20.05.2008 | The twenty third book published in Maska’s series Transformations is Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Attali – the fundamental work from the area of music. “If noise is always violence, then music is always property. By listening to music it is possible to anticipate the future of the society.” This is the fundamental thesis of the book Noise, which received wide critical acclaim after its first publication in the year 1977. The Slovene translation by Suzana Koncut is based on the revised edition, which remains faithful to its starting point that music is the indicator of the future of the society. Attali attempts an analysis of historical musical and societal forms, which brings him to contemporary versions, primarily to music in MP3 format and virtual music. Attali analyses in detail the struggle between the reification of music and the movement for free access to music contents. The book is an important publication in Maska’s series Transformations, as it spreads the field of interest for contemporary art also to the area of music.
Jacques Attali, Noise
TRANSFORMACIJE 23
Slovene edition.
Translated by Suzana Koncut
Foreword “Noise and Music” written by Mladen Dolar
Regular price: 19 EUR
25% discount for Maska subscribers: 14.25 EUR
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"
Noise should be read by musicians, who are largely unaware of their historic role. it will serve as an inspiration, as a philosophical foundation for politically conscious artists, and as an encouragement to develop counterinstitutions in the world of music. Others should read
Noise because we are all affected by music: we are all its listeners, its consumers. We all hum its tunes, mouth its lyrics. We all suppress the composer within us, and Attali describes how this keeps us caught in repetition, keeps us jailed."
—Telos
"Noise is a model of cultural historiography. In its general theoretical argument on the relations of culture to economy, but also in its specialized concentration, Noise has much that is of importance to critical theory today." —SubStance
"Attali brings fresh insights to a critical analysis of music's social role. His work stands out as an adventuresome analysis of the political economy of music. Its challenge to calcified critical thinking is undeniable. It can only revitalize discussion on the connections between political power, ideology, and the role of music in the current cybernetic phase of capitalism's twilight years." —Border/Lines
"For Attali, music is not simply a reflection of culture, but a harbinger of change, an anticipatory abstraction of the shape of things to come. The book's title refers specifically to the reception of musics that sonically rival normative social orders. Noise is Attali's metaphor for a broad, historical vanguardism, for the radical soundscapes of the western continuum that express structurally the course of social development." —Ethnomusicology
