Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/01/11/song-made-from-a-weird-pest-co.html
…
that just made me very sad
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Only a few ants, but very very sad.
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I’m pretty sure we’ve got laws against that kind of thing in Europe.
Not against the despicable act of referring to such an inane arrangement of repetitive noise as “a song”, somehow implying that it was “music”. No, you can’t legislate the quality of art. And after all, if this “song” was made by a twelve-year-old, it might actually be a sign of (moderate) talent.
But recording a phone call made by an obviously distraught woman and using it to ridicule her in public? You just don’t do that.
In my grandmother’s final year of life, I’ve received my share of phone calls where she was seeking help for some minor problem that seemed a lot bigger to her than it actually was. I did not record any of those calls, and I did not use them to ridicule her in public. If she had called a professional and they had done this to her, I would have been seriously upset and angry.
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I think the story is quite sad, and making this “song” is actually unethical unless the person on the other end of the phone has given consent (which I highly doubt). Sounds like she has Delusional Parasitosis, which is common in the elderly. I thought people working in pest control would be aware of this phenomenon.
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I hope you don’t mind, I’m totally calling my next release “Inane Arrangements of Repetitive Noise”.
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the vocals could come up in the mix.
Lady has a poetic rhythm, if it hasn’t been edited, I could see that she was a singer or spent much time in church with a enthusiastic preacher.
I am fascinated (and a bit disturbed) by the fact that I had a completely different take on it. I guess I took the woman’s voice as just found music and thought the arrangement, while a bit simplistic, was OK. I liked the use of repetition, and the one use of reverb. So overall, for a piece of simple music, I enjoyed it.
I was disturbed after reading the comments above. Am I too insensitive? I guess I would be more upset if the woman’s or the pest control company’s name or location had been identified.
The Bran Flakes has done a lot of sampling from different sources, but this situation is different, I guess.
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There’s a decades long tradition of this sort of thing.
It depends on which state you live in. NJ, for example, allows one side of the phone party to record anything without the other’s knowledge. So I can call anyone from NJ and knowingly record it, provided that I don’t have any identifying information, can do whatever I want with it.
Obviously answering machines would be covered, as both parties know it’s a recording.
That said mark me down as disappointed, this is not a wonderful thing.
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Oh great, now casual game youtube channels are going to sound like this for 2 months. [Listens a little, walks out front door into nearest snowbank.] Wait, who mixes songs on C=64 emulators without even a pedal and a free loop?
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what would laurie anderson say
Formication. Not to be confused with fornication.
Meh disposable music with “vocals” that are basically an invasion of privacy.
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Okay then, let’s say I agree with you.
Whose privacy has been invaded?
If you cannot answer this question then that person’s life is still private.
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The person who was recorded. I felt really bad for them, feel that they have been recorded without their knowledge or permission, and feel that this piece of crap throwaway song only exists to make fun of them.
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It’s either unethical or darn close. And the legality of it depends on the state. Chances are though, the company doing the calling is aware of the laws in their state and it’s either legal to record without the other party’s knowledge or consent. … OR … they do need consent, and obtained it before hand and left that part out of the song. The employer would certainly be unhappy about this, and the “making it into a song” part (since it’s got nothing to do with the business) might be illegal? Note sure.
In any case … it could also be a joke. It’s a buddy of his pretending to be a delusional or semi-delusional woman.
Not a whole lot of funny or cool or wonderful or the like in age-caused delusions though.
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That is a different ethical issue than privacy then.
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Feel free to do so. I’m sorry to tell you, however, that my opinion of your release will consist first and foremost of a complaint. I’ll either complain that it is indeed an inane arrangement of repetitive noise, or I’ll complain that it is a misnomer. There’s no way you can win. 
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Yeah, I, too am surprised. I’ve been enjoying found art most of my life. Also, I hear humor in the lady’s voice - “I’m eatin’ em!” I’ve known a buncha people with that sort of morbid, drily exaggerated humor.
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