Don Joyce, a longtime member of the Bay Area experimental group Negativland and the host of KPFA’s radio show Over The Edge, died Wednesday of heart failure. He was 71.
In an obituary posted on the band’s Facebook page, Joyce is credited with coining the phrase “culture jamming” to describe Negativland’s manipulation of re-appropriated media into biting social/political/religious commentary. Joyce also introduced to band members the concept of cutting up recorded material — both music and voice recordings — to create new compositions, years before sampling was common.
Joyce’s influence on the band was evident in its most high-profile recordings, including “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which mashed up samples from the hit song by U2 with kazoos, electronics, and an profane rant by Top 40 radio DJ Casey Kasem. The band was famously sued by representatives from U2’s label Island Records, and the lawsuit is often cited in present-day discussions of fair use.
“‘Recontextualization’ became his weapon, with the 1/4” tape machine and razor blade his ammunition, and the radio ‘cart player’ — an entirely forgotten piece of broadcast history using endless-loop tape cartridges, which he used until his death — his delivery system,” the obituary says.
