Some questions arrived in the mail this morning from Ekpektatwa, an interdisciplinary arts project in Poland. I decided to warm up by answering them. I think they really wanted an essay, but I went with point form. Sometimes it’s more fun just to answer the questions. 1). What is silence for You? Is it a …
Category Archives: Sound
Sound and the Story
“How records are made” — sent to me by a colleague. That’s right: it’s not the concert performance, it’s a “planned illusion!” How did a 1956 corporate documentary get it right when so many scholars have gotten it wrong? (Original source; http://www.archive.org/details/SoundAndTheS)
Vinyl Nerds Rejoice
I had no idea a wikipedia page existed for unusual types of gramophone records until Music Thing linked to it.
Authorial intent, after the fact
A friend just wrote and said “I’m teaching The Audible Past next week. Anything I should tell them about the book?” Here’s a lightly edited version of my reply: It’s hard for me to answer that. I have done a few class visits where students read the book and just talk about how it happened …
Film Sound Clichés
Forwarded to the class listserv by one of the students in my Sound Studies seminar. This reminds me of the rule that in Hollywood films a grocery bag must always contain a loaf of French bread. Film sound clichés.
The Record Mystique: Mysteries of Vinyl or, the second time as farce
This NYTimes story on vinyl has been making the rounds on various music boards since it came out Sunday. Many of the old writers lament that vinyl has been “relegated” to the Style section of the newspaper. Me, I just sigh every time the old myths are trotted out. [Vinyl] virtually collapsed in the late …
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School Starts Tuesday
on what should be a beautiful 30 degree day (that’s 87, American readers). I hope they’ve fixed the A/C in my seminar room. Apart from that little worry, I am feeling the usual beginning-of-the-year optimism. Perhaps it’s tempered a little bit by the knowledge of the administration that lies in wait for fall, but I …