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READIN
READIN started out as a place for me
to keep track of what I am reading, and to learn (slowly, slowly)
how to design a web site.
There has been some mission drift
here and there, but in general that's still what it is. Some of
the main things I write about here are
reading books,
listening to (and playing) music, and
watching the movies. Also I write about the
work I do with my hands and with my head; and of course about bringing up Sylvia.
The site is a bit of a work in progress. New features will come on-line now and then; and you will occasionally get error messages in place of the blog, for the forseeable future. Cut me some slack, I'm just doing it for fun! And if you see an error message you think I should know about, please drop me a line. READIN source code is PHP and CSS, and available on request, in case you want to see how it works.
See my reading list for what I'm interested in this year.
READIN has been visited approximately 236,737 times since October, 2007.
Some miscellaneous stuff for you tonight, with annotations.
The first two tracks are "Weary Day" and "The Louisville Burglar", from my and Jerry's set at the open mic last week. Still haven't got the video sorted out. Track 3 is my arrangement of "K.C. Moan" by the Memphis Jug Band (and famously covered by the Dead, a-and I know this song first and best in its performance by Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band) -- this is a song we are working on, Jerry sings it much better than I do so just think of the vocals as a placeholder.
Track 4 I would like to know what you think about: It is the next iteration of the song I posted the other day calling it "a variation on Dvorák's 'Humoresque'" -- that description was not a very apt one then and it is works even less well with the current version. The song is definitely a different one from the source. I am calling it "Creepy Charlie" and I just have no idea what kind of music it is. So if it makes you think of anything could you leave a comment? Thanks.
Hmm... and looking at them side by side now, I notice that my "K.C. Moan" part is almost note for note the same as my "Bed on Your Floor" part in a different key and with two extra bars inserted. Which, well, they are pretty similar songs I guess.
posted evening of January 4th, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Fiddling
I worked out a fiddle part to "Bed on Your Floor" -- here is ABC format, here is PDF. I try to write out as close as possible to what I'm playing on my fiddle; it puzzles me that so few of the notes actually start on a downbeat. (Well this has been true of the songs I have transcribed in 2/4 and 4/4 time; the songs in 3/8 and 12/8 seem to be more dominated by downbeats.) Nearly every note of this song that is not the first note of a measure starts on an upbeat or a quarter-beat. -- Well maybe that is an exaggeration. But still, there is a lot of syncopation. I don't think I've ever seen the rhythm pattern in the first, 3rd and 4th measures written out.
posted afternoon of January third, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Songs
So I came up with a melody that's quite different from the ones I have been playing, and just wondering whether it's actually original with me. I know I hear a lot of jazz tunes that I forget the name of and maybe even that I have heard them before -- indeed I thought of this tune while I was whistling to myself an old Dixieland standard that I do not know the name of. (I have included a short, rough recording of that tune at the end of the tape -- if anyone could clue me in about the title I'd really appreciate it. I don't know what it is about jazz that makes it difficult for me to retain information about the songs.) My question to you: is this tune (which I'm calling "Looking for David" for the time being) a new song, or something I am lifting from elsewhere?
Exciting -- the DVD of me and Jerry playing last Thursday arrived in the mail. Thanks, Vinnie! If I can figure out how to convert DVD to MPEG and edit it, and get Jerry's permission, I will post a copy of the performance. Some of it sounds very nice.
Update: Rob has helped me convert the DVD files to AVI format -- this evening I will post a couple of them.
I am finding it clumsy writing about the characters in Blindness without having names for them. I understand, sort of, why Saramago does not want to give them names; but if he had, it would make it easier to think about the book. I had this same reaction recently to another book, I am forgetting which one.*
I found the rape scene utterly devastating -- so even without names, I am apprehending the characters enough as individuals, to feel for them. This book is generally getting under my skin -- the descriptions of walking through the sewage on the hallway floors are viscerally revolting, as strongly as anything from any other book I can think of. (Specifically, the comparison that came to mind when I was reading the first such description, was to the coprophagy scene in Gravity's Rainbow.)
posted evening of January first, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about Blindness
Be quiet the doctor's wife said gently, let's all keep quiet, there are times when words serve no purpose, if only I, too, could weep, say everything with tears, not have to speak in order to be understood.
I'm not sure quite why, but this line (from Blindness, after the doctor's wife has approached her husband and the woman with dark glasses, who have just had sex together) touches me very deeply.
At the matinée today we watched The Water Horse and greatly enjoyed it. But it had this problem: nothing about it was original. The characters were all stock characters, the plot was such that you knew very well at every moment what would be happening in the next minute. The shots all had a very familiar feeling to them.
What made it fun and enjoyable to watch (besides the skill and talent with which it was assembled, which were considerable), was sitting next to Sylvia and watching her take it all in. That same thing has saved worse movies for me. Like some of the corny, manipulative film tricks have worn off for me, but I can still experience the reaction to them at second hand.
We saw previews for a couple of films that looked just hilarious, one about an adventure writer who is an agoraphobe until she is called on by a young fan whose island paradise is invaded by pirates, and her main character comes to life and helps her save the day -- so many confused bits of cheese pasted together -- and one about an American Girl (tm) doll who comes to life and seeks employment in the misogynistic world of mid-20th-Century journalism, if I've got that straight.
posted evening of January first, 2008: Respond ➳ More posts about The Movies
Gee, I hope I have more than a single melody in my head. The one I wrote out this evening is very similar in structure to "Sally's Sleeping" and "Sally Woke Up"; I am calling this one "Sally's Dreaming" (ABC format, PDF). Here are the three of them together:
So I was working on a short air for viola this morning and I went to write it down; and I realized it was almost exactly the same song as Sally's Sleeping, except in 4/4 time instead of 12/8. That one difference makes it sound like quite a distinct song! (Well also I'm playing it in a different key and faster.) Here they are together:
Update: added a new melody to the Sally cycle. See new post for the recording.
Looking at the two side by side a little more, I realize there is another distinction: "Sally's Sleeping" starts on the tonic, and "Sally Woke Up" is a similar pattern of notes but starting on the third. This distinction must be something like an inversion but I'm not sure what words I would use in talking about it.
(Sylvia says, "So you mean, it's like Junie B. Jones and then Junie B., First Grader?" Exactly.)
The Luddite Robot has a video of some very fine jazz violin playing by Joe Venuti. In comments, twindowlicker posts a link to some recordings of Stuff Smith.
