Albums You Keep for ZERO Songs

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Ahem, but seriously...I keep VERY few records like this around anymore, I just moved halfway across the country and I made a pretty serious effort to get rid of everything that didn't bring a song I liked to mind the moment I picked it up. But one or two slipped through, and they are definitely of the "wallpaper music" variety - Whipped Cream and Other Delights is probably chief among the category, but there are a few others where I've never gotten to know the record enough to really pick out the individual songs (or the production somehow makes it all blur together) but I do like the general vibe - Kilimanjaro by the Teardrop Explodes goes in this category, also a few box sets of old folk and blues miscellaney. All good evening/productivity music for around the house, very unlikely I'll ever get to the point of being able to sing along to any of it.

-- Son of Spam

What other ways ARE there to respond to his music then? Exactly what do YOU get out of his music - I mean sonically, as opposed to conceptually?

(Not trying to be overly argumentative here, I'm truly curious. And I admit to owning only two of the guy's 326-odd LPs.)

Also, if you see "Present Tense" around for a buck (or even two), check that noise out. Richard Dashut (co-?)production. Brilliant.

I guess the first time I heard Merzbow there was a shock and awe reaction. I don't think it's a wholly invalid response to a lot of his stuff. I've heard only a fraction of it too, but there are records like Music for Bondage Performance that I reckon are reasonably accessible (this is relative, isn't it? I'm talking accessible like Nurse With Wound or Naked City).

But to answer about what I get from his music. An intentness of listening. There's often an intellectual (as opposed to visceral) pleasure in listening to him. A focus for the ears/mind. I'm not saying this is unique to Merzbow, the ability to listen like this applies to any music - any sound I suppose. But I do listen to him like that, often. There's also the visceral stuff, but for me it goes well beyond surprise and annoyance. Noise at the right volume can be as physically pleasurable as it is distressing. A lot of Merzbow seems to alternate between massage and pummelling. I like that. Or you can play it at ambient volume and it can work like ambient music.

Again, I'm not claiming any of this is unique to Merzbow. I'm trying to say that for me he has more points of commonality with other artists than points of difference, at least inasmuch as the kinds of pleasure I get from listening to him.

(I have the EPs already, but I wanted all the songs on a couple discs for easy access.)

(Same goes for this one. I have all, I think, but two of these tracks on separate EP releases. It's such a pretty set, though!)

sorry chap, this isn't the board for boasting about your belle and sebastian collection. the only person who doesn't own everything & hundreds of bootlegs is Ned Raggett. And he's not only a contrarian but a contortionist too.

A bunch of Command records albums because they look nice all lined up together. Part of me still kind of wants to collect a complete mint set and never play them.

Some weird 12" single called "Stop Making Cheese" that's not very good, mainly because the title sounds like "Stop Making Sense."

Etcetera...