Ayn Rand and Sun Ra? How about Samuel Beckett and Morton Feldman? I indulged in both today, though not at the same time - I've been reading Beckett's Malone Dies on my lunch breaks, and today I listened to Feldman's For Samuel Beckett on the way home. Definitely not for the emotionally fragile: Feldman's FSB is one of his more texturally itchy works, and Beckett's modernism stretched into novel length is relentless. But what can I say? I'm a fan of both.Feldman is the only minimalist that I listen to much. I like the concrete plasticity of his work - you can almost reach out and feel the texture of his compositions. As for Beckett, he is still one of the most austere and uncompromising proponents of other in the history of Western Literature.
That said, I wouldn't recommend either one of these works as entry points into either artist's world. For Beckett, it would be good to start with his short story collection More Pricks Than Kicks, and then pick up his two famous dramas, Waiting for Godot and Endgame. As for Feldman, Rothko Chapel is breathtaking.
Incidentally, Beckett and Feldman were friends towards the end of each other's lives. Feldman was a huge admirer of Beckett's, and Beckett became a fan of Feldman's as well . . . though Beckett didn't even hear any of Feldman's music until after he provided the libretto for Feldman's Neither.
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Last night, I wound down by reading Karl Marx while listening to Hoagy Carmichael. I'm not even going to try to make sense of that.
4 comments:
Good post, made me want to read Beckett and listen to Feldman. I was actually going to post something about what is everyone reading this summer, and what books go well with what music--any thoughts? I said I'm reading Fountainhead, too early into it to say much other than I had heard the writing is kind of boilerplate and trite, and that seems true. It was choice between Ayn Rand, Richard Price's "Lush Life", Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" and a spy thriller on China called "Ghost War." Ayn Rand won for now.
I'm taking my summer vacation in a couple weeks, and I haven't decided what I'm reading yet. Last year was the complete short stories of Flannery O'Connor, which was a bit overwhelming all at one time. I also read at least one Elmore Leonard book each vacation, and I get an Onion audiobook to give my wife a break from my CD rotation once in a while.
Feldman is good for reading, as is almost any instrumental music. Otherwise, it has to be something I'm very familiar with so it doesn't distract me too much (hence the incongruous Marx/Carmichael pairing). Also, I've been listening to Doom's Special Herbs series and J Dilla's Donuts a fair amount lately while trying to make headway on Marx and Alain Badiou.
I was just listening to Donuts yesterday, J Dilla RIP. Yeah, I am with you on the instrumental music for reading tip. I like Jan Jelinek a lot for reading, In A Silent Way has also been a companion on many a late night with book in hand and a scotch by the bedside.
I'm reading Caetano Veloso's autobiography, so have been checking out a lot of that Tropicalia shit as I read about the stories behind the scenes. Os Mutantes is becoming like top ten band of all time material.
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