inevitable noise

The Art of Noises_ A noise manifesto from Futurist Luigi Russolo. According to him, the exploration of noise beyond music will allow the world to “hear with Futurist ears.” He sums up a convincing interpretation of the evolution of music, from the “silence” of ancient life to a future(his)/present(ours); where our sensibilities, having been long accustomed to and disillusioned by a history that parallels “the multiplication of machines.” Our need for sounds that are new and exciting has outgrown traditional music’s mathematical and finite form. He said this of the modern orchestra of his time—

“There: the first bar brings the boredom of familiarity to your ear and anticipates the boredom of the bar to follow. Let us relish, from bar to bar, two or three varieties of genuine boredom, waiting all the while for the extraordinary sensation that never comes.”

“Second hand ecstasy” is the sum of music that seeks to replicate the impact of past innovations. The ecstasy spoken of is the sensation you feel when what you hear defies your understanding of what is possible. Sound ecstasies become second hand because the act of reproducing forms that were impossible before the moment they were first born undermines the fact that they are newly made.

NewNature

Crit #1