Haunted Weather: Music, Silence, and Memory [Paperback]

David Toop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2004

Is it possible to grow electronic sounds, as if they were plants in a garden? Why are childhood memories of sound and silence so important to our emotional development? Is it valid to classify audio recordings of wind or electrical hum as musical compositions? Why have the sounds of our environment become so important to sound artists and why is atmosphere so important in music? In Haunted Weather, David Toop asks these questions and gauges the impact of new technology on contemporary music's sound.

David Toop is a highly regarded author, music critic and musician. Since 1995, he has released three solo albums, curated five compilation albums (including the soundtrack to Ocean of Sound). His books include Rap Attack 3, Ocean of Sound and Exotica.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Haunted Weather is not just a deeply thoughtful and richly populated survey of modern experimental music, it's a meditation on hearing itself' Guardian '[Toop] has somehow managed to make the world of experimental music not just understandable but alluring for even the most virginal listener... this book is almost perfect' Independent on Sunday 'One of Britain's most celebrated writers on music' New Statesman 'A joy to read, whatever your musical taste' Buzz 'With Toop's enthusiasm and accessible style, the world of the avant-garde needn't seem like a closed club: Haunted Weather offers the perfect port of entry for the uninitiated' Record Collector (Four-star review)" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

David Toop is a highly regarded author, music critic and musician. Since 1995 he has released three solo albums, curated five compilation albums (including the soundtrack to Ocean of Sound), and the sound and music exhibition at the Hayward Gallery - 'Sonic Boom'. His music journalism appears in The Wire, Village Voice, The Times and The Face.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852428120
• ISBN-13: 978-1852428129
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, thoughtful and stimulating, March 31, 2005

By 

D. Borrie "music thinker" (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haunted Weather: Music, Silence, and Memory (Paperback)

Rather than argue a thesis, Toop's style is the chase down a thread of meaning via the points at which various thoughts and anecdotes cross over. This perfectly suits the nature of his subject matter- the vast, largely uncharted terrain of non-genre-based music, for which a dominant narrative and vocabulary do not yet exist as with, say, rock 'n roll or classical.

The book meditates on, among other things, the boundary between performer and audience, environmental sound and music, improviser and composer, and the role of digital technology in mediating or enhancing these distinctions.

As a journeyman music writer, critic and musician, Toop has spent a lot of his time travelling. This seems to inform his writing style as he is constantly in motion, moving quickly between personal recollections, excerpts from correspondence with diverse musicians, and lengthy quotes from various topically obscure yet philosophically related texts.

These (non-)random stop-overs make the book a slow read, as the reader is left to do a lot of the piecing together. Yet this is part of the pleasure to be found in Toop's writing- like a brilliant but challenging piece of music, the book offers an experience in which the mind of the reader is engaged as more than just a passive receptor of received ideas and emotion.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars big ideas spoken in a quiet voice, September 30, 2004

By 

Mr. G. I. Keene "Gary" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haunted Weather: Music, Silence, and Memory (Paperback)

Beautiful, challenging and nourishing.

I read this upon its UK release in July and still find myself dwelling upon some of the ideas raised. Reading it challenged me to use my ears afresh, and to think about what music can be.