Gertie

"I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contained,
I stand and look at them long and long."
- Walt Whitman -

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

I continue to hold an enormous respect for the work of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, who tirelessly persists in pushing at the boundaries of what it is to be human in this world. I particularly respect his ongoing commitment to the cut-up techniques of Brion Gysin and William Burroughs - 'cutting through the association lines of control' - including, more recently, his exploration of the possibilities of evolving beyond the constraints of gender dichotomies.
Anyway, I found the link to this interview with Genesis in Resident Advisor today.

Music, Music...

Yes, I have only just discovered Julianna Barwick. Her basic approach is something I like to do myself - layering vocals by harmonising against the previous one(s) (or over what an instrument track suggests to me) - but Barwick has clearly perfected something here. It's a little Enya-like - to make a very obvious comparison, though without the 'ick' factor. There are only suggestions of words in the cathedral-like spaces she creates with masses of reverb, her angelic voice and perhaps a hint of bass or piano. I'll let this - the title track of her most recent album, 'The Magic Place' - speak for itself. If the embedded version gets removed, I promise I'll put the link in here instead.

An Oldie But A Goodie

I highly recommend linking to this YouTube video (linking rather than embedding this time, because too many just get removed). From 1978 - the absolutely classic electro of Thomas Leer's 'Private Plane'.

New Housemate

Where does time go? Now that I've started with a well-worn cliche, I feel I should apologise for the lack of posting lately. Basically, I've been run off my feet - mostly the usual projects and distractions, but the last three weeks by a little new housemate who is proving to be very high maintenance. But then, she is so utterly sweet and gorgeous that I don't really mind at all and we're steadily getting used to each other.
Little Gertie was given to me three weeks ago today, as a birthday gift from friends. OK, so it's inappropriate to give people pets as presents, but somehow I think these friends of mine understood from the start that I wouldn't be able to resist her and it's true. The only rub really is that there have been a few associated expenses - a checkup at the vet, an expensive 'hay bungalow', plus a brand new cage - something sizeable enough for her to be happy in as a solo pig, whilst also fitting in with my apartment lifestyle - ie my living room, so that she can feel a part of things. All completely worth it, I should add.
Apart from spending much of the day holding handfuls of her poo and the constant cleaning up after her generally, she is just so funny - and quite smart. A bonus is definitely the variety of noises she makes - from high-pitched, long squeals, to little purrs and 'tuk tuks' as she forages around in her hay or jumps around excitedly. Still getting used to her twice-a-day cuddle time (thanks for the advice, Julianna!), she prefers to sit across my chest and nuzzles my chin - and even my mouth at times - and nibbles my hand when she wants to be put down again. She eats A LOT. My fridge is like a vegan paradise and she's already getting used to the sound of the supermarket vegetable bags being taken out.
To put it simply: she is utterly delightful.