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.
