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Listening Report of William Basinski’s “The Disintegration Loops III”

 

Patryk Merci

The Future of American Music

Matriculation number: 7613841

Dr. Herzogenrath

WS 22/23

Listening Report 8

 

Listening Report of William Basinski’s “The Disintegration Loops III”

 

The piece starts with a magical-sounding piano melody, which is immediately followed by progressively louder high, yet distant and swiftly fading vocals. The initial sound is very deep, and it invites the listener to delve into deep thoughts in an imaginary plane of existence. There are no sudden changes of rhythm or aura of the piece, which allows to create a very focused environment to concentrate and even meditate. The beginning is very constant, as the piece appears to be looped.

 

The Disintegration Loops III provides an interesting and appealing contrast to Oswald’s “Plexure”, as instead of constantly introducing new sounds and rhythms, it focuses on one particular melody that is reproduced in a loop. This way the piece is not only more enjoyable, but also easier to listen to, as the brain does not have to constantly adapt to continuously changing fragments of songs, being able to focus on just one instead. The melancholic and nostalgic aura of the piece also does not leave any room for happiness and joy, because it ultimately forces the listener to move forward from deep thoughts into sadness and perhaps even depression. This is not achieved by the loop in itself, but rather through the content of the loop. There would most likely be a different result if the piece contained more vivid and joyful sounds. However, this does not necessarily need to be perceived as a negative trait, because sad and mournful music is commonly played by people who are experiencing different types of trauma and sadness in their lives, as they often resort to sad musical pieces which match their feelings.

 

It is also worth noting that a looped sound does not mean that the piece remains the same for its entire duration. Of course, technically speaking it is the same sound played in a loop, but it is more important to focus on how the listener is affected by said loop. Listening to Basinski’s piece is poetically speaking equivalent to going on a journey and living through different experiences. As the piece progresses, the listener experiences surges of different emotions and sensations, such as sadness and depression, that constantly deepen depending on how long the piece is listened to.

 

Nevertheless, the ending is very confusing and separated from the rest of the piece, as the loop gets desynchronized and also loses quality. The deep sadness is interrupted and there is no more place for focused listening. This process could be compared to nostalgic thoughts slowly fading away and leaving room for happiness that could not be present during the listening session.

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