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| graffiti |
"The wine which had exerted its somniferous influence over Mr. Snodgrass, and Mr. Winkle, had stolen upon the senses of Mr. Pickwick. That gentleman had gradually passed through the various stages which precede the lethargy produced by dinner, and its consequences. He had undergone the ordinary transitions from the height of conviviality to the depth of misery, and from the depth of misery to the height of conviviality. Like a gas lamp in the street, with the wind in the pipe, he had exhibited for a moment an unnatural brilliancy: then sunk so low as to be scarcely discernible: after a short interval, he had burst out again, to enlighten for a moment, then flickered with an uncertain, staggering sort of light, and then gone out altogether. His head was sunk upon his bosom; and perpetual snoring, with a partial choke, occasionally, were the only audible indications of the great man's presence."
Charles Dickens - "The Posthumous Papers of The Pickwick Club"
Texts
From Recent Arrivals
June 10, 2022
Heaven - Beyoncé [from Beyoncé]
a song is a whole product anymore
very little is allowed to have
personality
outside of the star's vocal
no competition
allowed
do pop pianists have to practice
to avoid
voicing their
chords
I trust they got paid
Romaine - Bill Evans & Jim Hall [from Undercurrent]
like that
and polyvalent pulse senses to boot
bury a friend - Billie Eilish [from When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?]
music follows the lyric closely
nothing wasted
understated and
strong
How Am I to Know - Billie Holiday [from The Complete Commodore Recordings]
or that
for that
matter
I'm Old Fashioned - Blossom Dearie [from May I Come In?]
or that
Recorded
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| on the yellow line at Green Lake Park |
Christe Redemptor, Fvb 125 - John Bull - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
a figuration fence hiding a progression in its slats
a distinctly
keyboardian or lutish move
this is about fingers as much as voices
Surgens Jesus Dominus - Peter Philips - The Tudor Consort, Peter Walls, [from Cantiones Sacrae Quinis Vocubus]
the stones sing out
Sonata in F minor, Kk. 184 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
a renewed iteration sneaks in the first answer
so that's where you
thought this was headed eh?
ha!
Waltz in E minor, Op. posth. - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot (1943)
not a waltz to be danced to
not so functional as that
rather
a fully
cinematically choreographed
performance
Chopin could waltz the waltz
he didn't write them
he danced them
compositionally
Don Carlos, Act III - Giuseppe Verdi - Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado, Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Lucia Valentini Terani, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondo, Nicolai Giaurov
a lesson in minute modulations
tremolo
pp
on the e
strings
not only in love with his dad's wife
but also
makes a pass
in error
at his dad's mistress
thinking she was his
mother-in-law
Don Carlos has problems
conceptual question
in opera the voice is the character's presence
by which they exist at all
but the actors on stage mistake each
other
if they happen to have a mask on their face
but
there
is no mask on their voice
how could the characters possibly mistake each
other?
("That voice! Where have I heard that voice?")
a voice and a body on stage
a double puppet
great tumbril drums
this must be the king with all the pomp and fanfare
company rejoices
as the monks light up the heretics
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| rootless |
Alligator Blues - Johnny Hyman's Bayou Stompers [from Allen Lowe's That Devilin' Tune]
these stompers
open with a stomp
on one and half past two
stomp motto
but it stays at the beginning
making no
particular impact on the remainder
Malted Milk - Robert Johnson [from The Complete Recordings]
inscrutable in this head
They Can't Take That Away From Me - Billie Holiday [from Lady Day, the Complete Recordings on Columbia]
recompose the song to suit
but keep it clearly recognizable
without trouble
recorded live
there was an announcer
announcing
over the end
of it
Cheers - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
jazz small combo
as adventuring party
the ease with which
each member characterizes
their self
is
a crucial aspect
I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good) - Bill Evans [from New Jazz Conceptions]
some of what Monk does
with his quasi acciaccaturas
Evans does
with full chords voiced to the nth
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| the big G |
the guitar licks are the animated cartoon of the girl in the song
Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella - The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble [from Festival of Carols in Brass]
it is odd how we name an instrumental only arrangement of a song
by the
same title that the song uses
as though the text is still back there
somewhere
Wats . . Uh the Deal - Pink Floyd [from Obscured by Clouds]
there are hints of songs from The Wall
stone after stone :: just another
brick in the
outside looking in :: anybody in there
Sound and Vision - David Bowie [from Low]
when he's on target with his collaborators
the composition involved
in when each new element enters
is top notch
case in point
don't you wonder sometimes?
{NB: I am as clueless as you are}
Endless Drive - Orbaneja [from Orbaneja]
composition here has similarities to Scarlatti
that is
they each
concern themselves with short repeatable segments
that can be intercut
on command
more a similarity of topic
than of sound
or
vision
Assembly Rechoired 20 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [April 4, 1987]
we are out of doors and there are kids
I don't remember this session at
all
where are we
who are we with
Bickleton perhaps
not
sure why we'd go there in April necessarily
we must be at the zoo
was my Walkman cassette deck new then
perhaps
must have been
I don't remember this
it must have been in a different version of
my past
the sound is remarkably good
there was a peacock
we
probably went to the zoo that day
because it was almost the anniversary
of our engagement
which event went down
at the zoo
yes
now we're talking about that sleeping monkey
I do remember the sound in that old primate house
I'm glad I have it
documented
we were humming amongst ourselves
how disgustingly cute is that
Karen is humming the Aaronsbundler
we visit the farm animals
the
very large pig
where's the bear
over there
consult a map
just to the left of the giraffe
Karen recites
Oh Hippopatami!
Me belly limn she touch the sky
That be that
that I be fat.
Oh Hippopatami!
mysterious sounds indeed
Giraffe crossing
a surprising lack of you
are here signs
We sing the Aaronsbundler
along with a bird
who keeps a fine beat
going
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| waiting for fish to bite |
Bye Bye Baby - Madonna [from Erotica]
kiss off on a printed card
cutesy bleeped out F bomb at end
Got 'Til It's Gone - Janet Jackson [from The Velvet Rope]
turning her interlocutor inarticulate
reduced to uh uh what
on
various loops
fractured conversation
folded into a music
using industrial technique
to evoke loose play
Track 2 - The Humidiflyers [from The Humidiflyers Fall 2002]
cycles of figures building a song part
verse chorus bridge etc.
parts of standard size
go anywhere
Consider the Birds 32 - Keith Eisenbrey [February 3, 2007]
finding a way to extract a sequence of pulses
from an independently
and indifferently
pulsed
signal
June 7, 2022
For Awhile - The Swearengens [from Devil Gets Her Way]
social* music serves multiple functions
décor lubricant conversation
starter enclosure
*appropriate for playing in nonconcert settings
where the audience can
theoretically
converse
or
otherwise mix
Banned Rehearsal 932 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy [April 10, 2017]
make a mark
there it is
fuss with it
or not
grouping
of sounds happens subconsciously or preconsciously
earmind distinguishes
objects from within the raw signal
and in distinguishing them
creates them
distinguishing bird from brook
is no different
than distinguishing viola from guitar
or even one amp from another
we don't seek them out
they appear
spontaneously
fully
formed
in the midst of forming
higher level complex objects
can be discovered
but
as experiences they are no different
what we can't do
is experience a class of distinguished objects
we can only experience particular instances
and consciously
classify them
as "a" B-natural
or as "a" melody
or as "an"
example of Klangfarbenmelodie
this is one of language's entry points
judgment is the act of inquiring
into the activity of making one's own
distinctions
testing them
our earminds
are notoriously
promiscuous
Cruise Control - Steve Layton [from Moving Bodies (Pandemic 10)]
episodes of beats with little tails
that tail was not so little
this is a large space and things are flying around in it
getting
crowded
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| the Guidonian Hand |
the pitch system in use
was
among other things
a way to
cross-reference functions across registers
which registers
were
not necessarily defined by octave equivalence
an F is any other F
but also
a Fa is any other Fa
along the hand
Down South Blues - Doc Boggs [from Allen Lowe's That Devilin' Tune]
Where the weather suits my clothes
a common song sentiment
I think
Guthrie used that somewhere
but I may be mistaken
banjo guitar and
vocal
Roving Gambler - Vernon Dalhart [from Evans 78s]
the verses change point of view from one to the next
the gambler
the girl's parents
the girl
the gambler
the girl
and a train-whistle-from-a-distance effect
Sukey Jump - Lead Belly [from Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Lead Belly Legacy, Volume 1]
was a jump a particular dance step
this the sort of song
to which
one danced a jump
one wonders
Moon Dreams - Miles Davis [from Birth of the Cool]
there's a tuba back there
the voice leading
going on
inside
this
is truly stunning
Do You Love Me - The Contours [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
twist the mashed potato one more time
Your Ole Handy Man - Dolly Parton [from Hello, I'm Dolly]
consider yourself warned dude
Acapulco Gold Filters - Cheech & Chong [from Cheech & Chong]
take 403
Jefferson Hair Pie
what you want
good grammar
or good taste
Liar - The Sex Pistols [from Never Mind the Bollucks, Here's The Sex Pistols]
nothing here to act as a barrier to musical comprehension
everything
that is there
is a carrier for the vocals
either directly
or
as a surrogate
anti-elite
but certainly not
un-off-putting
intentionally
by keeping them out
we can be us
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| mallards occupy Green Lake Park |
one not ought to sound too articulate
or educated
a kind of
internally generated
self inflicted
cultural revolution
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston [from Whitney]
a dance song
about dance
in the girls just wanna have fun camp
or rather
the number is a carrier
for words
that put a
voice in the person
who wants to dance
and for a dance
an
icebreaker
Wach Auf! (Die Meistersinger) - Richard Wagner [from World's Greatest Choruses]
it's odd enough to hear some of the longer set pieces
but these little
fragments of Wagner are like contemplating David's left nostril
all by
itself
The Roof - Mariah Carey [from Butterfly]
she is fond of decorated appoggiaturas
song as warm bath
envelopment fantasy
for the wealthy client
or their wannabes
June 8, 2022
Gradus 11 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [from April 22, 2022]
a single tone
then
gradually
groups of that single tone
return
to fill gaps among the groups
creating more groups
and more gaps
playing with partial application of the dampers
upon the otherwise
freely vibrating harp
Flaming Inner Mount - Ghidra [from The Sound of Speed]
locals Bill Horist, Mike Peterson, and Wally Shoup checking in
furiously
scurrying for position
fluid game field
Gradus 213 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [June 11, 2012]
ten years along
still on the A train
and will be for awhile yet
completing
on this day
all the combinations
of 5 A
naturals
on the piano keyboard
June 9, 2022
In the Spin - Low Hums [from Night Magic Wine]
song of the washing machine
announcing its cycles
a cleansing
annunciation
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| My journal entry for Banned Telepath 85 Back Yard Morning Rush Hour |
In Session at the Tintinabulary
May 22, 2022
Banned Telepath 87 Roosevelt Station - Steve Kennedy
June 5, 2022
Banned Telepath 87 Breakfast with Chickens - Jennifer Chung, Aaron Keyt
Banned Telepath 87 Samish Island High Tide - Jennifer Chung, Aaron Keyt
Banned Telepath 87 Samish Island - Jennifer Chung, Aaron Keyt
Banned Telepath 87 Dinner with Hummingbirds - Jennifer Chung, Aaron Keyt
June 6, 2022
Banned Telepath 87 Tintinabulary - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer
our first session ever from Anarcadia
that being
the patio
off the porch
at the Tintinabulary
Banned Rehearsal 1052 - Jennifer Chung, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
this is lovely
truly lovely
I presume the rude beep beeps
that recur
are the hummingbird buzzes
all of the above
layered and variously looped around
June 10, 2022
Joshua Tree Prelude 20 - Aaron Keyt
I'm going to give this one another go. The rhythm skews my internal pulse toward the end, but it really needs to be closer to being as written than I managed this time.
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
some listening journal doodles from 1989
