THE NOISE ISSUE
IT HAPPENS WITH ENOUGH regularity that I should be better equipped to deal with it: an awkward silence and the pressure to think of something, anything, to fill it. But then, small talk is not my strong suit. Now social media has added even more pressure to generate crafty one-liners, all while trying to digest a constant stream of pings from friends and followers.
Amid so much noise, I often find myself fantasizing about the opposite: silence. The world’s most quiet room, the “Anechoic Test Chamber” created by Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, is said to be so devoid of sound, most people can last only 20 minutes in there before being driven mad by the gurgling of their own organs. That sounds like heaven to me. The closest I came was a couple of years ago, when I traveled to the mountains in Peru just outside Cusco to live with a shaman for several weeks while adhering to a vow of silence. I also surrendered my biggest noisemaker, my iphone. It was the hardest thing I have ever done—an interesting experiment that revealed just how much noise I tend to create for myself. The first three days were the hardest. I paced nervously around my mountain hovel as my thoughts raced and raced. But then something shifted. Rather than driving me mad, the quiet became a worthy companion, and for once, I could hear myself think.
As important as that experience was, it was remarkably easy to fall back into old habits once I returned to my life in the city. Noise is often our best defense against ourselves, against the whispered truths we may not always be willing to hear. But noise has another appeal—it’s just so much damn fun.
In this issue, we set out to celebrate the culture’s best noisemakers, from our chart-topping cover girl, Charli XCX (page 58), whom we caught up with during her European tour, to rappers Rae Sremmurd (page 86)— throwing their very first house party at their new digs in L.A.
We also offer advice (page 36) on crafting the perfect make-out playlist (pro tip: save the Sting tracks for brunch) and sit down with Spotify’s artist in residence, D.A. Wallach (page 32), to talk about the streaming service that’s transforming the music industry, to the consternation of some artists. We take a look at some never-beforeseen artwork from Kurt Cobain’s private archive (page 22) and check in with our other favorite music acts, from Detroit rap star Dej Loaf (page 78) and Bombino, the father of desert blues (page 27), to the psychedelic indie rocker Tame Impala (page 40), the rapper Heems, who offers up his own lyrical take on noise (page 12), and dream-pop twins Say Lou Lou (page 80). Meanwhile, this month’s Informer is a comprehensive guide to the rock T-shirt, with cameos from Chloë Sevigny and Ty Dolla $ign, among others (page 93).
Of course, nothing will make more noise this month than the fight of the century—mayweather versus Pacquiao—and our comprehensive tale of the tape takes stock of the fighters, the strategies, and the numbers in exhaustive detail (page 72).
It’s a noisy issue, and we’ve turned it up to 11. That said, if you prefer some peace and quiet, I can recommend a sleepy little spot in Minneapolis or a hut in Peru where you can hear a pin drop.
Silence is truly golden, but once in a while you still have to wonder: Turn down for what?
Editor in Chief
kate lanphear