The Fifth and Sixth Dimensions Are Time-Like - Mathematician Suggests

Just as I always suspected...

Link

Tribute to Survivors of the Killing Fields

Very appropriate for John Lennon's birthday, as well as recent political and economic developments...

The Killing Fields

Max

I made some music inspired by 'Rushmore,' one of my favorites films.

Special thanks to Woob (Paul Frankland) for Odonna.

Sudden-death Academic Probation

The Machine is Us/ing Us

The Pre-Socratic Caveman

Distance

You can't make a movie with a cell phone...

Originally posted on my 'Postvisual Meditations' blog, I thought it might be a nice way to get things rolling in the new year...

Turn Away (1993)

Here's a live version of a song from the Longtime album entitled, 'Turn Away.' The song was written on guitar, but this is a rare performance by TMac on keyboard for 'Impressions," a local cable access show in 1993. And yes, that is a Rhodes - suitcase, even!


(Click on image to begin)

Archives

I've been recommending this resource to students and colleagues for about a year now, and was wondering why it wasn't more widely acknowledged.

The website features two of my favorite films:

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

Horror Hotel

pas de deux

This movie was not made with a cell phone...

An[other] new art form?

Last week,
while working on my laptop,
I peripherally watched/listened...
to Napoleon Dynamite.

Although the film did not have...
my full attention,
I did notice a short piece of obscure dialogue...
that lingered in my mind.

Later,
I did a search on YouTube...
to see if anyone had posted the scene.
I couldn't find it.

But I did find this...

Repost: Works that exist only within the narratives of other works...

Over time, I've come to notice that I really enjoy works that only exist within the narrative of other works. Perhaps it has something to do with the potentiality implicit in art that is incomplete. The listener/viewer thus becomes a more active player in the creative process, and must imagine an entire work based on a series of tantalizing fragments.

Anyway, here is a list that is, appropriately enough, "in progress."
Feel free to post any others that come to my mind...

1. Springtime For Hitler (B'way Musical) (The Producers)

The famous (infamous) musical written for the stage by Franz Liebkind, and produced by Max Bialystock & Leo Bloom - as depicted in the film, "The Producers" (1968).

1a. Prisoners of Love (Musical) (The Producers)

After being convicted for overselling Springtime for Hitler to their investors, Bialystock, Bloom, & Liebkind are sent to prison where they stage a musical entitled, Prisoners of Love.

Max: We open in Leavenworth on Saturday night!

2. Kiss My Face (B'way Musical) (The Odd Couple)

In an episode from the TV series, "The Odd Couple" entitled, My Strife in Court (Episode # 66; Season #3; 1st aired: Friday 2/16/73), Kiss My Face is the "hottest show on Broadway" that everyone has been dying to see.

During the course of the episode, Felix's girlfreind Miriam (Elinor Donohue) attempts to convey her enthusiasm for the show by singing the title number. However, her excitement prevents her from finishing the chorus:

MIRIAM: And at the end, the entire cast came out and sang, "Kiss my nose, kiss my toes, kiss my..." - It was wonderful!

3. Bathtub (Off-off B'way play) (The Odd Couple)

In another episode from the TV series, "The Odd Couple" entitled, What Does a Naked Lady Say to You? (Episode #23, Season #1 1st aired: Friday 3/19/71), Felix's new girlfriend Madeleine tells him that she is a librarian. In reality, she is actually an actress in a nude off-off-Broadway play entitled, "Bathtub."


4. Season In Hell (LP) (Eddie & the Cruisers)

5. Hellebore (book of poems by Samson Shillitoe) (A Fine Madness)

6. Jerry (pilot for sitcom) (Seinfeld)

JERRY: You want to go with me to NBC?
GEORGE: Yeah. I think we really got something here.
JERRY: What do we got?
GEORGE: An idea.
JERRY: What idea?
GEORGE: An idea for the show.
JERRY: I still don't know what the idea is.
GEORGE: It's about nothing.
JERRY: Right.
GEORGE: Everybody's doing something, we'll do nothing.
JERRY: So, we go into NBC, we tell them we've got an idea for a show about nothing.
GEORGE: Exactly.
JERRY: They say, "What's your show about?" I say, "Nothing."
GEORGE: There you go.
(A moment passes)
JERRY: (Nodding) I think you may have something there.

7. Rochelle, Rochelle (A young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk) (Seinfeld)

Susan: So, what have you got there?
George: Oh, I, uh--
Susan: Oh, ``Rochelle, Rochelle''
George: It's a foreign movie... a *film*, is what it is, actually.
Susan: Yeah... A lot of nudity in that, huh?
George: No, no, no... Just a *tiny* bit... It's not even *frontal* nudity.
It's... *sidal* nudity...


8. Rochelle, Rochelle (Broadway musical) (Seinfeld)

[Bette's hospital room - Kramer enters]

Kramer: Hi, here. I made this for you. [gives her a pasta statue]
Bette: … What is it?
Kramer: It's macaroni Midler.
Bette: Macaroni Midler?
Kramer: Yeah, see how you're singing?
Bette: … yeah …ha ha. Well you made a long journey from Milan to Minsk.
Kramer: oh, what's that from?
Bette: Oh, that's one of the songs from my show. Bette sings:

"You made a long journey from Milan to Minsk, Rochelle Rochelle.
You never stopped hoping. now you're in the pinsk, Rochelle Rochelle
When the nay sayers nay you pick up your pace, you say -
"Nothing's going to stop me so get out of my face.
I'm having adventures all over the place, Rochelle ROCHELLE!""

Kramer: Oh You are so freaking talented.

9. Smell The Glove (LP - original cover art) (This Is Spinal Tap)

Southern rock promoter: I heard you boys got an album coming out.
David: Yeah, it should be out now, it's called Smell the Glove...yeah...yeah, yeah....
Extra: Smell the Glove? It's a provocative title.
David: Wait till you see the cover, wait till you see the cover, very provcative indeed.

9a. Smell The Glove (LP - revised cover art) (This Is Spinal Tap)

After learning that Polymer Records has vetoed the original artwork for "Smell The Glove," the band members dejectedly comment on the revision:

Ian: What do you think?
Derek: Is this the test pressing?
Ian: No, this is it, yes, that's right...
David: This is "Smell The Glove" by Spinal Tap....
Ian: That's "Smell The Glove" that's, that's the jacket cover, it's going out across the country in every store.
David: This is the compromise we made...this is the compromise you made?
Ian: Yes.
Derek: Is it going to say anything here, or here along the spine?
David: It's not going to say anything?
Ian: No, it's not going to say anything.
Nigel: It's going to be like this, all black...
Ian: No, it's going to be that simple, beautiful, classic! Does look a little bit like, you know, black leather...
Derek: You can see yourself in... both sides.
David: I feel so bad, I feel so bad about this...
Nigel: It's like a black mirror.
David: Well, I think it looks like death...it looks like mourning. I mean it looks...
Ian: David, David, every, every movie, in every cinema is about death; death sells!
Nigel: I think he's right, there is something about this, that's that's so black, it's like; "How much more black could this be?" and the answer is: "None, none... more black."

10. Meet Mitch & Mickey (LP) (A Mighty Wind)

Oh, when the veil of dreams has lifted
And the fairy tales have all been told
There's a kiss at the end of the rainbow
More precious than a pot of gold

11. Chunnel (film) (Seinfeld)

KRAMER: Chunnel's on HBO tonight. Why don't you stop by?

12. Death Blow (film) (Seinfeld)

Kramer: Death Blow - When someone tries to blow you up, not because of who you are, but for different reasons altogether.

13. Sack Lunch (film starring Dabney Coleman) (Seinfeld)

ELAINE: Oh, c'mon Blaine. I mean, look at the poster for Sack Lunch.
BLAINE: It's a family in a brown paper bag.
ELAINE: (laughing) Don't you wanna know how they got in there?
BLAINE: No.


14. The Galloping Ghost of Mystery Gulch (film) (The Honeymooners)

15. Salambo (opera) (Citizen Kane)

16. Rimsky (epic novel by Russian author, Yuri Testikov) (Seinfeld)

JERRY: Oh! Rimsky -- great great book if I may say so sir. I almost read the whole thing.


17. Saucy Jack (Rock Opera) (This Is Spinal Tap)

David: Do you remember what we were...do you remember the time?
Derek: At the Luton...at the Luton Palace...
David: Yes.
Derek: We were talking about a rock musical based on the life of Jack the Ripper...
David: Yeah,'Saucy Jack.'
Derek: Right.'Saucy Jack.' Now's the time to do that.
David: "Saucy Jack, you're a naughty one, Saucy Jack, you're a haughty one, Saucy Jack."


18. Red, White, & Blaine (Musical Play) (Waiting For Guffman)

19. Westechester Furioso (Broadway Musical) (Bob & Ray)

20. Ponce de Leon (film) Seinfeld

21. Films mentioned in Get Shorty (1995):

- The Cyclone (starring Martin Weir)
- Bonaparte (starring Martin Weir)
- Ride The Clouds (starring Martin Weir)
- Mr. Lovejoy (unproduced)
- Grotesque
- Grotesque II (starring Karen Flores)
- Slime Creature I, II, & III (starring Karen Flores)
- Freaks (unproduced)
- Bride of the Mutant (starring Karen Flores)

22. Mountain High (Action Adventure Film) (Seinfeld)

KRAMER: Hewwo and welcome to Movie phone. Brought to you by the New York Times and Hot 97. Coming to theaters this Friday ... Kevin Bacon, Susan Sarandon -- “You've got to get me over that mountain!” “Now” [bang, bang] “AHHHHHHHHHH” There is no place higher than ... Mountain High. Rated R. If you know the name of the movie you'd like to see, press 1.

23. The Amazing Mrs. Bainbridge

A film seen by one of the characters (E.G. Marshall) in "12 Angry Men" (1957). "The Amazing Mrs. Bainbridge" starred Barbara Long, an attractive brunette.

Merry Christmas

Another teaser of sorts for an upcoming post...

This version of the popular holiday hymn was recorded at home on a Yamaha 4-track cassette deck.

Best wishes for a very happy time at Christmas, and a good, fortunate, lucky New Year...and a good time to be had by all.

TMac

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Fun with 4 tracks...

A teaser for an upcoming post: track 2
from the Longtime CD. It's amazing what
you can do with a 4-track.

All instruments and vocals by TMac.

Enjoy...

Fascist Fingers

Learning about time...

I've just posted a short film made using clips taken on my cell phone video camera. It is essentially a brief meditation on time as experienced through Internet 2 technologies.

The film features the teachers and students of the NYU class, COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS IN THE PERFORMING ARTS (E78.2031.001.FA06) The script is by Dr. John Gilbert.

All of the sound and visual elements are derived from the clips themselves; nothing has been added.

the ANnoTatEd aLTeRnAtE

After reading WyzardWays' wonderful review of my second album, ALTERNATE, I began thinking about the origins of each of the individual tracks. In keeping with many of the points raised, I thought it might be a good idea to try to respond to his review with a roadmap of my process.

Unlike the podcast which consists of a 40-minute continuous mp3 file, each song is presented here in its original, unedited form. I've tried to provide background information on the creation of each track, and whenever possible, I've also included links to various demo versions in an effort to show how recorded works develop from early sketches to finished masters.

The results are presented for your approval...

Enjoy.

1. Entrée (MacFarlane) 1:46
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

This is part of an instrumental written as I was exploring the sound possibilities of the electric guitar. In retrospect, it seems very inspired by McCartney's Rockestra Theme (1979), and parts of Mumbo from the first Wings album, Wild Life (1971) with maybe a bit more boom-boom.

2. Free Danny (MacFarlane) 3:28
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Bass, Backing Vocals: Harry Kopy
- Piano, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

Free Danny was written at the behest of media artist, Tom Gannon. The text concerns a mutual friend named Danny (aka Game Boy) who faced some unique challenges in the late 1990's.

An inspired humorist, Danny engendered a local cult following with his quick-witted jibes, and gregarious good nature.

I'm very proud of the lyric which manages to accurately describe Danny's world without being overly specific. I particularly like this line in the bridge:

"Danny had the lingo too,
Elemental Dingo who knew your name,
Now it's not the same."

This is an inside reference to Danny's very funny original song, "Dingo Boy," which as far as I know has not yet been made commerically available.

Look for it.

3. Up-link (MacFarlane) 0:48
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

Up-Link is taken from the end of the instrumental (Blueberry Jam) that was used to create the tracks, "Entree," and "Outre." As so often happens, the first 4 minutes of the original recording were the excuse for the exploration of sound to be found in the coda.

4. You Left Me (MacFarlane) 3:18
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

This was another attempt to create a "cloudy day" song, e.g., Bus Stop (The Hollies), Things We Said Today (The Beatles), No Milk Today (Herman's Hermits). I was very proud of the shift to an F#m chord in the bridge which precipitated a brief move to the parallel major (A major).

The song was also significant in that it was my 5-year old son Graham's favorite. At the time, he was very interested in anything written in the key of A minor.

Click the following link to hear the original home demo.

4a. You Left Me (demo)

By the way, for those interested in such things, the form of this song seems to be a short rondo (!)

Go figure.

5. Mr. Memory (MacFarlane) 3:22
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Backing Vocals: James Paul Christie
- Harmonica, Dulcimer: Bob Dokus
- Guitars, Pianos, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

This song had been summarily dismissed, but it resurfaced on a day when we needed something to test out the new equipment. During the session, we experimented with some unusual effects such as recording piano arpeggios at different speeds (and keys) to create a "backwash" to the overall sound. I then used Garageband to add the flutes, horns, and strings, each of which originated as a Sibelius file. In retrospect, it's one of the most colorful tracks I've ever been associated with.

But who is Mr. Memory, anyway?

Click the following link for a brief exegesis on the origin of the title:

mEmoRy eXpLaiNeD

And here's the video!

6. Child in a Chocolate Shop (MacFarlane) 3:21*
- Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

I remember reading that Stephen Sondheim claimed to have invented the phrase, "Everything's Coming Up Roses," which then found its way into the vernacular via the 1962 musical, "Gypsy." Subsequently, I became interested in seeing if I could do the same.

Although the title is clearly derived from two sources, i.e., "Kid in a Candy Store," and "Bull in a China Shop," with a nodding reference to Willy Wonka's factory, I can't find any evidence of the phrase "Child In a Chocolate Shop" having existed prior to the creation of this song.

We'll see if it makes its way into common parlance!

Let me know...

7. Little Girl (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:53
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Bass: Harry Kopy
- Piano, Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

A collaboration with guitarist Jimmy Christie, Little Girl was an attempt to write a classic pop song that would exhibit a high degree of structural unity. This explains the recurrence of the B section melody over the title line in the final section. During the mastering session for this song, I learned the importance of the term, "work-in-progress."

While listening to the intro riff, Eric (the engineer) wondered how it would sound backwards. To my surprise (and delight), it sounded like some sort of exotic calliope. I then asked Eric if we could loop the sound for use during the fadeout. "Sure," he replied.

I then realized that the composition was still in progress -

And further, that no work is ever truly finished(!)

What a relief!

8. Esrever Ni Knil-Pu (MacFarlane) 0:48
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

This track is exactly what the title indicates:

"Up-Link in Reverse"

9. I Believe You (MacFarlane) 4:18
- Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

I Believe You began as a pop-rock song that to my delight, seemed to evoke the guitar-based textures of The Byrds. Unfortunately, the effect was only audible on the home demo. For years, I tried to record a proper version with a full band but it always came out sounding too light and thin. This version was the last such attempt.

But during the recording session, the track morphed into what can only be described as an ambient pop song. Joe and I had stumbled on a keyboard sound we liked (the rising figure), and we gradually removed everything that reminded us of a standard rock combo.

Click the following link to hear the original demo.

9a. i beLieVe yOu (hOMe deMo)

10. State of Mind (MacFarlane) 3:33
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Saxophone, Percussion: Dave Watson
- Piano, Bass, Percussion, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

State of Mind was created following a period in which I was working a lot in minor keys. At band rehearsals, I began noticing that the group seemed increasingly dejected. Not wishing to be the cause of their misery, I resolved to try and write something that would cheer them up.

The chord progression was influenced by the Philly Soul tracks I had been listening to at the time, while the lyrics were reworked from an earlier song of mine entitled, Hard Won Gain.

The marvelous saxophone lines were performed by Mr. Dave Watson who had worked with The Rolling Stones, and The Police, and has since gone on to tour with Alicia Keyes.

Nice.

11. Melt Into Your Arms (MacFarlane) 2:25
- Percussion: Joe Bank
- Keyboards: Harry Kopy
- Guitar, Piano, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

The origins of this song were twofold. It was certainly an attempt to write another acoustic ballad in the style of "Turn Away" from the Longtime CD; however, it was also my bid for possible future status as a genuine "North American Songwriter." I can now hear the influence of Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot very clearly, especially during the bridge section.

Curiously, the basic tracks were recorded on ProTools, and then transferred to a vintage 8-track analog machine (AMPEX) for various overdubs.

Listen to the following live version recorded at CB's 313 Gallery (NYC) on a rainy Sunday Night in 1998...

11a. Melt Into Your Arms (2/1/98)
- Percussion: Joe Bank
- Bass: Harry Kopy
- Guitar, Voice: Thom MacFarlane

12. Gone So Long (MacFarlane) 3:10
- Drums, Joe Bank
- Piano, Rhodes, Bass, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

Another attempt at writing a big ballad (Long Time being the first). I remember thinking that it would be a good song for Janet Jackson to record. In retrospect, this was probably an unconscious association with the descending progression in her song, "Come Back To Me," one of my personal favorites.

The basic track was recorded on 8-track analog, and then transferred to Logic for additional overdubbing and mixing. Click the following link to hear the original demo which was recorded late one night in my living room.

Sshhhh...

12a. Gone So Long (demo)

13. Outré (MacFarlane) 1:46
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

This is a reprise of track 1, "Entree."
Click on the following link to hear the original home demo entitled, "Blueberry Jam."

Blueberry Jam (demo)

14. Dysfunctional Town (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:43**
- Drums: Clem Burke
- Guitar: Bob Sanders
- Piano, Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

Another collaboration with former Knob, Jimmy Christie. I remember showing him the A section during a break in moving equipment out of a local club. He then began playing the first chord of the B section (E minor) while I sang the leap up to F# in the melody. This is the kind of happy accident that only seems possible when two writers are working as one.



The finished track was produced by the late Frank Balesteri, Ron London, and yours truly, and features Bob "Stormcrow" Sanders on lead guitar, and Mr. Clem Burke of Blondie on drums.

15. Encore-Pretty Little Fingers (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:59***
- Drums: Clem Burke
- Guitar: Abel Dominguez
- Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

And so it begins.

Pretty Little Fingers was the flagship song of my first group, The Knobs. It was another collaboration with Jimmy Christie in which he wrote the verse, and I wrote the chorus.

The song was released as a single in 1984 on Requestomatic Records with the following lineup:

Jimmy Christie - guitar, vocals
Peter Zervoulis - guitar, vocals
Thom MacFarlane - bass, vocals
Charlie Servello - drums

15a. pReTty liTtlE fiNgErS - tHe kNoBs (1984)

Years later, I was working with producer/engineer Dominick Maita, and had an opportunity to re-record the song. However, there was one small problem. It seems that in the original version, we never finished the lyrics!

Since I was going to have to sing lead on the new version, I decided to re-write the text using key phrases from the original version as set points. It was quite a task, but I was very happy with result.

The finished track once again features Mr. Clem Burke on drums, as well as Abel Dominguez on lead guitar.

Well, that's all for now.
I'll post more pictures, demos, or alternate takes as I come across them in the pile.

I find inquiries into process to be very useful;
I hope this one's been of some help to you.

best wishes...

Thom


Copyright 2006, all rights reserved

ALTERNATE

For some time now, I've grappled with the issue of what direction my music should take following the release of my first CD, LONGTIME. Originally, I recorded a followup album entitled GONE SO LONG, which attempted to expand the guitar-based textures of LONGTIME into a piano trio format. Although this collection received critical praise, I was unable to generate label interest for an official release.

In the meantime, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the guitar-bass-drums (and piano) setup that had come to characterize popular music. I resolved therefore to renew my study of music composition in an effort to explore the possibilities inherent in more diverse instrumental ensembles.

Along the way, I re-discovered my former fascination with ambient music and as a result, my interest in absolute musical forms began to dissolve into a seemingly endless sea of color, sound, and texture. These days, I find myself more interested in the materials that emerge into form rather than the form itself. When the form has emerged, I figure my job is done.

The following podcast entitled ALTERNATE is presented as a first step in unifying my interest in ambient sound and popular song. As on the LONGTIME CD, my method was recording technology. The works on this album were created in a variety of formats: 4-track cassette, 8-track analog, 16-track ADAT, 16-track analog, 24-track analog, and digital multi-track. Many of the tracks were then augmented using Logic, Audacity, and Garageband.

My thanks to the friends and collaborators whose skills and insights made this project a reality. The results of our efforts are presented here for your approval.

Best wishes...

Thom

ALTERNATE (2006)
THOM MACFARLANE

Produced by Thom MacFarlane & Joe Bank
* Produced By Thom MacFarlane
** Produced By Thom MacFarlane, Frank Balesteri & Ron London
*** Produced By Dominick Maita

1. Entrée (MacFarlane) 1:46
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

2. Free Danny (MacFarlane) 3:28
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Bass, Backing Vocals: Harry Kopy
- Piano, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

3. Up-link (MacFarlane) 0:48
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

4. You Left Me (MacFarlane) 3:18
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

5. Mr. Memory (MacFarlane) 3:22
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Backing Vocals: James Paul Christie
- Harmonica, Dulcimer: Bob Dokus
- Guitars, Pianos, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

6. Child in a Chocolate Shop (MacFarlane) 3:21*
- Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

7. Little Girl (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:53
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Bass: Harry Kopy
- Piano, Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

8. Esrever Ni Knil-Pu (MacFarlane) 0:48
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

9. I Believe You (MacFarlane) 4:18
- Percussion: Joe Bank
- Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

10. State of Mind (MacFarlane) 3:33
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Saxophone, Percussion: Dave Watson
- Piano, Bass, Percussion, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

11. Melt Into Your Arms (MacFarlane) 2:25
- Percussion: Joe Bank
- Keyboards: Harry Kopy
- Guitar, Piano, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

12. Gone So Long (MacFarlane) 3:10
- Drums, Joe Bank
- Piano, Rhodes, Bass, Guitars, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

13. Outré (MacFarlane) 1:46
- Drums, Percussion: Joe Bank
- Piano, Guitars, Bass, Organ: Thom MacFarlane

14. Dysfunctional Town (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:43**
- Drums: Clem Burke
- Guitar: Bob Sanders
- Piano, Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

15. Encore-Pretty Little Fingers (Christie/MacFarlane) 2:59***
- Drums: Clem Burke
- Guitar: Abel Dominguez
- Guitar, Bass, Vocals: Thom MacFarlane

Copyright 2006, all rights reserved

The Man Who Found God On The Moon

Periodically, I find myself revisiting an obscure recording from 1974 entitled, The Man Who Found God On The Moon. The song was a collaboration between Paul McCartney and his brother, Mike McGear and appears on the latter's solo album.

The genesis of the song reportedly comes from McCartney's chance encounter with a young Hare Krishna named Anette who approached him on his way into the studio and attempted to sell him some prayer books. He was so moved by the experience that it inspired him to write this song. Interestingly, the work also incorporates elements of astronaut Buzz Aldrin's moon-landing transmissions, and is bracketed with an account of man's interest in travel throughout the ages.

The Man Who Found God On The Moon was included on a cassette that was given to me by a good friend named Jav back in 1992. He was one of those people who come into your life seemingly able to engage in conversation on any subject imaginable. He'd moved out of the area in the late 1980s, but we stayed in touch by phone or letter for the next few years.

In early 1995, we had a brief falling out over a tape collection he'd been expecting me to send him through the mail. A week after sending him the tape, I received a rather nasty voice mail in which he claimed that I had forgotten all about him and evidently no longer wanted to continue the friendship. A few minutes later, he left another message in which he sheepishly apologized for the previous call saying that he had just gone out to his mailbox and found the tape.

Several weeks later, Jav called again and asked what I was up to. I mentioned that I was re-listening to Paul McCartney's RAM album, and posed a rather esoteric question regarding that particular recording. Without missing a beat, he launched into a lengthy and detailed discourse on McCartney's process during that period in his career. At that moment, I was struck by the fact that there were not many people I knew who would be able to engage in such a conversation. Three days later, I received a phone call from his wife who told me that Jav had died suddenly the previous night.

I drove with our mutual friend Jimmy to attend the wake in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. On the way, we reminisced about Jav and listened to cassette tapes of his home recordings. At the wake, I was struck by the number and variety of the people present. Particularly noticeable was a group of his son's friends who were all members of the baseball team that Jav coached. In tears, they filed slowly passed the casket, seemingly unable to grasp how someone who'd had such an impact on their lives could be taken so suddenly.

Regarding the tape Jav had given me back in '92, I listened to most of it but didn't get to The Man Who Found God On The Moon until a year after he died. I was driving back from a gig one night when I stumbled upon it at the end of side two. I replayed the song again and again, as if attempting to decipher a coded message. In the early morning stillness, it seemed clear that the conversation which had ended so abruptly the previous year was still in progress.

I've been listening ever since.

Mr. Arkadin: Identity, and the Fixation on Fixation

Recently, Criterion Films released a DVD set which focuses on Orson Welles' ill-fated 1956 film, Mr Arkadin (aka Confidential Report). It's the story of an investigation into the life of a mysterious self-made man named Gregory Arkadin whose past exploits are seen to be increasingly sordid as the plot unfolds. The twist here is that the man who has requested the investigation is Arkadin himself, who claims that he has no memory of his life before 1927 and wishes to know who he really is.

Five alternate versions of the film have been available over the years.
This DVD set presents three:

1) The Corinth Version - The latest extant version over which Welles had a significant level of control

2) Confidential Report - The original European release completed by the film's producer, Louis Dolivet which alters the original flashback structure in favor of a more linear plotline

3) The Comprehensive Version - A compendium created by film historians that utilizes various elements unique to each of the existing versions

Interestingly, since Welles was never allowed to complete the editing to his satisfaction, no "director's cut" of Mr. Arkadin will ever exist. For that reason, the film was often derogated by critics (and Welles himself) as being tragically incomplete, and thus not worthy of serious consideration. Now however, it can be viewed in a new light.

The disjointed structure of Arkadin, a reflection of the main character himself, seems positively contemporary in that it portends the deliberately non-linear plotlines of films like Pulp Fiction (1994), Abre los ojos (1997), and Memento (2000). Here, Welles presents a Borgesian vision of post-war European culture which consistently challenges the audience's expectation for classical narrative structure.

Further, the DVD release of Mr. Arkadin raises serious questions concerning the Western notion of the finished work. Welles's notoriously slow pace in the editing room is worth reconsidering, since his detractors often described it as a fundamental inability to bring a project to its completion. Increasingly however, contemporary artists have come to view "the work" as something that exists in continuous motion, and completion itself as one of the most arbitrary and questionable constructs of the human mind.

And so, fifty years following its initial release, Mr. Arkadin is still a work-in-progress, one that continues to inspire compelling questions into the shifting definition of artistic creation.

To be continued...

il ritorno

On a Saturday afternoon not long ago, I strolled to my local coffee shop to purchase a green tea shake. It was one of the first warm days of the year, so I felt obliged to make the best of it.

While walking home, I realized that the route I was following was the same one I had taken every day to school some 40 years before. Troubled that it might seem as if I hadn't "gone anywhere" in life, I began to sense a mild depression coming on. Suddenly, I was struck by a peculiar notion regarding the nature of space and time.

Arriving home, I asked my son if the solar system was in motion.

"Yes," he said, "the planets are moving around the sun."
"I know," I replied, "but is the solar system itself moving?"
"No."

Not satisfied with his response, I decided to research the question online and discovered that in point of fact our solar system is moving, and that it completes one revolution around our galaxy every 226 million years!

Therefore, even as I walk the same streets I walked in my youth, I am definitely not in the same place, and never will be again.

What a relief!

Mr. Memory

In Alfred Hitchcock's spy film, The 39 Steps (1935), Wylie Watson portrayed a character named Mr. Memory who had the uncanny ability to specifically answer any detailed question put to him. During the course of the film, he displays this talent on the stages of the English Music Hall to the delight of inquisitive audiences who marvel at his encyclopedic knowledge. In the film's final reel, he blurts out classified information at the behest of the main character, and as a result pays the ultimate price for his gift.

The following audio-visual work is offered in his honor...

Mr. Memory
"Go over that, and start again." (Sarah MacFarlane - 1974)

"I left you far behind
The ruins of my mind
I haven't time for "Let's pretend"
Forget your foolish dreams
It's not the way it seems
I'll never be the one you bend
But when I see you on the street
I'm knowing what could be mine"

Pray for Mr. Memory
Cause he is blind and will not see
Won't you say a prayer for
Mr. Memory

"Why should I care at all
You never even call
Or send a letter meant for me
I'll never eat my pride
Although I'm on your side
I think you'd probably disagree
But when I see you on the street
I'm knowing what could be mine"

Pray for Mr. Memory
Cause he is blind and will not see
Won't you say a prayer for
Mr. Memory

(Interlude)

"I put my life on hold
Just to find you cold
Without a smidgen of conceit
And so I drive around
The places you'd be found
So we can "accidentally" meet
But when I see you on the street
I'm knowing what could be mine"

Pray for Mr. Memory
Cause he is blind and will not see
Won't you say a prayer for Mr. Memory

"It's goin' round and round..."

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