Social Life

Primary section for noise and noise-adjacent discussion.
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Streetcleaner2
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Social Life

Post by Streetcleaner2 »

What Is The Social Life Of A Noise/Industrial/PE Head. Are you antisocial by default. How’s your relationship with society and family
Outlooks On Society & Social Situations / getting older making new friends keeping old ones discarding relationships that don’t resonate ?
School/Uni . Worklife ? Personal life? Or are you extroverted & if so do you share your fringe interests
dust
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Re: Social Life

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Bubble-Congeries
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Re: Social Life

Post by Bubble-Congeries »

I am a walking, talking Peter Pan complex.
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SS1535
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Re: Social Life

Post by SS1535 »

I have only met people who know noise a few times in my life. It is certainly easier to talk to them about it than someone who has no idea about noise, but I sometimes get the impression that unless you both listen to the same substyle then there is a sort of disconnect.
killhippies
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Re: Social Life

Post by killhippies »

I spend too much time devoted to work now, but still try to see friends every couple weeks. I have meaningful conversations with friends I’ve made through noise almost every day though
+hp+
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Re: Social Life

Post by +hp+ »

i have a job for 6+ years, graduated college with an associates degree, have a dog, kids, wife and go to church, i have 2 car and try to eat healthy and don't do drugs
i keep my "noise life" a secret
"keeping up appearances"
but don't feel like a "psycho" for listening to sutcliffe jugend or C.C.C.C.C.C
i only record vocals when my wife and kids are gone
i play fantasy football
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holy ghost
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Re: Social Life

Post by holy ghost »

I try not to talk about noise in my daily life but I also try not to talk about goregrind, free jazz or my obsessive love of Yes or Genesis either. If I can not talk about myself I’d consider that conversation a win.

I basically talk to people for a living, and usually talk to people with much more interesting lives than my own. However by the end of the day I’m a little drained and I’d like to go home and cook dinner.

That all being said I’m pretty social but I’m also 42 and I moved to a new city last year so I basically hang out with my wife and my brother and his wife and a few close friends who I see sporadically but I’m very friendly with my neighbours and co-workers etc.
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33033
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Re: Social Life

Post by 33033 »

Besides work and the “fun” of running a label, I jam with a post-metal band a couple of times a month, check out new restaurants, camp a little bit in the summer, hit up beaches or go for hikes. Being married it’s nice to have a partner to do all these things with too! I tend to browse a lot of used bookshops for fun also, and sometimes so a bit of eBay selling on the side (made $300 last month on sales?!). I did a bit of D&D awhile back but I didn’t take to it as much as I thought I would.

My work is very social so naturally I’m pretty outgoing, but I also need to recharge and just exist on the couch for a bit alone. Throw on some records, grab a whisky and I feel back to normal.

Some old friends who I thought would be down for life aren’t that, but I get why. One person only has enough time/energy for things. Still, I tend to just want to terminally hang out so while I try not it’s weird to see others just not make a huge effort. Can’t change it so let it be.
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Re: Social Life

Post by adult human »

+hp+ wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:11 pm i have a job for 6+ years, graduated college with an associates degree, have a dog, kids, wife and go to church, i have 2 car and try to eat healthy and don't do drugs
After all your lecturing us about rock n roll and sitting....the mask has slipped.
Bleak Existence
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Re: Social Life

Post by Bleak Existence »

im mostly all by myself from time to time visit other but rarely complete opposite of how i was younger and i like it that way
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SS1535
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Re: Social Life

Post by SS1535 »

Also, as some others have mentioned, I have realized that it is usually a mistake to talk about noise with people who have no idea what it is. They might try to be polite and listen at first, but there is really no way of making them understand what noise is if they don't already have some pre-existing idea about it. Personally, it feels like I have to dominate a conversation way too much in order to explain my interest in noise, so I think it best to stay silent/polite about it!
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oZiris
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Re: Social Life

Post by oZiris »

Thought about this one a lot today. So here's a lengthy adjacent answer.

I would imagine post-pandemic (has it happened, is it happening? Can’t quite tell. Recession society and Pandemic society have so many similarities!) the day to day life of a noise musician wouldn’t be too terribly different from the day to day life of an average punk, metal, hip-hop, indefinable new age style, or indie rock musician. Probably not too different from a relatively obscure painter / visual artist. You do what you have to; to keep a roof over your head and keep your bills paid. Which to most means working a full time job or perhaps having multiple side hustles to keep income flowing. I personally work two different jobs, and see most peers delving in underground music and art living a very similar lifestyle. Crafting your art / practicing / writing with the free time & energy you have available. Trying to book shows / gallery residencies when possible, while promoting your existence via (a) digital medium(s).

I may surmize; perhaps the core subtext of this thread is then: Why Become a Noise Musician?

A link above was a nice reminder as to why I chose to participate in underground subculture since I was a teenager. Tiny bit of context; I was not raised in a religious household and my family had a very large bookshelf of records in our home when I was younger. Collection had a nice selection of LP’s and singles from the first five years of punk 77-82 but besides that as I got older I realized a bulk of the records were in my opinion; arena rock trash. Being a cool goth punk, when I was 16 I decided to buy Lou Reed’s NYC Man for my dad for his birthday. I thought it would be a cool gift, but not only was it not well received by the recipient; it was used numerous times as an example of “just because you think it’s good doesn’t mean I’m ever going to listen to it”.

Which circles back to the question; why choose noise music? And perhaps amid societal restructuring you’ve been asking yourself the same thing? Why choose artistic expression at all when we’re reinforced by a digital industry that our music is only valued at fractions of a cent? Why choose noise music when it would seem that the entire revenue stream of this performing thing is based on how many drinks a bar can pound into the back of your skull? And often it’s pretty hit or miss that noise performances are conducive to alcohol sales in comparison with something pumping out 120 BPM’s or higher. Yes it is true, though a deserted dance floor carries its own stigma as well. I do appreciate the academic side of noise and experimental, but what I LOVE about the genre is when you see a performance that completely floors you.

Why choose noise music when rock n roll has been the dominate music of popular culture until rather recently? Because the realistic economics of being in a rock band have been steadily declining since the marketing of the video game “rock band”. Because 20 years ago to even try to be a musician you had to drop at least a couple hundred to even attempt to learn an instrument when in contrast modern age children have access to computers, tablets, apps, & technology often years before they purchase instruments. Or are raised on midi plug ins. What kind of music do you think that generation is going to be more artistically inclined to create?

In an even broader sense the answer is pretty simple, and probably isn’t too different from many moonlighting in the above mentioned genera’s. I became an adult during America’s “war on terror”. I listened as family members endlessly regurgitated conservative cable news propaganda delusions as a rationalization for their own ignorant xenophobic tendencies. Rotting drug addled middle aged brains a cultural wasteland of entertainment tv & sports scores, which has now manifested itself into a modern sneering apathy towards neo-fascism. Was as obvious then as now that these people are spiritually FUCKED.

Having no other family member ever have the discipline to actually learn an instrument was motivation to not only learn many instruments but to meet and befriend people who generally had the same ethical mindset. I choose noise music because it’s currently what is right for my own self expression & sanity in a world of unending insanity. Perhaps now more than ever, others can relate?

Perhaps in the future alcohol consumption won’t solely dominate the nightlife industry? Maybe the idea of working in some unspoken context of genera “rules” is somewhat laughable & limiting to the next generation? In my mind noise is a premier genre for people globally to not only express themselves emotionally but now more than ever it should be a refuge for people to express themselves politically.
Last edited by oZiris on Mon Sep 19, 2022 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
+hp+
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Re: Social Life

Post by +hp+ »

adult human wrote: Sat Sep 17, 2022 5:36 am
+hp+ wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:11 pm i have a job for 6+ years, graduated college with an associates degree, have a dog, kids, wife and go to church, i have 2 car and try to eat healthy and don't do drugs
After all your lecturing us about rock n roll and sitting....the mask has slipped.
LOL
B)
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theworldisawarfilm
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Re: Social Life

Post by theworldisawarfilm »

I am normal.
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SS1535
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Re: Social Life

Post by SS1535 »

theworldisawarfilm wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:59 pm I am normal.
Here is the operative question: Normal in the context of noise, or normal for everyday people? Normal in one means abnormal in the other? haha
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holy ghost
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Re: Social Life

Post by holy ghost »

SS1535 wrote: Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:51 pm Also, as some others have mentioned, I have realized that it is usually a mistake to talk about noise with people who have no idea what it is.
It’s the same as any other niche interest - you don’t really want to hear about craft beer from Rick from Accounting or talk about magic crystals with Judy from Human Resources or hear about cryptocurrency from your next door neighbour Willard do you?

My brother and his wife come over and I’m not compelled to thrown on the new Vomitoma double LP collection to show them how brutal it is, we’ll stick to more normal talk. But if I go to a show and there’s some fellow mincers there you better believe we can gab about some cool records.
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SS1535
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Re: Social Life

Post by SS1535 »

holy ghost wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 8:48 am
SS1535 wrote: Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:51 pm Also, as some others have mentioned, I have realized that it is usually a mistake to talk about noise with people who have no idea what it is.
It’s the same as any other niche interest - you don’t really want to hear about craft beer from Rick from Accounting or talk about magic crystals with Judy from Human Resources or hear about cryptocurrency from your next door neighbour Willard do you?

My brother and his wife come over and I’m not compelled to thrown on the new Vomitoma double LP collection to show them how brutal it is, we’ll stick to more normal talk. But if I go to a show and there’s some fellow mincers there you better believe we can gab about some cool records.
Yes, though it get awkward sometimes when you get to know someone and they ask the inevitable "What kind of music do you like?" "Uh, well there's this band from Finland..."
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Bubble-Congeries
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Re: Social Life

Post by Bubble-Congeries »

"I like a little bit of everything" is usually enough to satisfy most people.

If they push more, usually something to the effect of being stuck in the 70's/80's or muttering something about Aphex Twin ends the conversation. It's very rare that most people at work or out in public making idle chit-chat really care enough to continue asking questions for so long that I'd have to mention that one Vaginal Jesus CD in my collection, or how many copies of Only Theatre of Pain I own.

Same with making noise. I just tell them I make electronic music and do "sound design" as a hobby. Then more muttering about Aphex Twin or early-90's eurohouse and my unattainable dreams of becoming a foley artist. Crisis averted!
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holy ghost
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Re: Social Life

Post by holy ghost »

Bubble-Congeries wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 12:30 pmhow many copies of Only Theatre of Pain I own.
Now I’m curious how many copies of Only Theatre of Pain you actually own? I for one do care very much about this stuff.

My default casual conversation band is Blue Öyster Cult but occasionally I’ll get fucking crazy and start talking about Yes and man don’t get me started on that one…. I’ll talk yer fuckin’ ear off….
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Bubble-Congeries
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Re: Social Life

Post by Bubble-Congeries »

Aw, damn. I wish I could say it was some truly outrageous number, but it's only six copies, soon to be seven since finding a Japanese promo CD for sale online!

There's still about 3-4 editions I'm particularly interested in tracking down, but it's the sort of album I don't think I can have too many copies of. It's the sort of album that, if I found it languishing, shopworn, on a secondhand music store shelf, I'd feel obliged to "rescue" it, no matter the condition, unless the price was ludicrously high.

Same goes for 7" copies of "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel. I've got at least 3-4 of that one! I'd have even more, but shipping from the EU, even for otherwise dirt-cheap 7" records, is a killer for single records.

I wish I could afford the shipping for all those endless, cheap, cheap copies of Sparks' "The Number One Song in Heaven" fluttering over continental Europe as well! T__T
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Touch Starved
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Re: Social Life

Post by Touch Starved »

My entire social circle is pretty much formed of other music enthusiasts and musicians, I’ve been playing in bands since the age of 12 and have had the pleasure of getting to know likeminded people all over Finland (and the rest of the world) through playing and attending shows and reaching out to other music nerds.

That being said I do relate to not being able to talk about noise or other niche genres of music / art to people from work or friends who aren’t as hopelessly obsessed with music. I do have friends who don’t really enjoy listening to noise but are very open minded about hearing new stuff, I don’t think I have ever had a real life situation where I’m forced to explain why I like noise and I’m very glad to have these types of people in my circle.

But, sometimes it does come to mind how ridiculous noise can be, I’m sure all of us have had that moment where we take a second to think about how ridiculous it is to (for example) get excited over a hnw-tape with porn on the cover that comes with a cock ring or some shit hahah.
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Re: Social Life

Post by Joie de la Blumpy »

theworldisawarfilm wrote: Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:59 pm I am normal.
I got the t shirt. I'm with normal.
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Vibg
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Re: Social Life

Post by Vibg »

Most of my closest friends I met through noise, all of them having been friends for 20 years, give or take. Some of the best experiences of my life have been a result of my relationship to noise as well. The love of the art form has been the center of that. For other people I think a love of any art form could be as central to a purpose or identity.
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