Liner notes in noise?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Yesterday was reading the liner notes of Monde Bruits CD on Alchemy Records.
One things that technology has brought us in recent years, has added curious thing why one should pull many Alchemy Records CD's from shelves. Formerly, most westeners couldn't understand what the extensive liners notes are about, but now, thanks to google translate app you can have on your phone, you just point camera to page, and read translation. This CD has booklet full of stories. Jojo, Gomi, Mikawa, Masami, Sakaguchi, Okazaki, all got stories to tell about different phases of Monde Bruits, you probably have not read in english anywhere.
These stories fit well into anthology CD, giving context of tracks and where they originate from and how releases originally happened.

However, there are lots of CD's that were new, and had liner notes. From my own recent listening, for example Merzbow "Psychorazer" CD with Mikawa writing some notes about material you can listen from the disc. This is very common with certain types of music, but fairly uncommon in say punk, metal, and that type of underground. Perhaps this is one different element, that Alchemy stuff has pure noise, punk, indie music and whatever, but often leans into... improv, jazz, art music or some sort and tradition of liner notes can be traced into that?  While a lot of contemporary harsh noise is probably coming from different angle, something else where very few even think that CD booklet could include something like this even when its not re-issue that collects some memories and documentation?

I assume sound would feel it is odd that you get new CD, and open booklet, and that has almost like a review of material there. I do have a feeling that in some type of records, it wouldn't be spoiling the listening experience at all to expose a bit of vocabulary and insight that may have positive effect on the listening of material.

Reading liner notes? Wishing there could be more?

[Baglady]

This is precisely why I buy old jazz reissued on CD rather than chasing oop vinyl editions - they almost always come with both the original liner notes (if there were any) and a contemporary piece by some knowledgable jazz buff or someone involved in the making of the album. It's not THAT rare within noise, but still something I'd like to see more of.
Liner notes for new releases are more scarce. I guess artists and labels simply lump them together with the "pr text" online these days - if there is any lengthier commentary to begin with - instead of adding a couple of pages or panels.

Speaking of Monde Bruits, I love the liner notes from the Selected Noise Works CD (which are in beautiful english!).

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

I actually love that new releases come with line notes that are different from the promotional blurb used to sell the records. They made me go deeper in some artists' backcatalogs and reflect deeper on what the release I'm listening to is about, the artist's body of work, etc. I think that's what they should be for.

[Bloated Slutbag]

I'm with Euro Trash Bazooka. Insight. Perspective. WTF. It can all be there, in a single paragraph. Particularly love when the notes can linger for a good chunk of the allotted listening span, as these are almost certain to cue up repeat and duly enriched plays. Bonus when a single name-drop sends you down a three-decade rabbit hole- T. Sakaguchi dropping T. Mikawa dropping T. Riley, say.

I hope this is kosher, but gonna drop here what my phone just done with Psychorazer, as it would seem Mikawa may echo some of the above sentiment re- perspective...

Therefore, I would like those who read my article to accept that this is an example of how there is another way to listen.

MERZBOW

(Rise and fall of the refracted critical spirit, and a group of sounds coming from Schicker)

What could be more difficult and less rewarding than the commentary on Merzbau's work? The reason for this is that it is nothing more than an aimless retelling of a task that almost no one has ever done, and that the effort will end in vain. If you're dead (see the interview in "DICE" No. 2 and 3), you'll lose your morale even before you go into battle. If you are forced to face Merzbau's spectacular sound in such a state of mind, that is, this time, the tape that was sent from the publisher with the feeling of "Please take care of Reiner" is played on the deck. I'm talking about just before loading the speaker and spinning the sound out of the speaker, where I've already been beaten down before I face the difficulty of writing a liner, and my ears. In that sense, I am biased, but the sudden torrent of Merzbau's sound flood would not allow such weak excuses, and dragged me into an inevitable scene of carnage. For example, when writing a review to be exposed to a place like G-Modern, in most cases, I make the decision to pick up a work that I have heard at least once from a blank slate, and then listen to it again before writing. It is rare to be burdened with the burden of writing something about it, but looking back on the few cases in the past, it was the extreme sound of Merzbau. From what I saw, the reality was that it would either result in a doubled burden or, on the contrary, lead to a situation that would wipe out an annoying mental state. There is no room for denying that it was the latter. A futile, pointless, and impossible discussion of how this three-song CD titled "Psycho Laser" should be positioned in the midst of Merzbau's incredible release rush. I have no intention of unfolding this, but at least for me, it is clear that the sound is strangely attractive and stimulates the imagination. I will write down the images of each song that my brain cells excited in this way received.

The title tune of the first song, "Psycholaser," is a terrific roaring sound that suddenly cuts into the base tone consisting of low-pitched pulses, sometimes howling high-range sounds, and sometimes twisting electronic sounds. While transforming, it continues to unleash a raging wave of attacks with the momentum of harmoniously uniting and taking over the roots. The honest impression of the sound is that it is a train road from Tokudawara that repeats while passing through all phases. It's hard to know what the phrase "psycholaser" evokes, but the mad doctor who wields a laser scalpel in the spiritual world and performs absurd lobotomy, faced with the failure of the surgery many times, but each time he fought back. I'm not ashamed to confess that I've been thinking about coming.

The appearance of the psycholaser on a stage that has faded out while quietly holding its spear, it is "Sugamo Rising Sun Gas Station". As for the nature of the nest, I have an image that can only be summed up by the word Harajuku for the elderly, but it wouldn't be strange to see a bleak industrial area on the periphery, even a large-scale industrial complex. It's easy to envision an imaginary landscape of clusters of small town factories instead of things (although I don't know if such a thing really exists). The early morning sun shines on a deserted petrol station in the midst of it, creating a scene of disequilibrium itself. The scenery itself, which is full of such internal contradictions, casually tries to invade the avant-garde retro space around the station, but the ambition collapses in vain due to the lack of fundamental power. From this song, you can feel the sound making that makes you want to imagine yourself. I dare say it's superfluous, but the slightly comical rhythm and strangely undulating synth sounds that cover the whole story are a shopping street in front of the station that exists as a different space, where the old people's raw energy overflows. However, the scene in front of the station is reminiscent of a caricature, and the intense noise that appears in rare cases as if to tear it apart is an attempt to invade from the periphery. The last is "Mangod". In terms of sound, there are parts that can be said to be an extension of "Sugamo Rising Sun Gas Station", but it incorporates a much more varied structure. It is characterized by the crispness of the sound of the material and the ability to hear it clearly. The soundscape depicted here is Amatsuhikohikohikonagisatake, the last god of the five generations of the land kings. Ugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto ruled Japan for 836,042 years, and the situation was chaotic when he handed over the baton to Emperor Jimmu, the first human king. , It is also a pleasure to unfold a silly delusion from the word Hitogami, which is attached to the title of the song.

It seems that it has become something that does not go beyond the realm of impressions, but that is unavoidable. As I said at the beginning, I had no choice but to speak subjectively and emotionally as I faced this work. Therefore, I would like those who read my article to accept that this is an example of how there is another way to listen. Some people will scold me, asking where and how I should listen to it, but I have no choice but to say, "differences in sensibility."

1998 February 28
T. Mikawa

[HateSermon]

I really enjoyed reading the stories in the Long Live The Death Of Video comp. I think liner notes are crucial when you have a release that has a largely unknown history behind it, or in this case, a dying network of collectors.