Why do I love Merzbow's music? Total, uncompromising sensory envelopment. The sheer aural bombardment and crafty sonic layering of Masami Akita's finest recordings seek and destroy in the darkest corners of my psyche, wiping clean 
my floating anxieties and pettiest earthbound concerns. There's simply no room left for bad thoughts. While many a listener is sure to find this music to be one long bad thought, I (and I suspect a great many others*) find sanctuary in the bleeps, crashes, blasts and buzzes—the explosion of sound that is Merzbow.
As promised in my last post, here are some of my Merzbow singles, not all of them (apologies to those expecting the mother lode; much of my vinyl sits in storage) but the essential two I keep at the ready to listen to any time. Masami Akita has typically demonstrated a reverence for the 7" format (especially considering his style of 
not-necessarily-singles-ready music) such that both of these discs are zingers that
make the most of the allotted space/time. That said, one of the singles, SCUM - Steel Cum is available as disc 35 of the Merzbox** in a presumably full, expanded form, broken out into individual tracks. Personally, I prefer the condensed wallop of this 7". The other, Music for 'The Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man' has never been digitally reissued anywhere. Curiously, when preparing this post, I realized that both discs were release number 7 for their respective labels, and that both are pressed on 
see-through bright yellow vinyl.
SCUM - Steel Cum (Vertical 1991)
Side A
Side B
Music for 'The Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man' (Robot 1994)
Side A (Fire; Burning Building of Waco, Texas; Taxi in the Car Wash)
Side B (The Beach)
(Be careful when clicking on the thumbnails of the sleeve artwork; some images are nsfw.)
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*Just take a look at this list from OkCupid.com of "Singles Interested in Merzbow." Quite impressive, as never once in my single years did I consider my interest in Merzbow a potential springboard to dating.
**Incidentally, Merzbox 37 is Newark Hellfire - Live On WFMU, 1990.
Huzzah! I've been waiting with baited breath ever since you posted the album, so thanks a lot for these tracks.
It's funny that I like this stuff so much, since I generally listen to it in between the likes of the Carter Family and le Mystere des Voix Bulgares... maybe its cause I'm writing horror...?
Anyway, I love Merzbow since I discovered him a month ago, so not only is this perfect tuneage but also perfect timing!
Jah!
Posted by: Mogambo | May 20, 2008 at 03:38 PM
They're all dudes. All but about five of them.
Posted by: Bryce | May 20, 2008 at 11:21 PM
I thought that 5 women out of 75 persons (15%) was a pretty good statistic when you're talking about Merzbow fandom—just think what interesting women these must be! Go for it Brycee!
Posted by: WmMBerger | May 21, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Two excellent Merzbow posts, William. Some gems in here.
Posted by: Scott M. | May 22, 2008 at 01:13 PM