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T A N G E R I N E A L E R T landscape under construction |
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SOTU drinking game, 2008 - 2008-01-27 |
2005-01-14 - 10:59 a.m. walking through the fog-shrouded streets of little italy, i tried to offer words of comfort to the brokenhearted heterosexual. i'm not sure i did any good, she was still on the verge of tears by the time she got on the subway and i turned towards the lower east side. i had other fish to fry.
at subtonic, almost 20 people fussed with boomboxes and portable CD players. i cadged a jameson on the rocks and found a dark corner to lurk in. a rock guitarist in front of me cradled an ovoid boombox from duane reade, a skinny DJ standing at the bar had patched a portable player to a pair of small homemade speakers. each participant had a copy of john cage's 'landscape under construction' to play, and each had a set of elaborate instructions. there was a large digital clock at the front of the bar which served as the conductor. i peeked at the guitarist's 'score' and the instructions told him to raise and lower the volume of the CD at various time markers. the cumulative effect of the piece was difficult to describe, an orchestra of boomboxes in conversation with one another. we could also hear the experimental band sawing away at the upstairs club, adding an underlayer of gentle chaos to the proceedings. i know john cage would have loved it. the second act was a classical cellist who played as though cats were fighting in her cello, accompanied by a sound artist playing cassette tapes through an arsenal of digital delays and effects pedals.
i also spent yesterday shopping for malibu stacie's birthday, and you know i had to get a little something for myself!
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