READIN

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

🦋 Mistranslation

This is the epigraph in front of Orhan Pamuk's The White Castle:

To imagine that a person who intrigues us has access to a way of life unknown and all the more attractive for its mystery, to believe that we will begin to live only through the love of that person -- what else is this but the birth of great passion?

Marcel Proust, from the mistranslation of Y.K. Karaosmanoğlu

This seems really intriguing to me: Pamuk is quoting a mistranslation into Turkish of a French text (and presumably a real, historical mistranslation), which has subsequently been (who knows, possibly mis-?)translated into English! (This book is translated by Victoria Holbrook, a new name to me -- it will be interesting to see how her rendering of Pamuk's work compares with that of Maureen Freely and of Erdağ Göknar.)

I'm not familiar with Proust and have no way of knowing what the correct translation of the quoted bit is -- not really something I can look up via Google. I wonder...

posted afternoon of January 17th, 2008: 1 response
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🦋 Books as lubricant

No posts for a couple days now, that means my mind is slowing down, that means I need to find another book to get the gears rolling again.

posted morning of January 17th, 2008: Respond
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Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

🦋 Can't figure out what to get me?

Here are two records that would be sure-fire gift ideas: The Music Of Kentucky: Early American Rural Classics 1927-1937, vol. 1; and The Music Of Kentucky: Early American Rural Classics 1927-1937, vol. 2.

Update: Also this one would be most welcome: Blue Grass Favorites by the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers.

posted evening of January 15th, 2008: Respond

Monday, January 14th, 2008

🦋 Shining down, on the water

It's worth pointing out just how great the bonus tracks on the CD of Black Snake Dîamond Röle are. I wrote a couple of months ago about how much I like "All I Wanna Do is Fall in Love" -- "A Skull, a Suitcase, and a Long Red Bottle of Wine" and "It Was the Night" are similarly great (although "It Was the Night" seems like a lousy title to me). And there's much more! The take #2 of "I Watch the Cars" (take #1 is maybe my favorite song on the original record) is not so good however.

posted evening of January 14th, 2008: Respond
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🦋 "I don't know how likeable she was..."

I was just looking at the jacket of While Thatcher Mauled Britain and noticed a cartoon of Hitchcock's. A little bit hilarious in the context of these past few days.

posted evening of January 14th, 2008: Respond
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🦋 Hmm...

No snow... They said there would be snow... Where's my snow damn it?

Well, the weather people still think there is going to be snow today and tomorrow, not sure I trust them at this point though.

Update: (this evening) -- seeing a little slush now, which is not a satisfactory substitute for snow. Quite the contrary.

posted morning of January 14th, 2008: Respond

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

🦋 Gender and Music

Hmm, so I was walking along today and realized there's only one track out of 24 on my mix tape that's by a female artist, and two more with female backup musicians. That seems kind of improperly balanced, I ought to make an effort to listen to more women musicians.

posted evening of January 13th, 2008: Respond
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🦋 Simple air

Just thinking about this song. Quick and simple to write, the theme allows for a huge amount of improvisation. It is written out with a straight, even rhythm but is should be slightly "swung", assuming you can do that with waltz-beat music and that it means what I am thinking it does by extension from the meaning of "swing" applied to four-beat music.

ABAC structure seems to work pretty well for me, and not to be as limiting as I was thinking it might. (Not sure why the B line always ends on Re -- the C line of course ends on Do and the A lines usually also end on Do.)

Update: There is a lot of room for variation in rhythm when playing this song. Keeping the same time signature you can play it very straight, very "swung" (with above caveat), or in between, and put the accent on various beats. Change what is legato and staccato a-and etc.

posted afternoon of January 13th, 2008: Respond
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Saturday, January 12th, 2008

🦋 Mister, You Can Have my Mix

So I put together a mix tape of some of the music I particularly like. If you'd be interested I could make you a copy (assuming I'm calculating correctly that not a whole lot of people will be interested) -- just drop me a line and let me know where to send it. Track list and notes available on request; it's a mix of old-time blues and country, and music by Robyn Hitchcock. They go together better than you might expect.

Track listing and notes:

1. "Welcome to the 21st Century": On-stage patter from Robyn Hitchcock's Hallowe'en 2003 concert at The Bottom Line, NYC
2. "Ragged and Dirty", Bob Dylan, World Gone Wrong, 1993 I like this album a lot, indeed it's one of my very favorite Dylan records. Old music; this is an old tune by Sleepy John Estes, a bluesman from Tennessee.
3. "Black Cat Rag", the Famous Hokum Boys (Big Bill Broonzy's first band), April 1930 from Big Bill Broonzy: All the Classic Sides 1928-1937.
4. "Pancakes", Leadbelly, 1941 radio broadcast from Lifting the Veil: the First Bluesmen. Hilarious.
5. "Full Moon in my Soul", Robyn Hitchcock, Spooked, 2004 (with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) I just love Hitchcock and this song has all of my favorite Hitchcocky qualities.
6. "Sweetest Love", the Stanley Bros., April 1952 from Selected Sides 1949-1953.
7. "Go 'Long Mule", the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra from A Study in Frustration: the Fletcher Henderson Story. I don't know jazz very well but I know what I like and damn, do I like Henderson. Early big-band jazz from New Orleans.
8. "Heartaches", Patsy Cline, February 1962 from The Definitive Collection.
9. "Pig Meat Strut", the Famous Hokum Boys, April 1930
10. "C.C. Rider", Mississippi John Hurt, The Best of Mississippi John Hurt (actually a concert tape, not a best-of – Oberlin College campus, 1965).
11. "Pig Meat Blues", Whistler and his Jug Band, April 1927 from Violin, Sing the Blues to Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949.
12. "Mr. Kennedy", the Soft Boys, Nextdoorland, 2002. The Soft Boys' reunion record. Robyn wrote this song about a concert tour he had been doing in 1999 with Sebadoh – Mr. Kennedy drove the tour van.
13. "Cincinnati Flow Rag", Gary Davis from Blues & Ragtime (which has no info about dates)
14. "Drivin' Nails in my Coffin", Ernie Tubb, September 1946 from Early Hits of the Texas Troubador
15. "Little Birdie", the Stanley Bros., 1952 radio broadcast
16. "Risin' Sun Shine On", Big Bill Broonzy and the Cool Tones, July 1935 A bit later in his career, when Broonzy had got a lot smoother sounding and better production.
17. "Polk Salad Annie", Sleepy LaBeef, Tomorrow Never Comes, 2000 Song is by Tony Joe White, also covered (not well) by Elvis. Here is fantastic video of White: http://readin.com/blog/?id=1041
18. "Memphis Blues", the Mobile Strugglers, July 1949 from Violin, Sing the Blues for Me – this song is total Americana, by W.C. Handy.
19. "I Love Lucy", the Soft Boys, Nextdoorland
20. "Walkin' the Floor Over You", Ernie Tubb, April 1941
21. "The Yip Song", Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, Spectre (promotional pressing of Respect with interviews), 1993 If you dig this song you need to rent the DVD of Storefront Hitchcock.
22. "Two Soldiers", Bob Dylan, World Gone Wrong I respond more emotionally to this song than to any other song Dylan sings.
23. "Crown Junction Breakdown", the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, 1962 from String Theory –WFMU dj Jeffrey Davison gave this compilation as a pledge premium in 2004.
24. "Welcome to Earth", Robyn Hitchcock, Spooked

↻...done

posted evening of January 12th, 2008: 4 responses

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

🦋 Those wacky music historians

I was just looking at Wikipædia's article on accidentals in music, to resolve a question I had in mind, when I came upon the section entitled History of notation of accidentals. Go take a read if that kind of thing interests you -- it seemed pretty far out* to me, who am pretty well completely ignorant of musical history (this kind of stuff anyways).

*(i.e. not meaning that it seems incredible to me but rather fascinating)

posted evening of January 10th, 2008: Respond

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