The Sounds of Black Rock City

[RedHeaven]

What are your favorites? Which ones do you hate?

As a music geek, I could go on and on and on about the sounds of Burning Man. Ultimately, if you really want to hear something specific there ya gotta do it yourself. But that doesn't stop me from having opinions on the matter. Ultimately, I even love the sounds I hate, because I just love being affected by sound. Mostly. My hates here are pretty specific. But I could say I lovingly hate some dubstep.....

Favorite sound? Mid Playa City Boom Cacophony Mashup. The best DJ ever! That sound you hear when you are out there in big artsville, and there is no major art car around you, and you just hear and feel that rumble. Its the cities's crazy hearbeat that is so disjointed and random yet so consistent and uniform.

Ahhhh the sound of propane torches tootin'.....Love me a good prope toot. hahahaaha

OK so I don't like extremely strict stiffy country music being blared way past decibel allowance in the calm burbs all night, nor do I like the super intense extreme gangsta hiphop vomiting out of a too loud art car in the burbs on a Sunday night after temple.

Freebird doesn't bother me too much.

More loves:
Polish Ambassador was really nice stuff this year at 5 and Esplanade on Tues night.
And of course the punk rock band Snail Trail at Cliche on Friday night was the best shit ever.....
Hamsa Lila back in the day.
That rando steel drum at dawn in 06.
The sound of Grateful dead on one part of the Esplanade mixed mashed up with psytrance dubstep crunk on another part of the Esplanade at dawn in 08.

The audio tapestry never fails to amaze me, fuck me up, make me puke, or leave me confused.
You?

[BoyScoutGirl]

I loved walking or biking down streets only to have people hawk their wares at me. Only they weren't wares, they were gifts! The sounds of "Come get your chocolate!" and "Fella in the hot pants, have I got some fresh-baked bread for you!" and "Help! We have too much beer and only you can save us!" made me smile every time. It was the time I felt the decommidification and gift-giving values best.

[RedHeaven]

Thats a great one. We lived on 4:30 so we got it going out of the portal all the time. "Get yer tequila shots! Ours are the best! Please come and try!!"
Then we would grade them on their persuasion skills
Most of em got an A.....

[curt shocker]

Favorite sound? Mid Playa City Boom Cacophony Mashup. The best DJ ever! That sound you hear when you are out there in big artsville, and there is no major art car around you, and you just hear and feel that rumble. Its the cities's crazy hearbeat that is so disjointed and random yet so consistent and uniform.

This also served as my lullaby. Midway out the city at Foxglove the rumble was just loud enough to feel like a cozy blanket. It kept me awake long enough to help me recount each day and maintain a connection to the city at large as I dozed off. Back in the Santa Cruz hills I usually fall asleep to crickets but for at least a week after returning I could hear the playa rumble kind of sub-imposed beneath them.


Other sounds? I actually lost lots of time on my way back from the portties - getting ensnared by the frequent jams at Cirque Du Cliché. As much as I have come to appreciate good DnB, dubstep, and other electronic music, I will ALWAYS prefer a tight jam over a DJ. The (ginger bearded) bass player and drummers were crazy in-the-pocket. Infectious grooves.

I loved the clanky, rickety, mechanical noises and the flame pops of El Pulpo Mecanico when it wasn't "playing" with some other sound car. Of course the pairing of El Pulpo and Heart Deco on Monday is one of my first Burning Man experiences ever and completely blew my mind. This will forever be one my fondest memories.

The roar and crackle of a gigantic fire -- saw the "hamster wheel" burn on Friday. It was a pretty small intimate crowd. It was crazy how even though the burn was downwind at one point it was almost too hot to bear.

Gotta say that as much as I can get behind the "radical self expression" bit, having karaoke blasted at our camp 24/7 (yes, I believe I heard "I Will Survive" on returning at 4 am) was rather trying.

[RedHeaven]

HARSH. One time at my camp I was at a long time ago, I heard the Hustle a few dozen times by the end of the week. Not as bad as karaoke, but not great, either!

Thats rad that you heard my camp's jams!! Viking is the ginger bearded bass player, kickin ass as usual. Plays bass for Delta Nove from Socal. Great stuff!

Ive always loved the Marching Band sounds in BRC. March Fourth is one of the more playafied bands, I do miss ALbino a bunch, too. Those bands seem to swap years or go back and forth. There is no rockstar librarian for most of the backstreets and centercamp jams, so its still a scavenger hunt! I found Gamelan X looking for Moksha this year but unfortunately it was the other side of the city so I never got to lock into that hot pocket.

One year I camped by Hookahdome....It was 2008 before Hookah went SUPER big, so although we were on the Esplanade they were playing very mellow music. ONe night they BLASTED the very orchestrated slow ballad by Dead Can Dance "American Dreaming" to fit the theme. The flags blew in the wind at midnight and casted a spell over me with this song that I will never forget. I mean really, who needs actual Dead Can Dance when you got Black Rock City? Sometimes just music being played like that has affected me the most.

With music, i like both sides of the coin....I like the unique to BRC music that is created there FOR there, and I also like defaultia music being played out there. Sometimes its nice to escape AND bring worlds together.