Three of the most outrageous, contronversial albums ever released. Three ways to make art out of noise!
Lou Reed
Metal Machine Music (1975)
One would be hard-pressed to name a major artist who ever released an album as thoroughly alienating as Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music; at a time when noise rock and punk had yet to make their presence known, Reed released this 64-minute aural assault that offered up a densely layered soundscape constructed from feedback, distortion, and atonal guitar runs sped up or slowed down until they were all but unrecognizable. Metal Machine Music seems a bit less startling today, now that bands like Sonic Youth and the Boredoms have created some sort of context for it, but it hasn't gotten any more user friendly with time — while Thurston Moore may go nuts on his guitar like this for three or four minutes at a stretch, Metal Machine Music goes on and on and on for over an hour, pausing only for side breaks with no rhythms, melodies, or formal structures to buffer the onslaught. If you're brave enough to listen to the whole thing, it's hard not to marvel at the scope of Reed's obsession; it's obvious he spent a lot of time on these layered sheets of noise, and enthusiasts of the violent guitar freakout may find it pleasing in short bursts. But confronting Metal Machine Music from front to back in one sitting is an experience that's both brutal and numbing. It's hard to say what Lou Reed had in mind when he made Metal Machine Music, and Reed has done little to clarify the issue over the years, though he summed it up quite pointedly in an interview in which he said, "Well, anyone who gets to side four is dumber than I am."
1. Metal Machine Music, Part 1
2. Metal Machine Music, Part 2
3. Metal Machine Music, Part 3
4. Metal Machine Music, Part 4
Diamanda Galas
The Litanies of Satan (1982)
Diamanda Galas' first album, originally issued as a 45rpm 12" on Y Records in 1982 and subsequently reissued on Mute, heralded the appearance of the most viscerally exciting and extreme vocalist to appear on the new music scene in many a year. Her incredible voice and enormous range, from the subtlest whispers to guttural bellows to impassioned shrieks with everything in between, and her huge sense of drama commanded instant attention. The Litanies of Satan consists of two pieces, the title track based on texts of Baudelaire and Wild Women with Steak-Knives listed as being "for solo scream". The latter is actually a series of vignettes with differing vocal characteristics employed for each section, from piercing banshee wails to quiet, whispered invective. The lyrics appear to relate to the ravings of a particularly vicious madwoman and when Galas yells out, "And I am not talkin' about meatballs, I am talkin' about steak!" the cowering listener feels compelled to rush out and deliver her order. On The Litanies of Satan, she employs electronic effects both to enhance certain qualities of her voice (for example, extending its sibilance) and to overlay multiple lines, creating an unearthly choir of demons. Its evocation of life in Hell is both gripping and, most important, without a trace of the maudlin or superficially gothic. Rather, it is one of the most successful vocal/electronic works produced in its time. It's arguable that Galas never surpassed her first effort in either passion or creativity but The Litanies of Satan is certainly the disc to start one's exploration of her career and an amazing document on its own.
1. The Litanies Of Satan
2. Wild Women With Steak-Knives (The Homicidal Love Song For Solo Scream)
Mike Patton
Adult Themes for Voice (1996)
Nothing could prepare anyone for the full-on noise attack of Mike Patton's Adult Themes for Voices, not even Mr. Bungle fans. There isn't a note of music on the album; it's essentially noise. Recorded in hotel rooms during a Faith No More tour, all of the sounds are created from Patton's voice, which is pretty darn amazing. The album doesn't contain traditional songs as such; it plays as a continuous piece, and hence there are no obvious highlights. For instance, the track "Wuxipian Fantastique" could be described as sounding like a dying person taking his last breath, accentuated by harsh scraping noises, squeaks, and underwater sounds. And since there are a total of 33 pieces, it seems to be never-ending. Most may find this album hard to take, but fans of original, hard-hitting experimental music will eat it up. If you're sick of melody and musical instruments, your savior may be Mike Patton.
1. Wuxiapian
2. I Killed Him Like a Dog... And He Still Laughed
3. Smog
4. The Man in the Lower Left Hand Corner of the Photograph
5. Screams of the Asteroid
6. Porno Holocaust
7. Inconsolable Widows in Search of Distraction
8. Man Alone in Steambath
9. Guinea Pig 1
10. Guinea Pig 2
11. Guinea Pig 4
12. A Woman With the Skin of the Moon
13. A Lizad With the Skin of the Moon
14. Catheter
15. Fix It So the Bruises Don't Show
16. A Ceremony of Senses, an Alibi in the Red Light District
17. Butterfly in a Glass Maze
18. Pajama Party Horror
19. A Leper With the Face of a Baby Girl
20. The One Armed Vs. 9 Killers
21. Pillow Bitter
22. Raped on a Bed of Sand
23. Violence
24. Private Lessons on Planet Eros
25. Orgy in Reverb (10 Kilometers of Lust)
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