Sunday, 19 October 2008

Sing a song of Palin

(x-posted.)

Via Kyle Gann—my second-favorite ArtsJournal blogger—comes this mesmerizing clip of someone “appl[ying] the exact same rhythmic technique to Sarah Palin that [he] did to Custer.” That it’s the “exact same rhythmic technique” is a claim I believe but can’t evaluate—I don’t know squat about composition, and what little I know I’ve picked up from reading Gann. Deliberately.  So you can guess which part of this I understand.  Now, re-read that last paragraph and then listen to an excerpt of “Custer: If I Were an Indian…”   [UPDATE: You can download the entire work here.]

Compelling, aint it? 

But enough about my rank ignorance.  Here’s Palin:

Oct 19, 2008 2:35:01 PM | Politics

4 Comments

philosopherP

I found out something interesting about Palin's overall speech pattern... She speaks with a modified Minnesota accent. This is because Wascilla was founded by a group of people moving from Minnesota.

Having grown up in Minnesota and now living here (after about 15 years in Colorado and Nebraska) I thought she sounded 'familiar' -- like many of the Hockey Moms and other people around here. To be honest, I wish she would use her accent to say something more intelligent... but, I can't get what I wish for.

Also -- just FYI, Minnesotans don't seem to be in favor of voting for her and her accent... Obama is way ahead in the local polls!

Posted by: philosopherP | Sunday, 19 October 2008 at 03:07 PM

JPool

WHile it's tempting, I'm glad that I don't have a semi-atonal jazz piano noodling behind me. It's a lot of pressure, and it would MEAN that I would have TO BE much more DELIBerate in the WORDS I chose to place RANDOM EMPHASIS UPON.
Baa bee oww.

Posted by: JPool | Tuesday, 21 October 2008 at 02:46 PM

Wax Banks

The Palin piece is charming in a juvenile way, and the juxtaposition of image, speech, and music makes her sound like a lunatic. The Custer piece is insufferable. But the whole thing just makes me long for the final movement of A Love Supreme ('Psalm'), which - according to Lewis Porter's (excellent) Trane biography - is itself a one-note-per-word performance of a written/spoken text, namely the prayer in the album's liner notes.

Posted by: Wax Banks | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 10:22 AM

The Necromancer

Wow. I suddenly have a hate-on for fusion. And I usually like jazz...

Posted by: The Necromancer | Friday, 24 October 2008 at 06:54 PM

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