What is "noise" and what is "music"? And where exactly do the two meet? Or should they? Are they completely different entities, to be appreciated on separate but equal terms?
Such questions are apparently the basis of a riveting documentary (see it below) called People Who Do Noise, which focuses on artists working in the experimental music underground of Portland, Oregon. To aficionados of the noise genre, Portland is akin to Liverpool, England in the early '60s, or Seattle, Washington in the early '90s.
Made on a shoestring budget of $10,000 back in 2008, People Who Do Noise goes up close and personal with the musicians of this scene, profiling them in candid interviews (they're an opinionated bunch!) and working on music they fully admit isn't for everyone. And that's precisely the point.
Perhaps the sounds these performers create aren't your cup of tea, either. That's fine. But the documentary is well worth watching for the interviews. Taken together, they create a fascinating mosaic of a bold, uncompromising musical movement.
