12:01
Toward the White House end of the street, someone sings Hey Jude.
Wings flutter: The President’s helicopter flies over Washington Circle.
A car alarm.
White clouds float over a blue sky.
Wheels jangle at the university loading platform.
A FedEx truck in front of Rice Hall idles.
Flocks of swallows look black against the blue sky.
An ambulance wails.
A truck door rattles.
More music, from a car radio: You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.
High piping as a delivery vehicle goes into reverse.
Hammering at the construction site.
A cawing bird.
Police siren.
The clouds darken and move more swiftly.
A heavy jet engine roars.
The Hey Jude singer starts up again.
12:55
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:23PM
Very nice. All in 54 minutes?
Regards, Kevin
October 22nd, 2010 at 4:19PM
Thanks, Kevin. Yup – 54 minutes.
October 23rd, 2010 at 2:33PM
Well, you’ve out-McCarthy’d C. McCarthy w/out representing violence, at least directly. Who knows where the ambulance is going? And why? Anyhow, I’m going to borrow your idea on a post I’m mulling over on A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. If I see one more book review, I’ll wail and darken like a cloud, I will. Kevin
October 23rd, 2010 at 3:11PM
I think I was inspired by a scientist at this Hopkins conference on empirical bases (if any) of aesthetic creation and response. He said ever since he was a kid he was simply obsessed with sound, and was always making lists of all the ambient sounds around him, etc…
October 23rd, 2010 at 6:22PM
Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to compose this bit? Did you do it simultaneously with whatever other task was at hand? Or did you take brief notes and return to it later, in a spirit of composition? K
October 25th, 2010 at 7:52AM
I did it while reading stuff online.