Neon, Necropolis, Silence
Feb. 8th, 2006 01:40 pmNeon
The queue for neon grew longer and longer as I watched from above. I yearned for neon; the sky was grey. A quick glimpse of brightness, of astounding green lights, was caught as the door briefly opened for someone else who had been drawn in, despite the wait.
Necropolis
I walked on, firstly around display boards filled with brightly coloured manga and then to the former location of the London Necropolis Station. An ordinary-looking lion-adorned building stood at 121 Westminster Bridge Road, but apparently it was used as a terminus station for the transportation of the dead.
Silence
The collection of silences exhibition appealed to me - sitting silently in a room with the artist while the sound of silence is recorded. Although I missed the sessions, I've since been thinking about collecting silences also. The silence of neon, silent phonecalls to myself, the silence of closed down funfairs, silence caused by option paralysis.
The queue for neon grew longer and longer as I watched from above. I yearned for neon; the sky was grey. A quick glimpse of brightness, of astounding green lights, was caught as the door briefly opened for someone else who had been drawn in, despite the wait.
Necropolis
I walked on, firstly around display boards filled with brightly coloured manga and then to the former location of the London Necropolis Station. An ordinary-looking lion-adorned building stood at 121 Westminster Bridge Road, but apparently it was used as a terminus station for the transportation of the dead.
Silence
The collection of silences exhibition appealed to me - sitting silently in a room with the artist while the sound of silence is recorded. Although I missed the sessions, I've since been thinking about collecting silences also. The silence of neon, silent phonecalls to myself, the silence of closed down funfairs, silence caused by option paralysis.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 04:17 pm (UTC)i'll let you know my plans as they coalesce. any tips on somewhere worth staying? its been about 10 years since i did anything more than just pass through london. i'm definitely up for meeting at some point.
talking of silent laundry recordings, reminds me of the last time i did some "field recordings". had my mini disc and microphone with me in berlin. we had been in my favourite berlin pub (yeah i've not been in that many, but i really liked that one), and i decided to start recording sounds on the way back to the hotel. we stopped in for chips, and one of the guys decided to ask for chips and cheese, but unlike over here where he would have got chips with grated cheese on top, he got chips with a slab of thick white hole riddled cheese, balanced precariously on top. this triggered a drunk rant for the rest of the trip back to the hotel, quite erratic and unpredictable, and i got it (to some degree) on mini disc.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 04:57 pm (UTC)I have no tips on where to stay, I'm afraid - I usually just stay with friends or with my parents, and failing that, I end up staying up all night in clubs or sleeping in parks, which I don't really recommend.
I think my favourite Berlin pub (well, okay, club) was the one with the dragon attached to the ceiling that breathed real fire, although I haven't been there for years, so maybe it now breathes the silence that already grated cheese may make.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-09 06:53 pm (UTC)i have a few links for hotels, so no doubt i'll manage. actually the last few times i was in london did involve staying in slimelight all night - not ideal for a long weekend.
ah. the silence of grated cheese, a lot stressful than the ungrated european kind...
i'm going to upload a few tracks for you, something from blank tapes and maybe francisco lopez, who is minimalist and then some - i am currently listening to him at the moment, full volume, with little impact.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 02:41 pm (UTC)I listened to the tracks and they seemed cool, but couldn't work out how to get to the 4th one (if there was a 4th one?). I don't think I understand MySpace enough - any hints?
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 03:03 pm (UTC)i'm guessing that i've ticked the download box for the tracks, and the forgot to do it for the menche track. i'll go see if i can do that. all 4 should be streaming ok. though i have been finding myspace a little buggy for music recently, which is about the only thing i really use it for anyway.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-12 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 02:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 03:04 pm (UTC)but then maybe he would get me back with a turning tickler into toad script/sigil?
eek!