Merzbow Top Hits

[Hemwick]

Well put.  I agree with the "laziness" theory.  It makes sense to me when you put it that way.  I'm not against growing as a person and our point view changes at all, sometimes I feel an artist should leave their personal life out of the publics' eye.

[ImpulsyStetoskopu]

I don't get that guy and this drama. Probably I am too stupid for such situations.

[aububs]

sometimes I feel an artist should leave their personal life out of the publics' eye.

this is merzbow's issue with the podcast in a nutshell. seems he's fine with them discussing his work but is not fine with them discussing his private life. which is fair enough. he handled it badly but also got his point across i think.

the merzcast is great. favourite eps so far are blankenship, best, gx, haswell and rehberg. i had no idea rehberg was english. would be great if they got s&q, rrron, underwood, and how about a wildcard...special interest's own j soddy

[Hemwick]

Very true.  I need to check out the show.  I plan on doing it this weekend when I have some time.  It does sound really good.  Should I start with episode one or can I just jump in anywhere ?

[aububs]

just jump in anywhere. pick a guest you want to listen to.

[Zeno Marx]

this is merzbow's issue with the podcast in a nutshell. seems he's fine with them discussing his work but is not fine with them discussing his private life. which is fair enough.

That IS fair enough, but I don't know how you do that and rise to the established quality of the podcast.  How the fuck do you separate an artist from their personal stuff?  That's a significant handcuff right there.  When it was revealed that Venereology was fucked with because of Reiko's involvement on the excluded track of the recent reissue, I thought it was admirable, on a social level, that Merzcast purposely avoided sharing that information, but I also thought...Uh, that's sort of significant information, explaining why the reissue is different and why other reissues could be altered as well.  If an artist is going to revise their work because of relationships,  that isn't, in my opinion, just soap opera junk.  That's key information on a few levels.  That's the kind of gag order that creates disinformation and bullshit revisionism.

If Merzcast was fixating on private issues, that would be one thing, but to thoroughly cover a history and art, I don't think personal situations can be, or should be, avoided.  You cannot talk about Fleetwood Mac and Rumours without talking about all the relationships.  It would completely change the context and create untruth.

Not to get too off track here, but that's like Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne screwing with Ozzy's albums so they don't have to pay people their due, and a fair portion of audience not even realizing they're listening to a revised versions that are both:  1)  actually different  2)  are actually screwing original contributors out of appreciation and money.

[aububs]

that's all fairly accurate and i agree

but there's a line that needs to be walked by the guests. if you listen to a few episodes of the podcast you do get an impression of what akita is like as a person and a lot of the guests have met him and interacted with him numerous times and they talk about what he's like without getting too personal. there are people in noise who would have no issue with their private lives being discussed but i'd wager the vast majority of them would be against it, and that becomes obvious when you spend years and years reading interviews and message boards and the like, and major players in the noise scene always play their cards very closely when discussing what goes on on tour and in private and things like that

it's common sense and instinctual to guard your private life. gx's episode in particular was good because he knows a lot of major figures personally but even when he was discussing rrron i was thinking, would rrron want people to know that he's addicted to the tv guide channel and never misses letterman? i mean i'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with it and i'm half joking but it's giving out information about people without their consent

on the other hand it's nice to hear that maurizo bianchi loves counting garbage cans but like, be tactful, be respectful of the person your discussing

i also don't necessarily think it's akita's responsibility to tell everyone why a track was left off venereology. ok it was because of marital issues, ex-wife, whatever. it doesn't really matter. bottom line a track has been left off - the listener/buyer can make a call on whether they subsequently want that release. in my opinion the reasons for omission aren't that important, it's the omission itself that is the issue

i'm not some merzbow apologist, i don't particularly care for his privacy myself and i enjoyed gx's episode a lot, but i can see where he's coming from and in a scene where there really are no boundaries you can expect there are a lot of things that people would prefer remained secret

[Hemwick]

just jump in anywhere. pick a guest you want to listen to.

That's what I figured just wanted to make sure.  Thank you

[Zeno Marx]

...but i can see where he's coming from and in a scene where there really are no boundaries you can expect there are a lot of things that people would prefer remained secret

People who knowingly, and intentionally, exploit situations, emotions, politics, whatever and then not wanting to be exploited themselves.  I'm not sure how that exchange works.  Not that I think Merzbow falls into this category.

Merzcast is journalism.  Or at least it become that, which I feel is also the best part of it.  As I said, I love me some talking about Merzbow sounds, but the oral history that came out of those conversations is the real treasure.  Would someone like GX be able to talk about his life and relationships with any sort of freedom if he was put on a chain, limiting him from talking about the things that standout to him about art and artists?  I'm sure he could.  I guess if you want guests sitting there, calculating their every word, ultimately sanitizing what they share.  Personally, I hope the people at Merzcast begin to see themselves as journalists, first and foremost, and then they can navigate the buddy system as a latter priority.  It's certainly not an either/or.  Easy for me to say, I know.  For the people who didn't get to hear episode 14, I got the impression they realized journalism and chronicling history was where they unintentionally found themselves, but also where they wanted to head with it.  I hope it plays out in that direction.  It's a valuable thing.

i also don't necessarily think it's akita's responsibility to tell everyone why a track was left off venereology. ok it was because of marital issues, ex-wife, whatever. it doesn't really matter. bottom line a track has been left off - the listener/buyer can make a call on whether they subsequently want that release. in my opinion the reasons for omission aren't that important,

1)  I don't think it is necessarily Merzbow's responsibility, but...
2)  if you're going to discuss and investigate a piece of art, it's a substantial piece of information as it became revised.  It is important because it is a pivot point for that piece of art.
3)  none of this has zilch to do with the consumerism of said art, since we're talking about documentation and investigation.  Information over response.

[aububs]

...but i can see where he's coming from and in a scene where there really are no boundaries you can expect there are a lot of things that people would prefer remained secret

People who knowingly, and intentionally, exploit situations, emotions, politics, whatever and then not wanting to be exploited themselves.  I'm not sure how that exchange works.

lol welcome to power electronics

seriously tho, we agree. i'd like the podcast to be all the things you're saying. the guests don't need to be put on a chain or sanitize what they say, just use common sense, especially when dealing with the mariah carey of noise

[CannibalRitual]

When people make their "music" available for other to listen to, then people discuss it. When people go on tour, then people share stories.
So what's the matter? It happens to everyone, that's part of the deal. If you don't want people to know anything about you, then don't meet them in the first place. When you make an interview for a zine or otherwise done/said things and it gets re-shared after couple years and you don't necessarily share the same thoughts, would you then just ask them to delete it? Seems stupid. You just have to deal with it, or you end up being an even bigger idiot than for the things you feel ashamed of.

[Cementimental]

discussing his work but is not fine with them discussing his private life. which is fair enough.

but how are people to know what is fine and what is private, or what he's going to be embarrassed about? Merzbow has famously made the analogy of his music being pornography, packaged his early tapes with pornography, made soundtracks for bondage performances, written for/edited an S&M magazine, recently re-released an album called 'Pornoise' with pornography on the cover... so how was GX to know it was off-limits to tell an anecdote about how, when Merzbow was in the USA around the time when he was still using pornographic images in his work, he bought a load of pornography? :D

[Hemwick]

I'm surprised with him being straightedge that he will even realise the music from that era.  Not trying to stir the pot but I'm curious to know why he's omitting a song because of the involvement of his ex wife. Hopefully the dust settles soon and we  can just enjoy the music again.

[DSOL]

where are people getting the idea that being straight edge makes you have some kind of anti-pornography stance?

[Hemwick]

I was pointing out how he drank during the recording of Venereology and now being straight edge that's all. I find it odd to take a stance against one part of his past and not the other, but the album will sell well and profit is always good.