all that good stuff (the grain of the voice)

kilvert is still in langley. 

having walked his brother to the railway station he finds the langley cricket team playing the first game of the season. 

so horsemouth watched the first tale from waxworks a paul leni german silent movie from 1924 (and most excellent it was too). the first tale features emil jannings as haroun al-rashid.  it's not going to win any awards for political correctness but the set design is amazing (in that german expressionist way). he will finish off watching it - next up ivan the terrible and jack the ripper (renamed spring heel jack to avoid hurting british sensibilities). 

horsemouth sat outside in the shade and read, mainly timpson's england a collection of odd buildings or buildings with odd stories attached. 

he listened to a dj talk about the women of free jazz and then followed it up by listening to some of the recommended music. 

'I like a good obvious flaw... cats purring, chairs creaking, slightly out of tune instruments... all that good stuff.'

horsemouth supposes it all comes down to roland barthes' the grain of the voice - music that is immaculately performed lacks character, it doesn't create the image of the person singing or playing. music with flaws does create that image. the ear catches on that flaw, grit, or grain.

an obvious flaw is productive - it tips the song into a new direction. a purring cat or a barking dog is just that. 

but conversely music  also has  background and foreground, and sometimes you want the performance to move to the background and become something in the service of the song as a whole, of the song as intended.

not everything has to be free jazz all the time.  

horsemouth came of age musically in an era of trying to make everything smooth, to remove accidents. people would attempt to interest him in eno's way of working 'honor thy error as a hidden intention' but it exposed him to risk. 

horsemouth is listening through to far future village band trying to understand the aesthetic of it better. because of recording limitations he cannot multiply his efforts by layering recordings. 

last night bats flying about. that hyperreal evening light (maxfield parrish). 

today another beautiful morning. a bank holiday. horsemouth is nearly done with his coffee.