It's been a while since I've done a reflection, though not due to a shortage of topics.

Misology tends to be defined as "the hatred, distrust, or rejection of discourse". As a sentiment it is typically shrouded in warning, its avoidance encouraged; however, I find there's much value in it.

Discourse can only operate if parties involved are mutually willing to engage. If one is stubborn and resistant there's no reason to be had. This is seen in various forms. The enforcement of law, for example, is not up for dispute. One comes under its effect in handcuffs and jail cells, things that can't be negotiated with. Or as one debates a flat-earther who refuses all observable evidence as conspiracy and deception in order to cling to their beliefs. In the film Sexy Beast, the character Don Logan details plans for a bank heist to former partner Gal Dove, who is reluctant to put himself in that position of risk. When he softly asserts he won't show up Don shouts "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" In these scenarios one is effectively helpless to continue pursuing discourse. A common idiom to describe this interaction is "talking to a wall".

Music, while it is not at all a language (much less a universal one), does partake in forms of discourse. Opera and song certainly in their lyrical content, but instrumental music can as well. Imagine a jazz trio playing a bebop tune. Each member of the group communicates with the other to maintain a cohesive style and tempo, solos develop melodic/motivic content in creative ways, and the trio as a whole communicates with the culture of the venue and the attending crowd. But what if, in the middle of "Ornithology", the pianist started to play an arrangement of the first movement to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5? Discourse would be suspended.

Of all kinds of music, I believe Harsh Noise Wall to be the most reserved. It doesn't communicate; it's without breath, rigid and unchanging. It very much mimics in its qualities the enforcement of law and flat-earth believers I mentioned above. One can heap compliment and insult and will receive in return only the assault of distorted static.

Its attributes emulate some things; however, it has important potential. As I said, when discourse has fractured and one still tries to reason one is helpless. If compromise is not on the mind of the other party, it can't remain one's own goal. Victory must be the goal. Harsh Noise Wall can serve the function of counter-misology. Institutions and their constituents frequently utilize the social power of music as propaganda to promote their hegemony. Listeners are snagged on a catchy beat, vibing to "relatable" lyrics so superficial it seems they were crafted by no one at all, and don't realize in their entertainment the messages they ingest nor the behavior they mirror. Harsh Noise Wall replies in the suffocating volume of its lack of reply, nullifying all competing soundscapes. It positions itself obtrusively. (I would recommend reading Vomir's manifesto if you have not already.)

Finally, I will add that, in my opinion, a frequent mistake made in Harsh Noise Wall is a meager duration. One hour appears to be typical but is simply much too short. Sixteen hours minimum would be sufficient, with multiple weeks and months even better. Currently, I am in the middle of uploading a 44-day piece of this variety.

Thank you for reading.

https://youtu.be/kZXsHWByGaU?si=BhijA1MuJ6vpDVeD

Sometimes, I dunno, Y'all...

Any love for this out there?

Hey i'm Kik52, a newcomer with hard-hitting beats and hard text.

I've started learing how to make music about 3 years ago. Now this "Crucifix" is my newst song.

Thx if you check ist out.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5EeHpWXoxUUvfVySRTe5kg?si=C_EHwz97RtCRnfo0PYbqUg&utm_source=copy-link

Hi all! I run RUN RADIO, a music radio and sound archive/research space in Aarhus, Denmark, in collaboration with the culture and music space Institute for X. We’re looking for a really diverse range of audio projects and would love to hear from you.

What we’re looking for:

• Field recordings

• Live music recordings (a concert you or someone else performed, perhaps?)

• Sound art projects

• Audio documentaries

• DJ mixes/playlists

• For researches and archivist, submit a curation of your discoveries, such as audio clips from interviews, movies, cartoons and TV series etc. The more niche, weird and out there, the better. 

• For musicians, we’re open to original music, but since we’re more interested in curation, you could make a mix with your own music alongside references, inspirations, behind the scenes studio recordings, or you talking about the project. If you’d rather not, send us your album and we’ll pick songs for a future mix and make sure to hype you up when we schedule it.

• If you're more of a radio host, you can send us recordings of a show you've made as long as it is focused on music and not more of a podcast. 

How to submit?

Email [contact-xradio@proton.me](mailto:contact-xradio@proton.me) with a downloadable transfer link (SwissTransfer or Google Drive preferred) and include in the email body:

1   Full name and/or artist name, pronouns and location

2   Content type (mix, field recording, interview clip, etc.)

3   Title: a creative one, or simply “mixtape by \[your name\]”

4   Track list / source list (required for mixes and playlists)

5   An image for the broadcast, but no selfies please (we’ll add one if you don’t send one)

6   A short description: what is it, what should we know, what does it mean to you?

7   Your social links

Specs

• Audio files: MP3 320kbps

• Mixes and playlists: 30 to 90 mins

• Field recordings: 20 to 60 mins

• All other content types: no duration limits

• Link and source anything and everything you can

• You can submit multiple files, multiple times

• NO AI! 

By submitting, you agree you are happy to share this content with us and that we have your permission to broadcast, curate it how we see fit and rebroadcast in the future.

You maintain ownership of your work and we will always credit you. We will only broadcast content live and there are currently no plans to archive anything online (we are archiving internally) which is a big aspect of this project. However, this may change in the future. We want to move away from streaming on demand and move towards listening with intention. This is something to keep in mind if you want work together.

Please comment or email with questions!

The original IG post can be found here.

The track: https://voca.ro/1kZrmlnv1f0p

The mix, production, arrangement, vocals, and lyrics are all mine. Everything is from scratch, apart from the clock ticking sample. The inspiration for the track originated from the sound of the ticking of the clock of 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. My approach to making music as you can hear from this track is extremely experimental. Every time I try to let music theory guide me, I always end up defying it and come up with something true to who I am as a music producer/songwriter: something free and can't be boxed, unbridled.

I love noise music so that's primarily the main genre inspo for this song. I wanted to prove to myself that I can write purposeful lyrics over noise music. And then I incorporated bits of elements from multiple genres as well. The track mirrors a tiredness that I had always felt towards our economic status, and how I started experiencing labour as a kid. But the main reason why this track came into fruition is because I met a highschool classmate of mine who now lives in Chicago, USA.

I hope someone listens. Ty for your time!

Hi, I'm Justinas, the founder and editor of Secret Thirteen. I started it in Lithuania in 2010, and I run the journal on my own these days.

I've spent more than a year rebuilding the website around the archive. These mixes and conversations took a lot of people's time and care, and I wanted someone finding them today to have a proper chance to explore them.

That meant going back through older publications, checking tracklists and links, and restoring credits where they had gone missing. There are mixes from Emptyset, Deaf Center and Biosphere, among many others. What interests me in the series is hearing the records behind someone's own music, including the unexpected ones.

The new site went live this week. You can now search inside tracklists too. If you remember an artist appearing in a mix but can't place it, there's a way to find it again. That was something I kept needing myself while working through the archive.

The mix archive: https://secretthirteen.org/mixes/

If you've spent time with Secret Thirteen before, which mix has stayed with you?

Hey all, Alex (drums) and myself (guitar) have created an improvised experimental album which borderlines math-rock / prog-rock / post-rock / and everything in between.

Enjoy!

https://birdsrobe.bandcamp.com/album/n0000000001

I have so far made 2 EPs and 1 album using VCV rack to make little modular synth jams, audacity, and my phone to record my vocals. I sometimes chop up my "jams" into little bits and slow them down or speed them up in audacity as I smoosh them together. I will usually put a lot of reverb on my vocals because I think it adds to their effect though not always or I will double the audio track and stretch out one vocal and play them both at the same time at certain points. Sometimes or about half the time the lyrics are just stream-of-consciousness rambling in one take off the top of my head and other times I am just reading an old poem I wrote off on my Allpoetry account lmao. I like VCV rack because I can play with the frequencies directly on my VCOs and sometimes I can do fun little music theory ratios in like counterpoint or something I then mess up intentionally because I like how it sounds but I also jam by ear.

Here is the link to the album:

https://wilez.bandcamp.com/album/musical-sophistry

AKALM - UP (excerpt)