Noise Books

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holy ghost
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Noise Books

Post by holy ghost »

Sort of a catch all thread, I recently read about one called Extreme Music by Michael Tau - it's been out since last year and I haven't heard anyone anywhere talk about it at all so I wanted to see if anyone had read it. It seems interesting. But I'm at the stage of my life where I kind of want to hear some reviews from peers and not just a rando blog by some rando guy.

I really like reading books about music but noise has been a touch difficult to pin down as a "genre history". I guess most are.

I have read Annihilating Noise and Noise/Music by Paul Hegerty and found them reasonable books although extremely academic (real talk: a little boring), the Hijokaidan book (GREAT), The Ambient Century, Wreckers of Civilization (excellent), Fight Your Own War (parts of it were pretty good some were not good), Japanoise (I loved it), Art Sex Music (I thought it was great) and recently read Monolithic Undertow about drone music that was pretty basic but very enjoyable.

Anyway, let me know if anyone's read this Extreme Noise book of if there are any I'm forgetting.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by SS1535 »

Not contemporary noise, but I have had a book on Fluxus performance scores/records called Sense Sound Sound Sense waiting to be read on my shelf for a while.

I have only read selections from the Hegarty books, but I generally share your response to them.

Also, I don't want to forget mentioning the excellent Merzbook that came along with the Merzbox! Not only did it contain great notes for each of the cds, but it was mostly filled with fascinating articles on the history and reception of Merzbow up to that point.
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Re: Noise Books

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Also, has anyone read this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assimilat ... rial_Music It looks really interesting (though probably more on the academic side of things), but I have not gotten around to it quite yet!
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Re: Noise Books

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SS1535 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:30 pm Not contemporary noise, but I have had a book on Fluxus performance scores/records called Sense Sound Sound Sense waiting to be read on my shelf for a while.
Fuck I would LOVE to read this - only copy I can see is $188. I love seeing those graphic notations they do. I am also a HUGE Yoko Ono fan, I would love to read a book where the focus was on her and her work (the less Johnny L the better).
SS1535 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:30 pmMerzbook that came along with the Merzbox! Not only did it contain great notes for each of the cds, but it was mostly filled with fascinating articles on the history and reception of Merzbow up to that point.
I would read this in a heartbeat if it was reissued, I would maybe even prefer it to the actual Merzbox?
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Re: Noise Books

Post by 33033 »

reading Start Your Own War now, and the term "oi noise" gave me a hearty laugh
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Re: Noise Books

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https://www.fabiomendez.com/cabaretvoltaire/

I'd also really love to find a copy of this Cabaret Voltaire book, can anyone vouch for the reliability of this place? Shipping is reasonable!
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Re: Noise Books

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holy ghost wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:35 pm
SS1535 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:30 pm Not contemporary noise, but I have had a book on Fluxus performance scores/records called Sense Sound Sound Sense waiting to be read on my shelf for a while.
Fuck I would LOVE to read this - only copy I can see is $188. I love seeing those graphic notations they do. I am also a HUGE Yoko Ono fan, I would love to read a book where the focus was on her and her work (the less Johnny L the better).
SS1535 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:30 pmMerzbook that came along with the Merzbox! Not only did it contain great notes for each of the cds, but it was mostly filled with fascinating articles on the history and reception of Merzbow up to that point.
I would read this in a heartbeat if it was reissued, I would maybe even prefer it to the actual Merzbox?
Maybe there are different versions, but this one on Amazon is close to what I think I got it for: https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Sound-Flux ... 8885449395

I bought it at the Getty Museum in California, but they don't seem to have it in stock anymore. I think half of it is in Italian or something, as I believe it was an exhibition catalog/book.

The Merzbook very well rivals the cds in the set (I mean, if I had to choose I would keep the cds, but it would be a hard choice), but it is best when paired with them. I read it while I listened through the cds, and it paralleled the progression of the boxset very well.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by housepig »

I'll drop this here in case anyone hasn't seen it

https://monoskop.org/Noise


Lots of reference works, many of which have a linked PDF. This is just the stuff tagged "noise", there's a ton of other music & art publications indexed and available throughout the site.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by shrouded.in.antiquity »

holy ghost wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:25 pm Fight Your Own War (parts of it were pretty good some were not good),
This is one of the reasons I especially like this book. It feels like the editors found a wide spectrum of folks to write about "power electronics and noise culture" and while I may appreciate some sections more than others, it certainly does seem fairly representative of a lot of different scenes and sounds around the world.
housepig wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:48 am I'll drop this here in case anyone hasn't seen it

https://monoskop.org/Noise


Lots of reference works, many of which have a linked PDF. This is just the stuff tagged "noise", there's a ton of other music & art publications indexed and available throughout the site.
Holy shit this is huge, thanks so much for sharing this. I've been curious about checking out a lot of these.

This is a pretty obvious one to bring up but I recently got a physical copy of the As Loud As Possible zine (Freak Animal may still have copies) and that is a crucial piece of noise writing for me.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by SS1535 »

housepig wrote: Thu Jan 26, 2023 10:48 am I'll drop this here in case anyone hasn't seen it

https://monoskop.org/Noise


Lots of reference works, many of which have a linked PDF. This is just the stuff tagged "noise", there's a ton of other music & art publications indexed and available throughout the site.
Thanks for the link! Looks like lots of good stuff in there, so I will have to go digging...
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Re: Noise Books

Post by SS1535 »

Also, there is this take on "noise books" that I absolutely love the idea of: http://cementimental.com/noisebook/

I have been meaning to pick up a copy for some time.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by consumer »

holy ghost wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 8:25 pmSort of a catch all thread, I recently read about one called Extreme Music by Michael Tau - it's been out since last year and I haven't heard anyone anywhere talk about it at all so I wanted to see if anyone had read it.
It's one of several books that I'm working my way through right now. Been meaning to make time to finish it. I'll post my thoughts on it then, but as for now I can say that I'm enjoying it. It's written in a very accessible tone, to the point that Tau actually calls out Hegarty's overly impenetrable style, which I found rather amusing.

Another book you might like is Micro-bionic: Radical Electronic Music and Sound Art in the 21st Century by Thomas Bey William Bailey. The PDF is pay-what-you-want on his website.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by k.p.g »

Surprised no one has mentioned "Digging Through Time" yet... Excellent book on the many live performances of G.X./the Haters. Always have it ready to pull out on my nightstand.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by noisereceptorjournal »

I guess I am here to blow my own trumpet, although clearly my publications are on the 'post-industrial' side of the noise vs industrial divide.

Also, I actually contributed a couple of chapters and reviews to the Fight Your Own War book. Not sure if that content was rated as 'good' or 'bad' in the above comments - but if the later - no need to read further! Ha!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My first underground publication Spectrum Magazine operated from 1998-2002, and has been collated in a 400 page book released on Headpress in 2019.

SPECTRUM COMPENDIUM : Archival documentation of the post-industrial underground Spectrum Magazine Archive 1998-2002


Featured interviews: Bad Sector / Black Lung / Brighter Death Now / Caul / Cold Spring / Crowd Control Activities / C17H19No3 / Death In June / Der Blutharsch / Desiderii Marginis / Deutsch Nepal / Dream Into Dust / Endvra / Folkstorm / Genocide Organ / Gruntsplatter / Hazard / House Of Low Culture / I-Burn / Ildfrost / Imminent Starvation / Inade / IRM / Iron Halo Device / Isomer / John Murphy / Kerovnian / Knifeladder / LAW / Malignant Records / Megaptera / Middle Pillar / Militia / MZ.412 / Navicon Torture Technologies / Nový Svĕt / Ordo Equilibrio / The Protagonist / Raison D’être / Sanctum / Schloss Tegal / Shining Vril / Shinjuku Thief / Skincage / Slaughter Productions / Spectre / StateArt / Stone Glass Steel / Stratvm Terror / Terra Sancta / Tertium Non Data / Toroidh / Tribe Of Circle / Warren Mead / Vox Barbara / Yen Pox

Available here: https://headpress.com/product/spectrum-compendium/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My current underground publication Noise Receptor Journal is progressively having sold out issues released in collated Volumes by Headpress.

Noise Receptor Journal : Archive Volume 1 was published in 2020 and collates together the long sold-out Issues No.1, No.3 & No.3 in a 270 page book.

Featured artists: Alfarmania / Aischrolatreia / Aural Hypnox / Blitzkreig Baby / Fieldwork / Genocide Organ / Grunt / Halo Manash / Puce Mary / Survival Unit / Trepaneringsritualen / Wertham

Volume 1 available here: https://headpress.com/product/noise-receptor-vol1/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Noise Receptor Journal : Archive Volume 2 has just been published in late 2022 and collates together the long sold-out Issues No.4, No.5 & No.6 in a 352 page book.

Featured artists: Anemone Tube / Armour Group / Concrete Mascara / Damien Dubrovnik / Death In June / Detrimental Effect /Genocide Organ / Hospital Productions / Human Larvae / Inade / John Murphy / Kevlar / Posh Isolation / Prurient / Trapdoor Tapes / Young Hustlers / Ulex Xane (Streicher)

Volume 2 available here: https://headpress.com/product/noise-rec ... -volume-2/

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you have read this far, if interested in purchasing any of the above titles, Headpress offer 30% off the second title when ordering two books at the same time.

Thanks for reading this far.

-Richard Stevenson / Noise Receptor Journal
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Re: Noise Books

Post by SS1535 »

noisereceptorjournal wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:35 am I guess I am here to blow my own trumpet, although clearly my publications are on the 'post-industrial' side of the noise vs industrial divide.

Also, I actually contributed a couple of chapters and reviews to the Fight Your Own War book. Not sure if that content was rated as 'good' or 'bad' in the above comments - but if the later - no need to read further! Ha!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My first underground publication Spectrum Magazine operated from 1998-2002, and has been collated in a 400 page book released on Headpress in 2019.

SPECTRUM COMPENDIUM : Archival documentation of the post-industrial underground Spectrum Magazine Archive 1998-2002


Featured interviews: Bad Sector / Black Lung / Brighter Death Now / Caul / Cold Spring / Crowd Control Activities / C17H19No3 / Death In June / Der Blutharsch / Desiderii Marginis / Deutsch Nepal / Dream Into Dust / Endvra / Folkstorm / Genocide Organ / Gruntsplatter / Hazard / House Of Low Culture / I-Burn / Ildfrost / Imminent Starvation / Inade / IRM / Iron Halo Device / Isomer / John Murphy / Kerovnian / Knifeladder / LAW / Malignant Records / Megaptera / Middle Pillar / Militia / MZ.412 / Navicon Torture Technologies / Nový Svĕt / Ordo Equilibrio / The Protagonist / Raison D’être / Sanctum / Schloss Tegal / Shining Vril / Shinjuku Thief / Skincage / Slaughter Productions / Spectre / StateArt / Stone Glass Steel / Stratvm Terror / Terra Sancta / Tertium Non Data / Toroidh / Tribe Of Circle / Warren Mead / Vox Barbara / Yen Pox

Available here: https://headpress.com/product/spectrum-compendium/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My current underground publication Noise Receptor Journal is progressively having sold out issues released in collated Volumes by Headpress.

Noise Receptor Journal : Archive Volume 1 was published in 2020 and collates together the long sold-out Issues No.1, No.3 & No.3 in a 270 page book.

Featured artists: Alfarmania / Aischrolatreia / Aural Hypnox / Blitzkreig Baby / Fieldwork / Genocide Organ / Grunt / Halo Manash / Puce Mary / Survival Unit / Trepaneringsritualen / Wertham

Volume 1 available here: https://headpress.com/product/noise-receptor-vol1/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Noise Receptor Journal : Archive Volume 2 has just been published in late 2022 and collates together the long sold-out Issues No.4, No.5 & No.6 in a 352 page book.

Featured artists: Anemone Tube / Armour Group / Concrete Mascara / Damien Dubrovnik / Death In June / Detrimental Effect /Genocide Organ / Hospital Productions / Human Larvae / Inade / John Murphy / Kevlar / Posh Isolation / Prurient / Trapdoor Tapes / Young Hustlers / Ulex Xane (Streicher)

Volume 2 available here: https://headpress.com/product/noise-rec ... -volume-2/

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you have read this far, if interested in purchasing any of the above titles, Headpress offer 30% off the second title when ordering two books at the same time.

Thanks for reading this far.

-Richard Stevenson / Noise Receptor Journal
No, your contributions were some of the good ones! I think most of the criticism that is directed against that book is more aimed at one particularly political essay included in the latter half---but even that has its place in it.

And yes, I still need to pick up your books too...
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Re: Noise Books

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SS1535 wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:26 pm
noisereceptorjournal wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:35 am Also, I actually contributed a couple of chapters and reviews to the Fight Your Own War book. Not sure if that content was rated as 'good' or 'bad' in the above comments
No, your contributions were some of the good ones! I think most of the criticism that is directed against that book is more aimed at one particularly political essay included in the latter half---but even that has its place in it.
I need to give a cursory revisit (I don't recall the essay in reference, for example), but from what I do recall, Richard, your contributions were among the minority of good pieces in that book.
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Re: Noise Books

Post by totalblack »

I’m really curious about the new “The Unearthed Puzzle” book Discreet published of James Ferraro and Spencer Clark “artefacts” - no idea what’s gonna be in it but I love The Skaters and most of the weird stuff those two have done so i’ll gladly read a book about it
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Re: Noise Books

Post by holy ghost »

consumer wrote: Fri Jan 27, 2023 7:24 am It's written in a very accessible tone, to the point that Tau actually calls out Hegarty's overly impenetrable style, which I found rather amusing.
I think this might have swayed me - I will keep an eye out for it.
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Re: Noise Books

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Scream & Writhe wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:22 pm
SS1535 wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 1:26 pm
noisereceptorjournal wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:35 am Also, I actually contributed a couple of chapters and reviews to the Fight Your Own War book. Not sure if that content was rated as 'good' or 'bad' in the above comments
No, your contributions were some of the good ones! I think most of the criticism that is directed against that book is more aimed at one particularly political essay included in the latter half---but even that has its place in it.
I need to give a cursory revisit (I don't recall the essay in reference, for example), but from what I do recall, Richard, your contributions were among the minority of good pieces in that book.
Based on my own reading of the book as well as the comments I have read from others, the main target of complaint is the feminist essay in the second half (?) of the book where she argues about sexism in noise/industrial culture. It has been a while since I last read it, though, so I would need to revisit it in order to give a better commentary.
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