SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Metal Machine Music: Technology, Noise, and Modernism in Industrial Music 1975-1996 A Dissertation Presented by Jason James Hanley to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philsophy in Music (Music History) Stony Brook University August 2011 Copyright by Jason James Hanley 2011 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Jason James Hanley We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Judith Lochhead – Dissertation Advisor Professor, Department of Music Peter Winkler - Chairperson of Defense Professor, Department of Music Joseph Auner Professor, Department of Music David Brackett Professor, Department of Music McGill University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Metal Machine Music: Technology, Noise, and Modernism in Industrial Music 1975-1996 by Jason James Hanley Doctor of Philosophy in Music (Music History) Stony Brook University 2011 The British band Throbbing Gristle first used the term Industrial in the mid-1970s to describe the intense noise of their music while simultaneously tapping into a related set of aesthetics and ideas connected to early twentieth century modernist movements including a strong sense of history and an intense self-consciousness. This model was expanded upon by musicians in England and Germany during the late-1970s who developed the popular music style called Industrial as a fusion of experimental popular music sounds, performance art theatricality, and avant-garde composition. As a result, the first generation of Industrial music (1975-1983) can be understood as a modernist endeavor that connected philosophical ideals, including a Marxist critique of contemporary capitalist society and author William Burroughs’ concept of the information war, with specific musical techniques mined from the past including the use of noise, indeterminacy, timbral exploration, and electronic and tape-based music. Throughout the dissertation I focus on how Industrial musicians, journalists, and fans worked to construct an iii active, self-conscious history for themselves in a subculture that viewed musical sound as a form of political action. This dissertation traces both the creation and breakdown of a modernist ideology within the history of Industrial music. I illustrate how the various modernist strands that led to the emergence of Industrial music in the 1970s were understood and combined, and how the eventual breakdown of that modernist paradigm in the mid-1990s resulted in the deterioration of the subculture. I do this by examining what I have labeled as three separate generations of Industrial music, mapping out the sound of each using phenomenologically based musical cues that musicians combined to compose a series of musical archetypes. The first generation (1975- 1983) assembled the past into a unified subcultural and musical style. The second generation (1983-1989), including Front 242, Skinny Puppy, and Ministry attempted to assimilate contemporary popular music styles into the modernist framework in order to diversify their sound and reach a larger audience. During the third generation (1989-1996) bands like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson worked with music producers who had devised a sonic “formula” for the creation of Industrial music that eventually led to the music’s absorption into the mainstream of the popular music industry. iv For my wife Christine, And my children Maisie, Ella, and Hannah v Table of Contents List of Examples . viii List of Tables . x Acknowledgements . xi Introduction . 1 I. Modernisms: The Historical and Cultural Framework . 22 Toward an operational definition of Modernism in the 20th Century . 27 Philosophers of Modernism . 33 Understanding Modernisms – Artistic Aesthetics and Political Systems . 45 Machines and Manifestos – Futurism and Dada . 47 Modernism and Politics from 1920 to 1945 . 61 Modernism, Utopia and Dystopia in Fictional Literature and Film before 1950 . 71 Inside Industrial Music . 81 II. Musical Modernisms and the Post-War Avant-garde . 83 Luigi Russolo . 90 Edgard Varèse and Organized Sound . 94 Pierre Schaeffer and Musique Concrète . 99 Karlheinz Stockhausen . 105 John Cage – Silence, Noise, and Indererminacy . 112 LaMonte Young and Terry Riley: Minimalism . 119 III. Musical Modernisms in Popular music 1967-1974 . 124 New York City Proto-Punk – The Velvet Underground . 134 Space Rock – Pink Floyd . 139 Krautrock – Kosmische Musik in West Germany . 148 Can – “It’s the Rhythm” . 151 Tangerine Dream – “It’s the Synthesizers” . 158 Kraftwerk – “It’s the Future” . 163 Introduction: Part Two . 173 IV. Building the Machine: The Story of Throbbing Gristle and Industrial Records 189 Beginnings: The Status Quo . 298 vi Beginnings: Genesis P-Orridge (TG 1 of 4) . 202 Beginnings: COUM Transmissions . 205 Beginnings: Throbbing Gristle . 212 Sounds/Tapes: Early Sonic Experimentation . 218 Beginnings: The Formation of Industrial Records . 223 Noise and Fury: The Second Annual Report . 230 V. “Spread the Virus”: The First Generation of Industrial Music and Culture 1975-1983 . 236 Reporting on the Subculture . 239 Tracks and Elements: Industrial Music Archetypes and Stylistic Cues . 250 Punk-Garage . 254 Ambient Noise . 260 Experimental Noise . 266 Metallic Percussion . 274 Synthesizer-based . 280 Mixture . 283 VI. “Assimilate”: Dance Beats, Electronic Noise, and Rock and Roll 1983-1989 . 288 Reboot ’83: The Second Generation of Industrial Music . 292 Historical Interlude: Synth-Pop 1977-1983 . 299 Front 242 and RRE . 313 Skinny Puppy and Nettwerk Records . 331 Ministry and Wax Trax! Records . 346 VII. Splinter and Crack: The Third Generation of Industrial Music 1989-1996 . 358 Pop Industrial: Nine Inch Nails and Pretty Hate Machine (1989) . 360 Turning Away 1990-1995: How John Fryer Ruined Industrial Music . 368 The Theater is Closed: Marilyn Manson and Antichrist Superstar (1996) . 381 Epilogue . 389 Bibliography . 391 Appendix A: Discography . 403 Appendix B: Selected Additional Listening . 407 Appendix C: Videography . 409 Appendix D: Industrial Music Styles . 410 vii List of Examples I.1 Industrial.org discussion, “Who Originated the Industrial Genre of Music” . 14 I.2 Industrial Culture Handbook reading/listening lists . 16 1.1 AIR Ammo Box Poster . 26 1.2 The Machine Demon Moloch in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis . 80 2.1 Beguine rhythmic pattern in “The Dada Man” . 85 2.2 Sound map of the opening section of “The Dada Man” . 86 2.3 Measures 59-62 of Hyperprism (1923) by Edgard Varèse . 96 2.4 Sound map of the first two minutes of Etude aux Chemins de Fer . 103 3.1 Form and Pitch comparison of “Zyklon B Zombie and “I Heard Her Call My Name” . 126 3.2 Sleeve cover to the 45rpm of “Zyklon B Zombie” . 129 3.3 Lyrics to the first verse of “Zyklon B Zombie” . 130 3.4 Musical Form in Pink Floyd, “Interstellar Overdrive” . 143 3.5 Guitar and Bass riff from Pink Floyd, “Interstellar Overdrive” . 144 3.6 Musical Structure in Can, “Hallelujah” . 156 IT.1 Cues, Archetypes, and Sub-styles . 184 4.1 Sample rhythmic/pitch patterns in Throbbing Gristle’s “Final Muzak” . 221 4.2 Sound layers in Throbbing Gristle’s “Final Muzak” . 222 4.3 “Music from the Death Factory” artwork . 229 4.4 Front Cover of The Second Annual Report of Throbbing Gristle . 231 5.1 Musical Form and Chord Progression in “Here She Comes Now” . 256 5.2 Ambient noise versus Vocal Samples in “Vally of the Shadow of Death” . 265 5.3 Amplitude waveform graph of “Slogun” by SPK . 269 5.4 Frequency Spectrum analysis graph of “Slogun” by SPK . 271 5.5 Frequency Spectrum analysis graph of “Here She Comes Now” by the Velvet Underground . 271 5.6 Metal columns reverb effect in Einstürzende Neubauten’s “Stahlversion” . 277 5.7 Opening Factory Rhythm of “Stahlversion” measures 1-8 . 278 5.8 Synthesizer rhythmic/pitch pattern in “Blank Clocks: by The Future . 282 viii List of Examples (cont.) 6.1 Lyrics to “Assimilate” by Skinny Puppy . 290 6.2 Factory Rhythms in “Blue Monday” by New Order . 306 6.3 Delay effect added to a quarter note kick drum pattern . 307 6.4 Factory Rhythms and Musical Layers in “Pipeline” by Depeche Mode . 311 6.5 Front by Front 3+3+2 Sixteenth-Note Note Rhythmic Pattern . 322 6.6 Opening Factory Rhythm in “Headhunter V 3.0” by Front 242 . 323 6.7 Kick drum rhythm in “Headhunter V 3.0” by Front 242 . 324 6.8 Factory Rhythm and Synthesizer parts in “Headhunter V 3.0” . 325 6.9 Chorus of “Headhunter V 3.0” by Front 242 . 327 6.10 Musical form of “Dogshit” by Skinny Puppy . 340 6.11 Selection of lyrics from Segment 1 of “Dogshit” by Skinny Puppy . 342 6.12 Lyrics from Segment 3 of “Dogshit” by Skinny Puppy . 343 6.13 Amplitude Waveform Graph of “Dogshit” by Skinny Puppy . 344 6.14 Jello Biafra Speech at a Ministry Concert . 354 6.15 Biafra and Jourgensen during “The Land of Rape and Honey” . 354 6.16 Ministry, “The Land of Rape and Honey” . 355 7.1 Marilyn Manson, “Antichrist Superstar” (Live, from Dead to the World concert video) . 386 ix List of Tables 4.1 Throbbing Gristle live at the AIR Gallery (7.6.1976) . 191 5.1 Musical Cues of the First Generation Bands . 252 5.2 Additional stylistic Cues in the Punk-Garage Archetype . 255 5.3 Additional stylistic Cues in the Ambient Noise Archetype . 262 5.4 Additional stylistic Cues in the Experimental Noise Archetype . 266 5.5 Additional stylistic Cues in the Metallic Percussion Archetype . 275 5.6 Additional stylistic Cues in the Synthesizer-based Archetype . 281 6.1 Musical Cues of the Second Generation Bands .