Part 1: Luigi Rusolo – The Art of Noise
From the moment I read his work changed my opinion about music. What impressed me the most about him is that he has the courage to loudly publicize traditional music and the fact that there is no room for progress anymore and that the future of music should incorporate the chaos, texture, and grit of noise. This is very fascinating. And with the times, we are also surrounded by a lot of industrialized sounds that come from engines, machinery, subways, and his forward-thinking idea that we should not be afraid of these noises. Rather, we can try to blend these inside the music so that it’s not just melody or harmony, but energy, movement and environment. I think for someone who is going to break with musical conventions, I expect more fluidity from him. Ultimately, his manifesto made me realize that on behalf of our everyday sounds, the tapping of the keyboard or the dots in the city are all potential art.
Part II: Exploring the UbuWeb Sound
After my reading I chose John Cage’s “Imagined Landscapes No. 1.” I chose this song not because I liked it, but because at first it struck me as strange. Because the sine tones, low percussion and occasional silence would make me wonder if this was really music. But listening to this track with Rosolo’s text in mind, it feels completely different. I think Cage is trying to free the sound, not control it, and that’s why I wonder how much sound is taken for granted or labeled as “non-musical”. I’m still not sure how long I’ll be able to “like” noise music, but I’ve come to respect it in my heart as a special form of expression.