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Brown Noise: Infrasound Triggering Of Somatic Malaise

gncxx said:
According to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manowar_(band)

In 1984, Manowar found themselves in the book Guinness World Records as the "loudest band in the world," following the release, and during the supporting tour, of their fourth album Sign of the Hammer.
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Whether they still hold the record is unclear, and there's no mention of the brown noise.
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I think I saw Manowar in either 1983 or 1984 - I don't remember them being all that loud. I think the loudest band I've ever heard are Wolf Eyes.
 
IIRC Pantera(sp?), hold the loudest band record now
 
I couldn't hear at all for 3hrs after a Motorhead gig and it didn't recover fully for two days. IIRC the Manowar record wasn't to an audience (which in my eyes discounts it). They are hillariously metal though.

If you're not into Metal, YOU ARE NOT MY FRIEND - Heavy ME-TAL! (or no metal at all)
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actual lyrical quote.
 
Brown Noise has nothing to do with the volume level. It refers to a certain resonant frequency which, when heard, allegedly causes a resonce within the body that has the effect described earlier.
 
Didn't throbbing gristle do this: or at least play to an audience with "terrifying" ultrasonic frequencies?
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I've heard 2nd hand claims of people throwing up at their gigs, but never about anything coming from the, ahem, ~other end~. Come to think of it, i've heard quite a lot of their albums too, and while some of them are noisy to the point of pointlessness (IMO), i don't think there's any remarkable ultra high or low frequency content to it...
 
This is interesting - the Sphincter Note thread seems to indicate that there is a note combo that causes the urge to deficate. See Real Pinklefish's post right after mine for more info!
 
a friend of mine from a abnd called "brute forsyth" is planning on doing a gig with as many bass guitars and pitchshifters as he find to try and create the brown note.
 
Jerry_B said:
I think I saw Manowar in either 1983 or 1984 - I don't remember them being all that loud. I think the loudest band I've ever heard are Wolf Eyes.
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I'd love to see wolf eyes! I think the loudest band I've seen were "the fucking champs", who were a bit rubbish.
 
Wolf Eyes were loud to the point of it being counterproductive. They have all sorts of jury-rigged equipment on stage, but it doesn't make all that much of a difference if all you can hear is a wall of noise that's just the volume fucking with your ears ;) You can't actually register what's being played, but simply have to cope with your ears tryng to adjust. Bands can actually be too loud - you can be loud and a powerful musical presence with that, but sometimes a band can go too far and completely defeat the object of going to see them (i.e. to hear their music live).

I was wondering if it was just me getting old, but you could see alot of people at that gig actually wincing and looking at each other with looks of 'Cor, fucking hell!' on their faces ;)
 
I was reading an article about advanced crowd control weapons used by police and military, and it claimed that they had found the brown note as far back as WWII,among others that induced paranoia , nausea and other unpleasant effects,some actually causing the bowel cavity to explode.
Large sound transducers were mounted on vehicles for mobile deployment.
Some claim the brown note is a load of crap, especially if it works ;)
 
citizencane said:
I was reading an article about advanced crowd control weapons used by police and military, and it claimed that they had found the brown note as far back as WWII,among others that induced paranoia , nausea and other unpleasant effects,some actually causing the bowel cavity to explode.
Large sound transducers were mounted on vehicles for mobile deployment.
Some claim the brown note is a load of crap, especially if it works ;)
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Reference please, citizenK?
 
Found this interesting site, which says this about WWII Nazi sound experiements:
Depending on the pitch, infrasound can cause physical pressure, fear, disorientation, negative physical and mental symptoms, explode matter, incapacitate, and kill. For example, in World War II, Nazi propaganda engineers used infrasound to stir up anger in the large crowds that had gathered to hear Hitler. The result was a nation filled with anger and hatred.
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And a bit lower (though not all the way to the colon):
High-intensity/low-frequency sound and infrasound are powerful forces, and governments have tested and used them as a weapon of war.

For example:

A.) "Acoustic Bullets. High power, very low frequency waves emitted from one to two meter antenna dishes. Results in blunt object trauma from waves generated in front of the target. Effects range from discomfort to death. A Russian device that can propel a 10-herz sonic bullet the size of a baseball hundreds of yards is thought to exist. Proposed fixed site defense. Also known as sonic bullets." (Source - Glossary of Non-lethal weapons Terms, edited by Robert Bunker)

B.) "Acoustic, Infrasound. Very low-frequency sound, which can travel long distances and easily penetrate most buildings and vehicles. Transmission of long wavelength sound creates biophysical effects; nausea, loss of bowels, disorientation, vomiting, potential internal organ damage or death may occur. Superior to ultrasound because it is 'in band,' meaning that it does not lose its properties when it changes mediums such as from air to tissue. By 1972, an infrasound generator had been built in France that generated waves at 7 hertz. When activated, it made the people in range sick for hours." (Source - Glossary of Non-lethal weapons Terms, edited by Robert Bunker)

C.) "And for thirty years already there have been experiments with infrasonic radiation weapons, with at least two experimenters suffering severe injuries (the Hungarian government reported that 'calculations have shown that the destruction of human beings would require considerably less expenditure by infrasound weapons than by any existing type of weapon of mass destruction.')" (Source - New Armageddon Weapons)

D.) "Acoustics. Intense, high power sound energy (in the ultra, audible, or infrasound ranges) that can cause disorientation, nausea, and extreme discomfort. May be potentially lethal. Not yet a mature technology." (Source - Does Israel Have Non-lethal Options?, Updates from AIJAC)

E.) "For example, infrasound generators, designed initially for crowd control, emit very low frequency sound waves that can be tuned to cause disorientation, nausea, and loss of bowel control." (Source - LOOKING AT PEACE EDUCATION, by Roger Walters

F.) "Today, the US Department of Defense is testing acoustic rifles that can stun and even kill solders." (Source - Feel the Noise, by Jack Boulware)

G.) "During World War II, Nazi engineers prototyped a revolutionary sonic 'cannon,' which fired a shock wave strong enough to bring down a plane." (Source - Feel the Noise, by Jack Boulware)

H.) Amplified music, such as Metallica, Sesame Street, and Barney tunes were used by the U.S. government in 2003 to break the will of Iraqi captives. The goal was sleep deprivation and playing music culturally offensive to the listener. Amnesty International objected to these tactics, saying it "may constitute torture - and coalition forces could be in breach of the Geneva Convention." (Source - BBC News, Sesame Street Breaks Iraqi POWs, 5/20/2003)

I.) "Recently, psycho-acoustic warfare was allegedly used in the Waco siege at the Davidian compound in Texas, where it is said that the FBI used sounds of babies crying, dentist drills, and a variety of other unpleasant sounds to mentally influence their opponents. The Waco compound was allegedly bombarded for long durations by these sounds via large public address systems. Although this type of sonic assault can have a profound emotive effect on individuals, it relies heavily on the individual's particular experiences." (Source - Acoustic Trauma: Bioeffects of Sound, by Alex Davies)

J.) The Nazis, in WW II, used the same type of sound like boom car owners are using today! Hitler conducted noise experiments on prisoners and actually tortured them with high-intensity/low-frequency noise. In WW II, the Nazis didn't have the technology of powerful amplifiers that we do today. So, they developed a weapon that produced high intensity sound powered by "compressed air."

K.) Unbelievably, the U.S. armed forces are starting to produce their own boom cars! They are trying to interest and recruit young males. One of these vehicles is a Humvee called "Mountain Thunder," and is used by the West Virginia Army National Guard. At least 10 states have ordered similar vehicles. The conversion of each Humvee is about $25,000.00. Major Ron Garton commented on the Humvee and the current need for them in the war against terrorism in Iraq, "We've got a severe shortage of Humvees. We really needed to throw this one back into the inventory. They're a hot item right now." Had it been shipped with its sound system intact, Major Garton joked, "It could have had some psychological-operations possibilities." (Source - A Hummer of a Humvee, by Rick Steelhammer; Sunday Gazetter Mail Online, 3/2/2003)

L.) Operation Just Cause was launched on 12/20/1989 by U.S. troops. It was against Manuel Noriega in Panama. On 12/24/1989, Noriega had barricaded himself in the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. To flush him out, U.S. troops bombarded the Embassy building with "blaring rock and roll music (The Animals, Bobby Fuller, Bruce Springsteen) around the clock for several days." Noriega was forced out by January 4th. (Source - The Growley, May 2003, Essays by Michael Gilleland, Musical Torture)

M.) The prison system uses loud, amplified music to lower the morale of prisoners and prevent conversation by piping in "heavy metal or rap" from morning until night. Even the guards have to "bellow to be heard." (source - Noise as a Metaphor for Koyaanisqats!, by Maya Khankhoje)
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Twain

Nikola Tesla once asked his friend Mark Twain to stand on a vibrating electrical platform he'd designed.

"What's this damned thing supposed to do?" Twain asked during the "treatment."

"You'll find out," Tesla replied.

Twain stepped off the vibrating platform....then suddenly ran for the toilet.
 
There's something about a Finnish Industrial band called Panasonic / Pan Sonic here, which has the following snippet:

Panasonic performed at the end of 1995 in a car park in London's East End with a notorious Audio Weapons Armoured Car System -- or 'Advanced Acoustic Armaments' sound system rigged up on an armoured car -- featuring a 5K turbo sound PA which was built and developed by Jimmy Cauty of The KLF fame. According the rumours the device was similar to those the police's riot forces were using, causing low frequency sounds to accelerate the rioters' bowel movements, thus incapacitating them by making them mess their pants... (As Jimmy Cauty is known as the master of disinformation, these rumours should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.)
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I can remember the KLF's armoured car getting some coverage in the music press - they were in the habit of taking it to festivals and raves and blasting the audience with subsonics. Never saw a report saying if it ever actually worked though... I suspect not.

ETA: Not quite the same thing, but I've also read someting in several places about both Motorhead and Ted Nugent. The stories both claimed that the band in question played so loud at an outdoor show that they actually killed either a passing pigeon or a dog, depending on which report it was. Whilst Nugent's made something of the story (hardly surprising, given his general attitude towards wildlife,) Lemmy has debunked it in relation to Motorhead, though he did take pride in the same interview that, at another outdoor appearance, a complaint was received about the volume from someone who lived over four miles away!
 
Nah, this brown note thing is cobblers (like many rock n roll related anecdotes)! Always a dead giveaway when a story has been applied to many different artists. I think I first heard the brown note story about The Butthole Surfers in the late 80s.

The classic "pervy rock star has some of his ribs removed so he can suck his own manhood" story is another example, I've heard that applied to Prince, Marilyn Manson, probably many others...
 
The phrase 'Brown-note Jazz' just keeps passing through my mind.
 
johnnyboy1968 said:
Not quite the same thing, but I've also read someting in several places about both Motorhead and Ted Nugent. The stories both claimed that the band in question played so loud at an outdoor show that they actually killed either a passing pigeon or a dog, depending on which report it was.
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IIRC, the volume of Nugent's band is supposed to have killed a dog that was unfortunate enough to pass by a speaker, while an American group by the name of Blue Cheer were supposed to have been so loud that a pigeon which flew in front of a speaker during one of their gigs actually disintegrated... :shock:
 
WhistlingJack said:
....an American group by the name of Blue Cheer were supposed to have been so loud that a pigeon which flew in front of a speaker during one of their gigs actually disintegrated... :shock:
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Finally, and after all these years - a story I don't believe! <g>
 
I did say supposed... ;)

PS: This link reprints MOJO's December 2000 guide to the 'Loudest Bands of All Time' and guess who's number one..? ;)

1. Blue Cheer

Late-’60s San Francisco superpower trio who played so loud that their ex-Hell’s Angel manager Gut claimed they could “turn the air into cottage cheese”. TV host Steve Allen introduced the band to his 1968 national audience thus: “Here’s Blue Cheer. Run for your lives!”

Equipment:
Six stacks of 100 Watt Marshalls.

Why So Darn Loud?
Bruce ‘Leigh’ Stephens (guitarist): “We just wanted to feel that sound. It evolved to almost cartoon proportions, it blew your hair around.”

How Loud?
Stephens: “After the first note [audience members] looked like astronauts subjected to +g-force.”

Kadyn Williams (audiologist): “You con feel dizzy or nauseated from loud sound, because everything is anatomically so close; the inner ear and the balance organ intertwine together going to the brain.”

Lemmy: “l saw them at the Roundhouse in London. 1967 or ‘68. They were terrible, but they were really loud, fuckin’ loud.”

Wayne Kramer (MC5): “It was a 747 in your face.”

Pardon?
Bassist/vocalist Dickie Petersen has some hearing damage. Stephens says, “My hearing is intact, nowadays I only use one Fender Hot Rod DeVille.” The story of a dog exploding during a set is apocryphal.

MOJO Loudometer Rating: 11
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PPS: Reading that list reveals that it's actually Nugent who is supposed to have been responsible for the demise of the pigeon and Blue Cheer for that of the dog...
 
I can add another set of possibly apocryphal names to the list of those in search of the lost brown note.

A million years ago, roughly, I was in a band with a guy who eventually became Aphex Twin friend and collaborator, Cylob. I've since been told by ex-band mates that Cylob and the Aphex Twin often tried to conduct brown note experiments when touring in America - both at gigs and in the desert.

That aside, the most Fortean thing about Cylob is how he's written out his past as a chubby trombone player in a early 1990s ska band. There's a conspiracy somewhere there, I tell you! :lol:
 
Well I sure don't s**t myself of constant listening to their tracks.
 
The MOJO list doesn't mention the criminally loud experimental music of Glenn Branca:

As for the evening's intended climax, Branca's new 12th Symphony, played here for the first time in America and scored for electric guitars despite his oft stated determination to abandon that medium—it was really too loud to be heard. Even with both earplugs and fingers in my ears, it was painful to get within 12 feet of a loudspeaker. From what I could tell, the one-movement work seemed to begin in a state of fairly pure consonance, and slowly escalated into a dense field of dissonant harmonics with a chilling effect similar to, but more subtle than, Kline's symphony. Listening from outside, whence my companions and I finally escaped, you could intuit that a magnificent interplay of overtones accompanied the final catharsis. Someday the recording will come out, and I'll describe the piece to you in more detail. For now, you'll have to content yourself with how unutterably cool I am for simply having been there.
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http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0036,gann,17923,22.html
 
Anyone reminded of Disaster Area from Hitchhiker's Guide? Are any of these musicians spending the year dead for tax reasons?
 
According to wikipedia, the film Irréversible used ultra low frequency sound in its opening scene (in the gay club rectum) to increase the sense of disorientation. I can testify - it's f'in horrible.
 
H_James said:
According to wikipedia, the film Irréversible used ultra low frequency sound in its opening scene (in the gay club rectum) to increase the sense of disorientation. I can testify - it's f'in horrible.
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I'm glad I didn't go to a loud cinema to see that.
 
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