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Escape from Noise

 
Album Review: Escape from Noise
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Escape from Noise

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  • Artist: Negativland
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1987
  • Total Time: 39:41
  • Genre: Rock

Review

While the sound collage of Negativland's first three studio albums pointed in the band's ultimate direction, they were really rough sketches compared to Escape From Noise. Escape is a full-on audio assault, more musical than ever, but with tight and well-constructed sound sections thrown in. Instead of simply a collection of sounds and snippets, however, each cut on Escape From Noise picks a target and takes aim. "Quiet Please" takes on market research in the world of radio. "Michael Jackson" is a laundry list of pop stars being charged with creating commercial pop. "Sycamore" turns happy, shiny, new pre-planned communities into something far more sinister. Although some other tracks ("Yellow, Black and Rectangular," "Car Bomb") don't really take on particular targets, they're fun nonetheless. Probably the most accomplished piece is the strangely creepy "Time Zones," which talks about how many time zones there are in the Soviet Union (there are 11, by the way, and it's not even funny). Although it wasn't apparent at the time, the centerpiece of the album would be "Christianity Is Stupid," a prime example of how sound bites can be rearranged to say whatever you want them to say. (The full sound bites appear on the album Helter Stupid, the first half of which was inspired by a media frenzy after the band suggested that a murder may be attributable to "Christianity Is Stupid," as an excuse to get out of having to tour in the wake of this album, which turned out to be a much bigger success than anyone expected.) Scattered throughout the album are unexpected guest appearances from some of the biggest names in underground music, including Jello Biafra on "toilet flushing," the Residents on "hoots and clanging," and the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart on mouth sounds and "processed animals." In addition to better-constructed material, the production quality on Escape From Noise is also top-notch, making it a joy to listen to. Although future works would prove more controversial, this is probably Negativland's masterwork. ~ Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Announcement Negativland (1:51)
Quiet Please Negativland (2:16)
Michael Jackson Negativland Negativland (2:07)
Escape From Noise Negativland (2:35)
The Playboy Channel Negativland (1:33)
Stress In Marriage Negativland (1:33)
Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song Negativland Negativland (3:06)
Over The Hiccups Negativland (1:25)
Sycamore Negativland (2:28)
Car Bomb Negativland (1:54)
Methods Of Torture Negativland (1:23)
Yellow Black And Rectangular Negativland (2:14)
Backstage Pass Negativland (1:14)
Christianity Is Stupid Negativland (3:54)
Time Zones Negativland (5:26)
You Don't Even Live Here Negativland (2:29)
The Way Of It Negativland (1:12)
Endscape Negativland (3:26)

Credits

David Wills (Shortwave Radio), Mark Hosler (Multi Instruments), Rob Wortman (Noise), David Wills (Multi Instruments), Tera Freedman (Voices), Mickey Hart (?), David Wills (Tape), Mark Hosler (Voices), Ian Allen (Loop), Ed Markmann (Voices), Rob Wortman (?), Chris Grigg (Drums), Alexander Hacke (Noise), Chris Grigg (Vocals), Don Joyce (Noise), Alexander Hacke (?), David Wills (Talking), Jerry Garcia (Voices), Diana Emerson (Vocals), Don Joyce (Talking), Don Joyce (Vocals), Don Joyce (Synthesizer), Chris Grigg (Computers), Dan Lynch (Design), Louisa Michaels (Vocals), Jerry Garcia (?), Mark Hosler (Banjo), Fred Frith (Drums), Chris Grigg (Multi Instruments), Fred Frith (?), Louisa Michaels (?), Chris Grigg (Synthesizer), Richard Lyons (Voices), Peter Montgomery (Graphic Design), Negativland (Artwork), Mark Hosler (Tape), Mark Hosler (Recorder), Peter Montgomery (Design), Mark Hosler (Synthesizer), Jello Biafra (?), David Wills (Vocals), Chris Grigg (Mixing), Rand Weatherwax (Noise), Don Joyce (Yells), Jello Biafra (Noise), Chris Grigg (Engineer), Don Joyce (Multi Instruments), Mark Hosler (Vocals), Richard Lyons (Lyricist), Ian Allen (Bells), Rand Weatherwax (?), Mark Hosler (Guitar), Don Joyce (Mixing), Don Joyce (Tympani [Timpani]), Mickey Hart (Percussion), Das (Voices), Negativland (Graphic Design), Residents (?), Ian Allen (?), Steve Fisk (?), Steve Fisk (Optigan), Ian Allen (Noise), Phil Freihofner (Noise), Mark Hosler (Mixing), Richard Lyons (Vocals), Mark Mothersbaugh (Saxophone), Tera Freedman (?), Henry Kaiser (?), Henry Kaiser (Guitar), Mark Mothersbaugh (Bass), Tom Herman (?), Mark Hosler (Noise), Mark Hosler (Rhythm Loops), Phil Freihofner (?), Mark Mothersbaugh (?), Rev. Ivan Strang (?), George Horn (Mastering), Mark Mothersbaugh (Noise), Steve Fisk (Voices), Don Joyce (Lyricist), Mark Hosler (Loops), Jerry Garcia (Chimes), Don Joyce (Sound Effects), Ed Markmann (?), Peter Montgomery (Artwork), Fred Frith (Violin), Das (?), Mark Hosler (Percussion), Tom Herman (Guitar), David Wills (Voices)
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Wikipedia: Escape from Noise
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Escape from Noise
Studio album by Negativland
Released 1987 (original)
1999 (reissue)
Genre Avant garde
Experimental
Sound collage
Alternative rock
Comedy rock
Punk rock
Length 42:12
Label SST/Seeland Records (original)
Seeland (1999 "un-remixed" reissue)
Producer Mark Hosler
Professional reviews
Negativland chronology
Over the Edge Vol. 1: JAMCON'84
(1985)		 Escape from Noise
(1987)		 Helter Stupid
(1989)

Escape from Noise is a 1987 album by Negativland. It marked the band's first break on an established independent record label, SST Records. On this album, they continued to develop their experimental, surrealist style. The group also incorporated elements of pop music with shorter tracks and more conventional melodies. "Christianity Is Stupid", a track featuring samples from the propaganda movie If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?, layered over a buzzing and droning hard rock groove, would prove to be an enduring signature song. The band and the release gained widespread attention due to a press release falsely implying that murderer David Brom had listened to "Christianity Is Stupid" before killing his family members.[1]

Contents

Release

Even though the songs "Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song" and "Backstage Pass" use profanity heavily, the album, due to it being released and reissued on indie labels, does not have the Parental Advisory sticker.

In 1999, due to Greg Ginn's decision to remove "Methods of Torture" from the SST pressing, Seeland Records reissued the album in an "un-remixed" edition, adding no bonus tracks and blowing up the photo on the LP cover to the front cover and the original LP cover's words from Crosley Bendix into the booklet. A sticker was placed on the album, saying:

An old album from Negativland: Digitally exacto-remastered 33 1/3 RPM compact disc re-issue of Negativland's classic 1987 LP with no added bonus tracks of any kind! Don't let the new cover design fool you - your audiophile friends might think that such classics as "Car Bomb" and "Christianity Is Stupid" sound crisper and cleaner on this newly un-remixed edition, but they're dead wrong! And even though there are no longer eleven time zones in the Soviet Union (and no Soviet Union, either) this re-release sounds exactly the same as the original. The only thing different is the sticker you are reading right now.

The original LP is still in print on SST Records, even though the band re-released the record in 1999 on Seeland.

Controversy

In February 1988, a 16-year-old from Rochester, Minnesota named David Brom murdered his entire immediate family (both parents, a brother, and a sister) with an axe. When Negativland was forced to cancel a planned tour in support of their album Escape from Noise for financial reasons, the band issued a press release claiming that they had been "advised by Federal Official Dick Jordan not to leave town pending an investigation into the Brom murders." The press release implied that Brom had listened to Negativland's song "Christianity Is Stupid" before the fatal quarrel with his religious parents.[1]

In reality, there was no official named "Dick Jordan", and Brom did not possess any Negativland music. The murder investigation later discovered that he was on SST's mailing lists, but he only owned "Zen Arcade" by SST band Hüsker Dü.[citation needed] Nevertheless, pundits and journalists took the press release at face value, and the hoax received widespread media coverage.[2] Negativland encouraged the spread of the story by steadfastly refusing further comment, supposedly on the advice of their attorney "Hal Stakke", another fictional person invented by the band. Much of this media coverage was negative, and band member Richard Lyons' home in Oakland, California was pelted with rocks by an unknown vandal.[1] Negativland subsequently used samples from the media frenzy in their 1989 album Helter Stupid.[3]

Track listing

  1. "Announcement"
  2. "Quiet Please"
  3. "Michael Jackson"
  4. "Escape from Noise"
  5. "The Playboy Channel"
  6. "Stress in Marriage"
  7. "Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song"
  8. "Over the Hiccups"
  9. "Sycamore"
  10. "Car Bomb"
  11. "Methods of Torture"
  12. "Yellow Black and Rectangular"
  13. "Backstage Pass"
  14. "Christianity Is Stupid"
  15. "Time Zones"
  16. "You Don't Even Live Here"
  17. "The Way of It"
  18. "Endscape"
  • A hidden track is after "Endscape". It is known by fans as the "Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song Part 2" or "Escape From Noise (reprise)". It includes the lyric "Is there any escape from noise?"

Personnel

  • Mark Hosler: Singing, synthesizers, guitars, voice tapes, percussions, rhythm loops, bomb parts, David manipulation, tiny metal banjo, recorder, lots of other noises, mix
  • Don Joyce: Yelling, talking tapes, electric tympani, synthesizer, lyrics, singing, Booper bee, bomb parts and assembly, noises everywhere, mix
  • Chris Grigg: Drums, synthesizer, singing, computer & software, field recordings, mix
  • David Wills: Talking, shortwave, family tape, bomb parts, regular Booper
  • Richard Lyons: Singing, lyrics, voice
With contributions from

References

  1. ^ a b c PRANKS! - Pullout - Music Quarterly - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
  2. ^ Reviews - Escape From Noise
  3. ^ Guerrilla culture-jam (Metro Times Detroit)

External links

v • d • e
Negativland
Mark Hosler | Don Joyce | David Wills | Johnathan Land | Richard "Pastor Dick" Lyons | Peter Conheim | Chris Grigg | Ian Allen
Albums
Live albums and DVDs
EPs
Over the Edge

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Escape from Noise".  Read more