RE: [microsound] micropolitics

[Philip Sherburne <philip@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Invite Sachicko M and Ryoji Ikeda to set up outside the White House and
direct earsplitting sinewaves at the building (a microsound version of the
drum protests that were happening a few years back, courtesy the Revolution
Summer peeps).  That's a very political kind of noise.  Its efficacy is up
for debate, but it's an example of a wordless political action.  In fact,
I'd be very leery of attaching too much importance to the verbal; when
capital controls so many of the channels for debate, perhaps to sidestep
language entirely is the only effective means of making a point "heard."

> -----Original Message-----
> From: a dontigny [mailto:a_dontigny@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 10:16 AM
> To: microsound
> Subject: Re: [microsound] micropolitics
> 
> 
> 
> --- Philip Sherburne <philip@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> > So my broader question is, what are the possibilities for
> > an "engaged"
> > microsound?  Are there any qualities inherent in the
> > medium (if it is a
> > medium at all) which lends it to, or bars it from,
> > political practice?  Is
> > it a practice in itself?  Is a microsound CD or
> > performance any more or less
> > political than, say, Rage Against the Machine, and how
> > might things be done
> > differently?
> 
> The first major difficulty I see with an "engaged"
> microsound (or any lyric-less music) is the extensive use
> of words in the construction of an "official" political
> thought. How do you fight a political rhetoric using only
> wordless sounds? Not that a speechless music is not
> efficient in creating social responses in the public (we
> don't want to get in another old argument) but when a
> different or "opposing" political force is using the
> all-powerful WORD against you, how can you defend yourself
> while remaining speechless?
> Is the "context" of, for exemple, a cd (titles of the
> tracks, cover, sources of sounds, credits, etc.) sufficient
> in offering a "political key" to the analysis of wordless
> sounds? Is Burroughs' electronic revolution enough for a
> direct political battle?
> 
> =====
> ~ a dontigny
> 
> "le bruit est une ressource naturelle"
> "noise is a natural resource"
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
> http://auctions.yahoo.com/
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> website: http://www.microsound.org
>