Five songs that will happily make your ears bleed
Luigi Russolo published his manifesto, The Art of Noises, in 1913. Before The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Elvis, he predicted that sweet sounds in music would soon be outdated and people would instead opt for more intense and stressful music. He believed that the Industrial Revolution meant that we would become so used to harsh noises that we would listen to them in our music.
“Music originally sought purity, limpidity and sweetness of sound,” Russolo wrote. “Musical evolution is paralleled by the multiplication of machines… the machine today has created such a variety and rivalry of noises that pure sound, in its exiguity and monotony, no longer arouses any feeling.”
You might disagree with Russolo, as much of the music we listen to still contains sweetness; however, there are some instances where bands and artists try to make something that frustrates rather than sounds pleasant. This can come in the form of completely broken down and disassociated noise or heavier guitar music that still has some form of melody.
Some people hear this kind of music and can’t wrap their heads around it. They believe it sounds terrible and would rather than waste another second trying to entertain it. Meanwhile, there are other people who like this kind of music, enjoying the fact that it’s confrontational and acts as some form of release.
If you are hoping to get more into this kind of aggressive and haphazard music, look no further than here, as these five songs will happily make your ears bleed.
Five songs that will make your ears bleed
Merzbow – ‘Klo Ken Phantasie’
When noise music was first established, it was used as a form of protest. The whole point was to create something uncomfortable and completely inaccessible, with that form of music representing how the artist felt about the world around them. As the genre developed, people began using it as a means to represent more extensive kinds of emotion.
Merzbow does this incredibly well on his album Venereology. It was made during a period when he was relying heavily on drugs and alcohol, and he wanted his music to be a reflection of addiction and feeling trapped. In doing so, he layered multiple forms of noise and made something that was completely inaccessible and very tough to listen to. The whole album will make your ears bleed, but a good jumping off point is the track ‘Klo Ken Phantasie’.
Sun Ra – ‘Where There Is No Sun’
Sun Ra believed he was sent to Earth by interdimensional beings in order to speak to humans using a universal language: music. He was always willing to create chaotic music that didn’t line up as he believed these kinds of sounds that were didn’t complement the human ear had to have been sent by people from another world.
“You got to be ready when you play with this band…when the harmonies move in a direction that they seemingly are not supposed to move in and still fit, you got another message from another realm from somebody else, and Superior Beings would definitely speak in other harmonic ways because they’re talking to something different,” he once told his trumpeter, Ahmed Abdullah, “You have to have chord against chord, melody against melody, and rhythm against rhythm. When you have that, you’re experiencing something else.”
It’s hard to pick a Sun Ra song that captures this chaotic approach to music, as it mostly came across during jam sessions and live shows. ‘When There Is No Sun’ is actually quite a sweet-sounding song, but the overlapping rhythm and melody of various instruments at once give the listener a sneak peek into the free-flowing nature of Sun Ra.
Napalm Death – ‘You Suffer’
The whole point of thrashy punk music is to create something quick, filled with anger and energy that is enjoyable to lose yourself in, but can make your ears bleed simultaneously. Napalm Death are one of the greatest bands in the world when it comes to striking this balance, but how do you pick their best song that represents this mindset?
Well, in the interest of this article and choosing songs that are stressful to listen to, we may as well pick their track that doesn’t even allow you the opportunity to be invested in it. Holding the world record for the shortest song in the world, Napalm Death’s ‘You Suffer’ is only a couple of seconds long and features one sharp burst of thrash metal before moving on. The song is equal parts genius and frustrating, and therein lies its beauty.
Imperial Triumphant – ‘Atomic Age’
Imperial Triumphant’s album Alphaville is one of the most bizarre examples of black metal to ever surface in music. The whole record is supposed to represent New York, giving you instances of glitz and glamour but then showing you the darker underbelly of the city with the drudging metal music that follows the rest of the album.
You can choose every song on this album, which would fit this list perfectly; however, the baffling nature of ‘Atomic Age’ means it takes the top spot. The song starts with the sweet tones of a barbershop quartet before erupting into noise and static, before collapsing into heavy, distorted guitars.
Clipping – ‘Face’
One of the greatest trios in rap music came about because of a simple idea: What if rap songs were played over noise? Producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson began experimenting with this idea during some DJ sets. After realising how chaotic it sounded, they decided to start making original music, which is when rapper Daveed Diggs came on board.
Their albums dabble in various sci-fi and horror concepts, but if you’re listening for something that is just fast rapping and noise music, look further than the song ‘Face’. Daveed Diggs somehow manages to retain rhythm and melody when all he has as backing instrumentation is aggressive feedback. The song shouldn’t work, yet somehow it really does.
