The article is unfortunately a bit unclear, but it's not true that they have "nothing to do" with the notes. They are just a bit noisier than what we've perhaps seen before.
Would you say these pictures have "nothing to do" with the notes?
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/06/the-visual-patterns-of...
Yes, it is a function of the note/frequency and the medium, not just the note, but that still means they are very much related tot he notes.
In particular you can see the different circular symmetries pretty clearly through the noise.