silent sounds

So, how to express silence textually? Text is silent – in a way. But equally, the silence of a text can be anything but silent. Text can be screaming out loud. The silence of a text can produce a sound that says more than any (sonic) sound.

When Einstürzende Neubauten write “So, [ ] beauty remains in the impossibilities of the body,” what does ‘[ ]’ stand for? Is it perhaps an expression, a symbol, for silence? ‘[ ]’ as a symbol of the unsymbolisable? But how does Blixa Bargeld, the lead singer of the band, express this textual symbol, ‘[ ]’, with his voice? How to perform ‘[ ]’? How to express silence through sound? Sound: an expression of silence? The sound of silence? Another contradiction?

Maybe not.

Maybe.

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