Comments on: Marathon Rerun

By: Br!on

Br!on — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:27:49 +0000

Minimalism is always an interesting course of conversation as one has to question what the actually borders are…

Currently in vogue in the dance music side of the world is what is known as minimal techno. The status of sounds is far more open. But the sounds themselves are more round, creating a warmth and vibration on a soul level rather than one of heady intellectualism. Is it minimal?

And what about my youth? I grew up in Northern Wisconsin, on five acres. There was a lot of lawn to mow between the rural orchards and side yards of that haunted 70′s split level ranch.

I sang endless songs to the tonal roar of a riding lawn mower. Is that minimal? When there is just one solid note and you build your voice around it?

Songs in the Key of Riding Lawn Mower?

By: Max

Max — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:18:31 +0000

Hey Nico.

Thanks for being awesome.

fin.

By: tim

tim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:21:55 +0000

i think i need to return to wd-50, the one time i’ve been there i was so underwhelmed! it was the evening we landed in nyc and my gf + i were v tired + so maybe that’s what it was. or maybe i’m just old fashioned and want to be able to actually identify the ingredients that i’m eating…

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:19:17 +0000

Your blog is interesting!

Keep up the good work!

By: thomas

thomas — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:55:23 +0000

just wondering if you like the music of Valentin Sivestrov? I am listening to his ‘post scriptum’ with Vadim Sacharov on piano.

By: Edith

Edith — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:29:38 +0000

Whilst in town: the William Byrd Festival is on now here in Portland, including two events tomorrow:
Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 11:00 A.M.
“Ye sacred muses: Music for Viols and Voices–an Illustrated Recital” given by David Trendell, King’s College, London, with Karl Blume, Tuesday Kingsbury & Ann Wetherell, accompanied by the Festival Consort. at St. Stephen’s Church.
7:30 P.M, Solemn Latin Mass featuring Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices, Cantores in Ecclesia, directed by Richard Marlow, Trinity College, Cambridge, Chant sung by the Children’s Choir of Cantores in Ecclesia, directed by Dean Applegate
St. Stephen’s Church. The Byrd fest website is http://www.byrdfestival.org/

By: minim

minim — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:01:53 +0000

escoop! you made my day with that one!

By: dave

dave — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:56:59 +0000

Thanks for another great post – I’m just catching up on the older ones now. Interesting way of thinking about minimal/romantic differences, relating it to Jungian journeys. You may be interested in Paul Schrader’s ‘Transcendental Style in Film’ where he discusses sparse vs. abundant means in Ozu, Dreyer, and Bresson, but he doesn’t make that ‘story’ connection – he stays on the an individual’s emotional experience.

Looking forward to your SF show. Marco Benevento is in town as well, Sunday-Wednesday: Invasion of the New Yorkers!

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:35:43 +0000

Concert tonight at the Triple Door! Young Folke will be coming.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:13:24 +0000

I am interested in the way you tie molecular gastronomy to minimalism. I always considered it the oppositeâ€”fancy science and allâ€”but it sounds as though when itâ€™s done right it taps into our weird wells of sense memory. This gives me a new respect for Grant Achatz here in Chicago. I mean, I already thought itâ€™s pretty neat that he now has to cook with his nose, but I also thought he sounded sort of lame when I read that he burns hay to suggest autumn or whatever. But you have helped me see that his food is an unlikely example of the minimalistâ€™s gesture: distilling something very complex to make a whole that transcends the sum of its parts.

But it seems like so many get it wrongâ€”and not just Marcel, but chefs who are otherwise great. I went to a food conference last year where Charlie Trotter gave a demonstration of shiny things for molecular gastronomists where he made trout ice cream with a pacojet. It was VILE. I guess when you play to the gimmickâ€”defying peopleâ€™s expectationsâ€”itâ€™s novelty instead of art. And it damn sure ainâ€™t good eats.

But I find it even more interesting that you like Ilan on Top Chef. Did you see that episode where he egged on another contestant to hold down Marcel and shave his head? (Alas, the latter phase of that plan was unsuccessful.) Ilan is, like, the Mayor of Doucheville.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:02:06 +0000

And I thought the theater was mean.

By: leylagencer

leylagencer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:05:26 +0000

small world. Your mothers New Mexico based friend wrote the essay for my partne book of photographs.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:44:50 +0000

It’s so bizarre to have something like a taste or a smell evoke such poignant and specific memories. It’s very exciting whenever it happens. It happened to me with a bottle of laundry detergent once.

By: marcus

marcus — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:20:51 +0000

Well, nothing like the mothertongues of bitter old asexual opera queens to bring the warm feelings of joy and happiness to the world!

Maybe somewhere in your opera you can write a role for a greek chorus of this claque (“don’t hit send, little boy, don’t hit send!”) that is ultimately mowed down by machine gun fire from one of the columbine kids. Talk about sending a ‘positive’ message from the world of ‘classical’ music.

Anyhow, it really is nice to see the whiff of sodomy that always seems to hover over Anglican choral music coming into full blossom with your opera. I can’t wait—-this is going to be good!

By: Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 02:53:40 +0000

Yeah, no pressure.

Hey did you finish it yet?

How about now.