Acousmatics

Schaffer's idea of obscured sound sources reminded me of my first brush with modern Progressive Rock music in high school. De-loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta was a huge moment for me musically, when I began to move away from the over-composed hyper-precise world of 70's British Prog which had dominated most of my listening since I fell out with The Grateful Dead. One track in particular "Cicatriz ESP" completely changed the way I viewed the possible spectrum of "rock" tonality, specifically thanks to an extended break in the middle of the track built from delayed guitar noises and other sound manipulations. While I was somewhat familiar with the idea of a spacey, noisy, break from some of The Grateful Dead's improvisations, the Dead's dissonance was still familiar, identifiable sources: feedback, stoned noodling, etc. This track is radically different, more like the pulsating wubs of electronic music than tones created from a guitar and largely analog manipulation from guitar pedals. I didn't know how the guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, was able to create sounds like that at the time, but the mystery behind their source drove me into a deep study of his career, techniques, and approach to art and music. The result was a change in my musical tastes from one of strict structure and an interest in form (though it still exists today) to a taste for the sonic possibility and extremes of the guitar as an instrument. Rodriguez-Lopez in his early career was often quoted as saying he "hated" the guitar as an instrument, and just sought to bury it in obscuring effects and tones. While I can't ascribe to the same distaste, I have certainly found that extreme sounds have entered my repertoire with a vengeance, largely because of the possibilities shown in "Cicatriz ESP" and much of the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez catalog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5BM0Tln7cM

I suppose this would also qualify as my "deep listening" moment, though in looking at the Deep Listening website linked on the blog, my moment of holistic rejuvenation and healing would definitely be A-ha's "Take On Me" from Dance Marathon my freshman year, at the end of the 6th three hour block, comprised mostly of garbage pop music, and the last of my Tylenol-3 that was saving me from the pain of torn ligaments in my shoulder. I probably would have died without that song. It was like a breath of fresh air.