Beyond Unwanted Sound

Abstract

Noise is so often a ‘stench in the ear’ – an unpleasant disturbance or an unwelcome distraction. But there is much more to noise than what greets the ear as unwanted sound. Beyond Unwanted Sound is about noise and how we talk about it. Weaving together affect theory with cybernetics, media histories, acoustic ecology, geo-politics, sonic art practices and a range of noises, Marie Thompson critiques both the conservative politics of silence and transgressive poetics of noise music, each of which position noise as a negative phenomenon. Beyond Unwanted Sound instead aims to account for a broader spectrum of noise, ranging from the exceptional to the banal; the overwhelming to the inaudible; and the destructive to the generative. What connects these various and variable manifestations of noise is not negativity but affectivity. Building on the Spinozist assertion that to exist is to be affected, Beyond Unwanted Sound asserts that to exist is to be affected by noise.

Reimagining collaboration through the lens of the posthuman: Uncovering embodied learning in noise music

“…Building on this broad definition of noise, Thompson (2017) then conceptualizes noise within a musical context by recognizing the ever-present nature of noise within music.…”

“…Noise exists as a sonic parasite and as the milieu of music itself, simultaneously acting on and enabling the formation of relations within techno-musical systems. Thompson (2017) proposes the act of breathing while singing as an example of this parasitic relationship.…”

“…Returning to noise as a musical form, noise as both a genre in itself and as a gesture within a broad range of musical traditions exists as a form of exposure, one that reveals the musical milieu and reorients the relationships between affecting and affected bodies that interact within that milieu. In Thompson's (2017) words, "rather than bringing noise into music, noise music is thought of as amplifying, extending and foregrounding the noise that is always already within the techno-musical system" (p. 129).…”

“…But if noise is not an object, then what is it? According to Thompson (2017), "noise is what noise does" (p. 51). Maybe the trick, then, is to write about what noise music does and not what noise music is.…”

Analysis Factor of Noise, Bus Conditions and Unsafe Actions on Accident Incidents at Mangkang Terminal and Pengaron Terminal, Semarang-Indonesia

“…Noise is sound whose presence is undesirable that comes from production process tools or work tools which at a certain level can cause hearing loss [17]. Noise in occupational health is defined as sound that can reduce hearing both quantitatively (increased hearing threshold) and qualitatively (hearing spectrum narrowing) which is related to a certain intensity, frequency, duration, and time patterns [18,19].…”