Federal Office of Noise Abatement

Let's talk about the current state of noise in the United States. What did you say? i couldn't hear you. From inside your home? Yes, it was a jet flying over our neighborhood, or was it a recreational prop plane on a Sunday excursion, or is it a C130 from Fort whatever? I'm not sure, but they seem to have free run of our airways despite the millions of Americans that live directly below them bathing in the wash of their airplane noise. What did you say? I can't hear you. The Federal Office of Noise Abatement (What the heck is that?) has gone unfunded in the EPA since Reagan was in office. (not the Federal Office of Noise Abatement) the office of the Presidency. Does such a thing exist, an office within the Environmental Protection Agency, to protect we the people from the burgeoning phenomenon of Harley Davidson rumble, muffler resonators, the thump of bass in so many vehicles, and who knows what else? Well, it ain't happening. There was a "sting" this weekend in a particular town meant to target the driving force of some of this noise, agressive drivers. An agressive driver is one that tailgates, changes lanes too often, runs red lights, and intimidates other drivers often with the thump, thump, thump of a menacing sounding 500 watts of bass in the rumble seat. Well to segue, that seems to have been the style for almost the entire last decade. What is it about infrasonic sound that people find so appealing? Almost every movie in the last decade began to use those invariably dull droning, jungle drums in the opening credits of their film. After one or two this was a cliche. Now it seems to be the widely accepted norm for a movie sound track. Just add a little 20-50 Hertz noise on the bottom of the foley and score and voila! A hit film? Or just really annoying unrealistic antagonizing noise. The latter for moi. Humans associate infrasound with impending doom and disaster as with a tornado, a hurricane, an avalanche, or an encroaching dinosaur. Boom, boom, boom come the steps of the predator, coming to eat you. Is this the tone, the message, the mood that every major Hollywood film wants to impart at the beginning of every film? Terror, doom, gloom, death. What happened to pleasant sounds? The chirp of a bird, the clanking of a cowbell, the rustling of a brook. Are we as Superheroes, Kung Fu fighters, Devil's Rejects, and Crime Scene Investigators not worthy of a little foreplay of sound? Is this really the modern Dark Ages according to Hollywood cinema? That cliche is dead, and it is time for composers to get over it and begin composing meaningful scores again. Forget the samplers, the plug ins, the loops, and everything else related to computer sequencer based composing. I dare Hollywood to junk the computer and make their music be performed live on a sound stage like the Golden Years of Hollywood. Can they do it? You mean feel and express music with phrases, sentences, gradually lilting up and down like golden speech, not metronomic and square like a computer sequencer or a Nick Thorp score? Forget the constant droning 8th note pulse like badly performed Baroque music, everything the SAME dynamic level, every note the same inflection, no crecsendo, decrescendo, no tension/release, no MUSIC. Hollywood and the commercial music industry need to get over this dark period of creativity and resurrect the band. If not, the piano may become obsolete in commercial music and this cacaphony of noise we experience every day will continue to push murderers over the brink of insanity.

Bush Visits Ft. Bragg

The rumble in the news media was, 'Why didn't the troops at Ft. Bragg applaud President Bush's speech?" It was an amusing thought. Bush traveled to Bragg on a calculated media mission to support his war in Iraq. What he didn't fathom was he was going to address all the fighting men and women that are dying in his war for oil. I was sickened listening to his propaganda about Iraq. Here in front of them, their Commander and Chief , went on and on about the "people" of Iraq, the importance of Iraq, the security of Iraq for Iraqi people. Never once did he say "Thank you" for dying in MY war. He wonders why the troops didn't applaude. Well first, they were at attention being briefed by their CinC. It wasn't really a pep rally in the eyes of working men and women. There is a faction of people in the US that work for a living and live the real life. It is not Hollywood, affluence, fraternities, sororities, high society, politicians, etc. It is real life, and that probably is best represented in the American South. Afterall the birthplace of America's only native art form, Jazz, was an extension of the slave experience in the American South. Feelings run deep in the South, the Bible Belt, host to the Macon County Line. That old "Fruits, flakes and nuts" about California might even be true. Try growing up in Fayettenam, host to hate crimes and redneckism on a stick. Bush failed when he came to Ft. Bragg. He failed to thank and acknowldege the families and friends of those dying in a war that was entered under false pretenses, his false pretenses. Ask any grieving mother why they should applaud a man that seeks "Weapons of mass destruction" and a ruthless dictator that was never proven to be linked to Al Quieda. Yes, we are happy there is a Department of Homeland Security, I guess. It took the British how long to find all four bombers? But considering how unpleasant it is to fly these days, and the bankruptcy of most major airlines, life in the US sure ain't what it used to be. ..

Roller Skating in America

Niow let's talk about roller skating. You have to admit, this recreational sporting past time is a beast all unto itself. It may have began in the 50's, sock hopping, drive up dining, and such, but it could be argued this past time was predominated by black culture. There is nothing wrong with this, but from an artistic point-of-view there is a specific difference between African-American style skating and others. First, they skate mostly to black music. Nothing wrong with that. Puerto Rican's may prefer to skate to salsa music, or not. Mexican's may prefer to skate to Mariachi music, or not. I, as a WASP, prefer from time to time to skate to something other than Rap, R&B, or Hip Hop, especially if every song is DJ'ed to exactly the same tempo. I know DJ's do this at parties, matching the tempo of one song to the previous song before it is faded in and the other faded out. Let's say your big drug fest would not be disturbed by variety of tempos, say a fast song. This could be followed by a medium tempo song. Then maybe a ballad. Variety is the spice of life, so why not change it up? I left the rink tonight because every song for two hours straight was the same beat at the same tempo. It was not a rhythm I particularly like to skate to, so I wasted $7.00, which I will not get back. I sat for a while and observed the different levels of skating. Primarily less experienced skaters tend to use basic, metronomic-like stepping motions to propel themselves forward. More experienced skaters "feel" the rhythm, loosen up a bit, and take more liberty with their motions, much like an ice skater carves "figures." This is truly an liberating feeling, similar to surfing and skateboarding. These sports refer to the "carve," the forced turn that resolves itself with momentum when the surfer can unweight from the board and just glide or freefall in the wave. It is a glorious feeling, liberatin g from the relentless infrasonic hammering of diesel-electric freight trains that run 24/7 in the US and other countries. Skateboarding is a culture all unto itself also, but who knew you could get a $150.00 ticket for catching some asphault in a deserted, late night parking lot. Who knew? That kind of takes the fun out of turning that horrid urban sprawl into a roaring, frothing wave that give you pleasure rather than global warming and strawberries. Roller skating in my mind is a sport that is singular. Yes there are times when couples can skate together, but for the most part on a crowded Saturday night floor, solo is the way to skate. Young African/American girls tend to skate in groups of two and three, as do the boys. This when multiplied by four or five creates traffic barriers within the skating oval making it hard for an experienced skater to establish a steady rhythm in which to glide. It is more like Roller Derby, but without the football pads. There are though rambunctious black men that like to bump and play in the rink. Hockey in ain't supposed to be. When you do get a plural rhythm happening, everyone skating at different speeds, but literally marching to the same drummer, you get an almost orgasmic release that makes the beauty of skating what it is. Let's keep the skating rinks integrated, mix up the music, and keep them a place every age age and color can come have a good time, regardless of their skating level.

Crash, the movie

Of all the summer movies, Crash was surprisingly one of the more moving pictures...so to speak! To find a socially conscious movie in the que of wanna be summer blockbusters, you have to commend the studio for taking this risk. The vinettes are telling on their own, but effectively intertwine to form a composite that mimics real life. Why is it the racial tensions that subsided a decade ago under the Clinton administration have resurfaced with a vengance? Are all races and nationalities responsible for 9/11? It is very disheartening to live in the year 2005 under such unenlightened circumstances. I grew up in the decade of Vietnam and do no want to relive that again. Well, we have Bush for a president.
Crash, although a little brash, confronts day to day issues about race. I think more it represents the "little black box" are are destined to live in. This "black box," found in Mulholland Dr., is a severly oppressive force that doesn't reflect well the intent of the constitution of the United States, "All men are created equal." Well, welcome to the conservative, religious, oil-mongering right. (It was good to see some southern democrats giving Rumsfeld a little bible lesson) You really can't change a thousand years of religious dogma with one invasion of Iraq. I guess it is commendable Condi Rice thinks we should keep our chins up.
Crash is one of the better movies of the summer, but I just have to say...when a police man saves your life after feeling you up, that doesn't make him the logical choice to replace your brown nosing husband! Further, it would nice to see rather than closure at the end after human drama, a little wisdom in how to live your life on a daily basis. It is a little unnerving to see ignorance personified day in and day out. Art can lead, and with public education not a priority, we have to learn from something. Why not let it be the movies?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Has anyone seen this? What a melting pot of ideas with very little concept. First, let's combine Disney-like period pieces (old English scenery, costumes) and combine this with modern day America. Where would this be? A fantasy it is. I'm not sure it works. Let's poke fun at regional groups. Tammy Faye in the South, teen violence in Colorado, fat kids in Germany. Let's throw in American pop culture (synchronized swimming, rock 'm' sock 'm' robots) and underscore that with Danny Elfmans cliched dark, sininster music. (You missed the mark on this one Dan, except for the dance music which to me was a highlight of the film) Your samples are still raw and stiffly performed, but they did groove and the midget was a good dancer. Well, with a Burton film, everything is dark. It is a dark world, and everything about it dark, except of course for the message at the end. Live with your parents and two sets of grandparents for the rest of your life with no wife and no kids of your own. Bliss! Not happening. The message of Christian, altruistic kids being rewarded in the end was barely apparent.
I just want to say, stop with all the dark, edgy Hollywood bullshite. Let's lead the country. Let's try to model good, positive behavior. Oh, but no one knows what that is anymore. There is no mainstream America. How do we live our lives? There is no modern period pop music. We are still waiting for the angry message from someone. How about hetereosexuality? How about man and woman and children? How about Christian virtues? How about Willie porking pink sheep as a tormented child. Is this what life is and is going to be forever? Seems like we've lost sight of happiness with this freaking war in Iraq, graven image of the automobile, urban sprawl, real estate bubble, miniaturization of electronic components, loss of audio fidelity, decline of the record industry, outsourcing of jobs, and the list goes on and on. Ah yes, I want to work at Walmart the rest of my life and be taken advantage of. Well, Sam's dead. Oh, try making a decision about which pharmacy you are going to patron. Just pick any open corner of any urban intersection and you'll surely find, (da da da da dum) a huge, unappealing, gothic-like Eckard, Pharmore, or Walgreens. Do you want to shop at these places? Not me.

Responses anyone? Later


And by the way, stop with the camera movement. Human beings don't watch films from the height of three feet. Let the camera stand still and observe the human element. Let the actors and actresses act. That is where the interest is. The human aesthetic. The human condition. We are so busy being effected by the director, we are missing the concept of the movie, if there is one.