Signal Boost: The Cab Ride and a Night Train · 2:45am Nov 26th, 2020
Almost a not-a-contest entry, or maybe it is (gonna confess that I haven’t read through all of it just yet). . . .
But what I have read through, Penguifyer’s already hitting where it counts. Ponies are musical, we all know that.
Music has rules, and sometimes composers break those rules. One of my favorite pieces ever in concert band, Chaconne (Holst, First Suite in E flat) ends on a perfect chord and one time when I performed it, the conductor practically cried when we got it all right. Other times, songs take your expectations and turn them on their head; Run or Die is sometimes missing a note.
Sometimes I dive into the technicalities of a story, other times it’s the feels . . . having not read this one all the way through just yet (work and other IRL concerns) I’m already in the feels category. . . .
This one time at band camp in band, we were playing Hovhaness’ Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain. Movement II is a saxophone solo with accompaniment, and our conductor asked the soloist if she wanted to be conducted, or if she wanted him to follow her. She chose the latter.
Likewise, in W. Francis’ McBeth’s Kaddish, my director asked the percussion section if they wanted to be in 4/4 time or 12/8, and in a arm-flailing method I could never replicate, he did one with one hand for most of the band and the other for the precussion section (they chose 12/8; if you know your time signatures and follow the link, you’ll know).
I haven’t read the whole story just yet, but I did read the author’s notes, and I also am reminded of a play we did in college, All in the Timing by David Ives; one of them was Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread.
“Isn’t that a loaf of bread?”
“Time is a moment, sir.”
“(Do you know that woman?)”*
PHILIP GLASS IS A LOAF OF BREAD
I also can’t help but be reminded of my art teacher’s showing of Koyaanisqatsi. Just the mention of Philip Glass . . . his first name means ‘lover of ponies horses, don’t you know?
And since we’re on the theme, let’s talk about cab rides, shall we? Interview with a Cab Driver by Studs Turkel was influential to my own works. I’m one chapter short in my reading, so I can’t promise y’all anything, but if my guess is correct, I know where this is going.
Thanks. :)
That last image makes me uncomfortable. Octavia's belly fluff has weird texture, and I'm pretty sure that cello has a face and it's starting at me.
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Never mind, I forgot how a cello was shaped, and I thought her belly was bulging unnaturally. It's better now, maybe just the shading is off.
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Yeah, now that you mention it, I can see her belly does look kind of strange.
I can’t quite see the cello face, but I almost can. It’s sort of teasing at my vision, almost like a magic eye picture that isn’t quite in focus.