The works I have read, consulted, argued with and recommend to anyone who wants to push past the form-summary level · the list is selective rather than exhaustive · inclusion does not constitute endorsement of every position in the publications; omission does not constitute dismissal · corrections welcomed via the colophon contact
I hold that an archive that does not name its sources is, at best, an opinion in a costume. This page documents the works I have consulted in compiling the entries elsewhere in the site, and recommend them, with annotation, to readers who want to push past the form-summary level into primary documents, critical histories, memoirs, and the periodical and fanzine archive that the genre's actual textual record sits inside. The list is selective rather than exhaustive. I have read all of the items below; I have not read everything ever written on these topics, and is constitutionally suspicious of any archive that claims it has.
The categories are conventional. Manifestos and primary documents first, because every form in this archive begins with a piece of writing someone insisted on signing. Critical histories and monographs next, because the academic and journalistic record is the route by which most readers will encounter the genre at length. Memoirs and insider accounts after that, because the people who made the records have, in several cases, written about making the records, and I hold that primary testimony, where it exists, is worth more than secondary inference. Single-album studies, fanzines and periodicals, digital archives, and audio-visual reference close the page.
I note that the genre's textual record is, like its discographical record, distributed across small presses, self-published books, defunct fanzines, label-run websites, message boards, and occasional academic monographs. No single bibliography is defining; readers who want a complete picture should consult the page as a starting point and follow citations outward. Where an item on this list is cited directly elsewhere in the archive, that cross-reference is noted in the entry.
Russolo's L'arte dei rumori is reproduced and discussed in full at Russolo and the Italian Futurism entry (Italian Futurism).
Ball's Cabaret Voltaire diary entry is cited at the dada and sound-poetry keep (Dada sound poetry).
The RE/Search Industrial Culture Handbook is cited extensively across the archive; cross-references at Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, the SPK keep, and the Industrial Records prospectus (IR Prospectus).
Reed's Assimilate is the secondary reference across the Forms department; cross-referenced at the industrial-proper entry (industrial proper) and adjacent.
Ford's Wreckers of Civilisation is cited at the Prostitution entry and at Throbbing Gristle.
Cosey Fanni Tutti's Art Sex Music is cited at Throbbing Gristle.
Cope's Krautrocksampler is cited at the Krautrock material (now a plain-text reference).
Goodden's Test Dept: Total State Machine is cited at the industrial-proper keep (industrial proper).
The Compulsion Coil interviews are cited at Coil.
Bananafish Merzbow interviews are cited at the Japanoise entry (Japanoise).
The Susan Lawly FAQ is cited at the power-electronics keep (power electronics) and the Whitehouse Right to Kill artefact keep.
The page is not a bibliography in the academic sense; it is the working shelf I consult, annotated for the benefit of anyone who would like to consult it themselves. I hold that the books, fanzines, broadcasts and digital archives above represent a partial but defensible canon for anyone wanting to push past the form-summary level into substance.
Omissions of note. I have not yet read enough of the German-language secondary literature on Krautrock and elektronische Musik to recommend confidently; suggestions accepted. The Japanese-language Japanoise secondary literature is similarly under-represented here for the same reason; the gap is acknowledged. Italian and French secondary literature on musique concrète and Italian Futurism is partially represented; coverage pending. Academic theses and conference proceedings are mostly omitted as a matter of bibliographic taste; I prefer, where possible, books and articles a reader can obtain.
Suggestions for additions to the shelf are welcomed via the colophon contact. I will read what is proposed before recommending it, and reserve the right to disagree with anything on the list and to recommend it anyway.