Intermittence

Having had some time to think on the concert of September 15, I have this to say:

Much of Sufjan Stevens’ music is at once melodic and cacophonic. He has no fear of assaulting you with layer upon layer of sound, each one, strangely, expressing its intent and personality with crystal clarity. Where his sound differs from others who try to achieve this sort of auditory Jackson Pollock effect is that Stevens buoys you up on it rather than throwing you into unconstrained chaos. He gives you time to acclimate, and provides moments of restfulness so you can regain your bearings. Even though we were already at the top of the theater during the performance, it felt as though I was being lifted up, to and through the ceiling, by the sheer emotional content of the performance.

I’d see him again in a heartbeat. I don’t think I can say the same of other musicians I’ve seen perform live. Read the rest of this entry »

Photopia, by Adam Cadre, is the first work of Interactive Fiction that I played during this working-back-up-to-authoring phase. I’d played through it several years ago, and it had as much emotional impact this time as it did back then.

As Mr. Cadre states, it’s an unusual story in that the main character isn’t controllable by the player. Instead, we see her through the eyes of those people who loved her. It’s an intriguing approach, and really the only way that he could have given the story the punch that it does.

I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend it. Most people can play it by downloading the Windows executable listed on the page linked-to above. Read the rest of this entry »

I used to run, and jump.

In particular, I loved while running to come across a step of some sort—a large rock or a low wall, perhaps—take one step to the top of it and push off. With this little boost, I could fly. I would become Hermes for a moment, floating effortlessly through the air.

The first half of this sort of leap was breathtaking but then, inevitably, I would start to come down, often at an awkward angle (not being designed to fly, you understand). The landing was sometimes rough, ending with me tumbling to a stop, but I was occasionally able to recover and continue my headlong run.

I long to feel that giddy weightlessness again, but…well, I think I’ve come to fear the landing. Read the rest of this entry »