Merzbow : S/D

i have this v pretty merzbird shirt btw: http://www.importantrecords.com/images/apparelimages/merbird_shirt.jpg

wow that album-by-album Merzbox review of Michael's upthread is most impressive.

Anyone read the Merzbook?

I have it, but haven't checked it out.

so... no thoughts, then.

i think you should read the thread, dude.

i think i've already read the entire thread, dude.

i was looking for some opinions that maybe weren't 4 years old. not that those are necessarily bad ones upthread, but maybe some of the newer posters here can offer some of their comments too. just a thought.

Welcome to 2009!
Important is starting off the new year with the beginning of our 13 Month/13 CD Merzbow series titled 13 Japanese Birds. Available to hold your 13 CD set is a deluxe screen printed, numbered, limited edition hand built bamboo box. More info about how to order it can be found here:
http://www.importantrecords.com/bird_box/bird_box_details.html

I need $300 for the version with a painting by Masami.

How's the album with Richard Pinhas?

I need $300 for the version with a painting by Masami.

I shelled out for it the other night, whilst drinking. Oh boy...

Ouch. I've resigned myself to not getting it.

Out of all of the Merzbox I've heard so far, I'd say Cloud Cock OO Grand is the best because...there's just so much STUFF in it.

Daddino was so right about Cloud... I listened to this last night looking for fucking catharsis after a bad-ish evening (to the extent that I knew it ws going to be before it happened; I unconciously left the CDR on top of the speaker just before I left), and all I found was DETAILS that ate away at you. People tend to dismiss him as junior Metal Machine Music. Although I'm sure it can lapse into that it does not here, not that -- (i) it should be necessarily a bad thing, and (ii) doesn't that give everyone an excuse to not bother sampling the huge catalogue: listening to music should never feel like work and yet its a strange reaction, to excuse yourself of what should never be a duty. I suddenly remembered a Lou Reed interview w/Lester Bangs where he talks about MMM having bits of Beethoven and Xenakis -- he ws joking (or ws he?) but here its like I hear all sorts of music, processed and yet retaining enough of a character to make an impression. I forgot to cut the sound of the TV completely off and a gap of silence (one track to the next) became what I thought was a sample of Will Smith in Fresh Prince of Bel Air!!

Another Merzbow Records "It compiles tracks from various other compilations and splits from 1991–2001, most of which are out of print". That fact puts me in a good mindset, makes me feel I'm covering a lot of Merzbow when I'm not and never will. This is another fact.

I actually went to get this because it compiled Ab Hunter, the first one of his I fell in love with (yes, there is room for love in Merzbow's world. This is a fact.) and I'm finding all sorts of joy -- pounding dance bits, metal, burstings of lava hot swooshes, wind machines turned up to 11000 (never mnd 11!) even the odd quiet moment dropped in!

This must be good to meditate to. This is another fact.

collabo with Mats Gustafsson out in Nov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx37c2PNM3I

Search:

pic.twitter.com/ff4PSrs7rY

— 🐖🐐🐓Merzbow🐄🐏🦃 (@MerzbowOfficial) June 9, 2018

Strange days. There's this Merzcast podcast thing wherein two US dudes talk about selected Merzbow albums with various guests. They only play tiny clips of the music. They also have a Patreon account wherein subscribers can access further podcasts, although these don't feature any of the music either. In the last few days Merzbow, or his earthly representative, has made clear his disapproval of the project and now they are plastering "Merzbow Disapproved" all over the podcasts (they haven't stopped doing them or taken them down AFAIK).

I approve. People should listen to more (unfiltered) Merzbow and less podcasts.

But don't you think listening to podcasts might make people listen to more Merzbow?

he "disapproved" after 3 months prior posting a link to said podcast

promoting it ... and ostensibly ... approving it?

also dude can't take a joke

He's been shutting down online fan talk for at least 5 years:

http://merzbow.proboards.com/thread/223/proposed-deletion-forum

He's admittedly not heard Merzcast but took offense to GX Juppiter-Larsen's anecdote of touring porn shops together in Holland.

lol he was like, "my work isn't about that now." it's pretty much, control freak, stop you are embarrassing meeee tantrum ... someone posted a mock-up of a "merzbow-disapproved" t-shirt and he blocked them

enjoying this new semi-ambient joint with Vanity Productions this morning.

thinking about that guy brushing his teeth at the merzbow show again pic.twitter.com/CNprrkSGVQ

— ▀▀▀▀▀▀ (@immolations) October 4, 2020

le sigh

Cavity-free canines to maintain that neo-dada noise dude edge.

sad LOL at all the female concertgoers you can see eyeing him warily

don't want to be in splatter range when he drives that thing through his soft palate, probably

lol for a second I thought you were talking about the sheer sonic impact of a live Merzbow gig

also, Cloud Cock OO Grand totally fucking rules, as does most of the early 90's material imo

never really got into him but "annihiloscillator" is sounding good atm.

checking inzane johnny memes leading to that guy who wrote reviews of all the merzbox discs leading to this one on youtube. i think i like him when he's a little more structured.

the Urashima label has been doing really great remastered vinyl reissues of some "classic" joints, also available digitally on their Bandcamp (searching Bandcamp for Merzbow is a mess, predictably)

somebody made a "Merzdős number" list on discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/lists/Merzd%C5%91s-number/986381

I treated myself to the Urashima remastered 2LP of Hybrid Noisebloom and it sounds superb, dense and squiggly

https://urashima.bandcamp.com/album/hybrid-noisebloom

I just got the Hybrid Noisebloom CD used! I wonder if someone sold!

I also wonder what the right way to listen to 'Bow is!

Merzbow in everyday life!
from:Bright Remarks and Throwing Shade: What Are You Reading, Summer 2022?

I used to work in a bookshop where P.D. James was a regular customer. She was perfectly pleasant, quite chatty even, but ALWAYS used to complain about the music we played (which to be fair often strayed into the aggressively unlistenable). If I saw her coming I would always try and put a bit of Merzbow on.

― Ward Fowler, Friday, June 24, 2022 9:02 AM (two weeks ago)

xpost at medium volume on large speakers with a sub, IMO

also yeah I used to have that CD! but sold it prob 20 years ago. I still have a promo poster for it though, which is actually on my wall, so I was sorta obligated to buy the reissue

Urashima has some other fantastic Merzbow reissues as of late, some with bonus tracks

also lol @ that Ward story, get in here buddy

If/when I start making $X in my new career, I'm going to celebrate by buying a Merzbox

xpost Oh yes---also in the spirit ov Merzbow:

http://magicmonkeyboy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/drink-my-red-blood-by-richard-matheson.html

^my fave matheson short story, which deeply affected horror-obsessed-young-me when i read it as a boy. the whole treatment of vampirism seems very similar to the vibe that george a romero was going for w/ his movie martin, and i know romero admitted that matheson was the primary inspiration behind NOTLD. you can see why stephen king is such a big matheson fan, too - that 'naturalistic'/everyday treatment of the supernatural. again, this story reminds me v much of parts of the tobe hooper tv movie of salem's lot - vampirism as teenage yearning/disaffection

― Ward Fowler, Sunday, September 9, 2012 4:17 PM

guy brushing his teeth during Merzbow pic.twitter.com/PaOIl3ua1i https://t.co/q7kC1u0BFx

— kate bush's husband (@airbagged) June 19, 2023

apparent resemblance of a younger Ivan Dorin coming to mind

how difficult would it be to modify the motors of a sonicare to be a MERZBRUSH?

been on a big kick lately, Tauromachine and Rainbow Electronics are sounding especially good today

pluramon remix best thing on the "bit sand riders" pluramon remix album

oh totally, I have that!

Every now and again a Merzmood overtakes me

I am deep in it

reviews of Akasha Gulva claim that it is the "harshest", "most difficult", etc album, but I found it quite soothing when I was in the hot tub the other night, it's like ambient white noise. Also it has his ex-wife Reiko on it, who has been systematically excised from the Merzbow history via altered reissues #merzdrama (see the excised track "Modular" from Cloud Cock OO Grand, not included on reissues as it is Reiko solo). If only for the duo effect, a lot of the records with her on them stand out to me during that time period, more of a ritual/trance CCCC vibe going on

^ Looks like AI is fairly shit at doing clocks then
(xpost)

wow Merzbeat is really great, eh? One late pass please.

https://masamiakitamerzbow.bandcamp.com/album/merzbeat-remastered

I always got it confused with Scumtron which is the remix album

dude is slacking, only two albums this year, just released another piano-based one

https://slowdown-merzbow.bandcamp.com/album/mimesis

OK I have a new recommendation for newcomers/interested parties, go straight to Merzbeat

there’s always a new one or four going but this newish collab with kiku hibino on superpang (great label imo) is sounding good to me:
https://rococo-infinity-echomatter.bandcamp.com/album/rococo-echomatter

not particularly harsh. sounds more like various noise boxes and other things (voice, sax, moody keys) cut up and sputtering. no goify ai slop art either. good one!

loved the one with john wiese from last year btw:
https://johnwiese.bandcamp.com/album/akashaplexia

this one _is_ harsh. crack open your windows, play it real loud, and enjoy four discs of various crunchy sounds.