Describing Noise to someone who never heard about it

Started by cr, June 18, 2023, 03:17:35 PM

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W.K.

Quote from: anal_yama on June 25, 2023, 01:05:07 PM
"a whole load of nonsense, usually loud"

"A whole load of awesomeness, the best sounds you can imagine without boring filler, totally loud!"
Straight murkin' riddim blud, absolute vile gash

cr

Quote from: Stipsi on June 20, 2023, 07:14:46 PMI just send them a YouTube link.

Yeah, right! To expand topic a bit - what link to whatever noise do you send?
I often tell or send them the link to Merzbow - Venereology.
Maybe because this was one of the first "real" noise records I heard and bought myself.
What do you suggest to the not so noise people to look for or what link do you send to them?



Stipsi

Quote from: cr on March 25, 2024, 09:29:25 PM
Quote from: Stipsi on June 20, 2023, 07:14:46 PMI just send them a YouTube link.

Yeah, right! To expand topic a bit - what link to whatever noise do you send?
I often tell or send them the link to Merzbow - Venereology.
Maybe because this was one of the first "real" noise records I heard and bought myself.
What do you suggest to the not so noise people to look for or what link do you send to them?

I go heavy: Taint - Laura Smithers ahahahah


North Central
Mademoiselle Bistouri
Cytokine Storm
Fistfun
Bleeding Cosmos
Daddy's Entertainment.
PERVERT AND PROUD.

dse666@yahoo.com

cr

Quote from: Stipsi on March 25, 2024, 09:43:02 PMI go heavy: Taint - Laura Smithers ahahahah

Haha, yes good one. Awkward discussion closed. Let's move forward talking about the great songs of Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus!

Bigsby



if asked, i'd introduce them to him and his gear.

Cranial Blast

I don't really know if you can explain it well enough to others, you can kind of describe it as industrial music that is a lot more far removed from the traditional aspects of industrial "music", like it's more minimalist or stripped down to the rawest form and so much so to where the concept of it being labeled as "music" is being debated or questioned as a whole. I also feel like the listeners of noise didn't choose to listen to noise, but rather noise chose it's listeners. I've tried very hard with other metalhead folk, who seem to be the next of kin for a possible interest and literally nobody I know can genuinely say that, hey! I really enjoyed this, where can I find more of this! I feel like often with noise you're all the way in or not so much, as it's not really your cup of tea so to speak. I remember when I first got into noise it was an immediate obsession and that is true for most us I'd imagine. It becomes something you're really into or probably not at all and not to say others who first heard it and dismissed it won't return, maybe they weren't ready, but maybe one day they will be! I think if there was any time that there could be more open mindedness to noise that the time could be now, especially with a lot of the more crossover appeals these days.

Moran

Most people I brought up noise with say "it's just noise", then disregard the sounds. With some, this reaction partly seems semantically motivated. "Noise" = bad = don't listen. Another common reaction is "it's not music". It's not music, so it's not worth listening to.

BatteredStatesofEuphoria

#22
Quote from: Cranial Blast on March 28, 2024, 04:03:25 AMIt becomes something you're really into or probably not at all and not to say others who first heard it and dismissed it won't return, maybe they weren't ready, but maybe one day they will be!

I think that is a very true point. I know it was true for me, at least in the sense that if I had heard noise before a certain point in the evolution of my musical tastes, I may not have gotten into it at all because I would have hated it, or at least been turned off of it for years.  If someone had handed me "Pulse Demon" when I was a teenager my idea of "extreme" at that point was Pantera and Skinny Puppy? It took years and many stepping stones to get to a point where my mind was at a state where it was "open" to the idea. That doesn't mean there aren't those that have heard noise at a very young age before anything else and loved it immediately. But I think the case of someone who comes to it after years of building up to it is more common.

Honestly, I'm not sure an attempt at trying to describe noise would have made any difference to me or not. It was a constant desire to find new and interesting types of sound. People either have that or don't, and descriptions aren't going to matter too much in the end.

Another point is that its not only HOW and WHEN that may determine if someone gets into noise or not, but WHAT. What is their introduction? There's a lot out there, and some is going to be easier to digest at first. Hearing the wrong thing might put someone off, even when they were ready for something more accessible.

I really enjoy Hijokaidan's stuff nowadays, but if they had been the first noise I heard? A guy trying to murder his guitar in the midst of a tornado destroying a factory, accompanied on vocals by a woman who sounds like she's in the process of giving birth to a sawblade coated in battery acid? I'm not sure I would have stuck around. :)

MALAISE57

I have some friends that are in to music, and i showed them some of the stuff i listen to. I said something along the lines of "harsh, hostile types of ambience".

Their base knowledge of noise was just that people do it. They thought the core of noise music is just some  avant-garde type art performance stuff.

s.yothin

Very common question where I'm from, especially from within common "alternative music" scenes. The typical response I would usually give is experimental/avant-garde with aspects of industrial-electronic.

I also emphasize the importance of the "art" side of noise (visuals, live performance, etc.) and suggest new people to approach it from this perspective rather than from a "music" side. Coming from the latter usually results in boredom for the uninitiated, coming from the former allows from open-ended interpretation.

cr

So yeah then, describing noise to someone is properly done, you let them listen to some examples, and then comes next question - "WHY do you like listening to noise? I can't believe, that anyone voluntarily likes to listen to such sounds and finds comfort in it."
What do you say?

Bigsby

#26
Quote from: cr on June 30, 2024, 01:52:13 PMSo yeah then, describing noise to someone is properly done, you let them listen to some examples, and then comes next question - "WHY do you like listening to noise? I can't believe, that anyone voluntarily likes to listen to such sounds and finds comfort in it."
What do you say?

I'd say that's where the conversation ends. It's a disingenuous question. At that point they don't care about noise, they're asking what's wrong w/ you?  Like why would you eat such spicy food?! Why do you exercise so hard? Why would anyone  want to witness a corpse flower bloom? Why would you watch such an upsetting film? What's wrong with people?!

I'm always surprised that people who are into art or art history or music are so dismissive of noise. It's a very fascinating phenomenon!

Cranial Blast

I'd describe it as branch of Industrial music without the "music" and even further removed from the source and probably more so than any other kind of subgenre within that type. Also would mention there is a bigger emphasis put on scope of art, in some cases being equally as important if not more than the sounds.

Bigsby

Quote from: Cranial Blast on June 30, 2024, 06:19:33 PMAlso would mention there is a bigger emphasis put on scope of art, in some cases being equally as important if not more than the sounds.

I think that last bit is really alienating, or could be a big turn-off for an interested but unfamiliar audience. The booklet is more important than what's on the tape? No thank you. Maybe, this is best understood or heard in context of the artwork.

BatteredStatesofEuphoria

Quote from: cr on June 30, 2024, 01:52:13 PMSo yeah then, describing noise to someone is properly done, you let them listen to some examples, and then comes next question - "WHY do you like listening to noise? I can't believe, that anyone voluntarily likes to listen to such sounds and finds comfort in it."
What do you say?

Nothing.

You take out the meat cleaver you've been hiding behind your back, caress it lovingly, and smile at them.