Cultural Studies Review

volume 18 number 3 December 2012

http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/index
pp. 1335
! Marie Thompson 2012

ISSN 1837-8692

Productive Parasites
Thinking of Noise as Affect





MARIE THOMPSON
NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY, UNITED KINGDOM


In his satiiical lexicon, !"# %#&'()* %'+,'-./012 Ambiose Bieice uefines noise as 'a
stench in the eai'.
1
Noise, it is often thought, is something we uo not want to be
aiounu; it is sounu that we finu unpleasant, oi peihaps even unbeaiable. But just
because noise is often felt to be negative, uoes that mean it is uefinitively so.
Biawing fiom Nichel Seiies' notion of the paiasite, this aiticle pioviues a moie
nuanceu explanation foi noise that uistinguishes itself fiom pievailing negative
naiiatives, which seek to uefine noise as unwanteu, unuesiiable oi uamaging sounu.
Such naiiatives have left noise vulneiable to moialising polemics, which constiuct
silence anu noise as a uichotomy between the past anu piesent, natuial anu cultuial,
ielaxing anu uistuibing, anu, funuamentally, goou anu bau. This aiticle facilitates a
ieconsiueiation of noise's ethical connotations by pioposing the notion of noise as
affect. Noise, accoiuing to this line of thinking, is to be thought of as a veib iathei
than a noun; insteau of iefeiiing to a human juugement of sounu, noise is iecogniseu
a piocess of inteiiuption that inuuces a change. As affective foice, noise has an
existence inuepenuent fiom its paiticulai manifestations, sonic oi otheiwise.
Consequently, noise is no longei constituteu by, oi limiteu to, human peiception; it
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 14
allows space foi those inteiiuptions anu inteifeiences that impact upon entities
othei than the peiceiving subject. Noieovei, /30-3-* Spinoza's ethico-affective
unueistanuing of the bouy, noise, unueistoou in teims of affect, no longei peitains
to an oveiaiching uivision between 'goou' anu 'bau'. In othei woius, theie is nothing
'."#0#.,(1 negative, bau oi unwanteu about noise (anu, by extension, nothing
'."#0#.,(1 positive, goou oi beneficial about silence); iathei, these ethical (as
opposeu to moial) categoiisations aie ielational anu contingent. Thinking of noise
in teims of affect pioviues a fiamewoik that allows foi noise's capacity to uiminish
anu uestioy, as well as to enhance anu cieate. Finally, we will consiuei the use of
noise as an aitistic iesouice, which exemplifies what Beniy Cowell iefeis to as 'joys
of noise' anu the alteinate aesthetic implications that an affective uefinition of noise
may caiiy.
THE RUPTURE THAT IS NOT A RUPTURE
Noise is most commonly unueistoou as an auuible pioblem, it is sounu that is
unwanteu, unuesiiable, unpeimitteu. In the woius of Biitish physicist u.W.C. Kaye,
noise is 'sounu out of place'. Foi Kaye, sounu can become misplaceu by its 'excessive
louuness, its composition, its peisistency oi fiequency of occuiience (oi
alteinatively, its inteimittency), its unexpecteuness, untimeliness, oi unfamiliaiity,
its ieuunuancy, inappiopiiateness, oi unieasonableness, its suggestion of
intimiuation, aiiogance, malice, oi thoughtlessness'.
2
Noise is often expeiienceu as
uestiuction, uisoiuei, uiit anu pollution: it is thought to tainish the sounuscape with
its piesence. The Fiench economist }acques Attali notes that in all cultuies, noise has
been 'associateu with the iuea of the weapon, blasphemy, plague'.
S
Noise is often
associateu with contestations of uomestic space, what 'I' want to heai in 'my own'
home. It is iesponsible foi sleepless nights anu neighbouily uisputes. The law tiies
to piotect us fiom it, by tiying to exeicise some contiol ovei its piesence: noise is
that which is to be abateu.
4
Noise tenus to be synomynous with louuness; it is sounu
taken to the point that it is capable of causing us pain, of tempoiaiily oi peimanently
uamaging oui bouies.
But what is noise 4#5-0# it is unwanteu. In oiuei to auuiess this, the question
must change fiom 'what is noise' to 'what uoes noise uo.' What is it that noise uoes
to become unwanteu.
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 15
At its most basic, noise inteiiupts. In communication theoiy, noise is uefineu as
any inteifeience in a channel that pievents the cleai oi coiiect communication of a
message oi signal between the positions of emittei, tiansmittei anu ieceivei. As }.R.
Pieice states, 'in telephony anu iauio we heai the intenueu signal against a
backgiounu of noise, which may be stiong oi faint anu which may vaiy in quality
fiom the ciackling of static to a steauy hiss'.
S
If we extenu this communicative
uefinition, emphasising the piocess by which noise is constituteu, then noise can be
thought of as having an existence inuepenuent of oi, iathei, not limiteu to, paiticulai
sounus anu souices. An inteiiuption neeu not be louu oi abiasive. To be suie, it
neeu not be heaiu at all. By uefining noise as an inteiiuption within a system, noise
can be sonic, but it may also be vibiational, visual oi infoimational. It may take the
foim of the ciicket chiiping in the ueau of night that pievents us fiom uiifting into
sleep, television signal inteifeience oi the ueafening silence as the sounu system
fails uue to a blown fuse.
Noi uo inteiiuptions neeu to be suuuen. Inteiiuptions can take the foim of an
abiupt, unexpecteu blast but they can also take the foim of the peisistent hum of
tiaffic that giauually inhibits a conveisation. An inteiiuption, howevei, iequiies
something to inteiiupt: it iequiies something to act upon. The hum of the tiaffic
becomes noise once it affects oui activities, once it begins to inteifeie; when it
enteis into a ielationship with a system. That saiu, we may not know what it is that
is inteiiupting. 'What's that noise.' might become an unansweiable question. Noise,
as something that acts upon us, can be uivoiceu fiom oiiginating actois. So noise
may come fiom the walls, oi come fiom unknown spaces anu uiiections. Noise
stiikes us as souiceless, coming fiom nowheie anu eveiywheie. I may not know
what it is oi what causeu it, oi how it got heie. It is 'the thing that goes bump in the
night'.
Noise's iole as an inteiiuption within a system is a cential theme of Nichel
Seiies' !"# 6/0/*',#. Seiies begins by telling a stoiy of paiasitic encounteis. The
countiy iat is inviteu to uine at the home of the city iat. The city iat feeus off the
laiuei at the home of the tax faimei. The tax faimei has piouuceu nothing: he is a
paiasite of the fat of the lanu, thiough law anu powei. Bowevei, the uinnei of the iat
paiasites is inteiiupteu by anothei paiasitenoise:
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 16
The two companions scuiiy off when they heai a noise at the uooi. It was
only a noise, but it was also a message, a bit of infoimation piouucing
panic: an inteiiuption a coiiuption, a iuptuie of infoimation. Was the
noise ieally a message. Wasn't it, iathei, static, a paiasite. A paiasite who
has the last woiu, who piouuces uisoiuei anu who geneiates a uiffeient
oiuei.
6

In Fiench, the woiu 'paiasite' has thiee uistinct but ielateu connotations. It
may iefei to the paiasitic ielation of one entity being hosteu by anothei, such as a
flea being hosteu by a cat. The paiasite feeus at the expense of the host but gives
nothing in ietuin. By extension, paiasite may also be a ueiogative teim foi those
bianueu as social scioungeisthose who allegeuly 'feeu off' the state but
'contiibute' nothing in ietuin. The thiiu paiasite is the infoimational paiasite, it
iefeis to static oi noise inteifeience within a channel. These thiee paiasitesthe
biological, the social anu the infoimationalaie all thought of as inteifeiences
within a system; they inteiiupt a pie-existing set of ielations. The paiasite appeais
in the miust of things; Seiies states that 'the position of the paiasite is to be
between'.
7
Bowevei, in Seiies' thesis the paiasite is not a substantial entity; iathei it
is unueistoou as a type of ielation. Bost, guest anu paiasite, oi, senuei, ieceivei anu
noise 'aie positions thiough which any entityinfoimational, social oi biological
must pass'.
8
Subsequently, the ielationship between hosts anu paiasites is not
always cleai: who paiasites who. In the case of the iat's feast: the paiasites paiasite
the paiasite, until they aie acteu upon by anothei paiasite. This final paiasite is
thought to be the noise of the tax faimei-paiasitethe ietuin of the paiasiteu-
paiasite.
Foi Seiies, the noise-paiasite is inevitable: 'theie aie channels so theie must be
noise'.
9
A vulneiability to inteiiuption is necessaiy, as Steven Connoi states:
Without the sensitivity anu iesponsiveness of the wiie, which ienueis it
apt to act as a caiiiei of the voice oi the woiu, theie coulu be no passage oi
message at all. Its iisk, its exposuie to inteifeience, is what makes it
woik.
1u

To twist this a little: peihaps we can say that it is not so much that theie is always
noise that is peiceivable, but iathei, theie is always the 3-,#.,'/( foi noise within a
system; theie is always the potential foi change. As such, theie is, peihaps, a noise
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 17
befoie the noise; it is white noise, absolute noise, noise without a signal. This
unueilying potentiality, the noise befoie the noise, which flows thiough channels
anu systems, thiough oiueis of ielations, means that theie is always noise; it just
may not be actualiseu, it may not be peiceivable oi it may exist with little intensity.
Anu so the iuptuie is not a iuptuie; iathei, it is a move fiom the infia-empiiical
towaius the empiiical, fiom (viitual) potentiality to actuality.
Within this system of fluiu, paiasitic ielations, noise can become contagious,
passing between objects anu subjects. I may scieam with fiight as I am staitleu by
the unexpecteu sounu of a pan being uioppeu in the kitchen. Ny scieam in tuin
staitles my housemate who has uioppeu the pan, anu also my cat, who was
pieviously unaffecteu by the fiist noise. Noise spieaus thiough the house, in vaiious
uiiections. A similai ielation is at stake foi neighbouis engageu in 'volume wais'.
0ne householu may switch on music to uiown out the noise of a cai alaim. The
music may then uistuib anothei householu, whose iesponse is to tuin theii music
up, louuly, to uiown out the noise of theii neighbouis. The fiist householu, iileu by
this iesponse, up theii volume, fuithei antagonising theii neighbouis. 0thei
householus begin to be affecteu by the noise; television sets aie tuineu up, walls aie
bangeu anu, eventually, police aie calleu. Theii siiens woik to uistuib an entiie
neighbouihoou. Beie, the effects of noise becomes an inteiiuption within anothei
system of ielations: the fiist householu tuins up the music as a iesponse to the cai
alaim, only foi theii music to act as noise foi theii neighboui. Likewise, the auuible
glitches, static anu ciackles that inteiiupt the iauio bioaucast we aie listening to aie
the effect of signal noise; the auuible noise that we peiceive, that inteifeies with the
bioaucast, is the iesult, oi the tianslation, of an inauuible anu impeiceptible noise
within anothei system of ielations.
When noise inteiiupts, it uemanus a 0#/+,'-.; it inuuces a change, oi
mouification in the system that it acts upon. Seiies' paiasitic inteifeience functions
to altei a set of ielations oi patteins of movement. Seiies iuentifies two piimaiy
iesponses to the paiasite's intiusionthe host may cast out the paiasite, oi,
alteinatively, the host may auapt in oiuei to accommouate the paiasite's piesence. It
is not in the paiasite's inteiests to uestioy its host; iathei, the paiasite stiives to
cieate a new, sustainable equilibiium, in which both paiasite anu host can piospei.
The optimum ielationship between paiasite anu host piouuces a change that is
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 18
mutually sustainable, since to uestioy the host woulu ultimately uestioy the
paiasite. The same can be thought of noise. When noise acts upon a system of
ielations, it may be met with attempts to cease oi abate its piesence, oi the system
may auapt to allow foi the inteiiuption; it may woik aiounu, oi woik with the
inteifeience. Similaily, the noise-paiasite may become embeuueu, it may 'stick' to its
host. Although its entiance into the system may be unintentional oi unexpecteu, the
embeuueu paiasite is not necessaiily extianeous, oi a cause of tiouble; it may woik
to pioviue new infoimation, oi geneiate new effects. As Steven Ciockei states:
When we heai the eailiest sounu iecoiuings of Tennyson ieauing 7"/08#
-5 ,"# 9'8", :0'8/;#, foi example, the wateieu uown anu sciatcheu out
sounu conveys the enoimous passage of time, just as the static sounu of
Neil Aimstiong's voice on the moon tells us something about his physical
uistance fiom us anu the newness of space technologies in the 196us. It
woulu not be uifficult to think of countless othei cases in which the
piesence of the meuium mixes in with the intenueu message to piouuce
some whole new effect, not intenueu by the senuei, but taken as
infoimation by the ieceivei. In these cases, noise is not simply an extia
thiiu thing to be uiscounteu. It has enteieu into the message anu become
pait of it.
11

Thus while the noise-paiasite may woik to unsettle oi uestabilise, it uoes not simply
;#*,0-1 a system of ielations. Rathei, the noise-paiasite inuuces a <-;'5'+/,'-.
within the system. In tuin, noise can be thought of as piouuctive, insomuch that it
geneiates a systemic change; 5-0 4#,,#0 -0 5-0 =-0*#2 an alteinative oiuei is cieateu
out of the moment of uisoiuei.
If noise is an inteiiupting foice that mouifies a system of ielations, then the
question is not just 'what kinu' of noise but also 'how much' noise. Noise's extensive,
qualitative vaiiability is accompanieu anu shapeu by noise's intensive, quantitative
vaiiability: the uiffeience between a glitch anu a system ciash, between the
backgiounu hum anu the oveiwhelming ioai of the city, between 'the ciackling of
static to a steauy hiss'is not just one of quality but also quantity: Bow much noise.
Bow much inteiiuption. Bow much mouification. Bow much change. Anu if noise's
inteiiuptions have a quantitative anu qualitative vaiiability then so too uo the
ieactions it inuuces. Foi example, the noise of the tiaffic that inhibits my
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 19
conveisation may cause me to inciease the volume of my voice, oi use moie physical
gestuies, to convey my message. I may not even be awaie that I am iaising my voice
oi that I have incieaseu my gestuiing in oiuei to accommouate the inteifeience, anu
I may not consciously iegistei the tiaffic's incieasing volume. Alteinatively, the
inteiiuption may be so seveie it iequiies me to abanuon the space anu ielocate
elsewheie.
The change of ielations that noise geneiates uoes not have to be oveitly
physical. Noise can also inteiiupt 5##('.8; it can inuuce a mouulation oi mouification
in moou oi tempeiament. The capacity of noise to have an impact upon feeling is
piesent in the woiu's etymology: noise is thought to ielate to the Latin ./>*#/,
liteially meaning 'seasickness'. It is often saiu, foi example, that 'noise annoys'; it can
piovoke feelings of fiustiation oi giauually become a souice of iiiitation. Noise can
geneiate feai; it may staitle us, oi jolt us into a state of aleitness. Theie have been
vaiious stuuies that have linkeu noise to a iange of auveise, non-auuitoiy
physiological anu psychological effects, incluuing incieaseu bloou piessuie anu
stiess levels.
12
But the natuie of a bouy's iesponse is also uepenuent on the state of
ielations befoie noise's inteifeience. The capacity of the noise coming fiom my
neighbouis to make me feel iiiitateu uepenus on whethei I alieauy feel stiesseu oi
iiiitable. If I feel calm, I may be moie toleiant of the neighbouis' sonic intiusions
anu, consequently, will finu it easiei to accommouate them in 'my' enviionment.
Thus while noise is geneiative of change, the outcome, oi the iesponse to that
change is vaiiable.
THE NOISE AFFECT
What is being implieu heie is that noise, unueistoou as an inteiiuption that inuuces
a mouification in bouies, systems anu ielations, has an intimate ielationship with
what we might call affect. Affects, as they aie figuieu in the woik of Beleuze anu
uuattaii, anu, following on fiom them, Biian Nassumi, concein movement, piocess
anu change; they aie foices of becoming.
1S
Affects have no meaning in anu of
themselves. They may tiavel thiough signs anu iepiesentations, but they exist
inuepenuently of, anu function accoiuing to a uiffeient logic to, that of the symbolic
iegistei. Affects uo not have a puie, oiiginal state; theie is not a moment of biith, so
to speak. Rathei, 'affect aiises in the miust of '.?4#,=##.?.#**: in the capacities to act
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 20
anu be acteu upon'.
14
Like noise, affect exists in the miuule of things. It can be
thought of as the tiansitional moment of confusion oi inuisceinibility between
ueteiminable statesbetween one set of ielations anu the establishment of a new
set of ielations.
While the teims aie often useu inteichangeably, affects can be thought of as
ielateu to but uistinct fiom emotions.
1S
Emotion exists as a point of captuie; the
point at which affects aie pinneu uown anu qualifieu in consciousness. Emotion is
that which is inuuceu by, oi a paiticulai expiession of, affect. I can 'have' oi 'possess'
my own emotions, but affects, by contiast, tiaveise oi oveiwhelm me: they aie
beyonu my contiol. In othei woius: 'wheie emotion suggests something that
happens insiue anu tenus towaiu outwaiu expiession, affect inuicates something
ielational anu tiansfoimative. 0ne has emotions; one is affecteu by people oi
things.'
16
But if affect uoes not belong to the subject, then it also uoes not belong to
the object. Affect, as uuattaii uesciibes it, is 'a pie-peisonal categoiy, installeu
"befoie" the ciicumsciiption of iuentities, anu manifesteu by unlocatable
tiansfeiences, unlocatable with iegaiu to theii oiigin as well as with iegaiu to theii
uestination'.
17
As Seigwoith points out, the unlocatability of affect means that it is
best conceiveu as 'a-subjectivea-objective, oi, again following uuattaii, maybe it is
less that affect has no place than that it is 3-,#.,'/((1 ,"#0# '. #&#01 3(/+#, immanent:
half subject, half object, anu so, immanently intei-sub-objective'.
18
Subsequently,
thinking of noise as affect allows us to unueistanu noise as having an existence
inuepenuent fiom paiticulai subjects oi objects that it may entei into ielation with.
To be suie, no sounu is inheiently 'noise' oi 'noisy'. Rathei, ceitain entities
vibiations, sounus, uata, fiequenciesmay become noise 'caiiieis', in functioning as
an inteifeience. As such, it is moie useful to think of noise in teims of effects, iathei
than causes: .-'*# '* /. /55#+, ='," #55#+,*@
Noise can be thought of as functioning on an affective iegistei, insomuch that it
woiks to mouulate bouily states. It shoulu be noteu, howevei, that within this
context, the teim 'bouy' uoes not only iefei to the inuiviuual human bouy (the bouy-
as-subject). Noise can be unueistoou to affect the bouy in its bioauest sense, as it is
uefineu by seventeenth-centuiy Butch philosophei, Beneuict ue Spinoza.
19
The
Spinozan bouy ieflects a ueviation fiom Caitesian uualism. Foi the Caitesian subject,
minu anu bouy aie uistinct substances, but they inteiact causally. Changes in the
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 21
minu can geneiate changes in the bouy anu physical changes can piouuce mental
ones. In Spinoza's thesis, by contiast, these two entitiesthought anu the minu,
action anu the bouyaie pioposeu as equal anu paiallel planes, they exist as
uiffeient expiessions of the same substance. In tuin, the uualism between bouy anu
minu is collapseu, insomuch that bouy anu minu aie not two aspects of one thing,
but, iathei, they exist as one thinga single, univeisal anu infinite substance
expiesseu in uiffeient ways. Bouy anu minu aie two uistinct mouifications (oi
moues) of a single substance. Foi Spinoza, this substance has infinite 'attiibutes'.
The attiibute is an expiession of substance (that is, the expiessing agent). Bowevei,
we only know two of these attiibutes: thought anu extension. The minu obeys the
laws of thought while the bouy obeys the laws of extensionof movement anu iest.
Since the bouy anu the minu aie paiallel anu equal expiessions, one piinciple must
be matcheu in the iealm of the othei. The stiuctuie anu function of the minu has a
paiallel ielationship to the stiuctuie anu function of the bouy; the natuie of the
minu's thought must be affiimeu by the natuie of the bouy's action.
If the bouy anu minu aie uiffeient expiessions of the same substance, then
bouies cannot be uiffeientiateu by an appeal to inuiviuual essences. In its Spinozan
conception, the bouy cannot be uefineu as a static, complete unit with a stable
inteinal stiuctuie; it uoes not iefei to the boiueieu, autonomous subject. Rathei, the
bouy is uefineu in accoiuance with two piinciples. Fiist, a bouy consists of a seiies of
uynamic ielations: 'bouies aie uistinguisheu fiom one anothei in iespect of motion
anu iest, quickness anu slowness, anu not in iespect of substance'.
2u
A bouy,
iiiespective of size, is a composite of an infinite numbei of paiticles. These paiticles,
which can be unueistoou as simple bouies, exist in ielations of motion anu iest, of
speeu anu slowness. Seconu, a bouy is uefineu by its affective capacity: its powei to
act upon anu be acteu upon by othei, uistinct, bouies. A bouy, be it simple oi
composite, is set in motion at a specific iate of speeu oi slowness thiough being
acteu upon by anothei bouy in motion. This bouy can also set othei bouies in motion
at a specific iate of speeu oi slowness.
Spinoza's thesis allows foi a non-anthiopocentiic notion of the bouy; in
unueistanuing the bouy as a uynamic assemblage of ielations between smallei
bouies, which has the capacity to affect anu be affecteu, the bouy is not simply
limiteu to its oiganic manifestations, noi is it uefineu by its capacity foi thought. A
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 22
bouy may be the human bouy, oi an animal-bouy, but it may also be a social-bouy, a
sounu-bouy, oi a linguistic-bouy. A ciowu, foi example, can be thought of as a single,
uisciete bouy, composeu of a multituue of smallei bouies. Noieovei, the bouy, anu
the stiuctuie anu speeu of its uynamic ielations, aie always subject to change: what
we iecognise as a bouy is only a tempoiaiy, stable ielationship. The bouy iemains
open to the futuie; its ielations aie composeu anu iecomposeu. Noie human-bouies
may join the ciowu-bouy as othei human-bouies bieak off. The composition of the
ciowu bouy may iauically change when it is acteu upon by, foi example, a police-
bouy. Since the bouy necessaiily iemains open to change, we cannot know foi
ceitain what foims the bouy may take, the extent of its powei, the extent to which it
may affect anu be affecteu. We cannot say what it means to be a bouy, foi 'no one has
yet ueteimineu what a bouy can uo'.
21

If noise is that which acts upon the (Spinozan) bouy, inuucing a change in
ielations, then noise uoes not only impact upon human lives. Rathei, noise is able to
affect othei bouy-foimations: a cellulai collective, an inuiviuual, a ciowu, a
population, a city, a computei, voice iecognition technologies, a society, a feast of
iats. Take foi example, the Nosquito, a uevice that emits an uncomfoitable, high-
pitcheu fiequency aiounu 17khz. 0peiating on similai piinciples as ultiasonic pest
contiol uevices, the Nosquito uevice is useu to uispel socially 'unuesiiable' gioups of
young people fiom public spaces anu pievent them congiegating in paiticulai aieas.
The uevice taigets a paiticulai uemogiaphic accoiuing to age; the sounu is uesigneu
to be heaiu by those unuei twenty-five, since the banuwiuth of auuible fiequencies
ueteiioiates with age. It is not so much that the high-pitcheu fiequency is inheiently
'noisy' but that such a uevice is uesigneu to function as noise: it is uesigneu to
inteifeie in its taiget's lives, to inteiiupt the foimation of ciowu-bouies. As such, the
uevice acts upon both the inuiviuual bouy of a young peison anu the composite bouy
of 'youths' that it seeks to uispel. Similaily, Steve uoouman has uiscusseu the iole of
acoustic foice as a means of mouulating the feai of populations; feai not only as an
inuiviuual, subjective emotion oi feeling but also a collective moou. In 2uuS, sonic
booms weie ueployeu inuisciiminately against the civilian populations that inhabit
the uaza stiip. These weie iepoiteu to cause stiess, panic attacks, miscaiiiages,
heait pioblems anu nose bleeus.
22
By inuisciiminately uistuibing the smallei bouies,
of inuiviuuals, families, schools anu local communities, sonic booms also act upon
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 23
the laigei, collective, population-bouy; they senu shockwaves thiough communities,
giving iise to a geneial ambiance of feai oi uieau. Bowevei, the ueployment of sonic
booms anu othei acoustic weapons 'thieatens not just the tiaumatiseu emotional
uisposition anu physiology of the population but the veiy stiuctuie of the built
enviionment'.
2S
In uaza, foi example, theie weie also iepoits of bioken winuows,
ciackeu walls anu stiuctuial uamage to builuings. In tuin, noise can be unueistoou
as an affective foice that tiaveises noimative uualisms between the bouy anu minu,
inuiviuual anu collective, subject anu object. Noise uiaws no uistinction between a
bouy's oiganic anu non-oiganic components, between the walls of }eiicho anu the
populace it contains: all aie acteu upon by noise.
24
0nueistanuing noise in this way,
as that which can impact upon anu inuuce change in a bouy's seiies of ielations,
significantly uiffeis fiom the notion of noise as a (human) juugement of sounu, foi
the eai of the beholuei is no longei the piivilegeu site of noise. It iuns against the
iuea that theie can be 'no noise . without listening'.
2S
Rathei, as an affective
inteiiuption, noise has an existence that uoes not iely on affiimation thiough the
eai, the eye anu human peiception moie geneially.
BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL: NOISE, SILENCE AND AESTHETIC MORALISM
Thus fai we have piimaiily focuseu on noise's negative effects: its ability to uestioy,
uiminish oi annoy. These effects aie what allows noise's inteiiuptions to become
unwanteu, as uaiiet Keizei notes: 'to human beings, some sounus aie just noise.
Some sounus inteiiupt theii sleep, uamage theii heaiing, iaise theii bloou piessuie,
slow theii chiluien's piogiess at school, anu banish the sweet thoughts anu tenuei
feelings they haiboi towaius sex. Those sounus aie unwanteu.'
26
Bowevei, to ietuin
to wheie we began, thinking about noise as affect pioviues a means of uecoupling
noise fiom a uefinitive 'bauness' oi 'un-ness' (noise as unwanteu, unuesiiable,
unintentional, unoiueieu oi unpeimitteu), allowing a ieconsiueiation of ceitain
noimative, ethico-aesthetic associations.
Noise is typically thought of as negative; anu, as such, is placeu in binaiistic
opposition to that which it is not. Paul Begaity, foi example, states: 'noise is a
negativity: uefineu in opposition to something else, foi example, meaning, music,
stiuctuie, skill, beauty, etc. Bistoiically, it has been thought of as liteially negative:
"that's just noise".'
27
As sounu that is unwanteu, noise is uefineu in ielation to that
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 24
which it is not: wanteu. Bowevei, these uualisms that have constituteu noise can tell
of ueeply embeuueu iueological piesuppositions that aie both poweiful anu
tioubling. The uichotomy of noise anu silence, foi example, fiequently becomes
synonymous with the uistinction between the uiban anu the iuial, the natuial anu
the manufactuieu, the piesent anu the past. Silence is instilleu with a spiiitual
tianquility, tianquillity is equateu with the natuial, anu the natuial is equateu with
the beautiful. It is iomanticiseu as belonging to a lost, bettei time, which iemaineu
unbioken by the sounus of machines, the piesence of anti-social teenageis anu the
outpouiings of aiounu-the-clock enteitainment; the contempoiaiy cultuie of noise.
R. Nuiiay Schafei, foi example, laments the satuiation of the sounuscape with noise
that has causeu the ueath of, sonically speaking, a bettei time, a time in which
silence was still piominent in eveiyuay life:
In the past weie muteu sanctuiies wheie anyone suffeiing fiom sounu
fatigue coulu go into ietiiement foi iecomposuie of the psyche . at one
time stillness was a piecious aiticle in an unwiitten coue of human iights.
Nan hau ieseivoiis of stillness in his life to iestoie the spiiitual
metabolism. Even in the heaits of cities theie weie uaik, still chuiches anu
libiaiies, oi the piivacy of uiawing ioom anu beuioom. 0utsiue the thiob
of cities, the countiysiue was accessible with its lulling whiii of natuial
sounus. Theie will still times too. The holy uays weie quietei befoie they
became holiuays. In Noith Ameiica, Sunuay became Fun-uay. The
impoitance of these quiet gioves anu times fai tianscenueu the paiticulai
puiposes to which they weie put. We can compiehenu this cleaily only
now that we have lost them.
28

While silence is constiueu as 'natuial', noise, by contiast, is uistinctly 'unnatuial'. It
is heaiu as the piouuct of uibanisation anu capitalism; it belongs to the city anu the
inuustiy. It lies on the siue of pollution, uamage anu uistiaction; it is that which is to
be silenceu. While silence is positeu as enhancing concentiation, inuucing calmness,
anu allowing contemplation, noise is uetiimental to oui quality of life. Noise, we aie
tolu, blocks thought, oi, iathei, blocks 'piopei' thought. The geneiation of teenageis
anu young auults who insist on listening to music on a neai-constant basis iemain in
a state of inattentiveness:
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 25
Thought is an essentially silent activity anu is uifficult to sustain in a noisy
societyanu ceitainly is likely to become supeificial when competing with
othei stimuli. This cannot be goou foi oui collective cultuial health.
29

The message is louu anu cleai: noise anu silence have a moial content. Noise uenies
the 'human iight' of silence. It maiks a lack of consiueiation anu iespect foi
neighbouis, communities anu enviionments. It is silence that neeus piotection fiom
noise anu not vice veisait woulu seem stiange to lament the loss of noise to
silence. As Stuait Sim aigues, 'noise must nevei be alloweu to oveiwhelm silence .
we ceitainly have the ability to uestioy silence, anu uo so only too ieauilyanu too
casually'.
Su
Silence is a 'goou' that is bioken by 'bau' noise.
These uichotomisations of silencenoise anu theii categoiical assimilation with
constiuctions of pastpiesent, natuiecity, concentiation uistiaction, oppiesseu
oppiessoi, tianquillityuistuibance anu, ultimately, a moial iegistei of gooubau,
howevei, iisk assuming theie to be stanuaiu oi shaieu ieactions to paiticulai sonic
enviionments. In tuin, the politics of silence anu politics of noise tenu to oveilook
those inuiviuuals, geneiations anu communities who uo not fit this affective mouel;
those who uo not shaie the aesthetic piefeience foi silence oi the sensations of
those who finu what aie typically thought of as noisy enviionments uistuibing,
iiiitating oi uistiacting. Foi example, while theie has been significant attention to
the use of noise as a means of toituie, theie is also the toituious silence of enfoiceu
solitaiy confinement. Silence can be just as alienating oi uistuibing as noise. To be
suie, the moialising polemics of silence often omit questions of silencing, of who is
the biingei of noise foi whom. Who is to be kept silent. Is it the 'noisy' foieigneis.
The 'gossiping' women. Who is it that has laiu claims to silence, who aie its
gatekeepeis anu iegulatois, anu who is it that silence abatesis silence elective oi
oppiessive. The silence of tianscenuental thought oi the silence of piotest. Foi
whom is silence a 'human iight' anu foi whom is silence a violation of those iights.
Anahiu Kassabian's woik on ubiquitous listening has uiawn attention to the
pioblems with such geneialisations about expeiiences of anu with sounu. Within
uiscouises of musical ieception theie has been a maikeu tenuency to conflate
listening with attention anu attention with consciousness. This piesumption guiues,
foi example, the noimative paiauigm of stiuctuial listening anu its puipoiteu
opposition to passive, inattentive listening. 7-.,0/ this conflation, Kassabian aigues
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 26
that theie aie many kinus of listening, with mouulating uegiees of consciousness,
attentiveness anu affectivity. In shoit, listening uoes not have to be attentive oi
conscious, noi uoes it have to be attentive oi conscious to have an impact on oui
bouies anu, ultimately, how we 'feel'. Thus it is not so much that teenageis who
suiiounu themselves with music aie incapable of anything beyonu supeificial
thought. Rathei, as Kassabian states:
Those of us living in inuustiialiseu settings have uevelopeu, fiom the
omnipiesence of music in oui uaily lives, a moue of listening uissociateu
fiom specific geneiic chaiacteiistics of the music. In this moue we listen
'alongsiue' oi simultaneous with othei activities.
S1

Thus while theie aie those who think of themselves as iequiiing silence to woik,
theie aie also those who piefei woik 'alongsiue' sounu anu music. Theie aie those
who use sounu anu music to 'fill the ueauly silences', to make the piospect of an
empty house less uaunting. Theie aie even those who piefei to sleep with sounu
theie aie an abunuance of sleep sounu uevices, CBs anu, moie iecently, smaitphone
apps available that aie maiketeu to help the listenei fall asleep.
S2
Along with the
pieuictable iepeitoiie of 'natuial' soothing sounuswhale song, iainfoiest sounus,
waves ciashing, stieam sounustheie aie sounus available that aie altogethei
'unnatuial', anu might typically be thought of as a hinuiance to sleepthe sounu of
fans, highway tiaffic anu aii conuitioning units, foi example. Similaily, white noise
machines may be useu to mask othei noises; such uevices inteiiupt potential
inteiiuptions, pieventing them fiom uistuibing the listenei.
Sounu cieateu by an inuiviuual in theii own uomestic space is one thing, but
noise intiuuing fiom somewheie else is altogethei uiffeient. Keizei aigues that
noise is a maikei of social inequality, insomuch that it uispiopoitionately affects the
socially anu politically 'weak': the elueily, chiluien, the sick, iacial minoiities,
neuiological minoiities, piisoneis anu the pooi.
SS
The uiban pooi, foi example, tenu
to be conuemneu to noisy neighboihoous, wheieas quietness iemains a luxuiy foi
those who can affoiu it. Keizei wains against naive geneialisations, the 'callous anu
conuescenuing assumption' that those living in pooiei neighboihoous aie happy
with the levels of noise because 'it's what "those" people uo. "It's theii cultuie". Theii
eais aie uiffeient.'
S4
Yet equally, what happens when the inteiiupting sounus of
neighbouis becomes pait of familiai eveiyuay life. To ietuin to my eailiei claim
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 27
that it woulu seem stiange to lament the loss of noise to silence, in }acqueline
Waluock's ieseaich on Liveipool's sounu enviionment a numbei of paiticipants
fiom Toxteth's Welsh stieets (an aiea of housing cuiiently uue foi uemolition) have
commenteu on missing the sounus of theii neighbouis aftei they have been
(foicibly) ielocateu to 'bettei' housing with thickei walls. Paiticipant Nis T. states:
I always useu to heai the neighbouis thiough the walls. I coulu heai them,
anu they coulu heai me. It maue me feel safe knowing that someone woulu
heai me if I fell oi they woulu check on me if they coulun't heai me moving
oi I woulu check on them if I heaiu a thump oi a scieam.
SS

Similaily, paiticipant N., when commenting on a iecoiuing of the sounus of hei
neighbouis coming thiough the wall, saiu 'it's the sounu of community anu shaiing'.
As Waluock aigues, the paiticipant's ielationship with the sounus of theii
neighbouis 'uiffeis gieatly fiom the assumeu noim of annoyance at neighbouis who
invaue the piivate uomestic space of otheis'.
S6

To summaiise: just as silence is not always felt as 'goou', noise is not always felt
as 'bau'. It has alieauy been suggesteu that noise is piouuctive insomuch that it
geneiates a iesponse, anu these iesponses may iange fiom baiely noticeable
mouulations to a iauical change of systemic ielations. Bowevei, it uoes not follow
that the change that noise inuuces is always 'bau' oi a tainishing of a pie-existing
'goou'the uistuibance of the 'nice' quiet neighbouihoou by unwelcome
newcomeis. While noise unueniably can have a negative impact upon people's lives
(anu, unuoubteuly, upon some people's lives moie than otheis), this uoes not mean
that noise is ;#5'.','&#(1 negative. Likewise, iecognising noise as piouuctive is not
the same as saying that noise is positive. Rathei, noise's 'bauness' oi 'goouness' is
contingent. Thinking of noise as affect allows space foi this contingencyit
iecognises noise's 'goouness' oi 'bauness' as seconuaiy anu ielational. In oiuei to
expanu on this, we will biiefly ietuin to Spinozan bouy.
Foi Spinoza, theie aie no univeisal, moial values of goou oi evil. Insteau,
moiality is ieplaceu with an ethical oiuei. uoou anu bau aie unueistoou as
ielational: what we call 'goou' is that which enhances the powei of the bouy to act
(thus having a positive affect) wheieas what we call 'bau' is that which uiminishes
the powei of the bouy to act (thus having a negative affect). Take, foi example, foou.
0n one hanu, foou-bouy may have a positive ielation with oui bouy. As we consume
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 28
the foou-bouy, compounuing it with ouis, it gives us eneigy anu nouiishment. In
shoit, it incieases oui powei. But we may have a negative encountei with the foou-
bouy. 0ui bouy may have an alleigic ieaction to the foou, causing the ielations of the
bouy to ueteiioiate. Theie is nothing inheiently goou oi evil about foou, iiiespective
of the benefit oi haim it may cause. Rathei, whethei oi not foou is 'goou' oi 'bau',
that is, beneficial oi haimful, is ueteimineu by its ielations with othei bouies.
Likewise, theie is nothing inheiently evil, toituious, violent oi fascistic about
noise, iiiespective of the ihetoiical foice it is affoiueu oi the means that it may be
put to. Noise may annoy us anu infuiiate us but it may also help us sleep, oi instil us
with a sense of community anu belonging. Noise is like Beiiiua's 6"/0</A-.Bis it
poison oi is it cuie.
S7
Both, peihaps, uepenuing on how it is taken. To be suie, Attali
notes that while noise has often been thought of as a weapon of ueath, as a souice of
pain, violence anu uestiuction, it has also long been consiueieu to have a cuiative
function: 'noise has always been peiceiveu as a souice of exaltation, a kinu of
theiapeutic uiug capable of cuiing taiantula bites, oi accoiuing to Boissiei ue
Sauvages (in his C-*-(-8'+/ <#,"-(-;'+/) "fouiteen foims of melancholy"'.
S8
Noise,
accoiuingly, has the potential to not only uiminish bouies, as in, foi example, the use
of sonic anu vibiational weaponiy to uispeise the paiticles of ciowu-bouies, but also
to enhance the powei of the bouy, insomuch that it has the potential to cieate
affiimative anu positive affections anu iesponses. Anu this positive potential has
been ieauily exploieu in the aits.
THE JOYS OF NOISE
The 'joys of noise', as the composei Beniy Cowell puts it, have been one of the
uominant themes of twentieth- anu twenty-fiist-centuiy aesthetics fiom the typical
(albeit pioblematic) lineage of 'noise' that is uiawn thiough the Futuiists, vaiese,
<>*'D># +-.+0E,#2 Cage, Baua, Fluxus, inuustiial music, uione, fiee }azz, }apanese
noise music anu glitch, to ciicuit benuing, iecoiu sciatching anu the populai use of
gain, uistoition anu feeuback in guitai playing. Beie, the iiiitating iing of tinnitus, oi
the Nosquito become the Royji Ikeua's intiicate, infiasonic compositions. The
sciatcheu, skipping compact uisc becomes Yasuamo Tone's Wounueu CBs. Nany of
these piactices tenu to be placeu unuei the quasi-iuiomatic bannei of 'noise music',
a teim typically useu to iefei to numbei of geogiaphically, histoiically anu
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 29
geneiically uispaiate piactices that seemingly shaie common teiiain in utilising
noise, concepts of noise anu noisy sounus as aitistic iesouices.
If noise peitains to unwanteu, meaningless oi non-musical sounu, then 'noise
music' exists as a paiauox. It aiises fiom between the wanteu anu unwanteu,
between the uesiiable anu unuesiiable, between music anu noise. 0ften, aitistic uses
of noise have been suppoiteu by notions of taboo bieaking anu tiansgiession. Noise
music ciosses the line. It biings insiue what is to be left outsiue, it thieatens
musicality, thieatens sonic conventions anu thieatens its auuience with the iaw
'shock' that is noise. But in these instances noise can nevei ieally be noise: it can
nevei tiuly be unwanteu, if it is uefineu as such. It iemains tiappeu in the musical, as
a simulacium of noise piopei.
In Attali's C-'*#F !"# 6-(','+/( G+-.-<1 -5 H>*'+ noise is positeu as
tiansgiessive, insomuch that it exists as a violent fieeuom that is exteinal to but
neveitheless thieatens the iepiessive violence of society. Nusic, by contiast, stanus
as a piophetic ieflection of social oiueis: shifts in musical piouuction anu foim pie-
empt changes in social oiganisation. Noise, unueistoou as uncoueu uisoiuei,
thieatens anu uisiupts establisheu musical oiueis. Bowevei, noise's violent
uestiuction of the olu also heialus the constitution of the new; a new musical oiuei
emeiges fiom the uisiuption of establisheu coues. Thus 'uespite the ueath it
contains, noise caiiies oiuei within itself; it caiiies new infoimation'.
S9
Noise
mutates the stiuctuies it uisiupts, tiansfoiming the ielationship between music anu
noise in the piocess. While noise iemains bounu to a uualism that sepaiates the
insiue anu outsiue of an establisheu stiuctuienoise is uncoueu sounu that lies
outsiue the spheie of coueu sounu, noise is chaos to music's oiueithe ielationship
between noise anu music iemains a uynamic piocess; a cycle of absoiption, of noise
into music. Nusic exists as noise couifieu anu oiganiseu, uisaimeu of its violent,
uisiuptive potential: 'noise is a weapon anu music, piimoiuially, is the foimation,
uomestication, anu iitualisation of that weapon as a simulacium of iitual muiuei'.
4u

Thus noise necessaiily loses its noisiness as it is channelleu into music ovei time.
The futuie musical oiueis that noise contains aie only biought into actuality as it is
absoibeu by music. Noise, if it is to exist in, oi iathei, /* music, has to be saciificeu.
Noise, as it is biought insiue fiom the outsiue, becomes a shauow of itself. The new
music is the once-was-noise, stiippeu of its piimaiy, tiansgiessive powei.
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 30
If we uefine noise accoiuing to such uualismsuncoueu to coueu, unwanteu to
wanteu, chaos to oiueithen noise, when it becomes ait, oi music, is always
uestineu to fail. Paul Begaity, echoing Attali, notes:
'failuie' is what uefines noise in its encountei with music, foi noise must
fail to be noise if it is accepteu, anu of couise it fails if not heaiu as well.
This failuie is wheie noise iesiues, the fate it selects foi itself, oi has
selecteu foi it. Noise must be only as if it weie music, not as a new
musicality.
41

In othei woius, if noise music 'succeeus' as noise, then it fails as music but, likewise,
if it 'succeeus' as music then it must, in pait, fail as noise. But the affective uefinition
of noise inteiiupts this logic. If we unueistanu noise as an affect with effects, then
the noise of noise music is no longei iestiicteu to a simulation of noise 'piopei'.
Rathei, noise music's noises, as inteiiuptive foices that inuuce change, can be
thought of, on one level, as genuine noises. The noise of noise music may be
intenueu, it may be uesiieu anu it may be stageu but, given that noise thought of in
teims of as affect is no longei piimaiily uistinguisheu in ielation to its
unwanteuness, unuesiiability, non-meaning, uisoiuei anu so on, then the
'constiucteuness' of aitistic noise is contingent upon its affectivity. We shoulu also
ieminu ouiselves that, accoiuing to the uefinition outlineu, noise is no longei
piimaiily uefineu by the listenei. As such we uo not have to heai something /* noise,
foi noise to be piesent.
In 'the }oys of Noise', Beniy Cowell notes 'the 'uisease' of noise peimeates all
music . although existing in all music, the noise-element has been to music as sex is
to humanity, essential to its existence, but impolite to mention, something to be
cloakeu by ignoiance anu silence'.
42
0nlike Attali's saciificeu once-was-noise,
Cowell's noise lives: it flows thioughout sounus anu stiuctuies of music, mouulating
anu uistoiting sonoiities. Foi Cowell, noise foims an essential unueipinning foi
climactic musical moments: 'if it weie not foi the punctuation of the cymbal anu the
bass uium the climaxes in oui opeias woulu be like jelly-fish'.
4S
But, as Cowell notes,
peihaps what is most suipiising is the contamination of sounus that we think of as
musical. To be suie 'a tiuly puie tone can be maue only in an acoustical laboiatoiy,
anu even theie it is uoubtful whethei, by the time the tone has ieacheu oui eai, it
has not been coiiupteu by iesonances pickeu up on the way'.
44
Infection is
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 31
inevitable, yet the micio-noises that inteivene with the tiansmission of the 'puie'
acoustic tone aie iesponsible foi its timbial qualities; one neeu only think of the
common asseition of the 'supeiioiity' of (noise-infesteu) analogue's 'waimth' anu
'fuzziness', ovei the colu, clean 'peifection' of the uigital. As such, 'the only hopeful
couise is to consiuei that the noise-geim, like the bacteiia of cheese, is a goou
miciobe, which may pioviue pieviously hiuuen uelights to the listenei, insteau of
piouucing musical oblivion'.
4S

We can infei fiom Cowell's pioposition that noise music uoes not peitain to a
making goou of noise's bau thiough the meuium of music: noise music uoes not just
use the negative, positively. Rathei, noise music can be thought of as foiegiounuing
anu extenuing the inevitable piesence of noise in music. Bowevei, at this point,
theie woulu seem to be a neeu to uiffeientiate between noise as it iefeis to sounus
that aie 'noisy', anu noise as an active anu piouuctive piocess. We can think of the
foimei as a timbial uesciiptoi, foi sounus that we heai as abiasive, messy oi
uistoiteu. 'Noisy' sounus can be thought of as the auuible outcome of ceitain noise
piocesses that shape the sounu in a paiticulai way. Thus when a sounu is uesciibeu
as 'noisy', this is not to say it necessaiily functions, oi is expeiienceu as noise. Ciicuit
benuing, foi example, is a piocess that woiks to 'noisify' ciicuits thiough powei
fluctuations, ciosseu wiies anu the mouification of components, to geneiate new
potentials of sounus. Subsequently, the piimaiy 'noise' of a ciicuit bent toy is not
uiiectly heaiu; iathei, it is only ienueieu peiceptible thiough its sonic effects, the
way in which the inteiiuptions within the ciicuit mouify the sonic output. Noise, as
affective piocess, thus iemains uistinct fiom 'noisy' sounus that can be thought of as
the auuible outcome of such piocesses. Noie bioauly, this uistinction allows us to
iecognise noises that function on numeious aitistic iegisteis. It allows space foi the
noises that effect the geneiation oi mouification of mateiials that may be only
auuibly peiceiveu thiough theii effects, oi may not be peiceivable at all.
CONCLUSION: THE NOISE NETWORK
The 'goouness' oi 'bauness' of noise, its wanteuness oi unwanteuness, its
intentionality oi unintentionally, can be thought of as seconuaiy, oi contingent, to a
(uis)continuous complex that connects noise's affective impact on the aesthetic to its
affective impact on the flows of social netwoiks, its affective impact on
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 32
communicative anu infoimational channels, anu its aitistic manifestations. This is
not to suggest that all noise events aie the same; its actualisations within the
empiiical vaiy in intensity, context anu mateiiality. But, aiguably, theie is something
that can be calleu noise that iemains autonomous fiom these paiticulai
actualisations, which flows between the vaiious, inteiwoven planes of the sonic,
social, technological, anu political lanuscape. In tuin, noise is not limiteu to the
human, oi those sounus that we typically think of as 'noisy'. It has an existence
inuepenuent fiom paiticulai subjects, objects anu bouies anu theii coiielative
'goouness' anu 'bauness'.
If the uefinition of noise pioviueu in this aiticle seems bioau anu vague then
peihaps this tells something of the ubiquity anu inevitability of noise. By suggesting
that noise is ubiquitous, I mean to imply something uiffeient to the aesthetic
moialist aiguments of acoustic ecology, in which ubiquitous noise has leu to the
ueath of silence. While theie have been plenty of iecent conceptualisations of noise
woiking to asseit the sublime gianueui of noise, these accounts tenu to miss the
smallei, banal noises that shape oui uay-to-uay encounteis.
46
Thinking of noise as
affect can, hopefully, allow foi the uiamatic expeiiences of noise (as, foi example,
the eiasuie of self, the inteiiuption of the symbolic, the moment of the sublime) as
well as the eveiyuay expeiiences of noise (the baiely noticeable inteiiuptions, the
noises we aie accustomeu to). Fuitheimoie, the openness of noise as affect, its lack
of specificity iegaiuing souices, oiigins anu objects, anu its lack of commitment in
saying what noise is oi is not, is to some uegiee in keeping with the Spinozan spiiit:
how can we say what noise is when =# A.-= .-, 1#, ="/, .-'*# +/. ;-I



Naiie Thompson is a PhB canuiuate at Newcastle 0niveisity, baseu in the
Inteinational Centie foi Nusic Stuuies. Bei ieseaich consiueis the ethical anu
aesthetic implications of thinking about noise in ielation to affect. She is also co-
euitoi of the foithcoming collection J->.;2 H>*'+2 K55#+,F !"#-0'L'.8 J-.'+ GM3#0'#.+#.


NOTES
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 33

1
Ambiose Bieice, !"# %#&'()* %'+,'-./01, Bovei Publications, New Yoik, 199S, p. 8S.
2
Kaiin Bijsteivelu, H#+"/.'+/( J->.;F !#+".-(-812 7>(,>0# /.; 6>4('+ 60-4(#<* -5 C-'*# '. ,"# !=#.,'#,"
7#.,>01, NIT Piess, Cambiiuge, Nass., 2uu8 p. 24u.
S
}acques Attali, C-'*#F !"# 6-(','+/( G+-.-<1 -5 H>*'+, tians. Biian Nassumi, 0niveisity of Ninnesota
Piess, Ninneapolis, 198S, p. 27.

4
Foi a moie uetaileu histoiical examination of noise abatement legislation that exists aiounu the
woilu see R. Nuiiay Schafei, !"# J->.;*+/3#F N>0 J-.'+ G.&'0-.<#., /.; ,"# !>.'.8 -5 ,"# O-0(;,
Bestiny Books, veimont, 1994, p. 191-S.
S
}.R. Pieice, K. P.,0-;>+,'-. ,- P.5-0</,'-. !"#-01F J1<4-(*2 J'8./(* /.; C-'*#, 2nu eun, Bovei, New
Yoik, 198u p. 14S-6.
6
Nichel Seiies, !"# 6/0/*',#, tians. Lawience R. Schehi, 0niveisity of Ninnesota Piess, Ninneapolis
2uu7, p. S.
7
Seiies, p. 2Su.
8
Steven Ciockei, 'Noise anu Exceptions: Puie Neuiality in Seiies anu Agamben', 7!"#-01, 2uu7,
<http:www.ctheoiy.netaiticles.aspx.iu=S74#bio>.
9
Ibiu., p. 79.
1u
Steven Connoi, 'Nichel Seiie's Nilieux', 2uu2, <http:www.stevenconnoi.commilieux>.
11
Ciockei@
12
Theie have been a numbei of empiiical stuuies fiom psychiatiy anu meuicine that have suggesteu a
link, to vaiying uegiees, between noise exposuie anu auveise psychological anu physiological effects.
Bowevei, within these stuuies noise tenus to be uefineu as synonymous with louu oi uamaging sounu.
Noieovei, theie is a uifficulty in examining the impact of noise upon inuiviuuals when it may be
inextiicable fiom othei enviionmental factois. Woikeis in inuustiial enviionments, foi example, aie
exposeu to othei stiessois such as physical uangei anu heavy woik uemanus, as well as excessive noise
levels. See Stephen A. Stansfelu anu Naik P. Natheson, 'Noise Pollution: Non-auuitoiy Effects on
Bealth', :0','*" H#;'+/( :>((#,'., vol. 68, 2uuS, pp. 24S-S7.
1S
Affect is a iecuiiing theme in the woik of Beleuze anu uuattaii, having a cential iole in theii
'ontology of foices'. Foi example, see uilles Beleuze anu Flix uuattaii, O"/, '* 6"'(-*-3"1I, tians.
uiaham Buichell anu Bugh Tomlinson, veiso, Lonuon (in paiticulai pp. 16S-2uu). Foi Nassumi's use
of affect see Biian Nassumi, 6/0/4(#* 5-0 ,"# Q'0,>/(, Buke 0niveisity Piess, Buiham, 2uu2.
14
Nelissa }. uiegg anu uiegoiy }. Seigwoith, !"# K55#+, !"#-01 R#/;#0, Buke 0niveisity Piess, Buiham,
2u1u, p. 2.
1S
While affect can be thought of as uistinct fiom emotions theie aie also theoiisations of affect, in
which affect anu emotions, as well as moous anu feelings, aie useu as inteichangeable teims. It is woith
emphasising heie that theie is no one, unifieu, theoiy of affect; iathei, theie exists numeious
uisciplinaiy anu intei-uisciplinaiy conceptualisations of it. Foi a summaiy of some of the uiffeient
VOLUME18 NUMBER3 DEC2012 34

piominent theoiies of affect, see the intiouuction to uiegg anu Seigwoith (eus), !"# K55#+, !"#-01
R#/;#02 pp. 6-12.
16
}onathan Flatley, K55#+,'&# H/33'.8F H#(/.+"-('/ /.; ,"# 6-(','+* -5 H-;#0.'*<2 Baivaiu 0niveisity
Piess, Cambiiuge, Nass., 2uu8, p. 12.
17
Flix uuattaii, 'Ritoinellos anu Existential Affects' in !"# S>/,,/0' R#/;#0, eu. uaiy uenosko,
Blackwell, 0xfoiu, 1996, pp. 8u, 1S8.
18
uiegoiy }. Seigwoith, 'Fashioning a Stave, oi Singing Life' in K.'</,'-.* -5 %#(#>L# /.; S>/,,/0'2 eu.
}ennifei Baiyl Slack, Petei Lang, New Yoik, 2uuS, pp. 7S-1uS, p. 8u, my emphasis.
19
It shoulu be noteu that what follows coiiesponus to the Beleuzian ieauing of Spinoza. See uilles
Beleuze, GM30#**'-.'*< '. 6"'(-*-3"1F J3'.-L/, tians. Naitin }oughin, Zone Books, New Yoik, 1992 anu
uilles Beleuze, J3'.-L/F 60/+,'+/( 6"'(-*-3"1, tians. Robeit Builey, City Light Books, San Fiancisco,
1988.
2u
Beneuict ue Spinoza, G,"'+*, tians. Euwin Cuiley, Penguin Books, Lonuon, 1996, p. 41.
21
Ibiu., p. 71.
22
Chiis Ncuieal, 'Palestinians Bit by Sonic Boom Aii Raius', S>/0;'/., S Novembei 2uuS,
<http:www.guaiuian.co.ukwoilu2uuSnovuSisiael>. Susanne Cusick has also wiitten
extensively about the use of sounu, in paiticulai music, as a weapon anu means of toituie. Cusick's
woik is of inteiest within this context, since it explicitly uetails the ability of music to function as noise.
See Susanne u. Cusick, 'Nusic as WeaponNusic as Toituie', !0/.*+>(,>0/( H>*'+ R#&'#=, vol. 1u, 2uu6,
<http:www.sibetians.comtiansa1S2music-as-toituie-music-as-weapon>. See also Susanne u.
Cusick, 'Nusicology, Toituie, Repaii', R/;'+/( H>*'+-(-812 vol. S, 2uu8, <http:www.iauical-
musicology.oig.uk2uu8.htm>.
2S
Steve uoouman, J-.'+ O/05/0#F J->.;2 K55#+, /.; ,"# G+-(-81 -5 T#/0, NIT Piess, Cambiiuge, Nass.,
2uu9 p. xiv.
24
In the biblical tale fiom the Book of }oshua, the Isiaelites maich iounu the walls of }eiicho foi seven
uays. 0n the seventh uay, they shouteu anu blew tiumpets. It is tolu that this sonic foice causeu the
walls of }eiicho to fall, killing its populous.
2S
Paul Begaity, C-'*#UH>*'+ K V'*,-01, Continuum, Lonuon, 2uu8, p. 197.
26
uaiiet Keizei, !"# W.=/.,#; J->.; -5 G&#01,"'.8 O# O/.,F K :--A K4->, C-'*#, New Yoik, Public
Affaiis, 2u1u, p. 44.
27
Paul Begaity, '}ust What is it that Nakes Touay's Noise Nusic So Biffeient, So Appealing', N08/.'*#;
J->.;, vol. S, no. 1, 2uu8, pp. 1S-2u, p. 1S.
28
Schafei, p. 2S4.
29
Stuait Sim, H/.'5#*,- T-0 J'(#.+#F 7-.50-.,'.8 ,"# 6-(','+* /.; 7>(,>0# -5 C-'*#, 0niveisity of
Euinbuigh Piess, Euinbuigh, 2uu7, p. S9.
Su
Ibiu., p. 171.
Marie ThompsonProductive Parasites 35

S1
Anahiu Kassabian, '0biquitous Listening anu Netwoikeu Subjectivity', G7VN2 vol. S, no. 2, 2uu1,
<http:www.echo.ucla.euuvolumeS-issue2kassabianinuex.html>.
S2
Foi moie on this, see Anahiu Kassabian, 'Nusic foi Sleeping' in J->.;2 H>*'+2 K55#+,F !"#-0'*'.8 J-.'+
GM3#0'#.+#, eu. Naiie Thompson anu Ian Biuule, Continuum, Lonuon, foithcoming, 2u1S.
SS
Foi an explanation of how each of these social gioups aie moie likely to be exposeu to noise see
Keizei, p. 11.
S4
Keizei, p. 1u1.
SS
}acqueline Waluock, 'Sounumapping: Ciitiques anu Reflections on this New Publicly Engaging
Neuium', X->0./( -5 J-.'+ J,>;'#*, vol. 1, no. 1, 2u11,
<http:jouinal.sonicstuuies.oigvolu1niu1au8>.
S6
Ibiu.
S7
In 'Plato's Phaimacy', Beiiiua tiaces the connections anu legacies of the teim 'Phaimakon'. The
phaimakon is baseu on a seeming contiauiction. It iefeis to, among othei things, both poison anu its
cuie: the phaimakon can poison but it can also cuie. See }acques Beiiiua, %'**#<'./,'-., tians. Baibaia
}ohnson, Continuum, Lonuon, New Yoik, 2uu4.
S8
Attali, p. 27.
S9
Ibiu., p. SS.
4u
Ibiu., p. 24.
41
Begaity, p. 1S.
42
Beniy Cowell, 'The }oys of Noise' in K>;'- 7>(,>0#F R#/;'.8* '. H-;#0. H>*'+, eu. Chiistophei Cox anu
Baniel Wainei, Continuum, Lonuon, 2uu6, pp 22-4.
4S
Ibiu., p. 2S.
44
Ibiu.
4S
Ibiu.