|
Post by oersted on Oct 14, 2012 4:30:19 GMT -5
..for whatever reason. I know it's a negative subject but it might be helpful for some people to separate the wheat from the chaff...and it's probably impossible to like everything Merzbow has ever done (isn't it?)
I have to admit a few fall into this category for me, which are:
1. Tint It's a whole 5 and a half minutes long CD, but it hardly justifies it's existence because there is nothing remotely interesting about it. If it didn't say "Merzbow" on it I would probably have sold it already
2. Door Open at 8am This might be controversial, but I just could never get into it for some reason even after repeated listening. I get what's he's tried to do here, but for me it doesn't work
3. Don't Steal My Goat (or Coat or whatever it's called) for me it just seems way too busy, if i remember correctly it's almost techno sounding but with a heap of noise thrown at it, like he's tried to incorporate a load of ideas at once, and as yet this is the first Merzbow release I actually turned off in disgust like "what the hell is this??". I might give it another chance at some point but im not hopeful about changing my mind on it
|
|
|
Post by trollh on Oct 14, 2012 12:56:47 GMT -5
The 3 channel shit with Ladybird. Btw i likee the Door Open, and highly like Goat
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Oct 14, 2012 16:39:35 GMT -5
pretty much most things from 2008/2009 where they seemed to have that very feeble screechy sound with erratic jazz drumming underneath... 13 japanese birds/tempi metatabi/microkosmos/hiranya/Anicca... and there's probably more that i haven't got round to hearing. but they all seem to sound much the same to me, obviously there are highlights and enjoyable moments hidden in there, I just think every album with drumming sounds like 2 separate works sandwiched together.... I almost wish everything came on splatter vinyl like microkosmos/tempi metatabi though very nice to look at. I'm very very fond of Merzbow albums that have that unearthly FUZZZZZZZ about them, thankfully there's been some rather good examples of that more recently
|
|
|
Post by Bucketfel on Oct 15, 2012 0:10:13 GMT -5
i dont like the extreme harsh noise of the 90's
|
|
|
Post by trollh on Oct 15, 2012 1:43:29 GMT -5
Interesting, Im among these oppinions, as I like the harsh works of the 90s I like the drumming works of the digital era, and thats could I call thats the most important component why he is the God Of Noise...
For eyample, Karasu (which uses Timehunter themes as Kujakubato too -who craes-) one of the best progressive extreme noise album ever, or listen Shriasagi... The drum themes includes all goodies from the 70s prog and punk era adapted into noise!
Merzbird and Door Open uses drums and beats on other way, but in these adaptation all are exlusives, so, i fuckin like them, and they are more inrteresting than a standard 8-14kHz Noise
|
|
|
Post by Bucketfel on Oct 15, 2012 2:54:06 GMT -5
Interesting, Im among these oppinions, as I like the harsh works of the 90s I like the drumming works of the digital era, and thats could I call thats the most important component why he is the God Of Noise... For eyample, Karasu (which uses Timehunter themes as Kujakubato too -who craes-) one of the best progressive extreme noise album ever, or listen Shriasagi... The drum themes includes all goodies from the 70s prog and punk era adapted into noise! Merzbird and Door Open uses drums and beats on other way, but in these adaptation all are exlusives, so, i fuckin like them, and they are more inrteresting than a standard 8-14kHz Noise I like his use of King Crimson's The Great Destroyer guitar riff on the track from Spiral Honey
|
|
|
Post by ashessehsa on Oct 15, 2012 20:55:42 GMT -5
I love Doors Open at 8AM, it's in my top 20 favorite Merzbow albums.
In general, I prefer releases from 1998-2004; most of my favorites by him were released in that era, during his transition from analog to digital.
As far as Merzbow releases I don't like--I can't stand Paradoxa Paradoxa from the Merzbox, that one always stuck out in my memory as a Merzbow album I did not like. I'm not crazy about any of his drumming stuff. I remember disliking Dolphin Sonar, Early Computer Works, and Houjoue as well. Other than that, there's just a lot of albums that I either liked or that didn't stand out to me at all when I listened to them.
I have my entire Merzbow collection on my external harddrive and my favorites on my computer, and I occasionally find myself revisiting stuff I didn't like or give much attention before. Sometimes I really like stuff I didn't like before, and other times the opposite happens. There's just so much of it, I can hardly keep tabs on it all. It took me a month of heavy listening to narrow my collection down to a top 20.
|
|
|
Post by venereologist on Oct 15, 2012 22:15:00 GMT -5
Merzbient. I don't get the hype. Granted, I didn't sit through all of it, but what I heard just sounded exactly like standard-issue Merzbow noise mastered at way too low a volume... It fails to work as "ambient" in any sense for me... Ambient, in my understanding, is supposed to be something you can "tune into or out of depending on which you prefer"... meanwhile, it's mastered so quietly, I have a hard time doing anything but tuning it out unless I played the discs I did hear way louder than what should be necessary. Perhaps I just heard the wrong stuff? IDK. The experience kinda soured me on pursuing it further. Dolphin Sonar is another really uninteresting record for me... It just does nothing for me. I think it's more popular because of the goofy cover than anything. I think Pulse Demon is merely "okay". But, considering its acclaim, I consider it terribly overrated. I still don't "dislike it", I just think its reputation is mostly built around music journalist hype-mongering about how loud it was mastered or whatever. Can't really think anything else that particularly bores/bugs me. EDIT: Oh, actually... OM Electrique, too. Really only worth hearing as a curiosity, to get a taste for what Merzbow was like in the beginning, but hardly worth repeat listens to me. It's really uninteresting, and not just because it's lo-fi or anything (there's lots of great, old Industrial music of similar quality and from the same era), OM Electrique just doesn't sound very good to me.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 10, 2013 3:55:07 GMT -5
i dont like the extreme harsh noise of the 90's Dude....! You can't generalise like that here!!!! How can you not?! It's Merzbow!!!!! What else is Merzbow if not that guy that made THE BEST FUCKING NOISE EVER in the 90s!? Stuff since then is just a guy just churning out stuff in a comfort zone. Thankfully, as he's great at it! These days textures are clearer. Things are musically more comprehensible. Beautifully crafted noise, no doubt. Some more sophisticated structures every now and then. But nothing quite matches the sweet spot he hit with some albums back in the 90s. They typify all the great things about Merzbow as an original voice in human culture.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 10, 2013 4:09:25 GMT -5
... I remember disliking ... Houjoue as well. Ohhhh......... come on dude, give Houjoue another chance. That was a BIG release back in the day and was the crown at the end of the more strictly laptop era, before things became very different with Turmeric, FID, Bloody Sea etc etc. There's lots to love in that release. Disc 5 is fanTASTIC! Disc 6 is a good live disc. Disc 4 is maybe the only let down of that set, promising titles but less convincing music than the other discs. Discs 3 and 1 are FREAKING AWESOME! How good is Vegetarians Festival?!?! Pressing play on track 1 of disc 1 at the very end of 2005, or perhaps the very start of 2006 was a big wow moment within Merzbow's output, considering the change of approach that was on the horizon. Was very unexpected back then, end of an era, start of a new era kind of stuff. Disc 2 is the best of those Merzbow doing cutesy beats discs, that presents some unique-for-Merzbow moments in terms of how he uses small points of sound rather than washes of noise etc. Check it out again!
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 10, 2013 4:27:25 GMT -5
Merzbient.... Dolphin Sonar is another really uninteresting record for me... It just does nothing for me. I think Pulse Demon is merely "okay". I agree, Merzbient - overrated. What is it with people trying to find 'the gentle side' of Merzbow...?! It's just not as interesting sonically as the real deal. I agree with y'all, Dolphin Sonar was disappointing, especially given the relationship of Merzbow with Important Records. He should've saved that material for a less committed label. Pulse Demon is the real deal. It's one of the best of the mid-90s releases, up there with Noisembryo, Venereology, Oersted, Mercurated, Hybrid Noisebloom. From that era, I find I return the least to Magnesia Nova. Green Wheels isn't as good as Venereology. I'm not as into Spiral Honey or Pinkream, not as convincing structurally/sonically. Vibractance is a bad Merzbow album, to be sure! Tentacle isn't so great overall, but wins some points for being part of the unexpected change of style. And 'Stormy Tuesday' has an incredible sense of speed!! Hard Lovin' Man isn't much of an album and maybe doesn't really count. Puroland isn't all that great. Amlux is overrated and not that great for me, but at least he 'mixes it up' a bit on there - plus 1 point for that. Last track of it however loses that point for it I used to dislike the last track of Ikebukuro Dada, perhaps I'll try it out again years later. Yoshinotsune isn't all that much, boring. EMU sucks! Bad album. Merzbird is one I didn't like that much, my least favourite of the so called Merz series (nice marketing strategy Important ) Dust of Dreams is a bit wishy washy, the least solid album from an otherwise great time. Metamorphism was disappointing. Peace for Animals was disappointing - don't mess with Bariken Masami! Dolphin Sonar also disappointing. Many drum ones were disappointing, too many to mention Marmo has something moreish about it but overall is a bit disappointing. That'll do for now
|
|
|
Post by ashessehsa on Feb 13, 2013 23:01:52 GMT -5
I can tell you a Merzbow release that I DO like a lot. Aka Meme. Great 80s work. Parts of it have a Throbbing Gristle vibe to it. I kind of overlooked it earlier, and I'd say it ranks pretty highly among my favorites now.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 15, 2013 1:11:16 GMT -5
I can tell you a Merzbow release that I DO like a lot. Aka Meme. Great 80s work. Parts of it have a Throbbing Gristle vibe to it. I kind of overlooked it earlier, and I'd say it ranks pretty highly among my favorites now. Hmmm... ok..... that's the only comment given then above?! Houjoue? Anyone? Does anyone actually listen to Merzbow around here? ;D Ok let's constructively talk about Aka Meme then. What about it compared with other contemporaneous tapes from Merzbow?
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Feb 15, 2013 18:46:08 GMT -5
Houjoue seems to be a bit of an odd one, I have a copy of it, and I'm reasonably fond of it. It does seem to cover every different aspect of merzbow's sound across the 6 CDs which is awesome. I agree with some on your list though yeah, although there's a number of them I've not yet heard. Metamorphism and Dolphin sonar didn't strike much of a chord with me either. I got a copy of Spiral Honey the other day and was a little disappointed to start with but thought it got really really good towards the end. I'd agree with you about Pinkream and EMU not being as interesting, not much of a fan either... I remember EMU sounding somewhat one-dimensional I like Pulse Demon, Door Open and Amlux a lot.
I know people are gonna hate me for it, but I seem to have a bit of a short attention span for Merzbuddha... don't know why. An album I've not heard too many people talk about is 'Collapse 12 Floors' still very much undecided, it feels incredibly minimal as if almost nothing is holding it together Also, Merzzow.... really feels like an album I ought to love, but I just don't, flicking through it there's parts parts that seem to click with me but it just feels like an awkward release to me, I do think Hummingbird is amazing though, I bought the 7" before I realized it was on the album. Perhaps I just haven't given that one enough TLC.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 15, 2013 21:06:45 GMT -5
Good to hear your thoughts andypandy380. Still am curious to work out what makes it 'an odd one' for you, particularly given the comments that follow it: 'every different aspect... awesome'. Odd because it is so sprawling in covering 'every different aspect'? What makes you fond/not so fond of it? To repeat myself, I find discs 1,3,5 to be the strongest in terms of regular noisy Merzbow with 2 notable for being a good if not the best beat disc (and therefore quite unique in the entire output).
Merzbuddha is a bit threadbare, sure. I honestly just listen to track 1 if I want a Merzbuddha hit, I find that tracks 2 and 3 don't add anything to it; particularly track 3. I think track 2 would be ok if track 3 was stronger (and 2 would seem like the calmer interlude between 2 stronger tracks), but the disc doesn't offer anything stronger for me after track 1.
I"ll agree, Merzzow is an awkward release, it is a strange collection of tracks. That's what makes it in some ways appealing and different within the catalogue, having one of the longest track lists. It seems like offcuts from working with digital loops and not as sophisticated as other releases around it. However, there are some different musical approaches in there leading to quite a variety of sounds, eg. the mellower tracks with a melodic profile, or the doomier/slower repetition, along with the more explosive qualities in some tracks. The sampling of 20th c classical - Takemitsu, Schoenberg, Boulez etc - is a standout feature of it and was one of the quirky and fascinating elements in that era (and I wish it was explored more substantially then and beyond those years). Then again, I rarely put it on. For early laptop, I go to Dharma and particularly A Taste Of... (which is an exceptional release from those years)... and for some reason I have a soft spot for Ikebukuro Dada, perhaps as it has an overall grittier quality than releases like Amlux and includes more of the 20thc classical sampling. (I've already stated that I think SCSI Duck is at the pinnacle of the looping-laptop era, with Cycle also - though I think of that less as 'early laptop'. Animal Magnetism is a strong album from that era, despite clunkier qualities, particularly in tracks 1 and 3).
I agree with you on Door Opens - a pretty good and somewhat different release, if not as strong as Aqua Necromancer, which is a really a fantastic release.
I'll have to revisit Amlux to see if my opinion on that might change, has been some years.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 15, 2013 21:09:20 GMT -5
(sorry, Takemitsu doesn't feature in Merzzow, in Amlux - I was listing composers that Merzbow has used elsewhere, not necess on Merzzow)
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 15, 2013 21:13:44 GMT -5
(And Fantail has some great moments on it but is marred by the final live track. That makes Fantail a 50-50 one for me)
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Feb 16, 2013 4:27:01 GMT -5
Yeah, maybe my houjoue comment didn't make a lot of sense. I think I only really find it odd because something about disc 2 really clicked with me, (I tend to get a sort of instantaneous reaction with a lot of merzbow tracks, when something just sounds right from the word go) but at the same time it almost doesn't sound like a merzbow cd, I say almost.... The fact that it has each different style in there could be classed as odd amongst merzbow albums, I don't know if any of the other box sets do that also, but I've not heard a release which covers different styles to such an extent as houjoue. I use the word 'odd', I don't necessarily think It's a negative.
|
|
|
Post by ashessehsa on Feb 16, 2013 16:26:26 GMT -5
I'm not wild about Hojoue, but that is based on the impression I got listening to it once a few years ago. I might like it better now, I'll have to give it another go. I just remember feeling like it wasn't dynamic enough in ways that I like, I can't get much more specific than that without sitting down with it again. I'll get to it eventually.
I love Merzzow personally, it's one of my favorites.
As far as his 80s works go, Aka Meme is up there. He just had this very interesting way of painting surreal soundscapes, I feel like I'm walking through strange cities or marketplaces when I listen to them. Pornoise is awesome as far as 80s works go too, and I like the Ambient Study release too. And Nil Vagina Tape Loops, which might be too repetitive for some people.
|
|
|
Post by acsenger on Feb 16, 2013 17:08:52 GMT -5
Hmm, of the releases mentioned here, I really like both Tint and Vibractance. I got Tint a couple months ago and I remember thinking who else could craft such great 5 or so minutes besides Merzbow?
There are quite a few albums by Merzbow I don't like very much but the only one I really didn't like was the collab with Alec Empire. And I also really didn't like Blues Maggots, but since I downloaded it and I don't even know if that albums exists, I might very well have heard something not even by Merzbow.
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Feb 16, 2013 18:57:19 GMT -5
Yeah.. disc 2 of Houjoue certainly has a clearer texture and therefore doesn't feel like noisy textured Merzbow. I agree, it almost doesn't seem like Merzbow... maybe Jenny Akita made it I think it, and Houjoue in general, really shows Merzbow thinking very clearly about rhythm and showing great control over rhythm, particularly with the back drop of years of looping. Vegetarian Festival is a good example, smack bang in the middle of the set (pretty much) - loops, drum sounds in isolation, repeating for too long, stuttering, joined by other disruptive elements in a conspicuous way. His loops are more treated in Houjoue, there's more distinctive use of polyrhythm, there's more elasticity (listen to the way Rice 1 opens). He then turned his back on this subtle degree of control and went with freer torrents of sound as in Turmeric++. When he returned to loopier rhythms like in Merzbear, Coma B, Zophorus, Eucalypse, there was a difference, the rhythmic execution was less detailed (with some exceptions) and there's a more singular sense of looping/pulsation, albeit with some richer textures that are generally more 'floating' in quality, rather than as rhythmically precise. I think if one has picked up on these elements in Houjoue and found that they don't appeal as much as other Merzbows, then fair enough..... (and if that is really the case, then I would be very interested in hearing a critical perspective). But I think a few listens to the discs there and awareness of the context surrounding Houjoue will help to get more out of it, perhaps for you ashessehsa. (I can imagine for newer Merzbow fans that trawling back through such releases presents problems of time management re: listening to music in general and how much Merzbow and how much of each Merzbow. Perhaps Houjoue, being 6 CDs long and perhaps not all THAT hyped when released makes it an album that fans might tend to overlook. I certainly hope that's not the case. A 6cd set was one of the biggest Merzbow releases of all time back then! aside obviously from the Merzbox. He seemed to live up to it then and Houjoue has a special concentrated quality that not too many of the supersized boxsets of recent years can claim to have). Acsenger.... Vibractance hey? That's definitely the non-Merzbow Merzbow album! I think Aube forgot one of his master tapes at Masami's place one day Curious to know what makes you 'really like' it. I must admit, I don't spend much time with 80s Merzbow, my admitted shortcoming with Merzbow. I will try to find some time to rectify this at some stage in life... I am noting your recommendations, ashessehsa, and hope to comment in due time.
|
|
|
Post by ashessehsa on Feb 17, 2013 13:57:23 GMT -5
On the subject of 80s works, I would also suggest 9888a and Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets!
|
|
|
Post by acsenger on Feb 19, 2013 0:31:08 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Feb 19, 2013 5:52:06 GMT -5
ahh is that your blog? I was having a good rummage about on there the other day. I like the way you do album reviews, seems more honest and in depth of your own experience which is cool. Ive only given vibractance a very brief listen on youtube... i neither liked it or disliked it, i do find it intriguing though, the music itself seems revolves around a central theme a lot more than a typical merzbow record. I think a comparison to Aube's work is a fair point.
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Feb 19, 2013 6:01:04 GMT -5
Ha, I've just read your Whitehouse - Bird Seed review, sure made me chuckle
|
|
|
Post by acsenger on Feb 20, 2013 6:12:17 GMT -5
No, it's actually not mine... I've written 3, maybe 4 reviews though at the request of the blogger. Just like the one about Vibractance, they state they were written by me (Adam).
|
|
|
Post by andypandy380 on Feb 20, 2013 10:36:49 GMT -5
oh yeah, I should have known that from the first line... 'this is a review from Adam'... how thick of me.
|
|
|
Post by sharpedges on Mar 19, 2013 4:06:25 GMT -5
I have a few that I don't particularly like, for more or less the same reason. - Rattus Rattus
- Psychorazer
- Senmaida
- Don't Steal my Coat
- Discs 29 and 31 of the Merzbox. Probably the most boring Merzbow I've ever heard.
|
|
|
Post by oersted on Mar 23, 2013 0:55:42 GMT -5
hmm, looks like I started a topic here and abandoned it.... just stopped by to say Vibractance is awesome
|
|
|
Post by qweasd on Mar 26, 2013 4:49:25 GMT -5
I have a few that I don't particularly like, for more or less the same reason. - Rattus Rattus
- Psychorazer
- Senmaida
- Don't Steal my Coat
- Discs 29 and 31 of the Merzbox. Probably the most boring Merzbow I've ever heard.
... the (more or less same) reason being?? (A bit like saying I like yellow and green for a really good reason. Cool.) They're all very different discs.
|
|