Noise acts with vast amounts of releases

[Ashmonger]

Just something I'm wondering about: In noise and related genres, more so than in others, although it happens there as well, quite some acts release a lot of stuff, in the form of tapes, 7", 12", CD, CDr... I think of Merzbow and Torturing Nurse, for example, who have released a lot of stuff.
I guess there probably are some people who collect everything from artists like those, but I guess most people just have part of it? I mean, there's so much good music (according to me, at least), that I can't really imagine buying more than 100 releases of the same artist and letting all other good music pass by.

To conclude: there are some (basically) Metal bands from whom I buy every new release, which is fairly easy since most of the time it's 1 album and 1 7" per year for example. But I'd have a hard time buying everything from a band that releases 2 7"s, 2 albums and 4 tapes in the same year, just to say something.

Some other peoples ideas on this?

[Andrew McIntosh]

Quality over quantity.

[RG]

Quality over quantity.

Absolutely. This shouldn't even have to be stated, but such is the world we live in. Those offenders who have an absurd amount of releases every year might counter the argument by saying they're only doing editions of 50-100 (or even smaller), but to me that only strengthens the argument that they're releasing crap. If what you're releasing is truly something of quality, then of course you would want to do an edition of more than 50. Unless of course your goal is to create a cult object, but that's a whole other can of worms

[FreakAnimalFinland]

And you can't necessary simplify it as "quality over quantity", rather than simply saying only: "quality". Some artists with extensive discographies have managed, despite the huge quantity, always remain BETTER than the rest. In some cases, big discography means that artists has stuck into doing "the same" since it seems impossible to change their style. In other cases, due the high volume of output, it is exactly that, what allows artist to go stylewise from one thing to completely different. Making it worth to follow him alone more than 20 other artists who sound more similar to eachother than one artists with his past discography.

I don't aim for "complete collections" if the artist isn't 1) great 2) diverse enough 3) with small enough discography.

[Andrew McIntosh]

Same thing.

Edit - apologies, I didn't make myself very clear. I'm suggesting it's the same thing when one chooses an artist one can rely on who's output is consistent, over other artists who's output may well be as consistent but not as good. It's still quality over quantity.

[Ashmonger]

It seems there's no simple answer. In many cases it will be quantity over quality. But this can even be the case with bands who don't release a lot of stuff. If an artist only works on his stuff three times a year and releases it right away, he won't have much releases, but it still  can be a case of quantity over quality.
On the other hand, I guess there are people who just have a way of working very fast, but still releasing quality stuff.
I guess one of the reasons that a lot of noise acts release a lot is also that way more split releases and collaborations are done than in other genres.

I don't aim for "complete collections" if the artist isn't 1) great 2) diverse enough 3) with small enough discography.

So in case some act has released a lot of stuff and there's great stuff in it, you'll just take the best releases and leave the rest? Sounds logical to me...

[rainbowbridge]

if artists can release 20 recordings a year and they are all passionate and good quality i see nothing wrong.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I don't aim for "complete collections" if the artist isn't 1) great 2) diverse enough 3) with small enough discography.

So in case some act has released a lot of stuff and there's great stuff in it, you'll just take the best releases and leave the rest? Sounds logical to me...

It does sound logical and would be good if one could be so strict. Yet not true in my case or what I suggested.
I think there is pretty big flexibity between "only the best" and "complete collection". I have managed to kill collector mentality enough that I don't need complete collections if they are not good. And even if they are good, but sound too samey, why bother if you can't tell difference what album currently listening? Why not re-listen their previous great album?

I can buy what is good & different, even if it's not the very very best of the band. Simply because it is good enough for purpose I use it (= enjoying to listen to, hopefully multiple times).

I think question of what is different enough yet holds certain amount of continueity & vision, is perhaps most important question. There are many artists, who's releases hardly differ from eachother. Or variation happens in very subtle level. There is vast amount of harsh noise artists, perhaps even more in wall noise, which you can't necessarily distinct from eachother. Each release may be GOOD or even great alone, yet purpose of having more than ____x of such releases may be pointless? So rejecting even good or great release is perfectly valid. Because the value is easy to substitute with any of their own or even some other artists release. This is not the case with releases that are different or even unique.
This makes one ask question for what purpose releases are being made and if they are meant to be actively listened. Topic about that exist somewhere in this forum.

[ARKHE]

There is also the problem of long-since sold out releases (released in past decades but never re-released), which might be highly superior to contemporary, still available releases - then the need for selective re-issuing becomes clear (at least for listeners in my monetary position where highly priced auctions are not an option). For example, Industrial Recollections, but also other labels not only focussed on rereleases. The curatorship may of course be arbitrary (maybe the tapes not reprinted are soperior in my ears, but I will never hear them as I will never own them because I discovered the genre a decade or two late), but a good indicator of general canonization of certain releases, if we're talking about retroactively completing one's collection of, say, all MACRONYMPHA releases. I'd prefer canonization-by-reprint before groping away at auctions (if there are many auctions for old noise/industrial tapes etc) hoping to find something piss-good.

The canonization-part may or might not be relevant in this discussion; "picking out the superior segments of artist's discography" is a personal canonization if something... and that's hard to do if the music is unavailable.

[cipher chris]

I don't aim for "complete collections" if the artist isn't 1) great 2) diverse enough 3) with small enough discography.

So in case some act has released a lot of stuff and there's great stuff in it, you'll just take the best releases and leave the rest? Sounds logical to me...

Great in theory, impossible in practice.  Until you purchase 99% of releases, you won't have an opinion (beyond some biased, over-excited, 'yeah!' sprouting message board ape) on whether or not it's in the 'take' or 'leave' category.  So on artists where you want to maintain a discography of the 'good', you inevitably end up with the not-so-good.  Ptomain might be a good contemporary example - a few stunning releases, quite a few duds.  I own a cross-section, not just the good stuff, because how else would I fucking know?

For some acts this may be a bit easier.  To take an example, contemporary Sutcliffe Jugend have some good and bad.  With enough patience and research I could probably have discerned which were good and which not so much.  And then all their releases are probably in large enough editions that my patience and research will result in the release still being available.  But to take an example already cited of Prurient, if I wait two weeks to get a new 'limited to 48 tape' to see what the reaction is going to be, I've pissed away my chances of ever owning it.

Welcome to the noise lottery.  You may think you can predict the results.  Hell, you may even be fucking the girl who draws the numbers.  But it's still rooted in chance unless you can gamble based on the video replay.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

There is also solution to this. Simply re-selling the items. 2nd hand demand is pretty high. For years, I had a obsession to get all and listen all. At some point realized task of listening everything from beginning to end, is simply impossible. And owning more than you could ever liste, even on theoretical level, makes no sense unless you're building "collection" for other purposes. Within this year, I finally have started to clear out some of the boxes. Stuff which can be even great, but due format or due extensive discographies, they can go. Examples such as The Rita. I can live with pile of vinyl records and few CD's and could sell all the cdr's away. Will I regret it later? Probably, since I liked many of them. But I'll survive. If scene would get items circulated more, without instant need of every "sold out" item to be considered "rare", it could be easier situation.

I'm looking for Merzbow LP on PDB. Not that I absolutely need more Merzbow, since heard it's not his best, but that it would complete my PDB set.. So some collector mentality still here! But not loosing my sleep over it.

[moozz]

For years, I had a obsession to get all and listen all. At some point realized task of listening everything from beginning to end, is simply impossible. And owning more than you could ever liste, even on theoretical level, makes no sense unless you're building "collection" for other purposes.

I had the same (somewhat still have). But now I have slowly started to realise what you said above. When you own tons of good releases and hundreds of great releases it is (at least for me) extremely hard to find the "just good" ones I am willing to get rid of.

[A.R.GH]

I guess one of the reasons that a lot of noise acts release a lot is also that way more split releases and collaborations are done than in other genres.

that's also a good point... i was invited to participate in a couple of splits this year, and I had the material for it ,which is not near enough for a full length, but good length to participate with labels/projects i like, and i just thought "why not?"

that certainly must happen more often to more known/respected noise artists