I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: RASHANIM-“Bahir” (2005).

Speaking of John Zorn, there was a nother clip on NPR about the release of his album Masada Rock in 2005.  Clearly I stopped listening to Zorn’s new stuff around this time because I didn’t know this record.  It features the band Rashanim.

This is a wonderful little mashup of surf rock and noir played by a kind of stripped down rock trio.  The main riff is very noir, something Zorn specializes in.  It’s funny to me that this is a Masada album as it feels decidedly unJewish to me.  But it sounds very Zorn.  The band packs a ton of stuff into this 4 minute piece.  There’s a lengthy, fairly sloppy guitar solo that goes through much of the song.  And the end is a frantic workout.

I liked this song quite a bit and thought I’d see just what Zorn has been up to since I last watched his discography.  I’d say that in the last ten years he has released around 100 albums of various styles and genres.  I think my wallet is happy I stopped paying attention.

[READ: May 16, 2013] “Poker Face”

The five brief pieces in this week’s New Yorker are labeled as “Imagined Inventions.”  And in each one, the author is tasked with inventing something.

I didn’t know Nolan before reading this.  This was my least favorite of the five essays—kind of like a final skit from Saturday Night Live.  Essentially he raves about how useful emoticons are—very current, yes.  Well, he precedes this by saying how in texting it’s even harder to detect sarcasm than it was in emails.  He has a friend who uses exclamation points to show sincerity, so Thanks. Could be ironic but Thanks! is sincere.  I find I do the same thing, so I appreciated that.

But when it comes to his actual imagined invention, he would like your face to be hooked up with emoticon-like abilities to avoid any misinterpretation of signals.  It’s like a necktie that triggers nerve endings so you can preset your face—upcoming meeting? winning stoic half smile  On a date? dial up some mystery.  Parameters assigned and semiautomatic responses would allow for personal freedom.  I know these are supposed to be kind of funny but I felt like this one just fell flat.  Although it is interesting that he and Russell had a similar idea re: technology and awkwardness.