That Noise Thread (Formerly "Revisiting Noise")

[xxxMidgexxx]

Anyone hook their cassette deck up to a laptop?? Or a turntable? Imma buy a TT again I think.

Is this all your really need?

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... L1500_.jpg

I miss my noise records and tapes. Noise as in 'true' industrial music. Stuff released by 'artists like CONTROLLED BLEEDING, ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO, Japan's MERZBOW, SPK, early THROBBING GRISTLE. EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN. Music was recorded where conventional instruments were not involved for the most part.

When Nine Inch Nails got popular (and I loves me some NIN) the term 'Industrial Music' got hijacked. Though Trent Reznor's music sounded like machines meets synthesizer, I wouldn't consider them 'industrial'.

RRRecords in Lowell, MA did has a great catalog of this music. Music that Lewdd would automatically have no patience for.

EDIT: I will also use this thread to chat about some of the most insane and obscure (aren't they alll) noise releases.

[lewdd]

I have one of these laying around that may be better than what was in your image and will work for a cassette deck or a turntable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G ... UTF8&psc=1

Send me your address today and I will get it in the mail to you before I head out of town on Saturday.

[lewdd]

And you are correct, I have no patience or desire to listen to that stuff although I do like some of the more popular NIN stuff on Pretty Hate Machine, Broken EP, and Downward Spiral.

[JGJR]

This thread reminds me that I'd love to get a cassette deck again and just haven't gotten around to it. I only have about a dozen tapes at the moment; sold/traded, gave away, or lost the rest. I'd love to get more and have a way to play the ones I still have, though.

I'm also a fan of Pretty Hate Machine, but stopped paying attention after that; not super familiar with most of the originators of industrial music that Midge mentioned except by name and a few songs in passing, that kind of thing; always meant to delve more into that stuff. I did listen to Neubaten, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, KMFDM, et al. a bit in high school, though, Ministry most of all. At the time, I dismissed the stuff before The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, but now I kinda like the early synth-pop type stuff; haven't heard Twitch in forever, though.

[xxxMidgexxx]

There's this one compilation called 'God Bless America' on RRRecords. Every track is good to great.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-God-Bless-America/release/583094



The golden age of post industrial. 1985-ish.

I get in moods where I just want to listen to noise for hours. Back in the day I had TONS of these weirdo albums.

[drew]

I really dig CONTROLLED BLEEDING and I think since they reunited in 2010ish they have made their best music ever.

NURSE WITH WOUND
MERZBOW

Early SWANS is my favorite. the first few records strip the paint off the walls.

NEUBAUTEN is good.....it starts to get a little too "Leather-chains-German-Basements" and loses me though......

I still like Lou Reed's METAL MACHINE MUSIC. Didn't need two slabs of wax but I will quote my then-not-yet-my-wife saying "I like this. It sounds like the 4th of July." A regular late night spin around here.

[JGJR]

I still like Lou Reed's METAL MACHINE MUSIC. Didn't need two slabs of wax but I will quote my then-not-yet-my-wife saying "I like this. It sounds like the 4th of July." A regular late night spin around here.

It's taken me a long time, but I finally "get" this album now. It's probably all of the Eno ambient, Harold Budd, Popol Vuh, Cluster, Michael Rother/Harmonia/Neu!, et al. I listen to. I like Hudson Wind Meditations a whole lot, too, as far as other Lou ambient noise type records go, and I wish that it was on streaming services (though it is on YouTube).

[xxxMidgexxx]

I was a CONTROLLED BLEEDING completist. Or at least I tried to be. Then the releases got out of control. Paul Lemos was releasing records on every label around the globe and the imports got ridiculously expensive. I've always said that if and when I become a multi millionaire, I'm going to buy every record ever.

This my fave:

"Dub Songs from a Shallow Grave"



https://www.discogs.com/Controlled-Bleeding-Dub-Songs-From-A-Shallow-Grave/master/110847

[xxxMidgexxx]

One of the weirdest disks I'd ever bought was being sold...of all places...at the merch stand of a Cattle Decapitation/Prong/Soulfly show at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC. Oct 2009.

I already have prong shirt(s) and so I bought the Cattle Decapitation picture disk LP and even more bizarre, I bought "In Formation: A Tribute to Throbbing Gristle"

https://www.discogs.com/Various-In-Formation-A-Tribute-To-Throbbing-Gristle/release/828360



I thought to myself, how the fuck does anyone cover one of the most historic progenitors of esoteric music? Is this a joke?
Welp, it was NOT a joke. 17 bands recorded their interpretations of TG noise. Some of the songs like 'Hamburger Lady' and 'Discipline' are easier to understand and cover. But the rest??

Noise covering noise. When I tried to explain this purchase to a few people in the office the next day, I was met with stares and/or laughs...like "Are you fucking for real??'

At that point, I knew I made the right purchase. (Odd note: None of the 3 bands that played that night are even on the comp. )

[lewdd]

why is it that throbbing gristle show up in punk books?

[xxxMidgexxx]

why is it that throbbing gristle show up in punk books?

They were pretty much one of the first bands (if not the first) to coin the term 'Industrial Music'. They went against the grains of 'structured' rock and roll. Invented their own instruments. Dressed weird, cross dressed, wild confrontational performances. Unpredictable. Anti-music. Radical for the 70's. Some of their content was brash, violent noise. Some smoother textures, some disturbing topics sometimes or some soothing psychedelia.

Nothing you would have tolerance for even a minute, as we agreed. LOL

[JGJR]

why is it that throbbing gristle show up in punk books?

They were pretty much one of the first bands (if not the first) to coin the term 'Industrial Music'. They went against the grains of 'structured' rock and roll. Invented their own instruments. Dressed weird, cross dressed, wild confrontational performances. Unpredictable. Anti-music. Radical even for the 70's. Some of their content was brash, violent noise. Some smoother textures, some disturbing topics sometimes or some soothing psychedelia.

Nothing you would have tolerance for even a minute, as we agreed. LOL

Sounds amazing; where should I start? First Annual Report? 20 Jazz Funk Greats? Something else?

[xxxMidgexxx]

why is it that throbbing gristle show up in punk books?

They were pretty much one of the first bands (if not the first) to coin the term 'Industrial Music'. They went against the grains of 'structured' rock and roll. Invented their own instruments. Dressed weird, cross dressed, wild confrontational performances. Unpredictable. Anti-music. Radical even for the 70's. Some of their content was brash, violent noise. Some smoother textures, some disturbing topics sometimes or some soothing psychedelia.

Nothing you would have tolerance for even a minute, as we agreed. LOL

Sounds amazing; where should I start? First Annual Report? 20 Jazz Funk Greats? Something else?

Personal favorite of mine (actually the first CD I'd bought from them ages ago) was "Journey Through a Body". The first track "Medicine" is long and a VERY psychotic and difficult/disturbing listen. The rest is a little more listener friendly. I'd bought the 1993 UK reissue cover with silver imprinted logo.

[drew]

why is it that throbbing gristle show up in punk books?

Their sound was their own "Punk" thing. There are some good early live clips where they have every bit the intensity of any punk band. Then they started a whole new genre.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I would love to suggest a 12 hour mandatory marathon for Lewdd.

2 hours old SWANS
2 hours Throbbing Gristle
3 hours Psychic TV
3 hours Controlled Bleeding (first 3 albums)
2 hours Sonic Youth (Bad Moon Rising and EVOL)

[lewdd]

make me a spotify playlist of songs i like

[xxxMidgexxx]

make me a spotify playlist of songs i like

You won't make it past 1/2 way through the first song.

[JGJR]

I would love to suggest a 12 hour mandatory marathon for Lewdd.

2 hours old SWANS
2 hours Throbbing Gristle
3 hours Psychic TV
3 hours Controlled Bleeding (first 3 albums)
2 hours Sonic Youth (Bad Moon Rising and EVOL)

I guess since EVOL is my favorite SY, I should like the rest of that stuff?

[xxxMidgexxx]

I would love to suggest a 12 hour mandatory marathon for Lewdd.

2 hours old SWANS
2 hours Throbbing Gristle
3 hours Psychic TV
3 hours Controlled Bleeding (first 3 albums)
2 hours Sonic Youth (Bad Moon Rising and EVOL)

I guess since EVOL is my favorite SY, I should like the rest of that stuff?

NO!

EVOL is the most 'easy listening' out of this list. The other releases are sheer damaging, often unlistenable noise. Think Merzbow's "Venereology" or Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music'.
You'd need to be a little mentally 'off' to enjoy these things long term. I like em when I'm in a mood. Very cathartic.

[lewdd]

I guess I am not a little mentally off then.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I guess I am not a little mentally off then.

As long as you believe you aren't. That's the most important thing.

[lewdd]

https://www.altpress.com/features/best-noise-bands/

[xxxMidgexxx]

https://www.altpress.com/features/best-noise-bands/

Meh. Some good stuff, but those bands are “noisy”. But they are not industrial noise. Only band they mention is Throbbing Gristle that’s industrial.

[patient_ot]

Sounds amazing; where should I start? First Annual Report? 20 Jazz Funk Greats? Something else?

It's very hard to make suggestions w/r/t to TG. It depends what your tastes are and what you've got the stomach for.

A lot of people start with 20 Jazz Funk, because it's like their version of a subversive electropop album. My personal favorite of the 4 main albums (not counting live stuff or posthumous or demo releases) is DOA: 3rd and Final Report.

[patient_ot]

I go through periods where I listen to noise and then I don't.

A good litmus test if you can really handle this stuff would be something like K2's The Rust or Masonna's Spectrum Ripper.

If not then noise is probably not for you.

Rock bands that use noisy elements are not noise.

[patient_ot]

I was a CONTROLLED BLEEDING completist. Or at least I tried to be. Then the releases got out of control. Paul Lemos was releasing records on every label around the globe and the imports got ridiculously expensive. I've always said that if and when I become a multi millionaire, I'm going to buy every record ever.

This my fave:

"Dub Songs from a Shallow Grave"

https://www.discogs.com/Controlled-Bleeding-Dub-Songs-From-A-Shallow-Grave/master/110847

A good chunk of the catalog is on Bandcamp, but not everything. I'm definitely a fan and own a good chunk of their stuff, mostly from the earlier noise era. The Drowning is probably my favorite release overall from them, but I have a soft spot for the early tape releases like XXX and such. I have a CD boxset from a few years back of those releases.

I also like the side project Skin Chamber, pretty underrated these days I think.

The more gothic-oriented releases weren't always to my taste, but some of them aren't bad.

The Poisoner is very good if you like minimal dark ambient type stuff.

[patient_ot]

RRRecords in Lowell, MA did has a great catalog of this music. Music that Lewdd would automatically have no patience for.

I used to order from RRR, Self Abuse, and Groundfault/PinchALoaf years ago but haven't in awhile. I think the first 2 are still around but aren't releasing much stuff these days. Malignant Records is still around and carries some noise stuff in their catalog but the selection is relatively small since pure noise was never their main focus. Same deal with Cold Spring in the UK.

[xxxMidgexxx]

A good chunk of the catalog is on Bandcamp, but not everything. I'm definitely a fan and own a good chunk of their stuff, mostly from the earlier noise era. The Drowning is probably my favorite release overall from them, but I have a soft spot for the early tape releases like XXX and such. I have a CD boxset from a few years back of those releases.

I also like the side project Skin Chamber, pretty underrated these days I think.

The more gothic-oriented releases weren't always to my taste, but some of them aren't bad.

The Poisoner is very good if you like minimal dark ambient type stuff.

I bought both The Drowning and The Poisoner on CD. I like The Poisoner a lot better. During a brief time decades ago when I was getting stoned, I used to listen to Poisoner start to finish and on repeat. I first heard Controlled Bleeding on the Dry Lungs comp (Volume 1) on Placebo records. And then it was apparent later that Paul was also into goth and even opera. 'Dub songs from Shallow Grave 2 x CD' is amazing and another one I played relentlessly. I could also have written a blog on the entire Dry Lungs series. Vol II (with Jarboe, Croiners, IFBWANA..) is a beautiful ' softer side of noise. Love those textures.

[version sound]

Are you talking about “noise” or “industrial”? There is clear overlap, but they are definitely not the same. Here are some very bad transfers of stuff I recorded circa 1989-1992 or so. At the time, I considered it “noise” music, but most of it is not industrial. It’s listed under a combination of two user names from web forums (one being this one). The original tapes were attributed to variations of Lazarus Come Forth, LCF, LC4, etc. it was made mostly with guitar, but I certainly didn’t consider these recordings “songs.” They are listed as sides 1-4, because I just ripped the whole tapes a side at a time. 1 and 2 are from the same tape, A Brief History of Time (circa 1989/1990). 3 and 4 are later. I made tapes for 4 or 5 friends. One of my friends once told me that she was at a party in Richmond thrown by no one I knew, and one of my tapes was playing. Weird.

https://m.soundcloud.com/blacktigersound/side-one

[patient_ot]

Are you talking about “noise” or “industrial”? There is clear overlap, but they are definitely not the same.

No, definitely not the same. There's also a lot of hyper-subgenre-izing of music these days, the family tree of all this music had many different but related branches.

When you ask an ordinary person about industrial music, they'll usually cite something like NIN or WaxTrax related groups, Ministry, etc. That stuff was not pure industrial at all. It was industrial rock and EBM (electronic body music). Some groups blurred the lines, like Skinny Puppy.

Pure industrial music would be things like certain TG releases, early SPK, very early Laibach, Test Dept's first couple of albums, Z'EV's early recordings, etc.

When the average person mentions noise, what they really mean is "noise rock" as described upthread. When I say noise, I'm talking specifically about the Japanese harsh noise scene from the late 80s and early 90s and its American counterpart. It's "music" with no real music structure or melody, often made from bashing pieces of metal together, chaining guitar effects pedals so they feedback and distort, contact mics, etc. No "songs". Not rock bands.

We've talked about Controlled Bleeding here a bit and they are hard to broadly classify because they experimented with many different genres. You'd have to look at a specific album or release to decide what genre you want to call it. Someone that likes Golgotha (goth music) or the albums they did for WT/Roadrunner (industrial rock/EBM) aren't necessarily going to be into something like Knees and Bones or the XXX tape (harsh noise).

[xxxMidgexxx]

And then there's another somewhat silly genre named "power electronics" which even artists like Lustmord have made fun of as a name. Merzbow and Masonna have done albums which could be classified into that, but once you've heard one album, you've heard them all.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Are you talking about “noise” or “industrial”? There is clear overlap, but they are definitely not the same. Here are some very bad transfers of stuff I recorded circa 1989-1992 or so. At the time, I considered it “noise” music, but most of it is not industrial. It’s listed under a combination of two user names from web forums (one being this one). The original tapes were attributed to variations of Lazarus Come Forth, LCF, LC4, etc. it was made mostly with guitar, but I certainly didn’t consider these recordings “songs.” They are listed as sides 1-4, because I just ripped the whole tapes a side at a time. 1 and 2 are from the same tape, A Brief History of Time (circa 1989/1990). 3 and 4 are later. I made tapes for 4 or 5 friends. One of my friends once told me that she was at a party in Richmond thrown by no one I knew, and one of my tapes was playing. Weird.

https://m.soundcloud.com/blacktigersound/side-one

Is this from the same batch as the Black Ark song that you sent me over a decade ago? I put that on a comp with other various noise tracks. Played it a lot and like it plenty.

[version sound]

It’s from around the same time. Unfortunately, the full length tape (or maybe my tape deck?) was fucking up in one channel, so the transfer was not optimum. Luckily, with noise it doesn’t hurt the “music” all that much. I should probably import it into Audacity and copy the good channel into the bad channel. There’s not a lot of stereo field on those tapes, so it probably wouldn’t hurt it much.

[patient_ot]

And then there's another somewhat silly genre named "power electronics" which even artists like Lustmord have made fun of as a name. Merzbow and Masonna have done albums which could be classified into that, but once you've heard one album, you've heard them all.

I'm sure you know the history, but in case anyone doesn't that term was coined by Bennett from Whitehouse, which for the most part I can't listen to anymore. Years ago I went through a huge Whitehouse/Sutcliffe Jugend phase and eventually ended up dumping almost all of it. The only thing I kept or re-bought was the real version of 150 Murderous Passions (which is on a Come Org comp.) and Erector. Pretty much the only WH related things I like anymore.

Most of the current breed of PE artists from the 90s onward were either ripping off WH/SJ or trying to distinguish themselves from "industrial" which was a term that got watered down.

Unlike most artists from that whole PE scene, Lustmord was actually groundbreaking and important. People widely imitated him as well.

[xxxMidgexxx]

And then there's another somewhat silly genre named "power electronics" which even artists like Lustmord have made fun of as a name. Merzbow and Masonna have done albums which could be classified into that, but once you've heard one album, you've heard them all.

I'm sure you know the history, but in case anyone doesn't that term was coined by Bennett from Whitehouse, which for the most part I can't listen to anymore. Years ago I went through a huge Whitehouse/Sutcliffe Jugend phase and eventually ended up dumping almost all of it. The only thing I kept or re-bought was the real version of 150 Murderous Passions (which is on a Come Org comp.) and Erector. Pretty much the only WH related things I like anymore.

Most of the current breed of PE artists from the 90s onward were either ripping off WH/SJ or trying to distinguish themselves from "industrial" which was a term that got watered down.

Unlike most artists from that whole PE scene, Lustmord was actually groundbreaking and important. People widely imitated him as well.

Yeah, I had a few Whitehouse records on the Susan Lawly label but I didn't know that people were copping his phrase. I had 'Quality Time' and 'You Don't Have to Say Please' 12" (AKA: "Thank Your Lucky Stars".) That was one of them that I used to terrorize some of my friends with when they came over. Agreed, I don't have too much time for that stuff now, unless it varies and is not all 1 long, pointless barrage of static.

I'm a Lustmord fan too, though the sound is polar opposite from 'power electronics'.

I like 'Purifying Fire' the best, though the collab with Melvins ("Pigs of the Roman Empire") is also TERRFIC. One of the best alternative tentacles wax releases. I think the CD came out on Mike Patton's label.

[patient_ot]

I like 'Purifying Fire' the best, though the collab with Melvins ("Pigs of the Roman Empire") is also TERRFIC. One of the best alternative tentacles wax releases. I think the CD came out on Mike Patton's label.

My favorite Lustmord album has always been "the Place Where the Black Stars Hang". Might be too minimal for some tastes. I've got most of his material from the beginning up through the mid-90s, including Purifying Fire. I'm much less familiar with his more recent material. I just never got around to it.

[xxxMidgexxx]

I like 'Purifying Fire' the best, though the collab with Melvins ("Pigs of the Roman Empire") is also TERRFIC. One of the best alternative tentacles wax releases. I think the CD came out on Mike Patton's label.

My favorite Lustmord album has always been "the Place Where the Black Stars Hang". Might be too minimal for some tastes. I've got most of his material from the beginning up through the mid-90s, including Purifying Fire. I'm much less familiar with his more recent material. I just never got around to it.

He performed in NYC right before the pandemic. I didn't go. I figured that it was just him behind a laptop pressing play and showing dark films. I probably would have liked to see it, but for whatever reason I just didn't feel like going alone.

[xxxMidgexxx]

It’s from around the same time. Unfortunately, the full length tape (or maybe my tape deck?) was fucking up in one channel, so the transfer was not optimum. Luckily, with noise it doesn’t hurt the “music” all that much. I should probably import it into Audacity and copy the good channel into the bad channel. There’s not a lot of stereo field on those tapes, so it probably wouldn’t hurt it much.

This piece of ‘music’ iS REALLY fucking good. Screams of 1980’s Placebo Records sounds. Broken up pieces of sound very nicely.

[JGJR]

It’s from around the same time. Unfortunately, the full length tape (or maybe my tape deck?) was fucking up in one channel, so the transfer was not optimum. Luckily, with noise it doesn’t hurt the “music” all that much. I should probably import it into Audacity and copy the good channel into the bad channel. There’s not a lot of stereo field on those tapes, so it probably wouldn’t hurt it much.

This piece of ‘music’ iS REALLY fucking good. Screams of 1980’s Pacebo Records sounds. Broken up pieces of sound very nicely.

JFA's label? They put out this kind of stuff? Educate me, por favor.

[xxxMidgexxx]

It’s from around the same time. Unfortunately, the full length tape (or maybe my tape deck?) was fucking up in one channel, so the transfer was not optimum. Luckily, with noise it doesn’t hurt the “music” all that much. I should probably import it into Audacity and copy the good channel into the bad channel. There’s not a lot of stereo field on those tapes, so it probably wouldn’t hurt it much.

This piece of ‘music’ iS REALLY fucking good. Screams of 1980’s Pacebo Records sounds. Broken up pieces of sound very nicely.

JFA's label? They put out this kind of stuff? Educate me, por favor.

Yes. The Dry Lungs compilation series came out on that label. Distribution was by Subterranean. I think they had ties to Alternative Tentacles back in the mid 80s.

Volume II was really nice. Softer, more ambient sounds for the most part.

All of them were good, and had different themes within noise.

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/ ... ungs-ii.p/

[xxxMidgexxx]

Tuesday's 'music' hall. And a big day for tapes since I've resolved the Win 11 issue.

RRRecords delivers stuff REALLY fast.

NEW TURNTABLE coming SOON-ish!

[matt]

Have any of you ever listened to Pharmakon?

https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/coll ... /pharmakon

[Knutsen]

https://youtu.be/Osqf4oIK0E8

Good stuff!