Most often these days, I hear people talk about how recording is slowly growing and evolving and all that. For my great surprise, I have never really been in discussion about the absolute highlights of noise. Meaning, that whatever the album is as a whole, is pretty irrelevant, when there is the small nugget of audio bliss, what you want to hear. Like perfect why it could be 7". Where things are over quick, but it delivered exactly what you needed.
I'm thinking of something like first c. 3 minutes of Merzbow "artificial invagination" mCD. I can't really think any other harsh noise piece, what in just couple of minutes, managed to cover such a great moments together. Whole 21 minute piece is great, yet the highlights is the utmost fireworks of first couple of minutes.
Emil Beaulieau, ripping off Shimpfluch in "Memories" CD. Track 7. First 1,5 minutes - well, basically whole track repeats the pattern, but it's something I could loop and listen endlessly. It captured my brain back in.. '94, and since then I return to this particular track quite frequently. It's unlike anything anyone has ever done?
From PE, it's easy to just check out the highlight tracks. Do As You're Told. Dog Day, Sir Nigger,... You can even go to more detail.
Strom.ec "losing it" in their Arma Christi works. When vocalist goes utterly maniac performance with his voice. Same could be said of Wriggle Like Fucking Eel. Album itself is completely in shadow of that highlight.
I remember in 90's reading Masonna interview from Bananafish and he was explaining his method of doing long recording and then just collecting the highlights. Removing everything else. And that's probably the reason why things like Madamoselle Anne..... or Noskl In Ana etc survive the test of time.
BUT even more, I have always talked about Come Again II compilation, but the more you experience noise, the more talent you may find in how it's compiled. For example, take Solmania track from that comp. It's merely.. 1 minute? Less? And it's one of the most versatile, information packed piece of guitar noise brilliance. And when you listen to Solmania tape on Vanilla Records, you will spot the moment where it's taken from. And the guy who compiled this CD, had the taste to pick up the ultimate highlight of 40-60mins(?) long piece, and cut it in a way it works without long process of developing sound there. There are others like that. This compilation doesn't appear to be simply artists contributions, but someone with good taste, selecting what is the best out there, and putting that as compilation.
After hearing endless amount of stretched ambient track, repetative industrial loops going nowhere, micro sound noodling, pieces relying on life long bass frequency tactics, jams trying to awake some sort of mesmerizing feeling... Even if not saying those methods are wrong or bad, I wonder how come the utmost fireworks of noise highlights are so rare?
There should be some label to do like they do in porn. Cumshot compilations! Remove the foreplay, remove the length fuck scene. Just quick cut to end of anal scene and then pop shot. And move to next. With wide variety of different kinds of meat. HAH! I'm not kidding. It's not about short attention span, but about appreciation to talented editorial work.