Random Noise

[J. Peter Alfke <alfke@cit-vax>]

[1] "POSTMODERN":  Postmodern is a wonderful buzzword, which is part of the
reason I love using it.  But apart from that, I am taking a class on
"Postmodern Fiction and Culture", in which we are reading such works as
"Lolita", "The Crying of Lot 49", and "Naked Lunch" ... so I should have
some idea of what I'm talking about.  While modernism reviled the
ever-growing mass-culture, postmodernism embraces it and uses its
forms and techniques to study the world we live in, a world in which
history and the artistic tradition are effectively dead, killed by
television and breakfast cereals.  Postmodern art likes to take
mass-culture icons and mix'n'match them out of context.  POP-art is
postmodern.  Early Talking Heads lyrics are way postmodern.  Throbbing
Gristle were postmodern.  Cabaret Voltaire, especially their videos, are
postmodern as all hell.  The Fairlight/EMU/etc. is an inherently
postmodern instrument, taking further what the tape-recorder started.

Anyhow, don't take it so seriously.


[2] THROBBING GRISTLE, ET AL.  I'll only begin to explain this.
Throbbing Gristle were an (anti)music group that grew out of an
extremely bizarre performance-art group called Coum Transmissions.  With
minimal instrumental prowess, T.G. attempted to create music for the
industrial age, primarily in live performances (which they called
"Psychick Rallies").  Said music ranged from screamed ranting over walls
of ugly guitar/synth noise ("Blood on the Floor", "Subhuman"), to creepy
droning dirges ("Hamburger Lady"), to synth-pop-from-hell ("Hot on the
Heels of Love").  T.G. released several studio albums (of which I've
heard "Second Annual Report" and "20 Jazz-funk Greats") and a
bewildering variety of semi-bootleg live recordings (they encouraged
people to put out bootlegs), of which "Thee Psychik Sacrifice" is one of
the best.  There is also a posthumous greatest-hits album,
"Entertainment Through Pain".  That album, released on Rough Trade, is a
really nice introduction to their work, and not too hard to find.

T.G. broke up in 1981, splitting into two halves: Chris Carter (synths)
and Cosey Fanni Tutti (guitar,cornet,vox) formed Chris and Cosey, and
now produce "electronic wallpaper music for insomniacs", as the LA Times
put it.  I like their stuff a lot, but you can't really listen to it as
foreground music.  Industrial Windham-Hill?

The other half, Genesis P-Orridge (vox,bass) and Peter Christopherson
(tapes), formed Psychic T.V.  I've never heard anything of theirs, but
from reports I hear and album covers I look at, they seem to be sticking
pretty close to the T.G. spirit.


[2] THE GUITAR IS NOT DEAD.  Hofmann asks "what about people getting new
sounds out of guitars?"  Right on.  Short, off-the-top-of-the-head list:
	* King Crimson (81-84 incarnation)
	* ..and Adrian Belew's work on Talkingheads' "Remain in Light"
	* ..and Robert Fripp's stuff in general
	* Cocteau Twins (Check out Robin Guthrie's early guitar sound,
		and the neat acoustic-guitar effects on "Victorialand")
	* Bauhaus (sass that hoopy Daniel Ash!)
	* Led Zeppelin ("Houses of the Holy" (the song) in particular
		has an amazing guitar sound)
	* Sonic Youth (whom I've heard less of than about)
More power to 'em all.  Now if we can only persuade the AOR shitmongers
to burn their Boston albums and drive stakes through their Marshall
amps!


[3] THE SYNTH IS NOT EVIL, EITHER.  More on this soon.

						--Peter Alfke
						  alfke@csvax.caltech.edu
"...cause I can play this here CZ101
 and I won't stop 'till I'm a star
 on Broadway..."