All across America, discount retailers and department stores are only seconds away from putting up their holiday displays. Those brightly colored candy canes, that glittering winter wonderland all signal one thing: the thrill of consumerism! That quest to answer the eternal question: “what do I get the art student/sulky teenage brother/neighbor who’s always coming home from S&M clubs when I’m getting ready to go to work who has it all?!” Well now, thanks to our friends in Throbbing Gristle, the solution is clear, and it is neither a (confusingly) scary cute owl-looking thing or [insert former “hit” toy of yesteryear here]. From the people who once drove out a group of travelers from their neighborhood through the use of intensely annoying and painful sound effects, comes the Throbbing Gristle Buddha Box—just in time for the 2009 holiday season! It’s conveniently priced, attractively packaged, and the perfect size for use as a stocking stuffer! It also (probably) sounds like death.
What’s a Buddha Box, you ask? Well... it’s a small box that emits loops of ambient electronic noise, designed a few years ago by Beijing-based artists Christian Virant and Zhang Jian. The former is on board for the TG edition, which is being marketed simply as "Gristleism." You can expect "thirteen original and uncompromising loops" and the choice between three vibrant colors!!! It’s available for pre-order on the band’s website and is set to ship in November. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the ambient noise provided by the Gristleism will have anything to do with perennial ambient faves “Peruvian Panpipes of the Local Shopping Mall” or “Whale Sounds of the Pacific Northwest.”
Looplisting:
1. Persuasion
2. Hamburger Lady
3. Twenty Jazz Funk Greats
4. Thank You Brian
5. Maggot Death
6. Rabbit Snare
7. Lyre Liar
8. Wimpy Bar
9. Sex String Theory
10. Heathen Earth
11. Industrial Intro
12. R & D
13. After After Cease To Exist