Fight Your Own War: Power Electronics and Noise Culture

[holy ghost]

Got mine from amazon yesterday. Looks really cool. I'm reading another book right now so I won't start this until I'm done.

[Zodiac]

just did order it via amazon. looking  forward to it. looks like a good and interesting read.

[HongKongGoolagong]

I was so happy she especially liked the picture of my crotch - https://twitter.com/harbottlestores/status/757893982731005952

Very much looking forward to reading this thing. I think I may have contributed some memories of 90s Whitehouse shows to one chapter by a Record Collector magazine journalist but not sure what he will have used.

[david lloyd jones]

I was so happy she especially liked the picture of my crotch - https://twitter.com/harbottlestores/status/757893982731005952

Very much looking forward to reading this thing. I think I may have contributed some memories of 90s Whitehouse shows to one chapter by a Record Collector magazine journalist but not sure what he will have used.

everyone has memories of Whitehouse shows, you should feel privileged that someone has a memory of your crotch!

[cr]

The download album is very much a compilation of contributers, it's OK with some decent tracks but doesn't flow so well together.

Yeah, unfortunately the compilation is not that good, apart from the Streicher track.
The book I think is great, I like that you can open it anywhere and find something interesting to read. At least from my perspective of just being a fanboy, hehe.

[david lloyd jones]

for those reluctant or unable to shell out for the hardback, the paperback is now out at a much cheaper price

[holy ghost]

Bought the paperback. I'm about 60 pages on and I'm really enjoying it. I like that it's not an "authoritative history" kind of deal and more of a collection of writings. I really enjoyed the chapter on Finland a lot!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Those who don't feel like ordering from book dealers, but noise distros, Freak Animal has it too. Of course, buying direct may be always cheapest, but here you may get to order it along with some noise releases...
http://www.nhfastore.net/FIGHT-YOUR-OWN-WAR

I like the book for what it is. Exactly that it would also allow sequel. Not only offering THE book of noise, but something possible to expand. I have yet to complete reading it all, but there has been goodies and some lame ones.

[JuhoN]

Those who don't feel like ordering from book dealers, but noise distros, Freak Animal has it too. Of course, buying direct may be always cheapest, but here you may get to order it along with some noise releases...
http://www.nhfastore.net/FIGHT-YOUR-OWN-WAR

I like the book for what it is. Exactly that it would also allow sequel. Not only offering THE book of noise, but something possible to expand. I have yet to complete reading it all, but there has been goodies and some lame ones.

I did so, along with few noise 7'.

[HongKongGoolagong]

Read it finally this week and was impressed: much better than I had imagined. Very wide range of authorial styles and tones, from drily academic to wildly passionate to sarcastic and gossipy. A joy for anyone who loves and knows this music yet towards the end there are two furious chapters critiquing the scene mercilessly from Spencer Grady and Sonia Dietrich - clever editing and sequencing from Ms Wallis to slowly move from the relatively uncritical and dispassionate historifications of the first section to that kind of self-immolation where the book almost attacks its own reason for existing.

I have heard criticism over the inclusion of somewhat obscure act Deathtripping (I'd also never heard of them) but their pieces describing how they work actually function well as a kind of illustration of an archetypal small scale PE/industrial project - their deeply twisted 'stalker' project certainly gave me a laugh.

Mentions must also go to Ulex Xane's striking defence of the offensive and objectionable qualities within the genre and his articulate explanation of why he was called Streicher, to d.foist's painstakingly researched historical overview of the North of England live scene, and to Nathan Clemence's very professional and readable chapter where he allows interviewed musicians to speak at length about their experiences of playing live.

Well done Jen and everyone else involved - highly recommended.

[david lloyd jones]

agree with above post. Better than thought it would
be.
enjoyable as I hoped it would be. I do like oral histories-subjective, but nevertheless, how it was.
individual inconsistencies dissolve into a greater reality.
and, as mikko pointed out, ripe for a sequel or alternative view.

[Zodiac]

I like the book for what it is. Exactly that it would also allow sequel. Not only offering THE book of noise, but something possible to expand. I have yet to complete reading it all, but there has been goodies and some lame ones.

[holy ghost]

I finished this the other night. While fist off I really enjoyed it, I felt like my only real objection to the book (particularly the HNW chapter) was the constant reference to noise forums. I felt like it added nothing save to make the noise community seem reduced to a bunch of squabbling fishwives (hmmm.....?) and maybe it's just hitting a little too close to home as I've read/lurked the forums for years.... I guess I felt like you could write a lot more interesting stuff about The Rita, Vomir, Werewolf Jerusalem without needing to cite whatever argument happened on the Maniacs Only board....

That being said, it was a cool read. I particularly enjoyed the Finland chapter and despite my criticism above I enjoyed the HNW chapter. I also liked the chapter penned by BRUT as it didn't attempt to be "sophisticated" and tore the reader a new one.

I would say, if there was a second book I think less on Whitehouse and more of the album spotlights. I also don't need to read any more oral history on say, Throbbing Gristle but I think it would have been interesting to perhaps give a nod to albums that aren't classified as PE but maybe provided influence? Hey, I'm just thinking out loud here.....

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Detailed review of book, commenting each chapter.

http://special-interests.net/main/2017/03/13/review-book-fight-your-own-war-power-electronics-and-noise-culture/

[Fluid Fetish]

As you have probably noticed, I am not inclined to easy criticism yet it is impossible not to be ashamed by the contemptuous tone of this piece. Of course, a certain solemnity has always surrounded the scene yet, in no case, the 'hooligans of noise' need the ludicrous ramblings of a jazz and avant-garde music specialist to caricature their culture. It is pretty hard to endure the opinion of someone pompously analyzing the power electronics' intents for the sole purpose of criticizing its lack of humor, with lame and out of context examples in addition to an endless name dropping. "So, what better way to counter the rigid solemnity of authority, artistic or otherwise, than a good old-tickler? Send-ups such Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) have lampooned the irrationality of blind obedience, while satires such as Tony Hancock vehicle The Rebel (1961) and Family Guy episode A Picture is worth a 1,000 Bucks have tugged the rug from under the modern art world, puncturing pretension with sourpuss sarcasm, making more of an impression than any Broken Flag release." I certainly do understand that a book covering controversial subjects needs counterweights, yet such a sustained mocking diatribe is only diminishing the seriousness of the best pieces of the tome.

Couldn't have said it better myself. This book was excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the HNW chapter and a few others, but the Spencer Grady chapter is utterly horrible and one of the most inane and redundant pieces of writing I've ever wasted time on...and that's saying a lot.