Negativland, Escape from Noise (side A)

1987's Escape from Noise captures a wide cross-section of Negativland's conceptual palette.  The group is obviously known for its creative use of appropriation, and tracks like "Sycamore" and "Yellow Black and Rectangular" emphasize this aspect of their work.  Where these tracks bring the appropriated elements to the foreground, other tracks like the notorious "Christianity is Stupid" juxtapose it against a vaguely "industrial" beat that resembled fashionable dance music in 1987.  It's not clear if Negativland enjoyed such hits or mocked them, or perhaps if they thought appropriating a vaguely then-commercial might help them reach an audience.  No matter their motivation, the palette of beats sounds somewhat dated today, and makes their whole approach feel slightly confusing.  Alongside the direct appropriation are songs with more subtle commentary on brands and advertising, like "Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song" and "The Playboy Channel" — alongside the commentary on brand comes a playful questioning of taboos.  There are also purely playful moments like "Car Bomb", which emphasize that even the group's most scathing commentary was meant with purposeful levity.  The sound quality is diverse, which is unsurprising given the range of approaches here — I do wish the mastering job brought things a bit more together, but perhaps that was not the group's intention of the absurd diversity of material.  The front cover, full of text and with an upside-down image, hints well at the chaotic range of the music, and the zine-like insert provides a nice contextual overview of the group's work at the time.