SOUNDTRACK: BRUSHY ONE STRING-Tiny Desk Concert #510 (February 27, 2016).
Although I don’t know where the “Brushy” part comes from, the “One String” part of Brushy One String’s name comes from the fact that he plays a guitar with one string. A low E string.
Obviously, then, the songs are pretty simple. Most of them are just one or two notes. They are more or less bluesy and the main selling point of his music is his voice.
“Destiny” is the first song. I really like the middle of it where he scats in a cool accented…something. The song begins as a fairly simple blues riff with Brushy’s vocals. But when he gets to the chorus, he does some great things with his voice to make it really powerful.
“Chicken in the Corn” is a YouTube sensation with nearly 9 million views. It’s fast and wild. This song has a bit more of percussive quality as he keeps a beat on the guitar while playing his one string. This song also has a cool scat section and multiple single styles. It’s pretty fun.
“No Man Stop Me” is a slow song. It’s a spiritual song and it’s way too long. There’s a lengthy recitation and a lot of repetition, and or a song this much, it’s just too much.
[READ: January 19, 2016] “Aspice”
This is a very short story (one page translated by Anya Migdal) that is all about making Aspic.
The narrator is a woman who dreads making the annual aspic for the holiday dinner. “It’s a special kind of religion, making the aspic. It’s a yearly sacrifice though we don’t know to whom or for what. For some reason it must be done.”
And then in first person present she talks about the steps involved.
First she walks to the market, and then she buys the parts of the pig. She points out that none of the animals are really dead. They know that you’ve come for them.
Then you wash the pot and boil and boil. Adding herbs as necessary. Don’t forget to stir in plenty of salt. The end of the process seems to involve putting it outside to freeze.
I don’t know that I’ve ever had aspic, and I certainly don’t want to after reading this.
The story is introspective and I’m not sure if there is something more that is upsetting the narrator than making the aspic, but it sure seems like it. And I guess I’m not sure what motivated one to write a story like this.
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