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Re: [microsound] being 'political' in non-verbal music



i got a post from another list today that talked about this
problem:
"The three pieces in this suite were created by processing live radio
coverage of the 2004 presidential election using computer music software. While to some extent, the use of political media materials as source
sounds in a work of radical music could be considered pat or outmoded,
there was value in this endeavor. The transformative properties of
digital signal processing allowed me to uncover the "choral" component
inherent in news broadcasts: the anchors form a choir of voices singing in
unison, complicit amongst themselves to the authorship whose script they
are doomed to read from. The Agency of the newsanchor is limited, or
submissive to government and capital, or both.


I had concerns that simply processing my radio was not a truly radical
platform.  That being said, it is an attempt to tear away the fabric of
appearances, and some kind of momentary relief was derived from the
process.  If you don't find this recording sonically or politically
persuasive, try using a simple audio processing tool to dissect the media
you absorb.  You might be more edified by trying the process first-hand."

----- Original Message ----- From: "Damian Stewart" <damian@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "microsound" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 7:50 AM
Subject: [microsound] being 'political' in non-verbal music



How do you get across political messages in music which has no lyrics and which has no voice samples?

As I grow younger, more naive, and more idealistic, I'm becoming increasingly interested in music as a way of expressing opinion, as a way of spreading consciousness about things that don't find their way into the media. I'd like to believe I can do this using non-verbal music, that is, music with no lyrics and no voice samples (eg, of politicians).

Without using liner notes or track titles (because when music is transmitted over the internet all you get is the .mp3 file), how does one attach clear, unambiguous meaning to non-verbal sound? What are the precedents? I imagine there's some punks out there somewhere who are as I write experimenting with this stuff but I can't read all the zines that exist so I can't hear about them..

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