I have the same problem with psychadelia
Because I have no authority to weigh in on the matter, nor is there any reason for anyone to regard my opinion as holding any authority, I'm going to weigh in on the new hotness called "circuit bending."
It's like this: I've got a piece of glass. Maybe it was expensive, and carefully made. Maybe it's a cheap knockoff. I have no idea what went into making it, and certainly couldn't make it myself. Whatever, I'm going to break it. I might use a rock, or a hammer, or a custom made boot I welded out of vintage Hot Wheels. The point is, I will disrupt the balanced system of the glass and make it do something unintended, ie make a cool noise. I might get quite a few uses out of a single piece before it breaks down into an unusable jumble. I might find a piece that is strangely durable, or discover that simply rubbing my wet finger around the rim makes an interesting sound worth preserving the piece for. It's a magical chaos adventure! Except, maybe, to a ceramics engineer or glass blower.
OK, replace glass with electronic noisemaker and you've got circuit bending.
It can be fun. Did a lot of people not break their toys as kids doing this? But it's not voodoo just because you don't understand what the circuit does. It is complex, but it is not mystical. If you don't want to understand it, don't try. But please stop calling accidental noise "art" and trying to pass it off as techno-mystical. Don't break your hello kitty guitar with a jumper, get on stage and expect to rock me with your button mashing. You look like an ape fetishizing fire.
If you sample noise and make music with it, I might like it. I like a lot of "noise" music. If you mangle a circuit and make a new instrument that you then figure out how to play, much respect to you. If you want to hang out with friends and break a bunch of old toys making funny sounds, have a blast. But it's not all the same thing, and please stop pretending it is, because you look like an idiot.
PS: Radioshack has cheap booklets on what various electronic components do, and you can find tutorials all over the internet. If you find circuit bending interesting, do some investigation and see just how deep this new religion goes!
It's like this: I've got a piece of glass. Maybe it was expensive, and carefully made. Maybe it's a cheap knockoff. I have no idea what went into making it, and certainly couldn't make it myself. Whatever, I'm going to break it. I might use a rock, or a hammer, or a custom made boot I welded out of vintage Hot Wheels. The point is, I will disrupt the balanced system of the glass and make it do something unintended, ie make a cool noise. I might get quite a few uses out of a single piece before it breaks down into an unusable jumble. I might find a piece that is strangely durable, or discover that simply rubbing my wet finger around the rim makes an interesting sound worth preserving the piece for. It's a magical chaos adventure! Except, maybe, to a ceramics engineer or glass blower.
OK, replace glass with electronic noisemaker and you've got circuit bending.
It can be fun. Did a lot of people not break their toys as kids doing this? But it's not voodoo just because you don't understand what the circuit does. It is complex, but it is not mystical. If you don't want to understand it, don't try. But please stop calling accidental noise "art" and trying to pass it off as techno-mystical. Don't break your hello kitty guitar with a jumper, get on stage and expect to rock me with your button mashing. You look like an ape fetishizing fire.
If you sample noise and make music with it, I might like it. I like a lot of "noise" music. If you mangle a circuit and make a new instrument that you then figure out how to play, much respect to you. If you want to hang out with friends and break a bunch of old toys making funny sounds, have a blast. But it's not all the same thing, and please stop pretending it is, because you look like an idiot.
PS: Radioshack has cheap booklets on what various electronic components do, and you can find tutorials all over the internet. If you find circuit bending interesting, do some investigation and see just how deep this new religion goes!