SNMT rbn dlc

[alicethesister]

Hello, Rock Band enthusiasts!

My name is Andrew and I run a non-music/experimental/post no-wave project called SNMT. It has come to my attention that I have a track releasing on your beloved Rock Band Network 2.0 platform.

Let's get one thing out of the way. I'm quite aware that my stuff can be loud, abrasive, annoying, noisy, and non-musical. I wouldn't want it any other way! The stuff I make is stuff I like to listen to. That's all that matters to me.

Forward!

First up is PON DE FIOR released by Chart Toppers Authoring.

Full: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914
Trial: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/ga...0-000045410914

I also have !!!!zzz/SEX ep coming to RBN2.0 in the near future.

You can also check out my other tunes on my SNMT bandcamp page. It is mostly filled with things that will never end up in Rock Band. Especially things released before !!!!zzz/SEX and anything that obviously doesn't use instruments. I've been on a field recording kick lately.

PON DE FIOR was an experiment. I made it with Rock Band in mind, but it also fit within the confines of the "An Lucky" album it can be found on. I wanted to see how hard I could make some of the instruments, and I also wanted to make you play different instruments that your plastic ones were intended for. For instance: the keyboard is actually a theremin, the bass is a guitar with the pitch shifted, and the guitar is a fiddle. The drums are...well, I've never been a big fan of percussion but I wanted to make the song fun for the whole family.

Because SNMT is all about the family values.

Master List [Updated 3/14/2012]

PON DE FIOR
Full
Trial
Bandcamp

SEX:
Full
Trial
Bandcamp

!!!!zzz
Full [TBA]
Trial [TBA]
Bandcamp

[alicethesister]

I'm resurrecting this thread now that people have had some time to play PON DE FIOR.

Now that you're a little familiar with what I do, does anyone have any suggestions? I have an album coming up, and I'm always experimenting with different instrumentations, concepts, and ideas. Anything I can do to make it more challenging, less challenging?

Just get it off your chest.

[turnitup321]

Lessen the static slightly. Also, make the theremin a bit louder in the mix.

[alicethesister]

No

[SeymourDuncan17]

No

Well then, I'm afraid we can't do business. Maybe then, just maybe, I'd buy it for the lulz.

To be honest, this is NOT music and I really hope you don't consider it music.

When I say stuff like Visions is noise, of course, that's an exaggeration (well, slightly). The instruments in music like that is usually hardly audible. True, real death metal, though... it's possible to see how someone might enjoy it. Maybe even appreciate the actual music and not just "listen" to it.

But this.... this is literally noise. Just noise. There's no music to appreciate, it's literally noise.

I just don't get it. I really don't.

I'm not trying to be a douchebag, but it blows my mind how someone could enjoy this on a serious level. It's like someone just told me "You enjoy playing games and hanging out with friends? Eh. I'm more of a bang my head against the wall and hammer my toes kinda guy.". I mean.. it kinda creeps me out.

[alicethesister]

I don't understand what the argument is all about. This isn't music. It's noise. By some definitions, noise is music. You know, like the music of nature, birds chirping, or the gentle hum of traffic. Different people find different things musical.

I don't know how to make traditional music. I just like to organize sounds in such a way that is therapeutic to me. I've always enjoyed playing my songs in games like Beat Hazard, and Audiosurf. I'm well aware that people generally hate 'noise' or don't understand it, and I don't really care. I thought it would be fun to have in Rock Band.

There's not some deeper meaning. It's noise. Some people like the assault on their senses. I like exploring different forms of sound, and creating noise with as many kinds of instrumentation I can get my hands on so I can create as many kinds of unique experiences as I can. I'm not into rhythm, I'm not into beats, harmonies, appropriate chord progression, or any respect to modern Western music theory. I just do my own thing, and you can either like it or not. I'm not looking for your opinions, I'm looking for ideas.

Although some of your opinions were kind of humorous to read:

Well then, I'm afraid we can't do business. Maybe then, just maybe, I'd buy it for the lulz.

To be honest, this is NOT music and I really hope you don't consider it music.

When I say stuff like Visions is noise, of course, that's an exaggeration (well, slightly). The instruments in music like that is usually hardly audible. True, real death metal, though... it's possible to see how someone might enjoy it. Maybe even appreciate the actual music and not just "listen" to it.

But this.... this is literally noise. Just noise. There's no music to appreciate, it's literally noise.

I just don't get it. I really don't.

I'm not trying to be a douchebag, but it blows my mind how someone could enjoy this on a serious level. It's like someone just told me "You enjoy playing games and hanging out with friends? Eh. I'm more of a bang my head against the wall and hammer my toes kinda guy.". I mean.. it kinda creeps me out.

I don't want your business, keep buying what you've been buying. It doesn't bother me if you don't want to try something different.

Maybe you should put down the guitar and learn how to read. I said it was non-music in the OP. All of the press releases call it noise. The only people who call it music are the people who bought the song and are defending people calling it 'noise' because I guess they think 'noise' is an insult. It's not an insult, this IS noise. I made it exactly the way I wanted to make it. Had you read, you'd know I wasn't asking for suggestions in current songs. I was asking for conceptual suggestions, instrumentation choices, and general new ideas.

Why the hell would I be asking for suggestions on how to make the songs on a ROCK band forum? That is just too funny!

So please, don't buy my song, I would feel bad. Save your hard-earned dollars for something safer, something you feel more comfortable with. That's what RBN is all about.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

You mean there's actual instruments in that atrocity? That surprises me.

[Pankrazzo]

This might truly be the worst "song" ever, and that includes crap like Britney Spears & the Spice Girls, of course.

[FlyGuyLXI]

I'm not going to say whether it is or isn't music, or meant to be enjoyed, etc., it's just noise improvisation. What it isn't is a song that's meant to be played through a game.

Well then, I'm afraid we can't do business. Maybe then, just maybe, I'd buy it for the lulz.

To be honest, this is NOT music and I really hope you don't consider it music.

When I say stuff like Visions is noise, of course, that's an exaggeration (well, slightly). The instruments in music like that is usually hardly audible. True, real death metal, though... it's possible to see how someone might enjoy it. Maybe even appreciate the actual music and not just "listen" to it.

But this.... this is literally noise. Just noise. There's no music to appreciate, it's literally noise.

I just don't get it. I really don't.

I'm not trying to be a douchebag, but it blows my mind how someone could enjoy this on a serious level. It's like someone just told me "You enjoy playing games and hanging out with friends? Eh. I'm more of a bang my head against the wall and hammer my toes kinda guy.". I mean.. it kinda creeps me out.

Can I have a saying in this because it feels like I'm the only one who actually has experience with this kind of music. While it's debatable whether it gets classified as music, you have to remember that there are people out there who follow the abstraction, peer through it's sound, and actually do enjoy the noise genre.

I'm pretty big on industrial music, but you have to remember industrial-type artists weren't always brazed with such accessibility and oftentimes, dance-ability. True industrial music is close to a noise genre (as said by Throbbing Gristle, Test Dept.). I don't know how much "noise" or how much "industrial" an artist has to be in order to not be considered music, but I legitimately enjoy Skinny Puppy's Last Rights (while some of the most accessible music collaging out there) and Atrax Morgue's brazen electronics (trust me, if you dislike SNMT's stuff than you are NOT going to like what Atrax Morgue offers). I know I can't even find myself to hate this stuff. I guess call me crazy.

Okay, I will admit this; I think this kind of music is not appropriate for a game, as this is the kind of stuff that just makes you sit in a chair and think, not doodle around with it on a guitar controller or keyboard. At least understand what I am trying to say is all.

[FairwoodStudios]

Don't worry FlyGuy, I got your back. It's pretty clear from a few conversations these last few weeks that the Rock Band world isn't quite ready for thoroughly avant-garde material, for both valid and invalid reasons. But it's something that, frankly, needs to be approached, lest we get truly bogged down in the predictable, safe approaches to music. Something, somehow, must constantly push the envelope.

SNMT isn't simply experimental on an audio level. Its presence in Rock Band is itself an experiment. We can say in hindsight that it doesn't really work, but we wouldn't know that without trying. We wouldn't know if a capella works without trying. And it's exclusively up to Chart Toppers and SNMT to decide if the experiment worked well enough to warrant additional tracks. However...

Okay, I will admit this; I think this kind of music is not appropriate for a game, as this is the kind of stuff that just makes you sit in a chair and think, not doodle around with it on a guitar controller or keyboard. At least understand what I am trying to say is all.

....I have a hard time disagreeing with this. When I said in the "minimum requirements" thread that anything that can be classified as music could be in Rock Band, I meant it. But that doesn't mean anything that can be classified as music would work in Rock Band. Some (4'33") go beyond the edge cases and are technically unfeasible. Others (bare dialogue) just aren't fun. PON DE FIOR came close, and I'm of the opinion that a different track from the same group could break into the fun category, but yes, it's perhaps not the best selection. It wavers between repetitive and brutal without that creamy nougat center that makes for great tracks. Yet I'd rather listen to this than some of the stuff I've had to author (and I don't mean Coelacanths), simply because it's interesting. It's different. And a pox upon you all who are unwilling to try new things.