Photo taken in Wheelock Place, Singapore, March 2012.
I’m all for the disambiguation of glass ceilings. Points, levels, frames, structure: all these point to bearing a gift for limits.
Tom Hiddleston reading Shakespeare Sonnet 130
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Omigoodness, that intake of breath at the penultimate line!
Disambiguating Mietiskele: First Sighting by Earthmover
Photo taken from http://earthmover-ph.bandcamp.com
When it comes to music, I think I am an affect listener, always searching for that significant human experience crafted by the combined effort of word and sound. Listening is wholly a personal endeavor to me, as this is how I often find myself most pensive, inspired, and sometimes even sad or frustrated. At the risk of sounding nostalgic, I believe that the songs we listen to are our avenues to contemplate about life and all its funny little cracks and niceties.
I recently found out that in Finland, this state of thoughtfulness or contemplation on life, or mietiskele, is achieved through quietude, or what they refer to as “sacred silence”. For the Finns, the absence of words allows room for reflection, relaxation, and careful thought, a kind of cultural psyche of meditation based on restraint.
I found this similar kind of restraint in the tracks of First Sighting, the debut album of a band called Earthmover (composed of Daniel Garcia on guitars, Gerald Guerrero on bass, and Dru Ubaldo on drums and samples). Call it a strange allusion: my first encounter with the music of First Sighting happened while I was coasting Roxas Boulevard at dusk, en route to home after office hours.
Released in March 15, 2012, First Sighting features four full-length instrumental post-rock tracks, aptly entitled One, Two, Three and Four. Instrumental pieces, there are no lyrics to sing along to. When I heard the CD play in my friend’s car, I heard only the pure sound of guitar riffs and drum beats, as if the music actually did the singing for you. And unlike any other song, the possibilities of adding your own words to the instrumentals were limitless. There was no uniform movement: the sound would sometimes trickle, sometimes jolt, escalate, then shatter to complete the experience. To top it all, the four tracks are boundless, leaving the listener with a seemingly continuous (and contiguous) single track of sound. First Sighting is a refreshing take on instrumental music, pretty good for some inspiration on the road, especially at dusk.
To know more about Earthmover, visit http://earthmover-ph.bandcamp.com/. All four tracks may be streamed from the site.
Friday Is ‘New Beers Eve’
April 6: In 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act allowed production of beer to resume in the United States, with the caveat beer remain no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. On April 7th, the act became law, and beer production began – thus marking the imminent end of Prohibition. April 6th — New Beers Eve — is the day to honor your God-given right to a refreshing cold one. Cheers.
Other Reasons to Party This Month: 17 Offbeat Holidays You Can Celebrate in April
