I don't think I can listen to anything for a couple of
hours.

Well done.

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Yeah, nearly 10 minutes may be a bit excessive but Reich's "Come Out" tops
in at 13 minutes. Congrats on giving it an honest go.

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Well, its interesting how the silibants and vowels of the clip create different rhythms as the channels are offset. I'll be honest, I skipped ahead a few times once I caught on to the concept.

I think it might be more interesting if you were to create loops of the two channels offset by different increments of 0.5 or 0.25 seconds and then use those loops to assemble a song in 120bpm...or whatever tempo and divider works best with the clip length. Use the loops and resulting rhythms like drum patterns.

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I thought exactly as you do--that the same effect could be captured in a
shorter time frame. And I tried it and it was a totally different experience.
The mind gets overwhelmed by what seems to be a hundred unique
"rhythms." Done this way, very gradually, almost imperceptably, the mind is
tricked into considering it as a single rhythm undergoing a metamorphosis.

I've also tried snipping and using the loops as a background for something
else and again, it just didn't work. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough. If
someone would like to do that, be my guest. I'd be very interested in the
result.

Thanks for your comments!


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this gets freaky after a while, i found myself looking
around the room after a few minutes & going 'what the
hell? maybe capture some of the more interesting
'happenings' for use in a semi-regular tune, then dish out
for general consumption

more people should be experimenting, i think. you can't
write this kind of thing, you can only find it thru messing
about. on that note, i would file this under 'abstract/
experimental/FX'

..spare puppy hearts

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There was this other piece that Reich did (though I may be wrong about this)
where he recorded himself speaking some text (a few short paragraphs). He
then played it back in the same room and recorded that. He then played that
recording back, again recording the playback. Each time the acoustics of the
room swallowed/amplified certain frequencies, until by the end the text
became unrecognizable--all you could hear were dissonant chords.

Only by messing around like you said.

This song (and any of Reich's works) really need to be heard through
headphones to get the full effect. To be transcended by this piece you need
to get rid of any distractions. Not really suggesting you try it again
(goodness, I think I listened to the whole thing once), but I do suggest you
find some Reich, or Philip Glass and slap on the AKG's.

Thanks for supporting me and my experimental side (yes I do think the
experimental category would be more suitable, but I have a goal of getting at
least one post in every category here at MJ).

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Once I read _ndie's comment, that's all I could
hear...spare puppy hearts...spare puppy hearts... I
found it hilarious and, therefore, found your
experiment funny. Funny "ha ha" AND funny
"strange". I wonder what this would say if you
played it backwards.

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Careful what you wish for...

"straw eepah rapes, straw eepah rapes..."

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strawberry grapes.. have you been licking the metal ice tray again?

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I went through an interesting process listening to this
tune. The first few seconds were interesting, then my ears
started to rebell and fight the repetition.

But after a minute or so into the piece, I began hearing
very subtle variations in the loop. It's as though the
relentless repetition FORCED my brain to extract some
sort of variation -- ANYTHING to relieve the pain!

LATER:

So now, over halfway through this piece, my brain is also
beginning to search for some variation in the background.
The thumping sounds like a washing-machine droning
away!

The words have long since disappeared and now it's just a
wash of sounds. The vowels are turning into percussion.
The "sss" sounds are cymbals.

It's over. I liked the very last repetition when you panned
to the right (I think)....which makes me realize that I
wanted to hear more panning throughout the piece. This
would have created a whole new dimension.

Listening to this piece was more of a PROCESS than
anything else for me. It tweaked my brain in new ways.
Thanks for the "alternative" stimulation!

This is one of those pieces which I think as many people
should listen/comment as possible. I would be very
interested to read their "process" with it.



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Whoa--thanks for the comments!

I had a very similar experience listening to Philip Glass. It was a listening
assignment for that same 20th c. music class. I was in the library,
headphones on. I noticed a lack of separation between tracks on the record
(oh damn, 30 min song). And at first it was borrring. But I didn't lose
focus. Two organs playing the same rhtyhmic figure over and over and over
again. I think there were voices and horns as well. But the sheer simplicity of
the repetition got my brain to focus in on the subtlest of changes that were
occuring. Things I would have surely missed in any other piece. It's like your
mind becomes so starved for something new that it celebrates any scrap or
morsel.

It's a process that has to be experienced to be believed.

I'm glad that MY humble work could do the same for you!

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I really like the photo of the kid jumping. Like he's flying
into the clouds. One thing looking like another due to the
flat image, the perspective, the expectations. Your piece
made me feel like I was stuck in a subway, the subway to
hell. A commuter's nightmare. I will never listen to that
guy walking from car to car again without suppressing a
"Spare Puppy Hearts" smile.

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Heh...so glad I could conjure up such pleasant images for ya!

I took the picture of my niece at the Great Sandhills, just east of where I live
here in Saskatchewan (also mentioned in the book "The Last Crossing," by Guy
Vanderhaeghe, a book you all must read). The touching up was done by
my sis, Jacqueline Mitchell. I think she should buy a mac and get into graphic
design. Or at least buy a mac.

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Who could ask for anything more? I guess I missed that
day in music class. But I give you extra credit for this
effort.

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It's not a real chart-topper. I still have only listened to it in its entirety once.
But it apparently does have an impact. Thanks for the comment!

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To think this is anything but profound or even interesting is to risk I have a closed mind? I think I could do this too, hey! But I'm heartily glad you did it for me. I took your description comments as a sort of challenge. Gave it a shot. Now, how to patch up the holes in my head...

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My next post is going to be just like this piece, except the EXACT OPPOSITE.

It will create holes in your soul.

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This is hard to listen to. So I didn't. I thought it was your "Agent Orange"
song which I love. I think I know the "Come Out" that you reference in the
info. But I didn't listen to that either. Sorry, hon, I am the perfect wife,
but this is beyond any expectations of marriage. Ha..jk, love.

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