A fascinating history for the film obsessive in your life. While being focused on the development of synching sound to image in movies, it is also a decent history of the studio system. If you’re already interested in the morbid, melancholic, and macabre, then there will be some old friends here. I found the biggest … Continue reading Marginalia #13
I’ve been rereading some classic horror including Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm. Le Fanu is the better writer and sets up a lot for Stoker’s Dracula almost three decades later. These and M. R. James’s ghost stories have filled up my October reading. Kyua (Cure, 1997) is part of … Continue reading Marginalia #9
Artaud’s manifestos on the Theater of Cruelty. Certainly transferable to other art forms. I read this 20+ years ago after discovering various early-20th Century avant-garde manifestos. Worth a reread with fresh eyes and more experience. Holbein’s paintings are favorites and I’ve always wanted to track these down. Functions like a Memento Mori Tarot. Le danse … Continue reading Marginalia #7
This was repeatedly recommended to me, so I finally read it. Very practical if you’re open to it. If anything, it may help refine your current processes. I tend to set goals that are too general and even though I know tracking is important, I often stop doing it. Here’s to making that a habit. … Continue reading Marginalia #6
Jeff is one of the great gifts to Alabama underground art. He’s worked in poetry and photography among other mediums, but best known for writing and performing various music genres. SHTWRLDS is described as “a multi-discipline auditory executive training program, [a] gateway to failure in all frequencies.” Jeff explores the dehumanizing application, orientation, and certification … Continue reading SHTWRLDS by Jeff McLeod
An annotated discography for sound and sound art at the fringes. You could probably get all Benjamin and Adorno on these genres and ideas, but Tau keeps the critical machinery to a minimum and often approaches the pieces and artists very practically. What draws us toward or away from these sounds? What does one get … Continue reading Marginalia #3
An epic about change and organized around the history of the world. I can’t imagine any reader not knowing some of these stories. I had been meaning to read the whole thing for years, especially after coming across Samuel Beckett’s enthusiasm for it. I can only remember offhand Beckett celebrating Proust, Joyce, and Ovid. Beckett’s … Continue reading Marginalia #2
A recent read that gives insight into before and after the folk explosion of the 1960s, referred to here as The Great Folk Scare. Great stories with a personal perspective on an era considered so important because of its connection to songwriters like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Van Ronk’s relationship with and stories about … Continue reading Marginalia #1
Here’s Sleep In Cinema’s episode on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. I was happy to be a part of the episode and talk about my life-long love of stop-motion animation and Ray Harryhausen. Me with co-host Gareth Jones. Despite the face I’m making, I had a good time. I thought I was smiling. Thanks to … Continue reading Sleep In Cinema: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Stephen McClurg 