Reading/Listening for Thursday 10/24

Hello everyone. Here's my assignments for Thursday. (Sorry about not getting it up sooner. I had some scanner problems that have since been resolved.) The assignments might seem like a lot, but once you get past the Jacques Attali stuff, everything else is fairly short. Please be sure to listen to the RadioLab program. If you run short on time, just skim the last three readings. I included them because i have been trying to read some things concerning how musicians themselves make sense of sound and their role in creating it. The "further viewing/listening" section is purely optional. I've been collecting links to interesting a/v materials and i thought i share a few of them in case anyone is interested.

LISTENING

RadioLab: Musical Language. This is an interesting radio program that examines questions concerning human perception and musicality. (1 hr)

READINGS

On the role of acoustic space in modern society: “Visual and Acoustic Space” by Marshall McLuhan (from Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music). 1989 (since McLuhan died in 1980, I assume this is a posthumus publication?).

Early ideas concerning noise as a compositional tool:
“The Art of Noises: Futurist Manifesto” by Luigi Russolo (from Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music). 1913.

On the role of the artist in a fragmented society:
“Challenge and Collapse: The Nemesis of Creativity” by Marshall McLuhan (from Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man). 1964.

On music as a reflection of culture and a prophetic voice of change:
Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Attali. 1977. Chapter 1. Chapter 5.

Some ideas concerning noise:
“Noise” by Simon Reynolds (from Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music). 1990.

The Musician’s Earview:
“Against Radical Contigency” by Steven Drury (from Astronome: Musicians on Music). 2000.
“How We Eat Our Young” by Mike Patton (from Astronome: Musicians on Music). 2000.
“Tapped Teeth - Try Different Speeds” by Fred Frith (from Astronome: Musicians on Music). 2000.

FURTHER VIEWING/LISTENING

Merzbow. More Merzbow. Ruins. Christopher DeLaurenti. Hemophiliac. John Zorn. Mike Patton’s solo voice work. Wolf Eyes. Smegma. More Smegma. Even More Smegma (these guys have been playing for over 30 years!). Bjork. John Cage. More John Cage. Quiet American.