Noisy Memory

“A deeply personal rumination on how [Harnetty] listens empathetically and critically to diverse forms of recordings. . . . Comparing musical analysis, a form of sonic ethnography, and composition to literary writing, he maintains that understanding requires concerted recognition of time and place.”—Library Journal

“Harnetty trac[es] decades of his career in rich, engaging detail . . . min[ing] his memories throughout, exploring the many human connections that have helped to bring his archival albums more fully to life, while also accounting for the ways that time has evolved the emotional weight carried by certain projects.”—Andy Downing, Matter News

“Brian Harnetty’s warm, thoughtful, and inclusive narrative offers a window not only into the creative process but also into what it means to be a steward of archival sound. A compellingly personal, marvelously written evocation of art, place, and community.”—David Grubbs, musician, author, and Distinguished Professor of Music, Brooklyn College

“A beautifully rendered mix of memoir, creative practice, deep listening, and social history, Noisy Memory insists that cultural studies can be both scholarly and personal, artful and ethical. Brian Harnetty reminds us that archival study is never neutral but always situated—materially, socially, historically, and politically—in community. This book is a model for community-engaged humanistic scholarship.”—Ryan Thomas Skinner, author of Afro-Sweden: Becoming Black in a Color-Blind Country