that. Like I said, think about experiencing it as pure sound.

[Lumpy]

I was at the show you guys are talking about (with the microphone feedback and he hit a couple people). It was a surprisingly emotional experience. Not necessarily enjoyable emotions though. But there was a lot of tension in the room, and how often can you say that about a show?

[mortlock]

I was at the show you guys are talking about (with the microphone feedback and he hit a couple people). It was a surprisingly emotional experience. Not necessarily enjoyable emotions though. But there was a lot of tension in the room, and how often can you say that about a show?

ill second that. ive seen a bunch of wcpc shows since the dude lives in my town. im very good friends with him as well. his shows are intense as fuck and always seem to be a cunt hair away from total chaos ensuing. because the shows do get violent, ive often warned him that shit could go south fast especially when he is not in his home town surrounded by friends. believe it or not the dude is a teddy bear in real life. wouldn't hurt a fly.
here is a funny vid of one of the very first shows he crashed where he was pushed off the stage by security and he destroyed his knee. back in the day he had to crash shows because no one would book him. that's actually how I met him. my band was playing a show and when I got to the venue, he was setting up. I naturally thought he was a member of one of the other bands. he seriously just showed up, set up and played before anyone realized he wasn't supposed to play that night. it was awesome and we became instant friends.
at this show, I guess the security didn't apreesh it too much. CLASSIC!!

[jibberish]

thanks for the insight guys. this is new, and it is curiously interesting. but most importantly it looks like fun.

I am in a great mood
alan is so envious of me, he cant help but follow my every word, in every post.   just because you don't have the iq, the education, the money, the hubris, or the vertical stature that I do doesn't mean you have to hate me. if you had a flat head for me to rest my beer can on you would be a perfect 11. so chin up.

ps, no one can troll me anymore. Mostly because I cant afford to respond. so srsly alAn, I cant play. your 4 troll attempts were for naught. u can be as big of a shithead to me as you can dream up. you will be fine.  me, I say the same thing and I will be permanently booted.  this is not a democracy and those are the rules and I have music shit to do with these other music minded people so I will play by the rules.

so obviously I have to filter that shit as "noise" HAHAHAHA

edit: You guys have me psyched. the holy crap project is officially launched.    

and I assume that if my show eventually includes modified appliances and power tool this would be good art. I really see nothing but fun and crazy experiments on the horizon.

that dude is metal as fuck for even getting the idea of crashing shows.  that is next level.

editz: I googled holy crap. looks like there aren't any bands with that name. 

[mortlock]

i cant wait to hear some holy crap.

[spookstrickland]

I was at the show you guys are talking about (with the microphone feedback and he hit a couple people). It was a surprisingly emotional experience. Not necessarily enjoyable emotions though. But there was a lot of tension in the room, and how often can you say that about a show?

ill second that. ive seen a bunch of wcpc shows since the dude lives in my town. im very good friends with him as well. his shows are intense as fuck and always seem to be a cunt hair away from total chaos ensuing. because the shows do get violent, ive often warned him that shit could go south fast especially when he is not in his home town surrounded by friends. believe it or not the dude is a teddy bear in real life. wouldn't hurt a fly.
here is a funny vid of one of the very first shows he crashed where he was pushed off the stage by security and he destroyed his knee. back in the day he had to crash shows because no one would book him. that's actually how I met him. my band was playing a show and when I got to the venue, he was setting up. I naturally thought he was a member of one of the other bands. he seriously just showed up, set up and played before anyone realized he wasn't supposed to play that night. it was awesome and we became instant friends.
at this show, I guess the security didn't apreesh it too much. CLASSIC!!

I can appreciate that guys enthusiasm but id be pissed to.

[jibberish]

haha. the ragged renaissance man. neo barbarian style

I bet he would dig a hat that had 3watt cree LED's on it with no lenses. the LED's just aimed forward and a pushbutton switch in his pocket.
those LED's are such concentrated light from such a small point it is similar to a welding arc in brightness(not really cuz welding arcs are fearsome, but this reminds one of it)
I guarantee that would bum people out.

so now he could temporarily blind them THEN punch them

[agent of change]

One of the other points/results of noise music is that it sort of forces you to create your own narrative and pay greater attention to what's happening, internally and externally, rather than cradling you in a narrative in which you're already comfortable (doom, stoner, etc). However, sometimes for me the narrative is "this is fucking boring and I'd rather go do something else." Just like any other genre, there's shit you like and shit you don't like, whether it's doom or noise or jazz.

[agent of change]

p.s. if you haven't heard US Maple, you need to listen. They're not pure noise so much as a "band" making songs - they may sound improvised, but I've seen them live and these are actual songs. Every album has a different flavor and I was always into whatever they did:

[Lumpy]

I loved US Maple, an absolutely amazing and deeply strange band. But not really fitting into this discussion. But yeah, OMG, so good. They sound like an indie rock band tumbling down a staircase.

[agent of change]

Surprised to hear you don't think they fit. I saw them at least once during the "No Wave" scene in Chicago, with all kinds of various noise outfits on Skin Graft.

[mortlock]

that sounds really cool. I wish I could have seen them. I love the old skin graft 7"/comic book sets. got a bunch of them.

the toy killers are some great no wave if youre into that sort of thing. 

[Lumpy]

I think Skingraft type bands are more like "noise rock". Just like any discussion of genre labels, the lines of division are blurry, and it can get annoying to discuss. So, I'm not trying to be a dick (it comes naturally)  One strike against describing US Maple as "noise"... they weren't into heavy distortion or feedback. That's often an important element. So, US Maple is weird and chaotic, yes. But not a noise band, I reckon. Everybody can decide for themselves though.

BOREDOMS would be a noise band many people are familiar with (early career -- they got into drone/trance type stuff at the end).

Here's a guy playing awesome noise guitar (he can play "regular" guitar really well, too).

Hard to understand noise totally just with Youtube clips... Just like seeing any type of band, when it's being performed live at 100 decibels (or whatever), this kind of stuff can hit you hard. I can get a similar rush from this, as I would from seeing a good heavy doom band or punk band or whatever.

If you want to find a bunch of contemporary noise clips on Youtube, look up "Ende Tymes" (festival).

[jibberish]

this is a great thread for me. I didn't know about basically any of this shit at all. thx.

[zachoff]

It's only the most open if you can find your space.  If you can't find your space then it's not open at all.

My personal philosophy on noise is it's only as good as the people making the noise.  I saw Drive Like Jehu last week and was completely blown away by the noises that Speedo could get out of his guitar... Mind blowing, really, and I've seen Hot Snakes 3 times and RFTC probaly 6 or 7 times.  I've just never seen him in that capacity and he absolutely killed.

Anyway, noise is about making absurd tones that fit with what you're trying to do. Do it well and it's awesome. Do it wrong and it's just noise.

[mortlock]

the elusive 'it' factor.

[zachoff]

the elusive 'it' factor.

Pretty much...  Really most music is this.

[agent of change]

I think Skingraft type bands are more like "noise rock". Just like any discussion of genre labels, the lines of division are blurry, and it can get annoying to discuss. So, I'm not trying to be a dick (it comes naturally)  One strike against describing US Maple as "noise"... they weren't into heavy distortion or feedback. That's often an important element. So, US Maple is weird and chaotic, yes. But not a noise band, I reckon. Everybody can decide for themselves though.

I didn't read you as being a dick, just stating your opinion as fact.  I can get with noise rock for US Maple. Most importantly, here we are all discussing various kinds of "music" and sharing cool shit lots of folks haven't heard yet. I'm always down with that.

[mortlock]

you cant talk noise rock and not mention amrep. 

[jibberish]

would you be so kind as to throw some of your recommended amrep vids up, oh sideline swami, gridiron guru, the ayatollah of I-ah-told-you. haha.

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oh shit. as soon as i noticed a cymbal on one of the turntables, i knew we were in for a ride haha   (get it? [snickerface])