By jesse on 12/11/2009
On the train to Edinburgh the other day, I was reading Nabokov’s autobiography, Speak, Memory. His description of his troubles falling asleep really grabbed my interest:
“All my life I have been a poor go-to-sleeper… Sleep is the most moronic fraternity in the world. It is a mental torture I find debasing… I simply cannot get used to the nightly betrayal of reason, humanity, genius. I loathe Somnus, that black-masked headsman binding me to the block… I had nothing — except one token light…Its vertical line of lambency (which a child’s tears could transform into dazzling rays of compassion) was something I could cling to, since in absolute darkness my head would swim and my mind would melt in a travesty of the death struggle.”
I have never been a good sleeper. There are also a lot of bits about butterflies.
Posted in Life, Misc. | Tagged lit, nabakov, sleep
By jesse on 11/27/2009
Vodou and Beyond. Alan Lomax, 1500 recordings from Haiti, 10 cd’s. I love his recordings from the deep south but never knew these existed. A full catalog is available from the Lomax collecton.
Posted in Music | Tagged ethnomusicology, lomax, Music
By jesse on 11/04/2009
This past week, I was fortunate to be able to work with with the Red Note Ensemble for one of their Noisy Nights — great musicians, good conversation, and a nice venue. It was a nicely put together, diverse program ranging from tonal to modern to electroacoustic.
And for a first, I had some music reviewed.
Posted in Music, Press | Tagged Music, Noisy nights, performance, red note, scotland
By jesse on 11/03/2009
Welcome to my redesigned site (using wordpress).
I have shifted over to a blog format to make life simpler. As one would expect, the site will evolve over time. It may be sparse now, but hang in there — there is more to come.
Posted in Life, Misc. | Tagged intro, welcome