T R A N S C R I P T

THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND™
CHAPTER THREE: “TIME IS OUT OF JOINT.”
WRITTEN, PRODUCED, AND HOSTED BY CHRISTINE BUSH
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: MAY 1, 2020
(CC-BY-SA 4.0)


[LICENSING DECLARATION]


OPENING HAIKU (J. CHANCE)

A SPLASH WITHOUT SOUND.
A CHORD UNRESOLVED.
TIME IS OUT OF JOINT.


[OPENING BILLBOARD]


A-BLOCK
 
A1.	GREETINGS. THIS IS CHAPTER THREE OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND (TM). I'M CHRISTINE BUSH.
[CUE BACH] 

A2.	THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTINUES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO ENCAPSULATE THE CHAOS AND DISRUPTION IT IS CAUSING. HERE IN THE UNITED STATES...BLAME CONTINUES TO BE ASSESSED. RESOURCES AND RESPONSE STRATEGIES ARE ENDLESSLY PROFFERED, CONTESTED, AND ANALYZED. BUT LATELY, NONE OF IT SEEMS TO PREVENT THOUSANDS FROM DYING EVERY DAY. 

A3.	WE WAIT. WE WONDER. WE WISH. WE HOPE. WE FEAR. WE DISREGARD. WE ENDANGER. WE HECKLE. WE INSULT. WE CRY. WE SHINE. AND AS JACKSON BROWNE SINGS, WHEN THE MORNING LIGHT COMES STREAMING IN, WE GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN. WE PRETEND. AMEN.

A4.	IMAGES FROM SPACE REVEAL FLEETS OF AIRCRAFT PARKED ON UNUSED RUNWAYS. EMPTY PARKING LOTS. THEY DO NOT SHOW THE CHAOS OF THE HOSPITALS. THE EXHAUSTION OF THE DOCTORS AND NURSES AND MEDICAL STAFF. THE FEAR AND ANXIETY OF GROCERY CLERKS, SANITATION WORKERS. THEY DON'T SHOW RECKLESS, CYNICAL, MANIPULATIVE POLITICAL CALCULATIONS.

A5.	CATASTROPHE TEACHES ALL THE MOST DIFFICULT LESSONS: SACRIFICE. HEARTACHE. COMPASSION. PATIENCE.

A6.	IN CHAPTER ONE, I OUTLINED SOME OF THE WAYS WE EXPERIENCE TIME. IN CHAPTER TWO, I MUSICALLY EXPLORED "MELTING TIME" AND THE NATURE OF THE SURREAL. IN THIS CHAPTER, I WANT TO UNPACK TIMELESSNESS. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OUR TEMPORAL SENSE TAKES LEAVE OF US?

A7.	THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW CONTINUES...


B-BLOCK
 
B1.	AS I HAVE BEGUN TO EXPLORE IN CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO, TIME IS A POWERFUL, ENIGMATIC HUMAN CONSTRUCT THAT IS BOTH USEFUL AND VEXING. IN THIS CHAPTER, I WANT TO CONSTELLATE SOME FACETS OF HOW I THINK ABOUT THE NOTION OF "TIMELESSNESS." I WILL ALSO EXPLORE WHAT ROLE TIMELESSNESS MIGHT PLAY IN THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: HOW BECOMING MORE AWARE OF IT CAN ENRICH THE PRACTICE OF LISTENING.

B2.	FIRST, I NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS AN INHERENTLY PEDANTIC TOPIC. I AM INDEBTED FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND WOULD NOT ASK IT IF I DID NOT THINK IT WOULD PAY DIVIDENDS IN THE NEXT SEGMENT. THIS PROGRAM IS INTERESTED IN THE INTERSECTION OF COGNITION AND SOUND AS CATALYSTS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MEANING. I WOULD LEAVE THIS PROJECT OPEN TO A JUSTIFIABLE ACCUSATION OF LACKING RIGOR IF I DID NOT ESTABLISH A CLEAR BASELINE FOR WHAT I MEAN BY THE WORD "NOW."

B3.	THE IDEA OF TIMELESSNESS REVEALS THE PARADOX OF TIME ITSELF BECAUSE IT IS AN INVERSE SEMANTIC CONCEPT, WHICH IS TO SAY WE CANNOT THINK OF TIMELESSNESS WITHOUT ALSO THINKING ABOUT TIME.

B4.	BEFORE GOING THROUGH THE LABYRINTH OF IDEAS ATTACHED TO THE NOTION OF TIMELESSNESS, I WANT TO DISMANTLE THE WORD ITSELF BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THOSE FRUSTRATING WORDS, IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT LEAST, THAT IS REALLY QUITE PROBLEMATIC FROM A SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVE.

TAKEN LITERALLY, THE IDEA OF TIMELESSNESS SHOULD BE A STATE WITHOUT, OR ABSENT FROM, TIME. BUT, IN FACT, IT IS COMMONLY USED IN THE OPPOSITE SENSE, CONFLATED WITH NOTIONS OF PERSISTENCE AND ETERNITY.

TIMELESSNESS IS A VERY DIFFICULT NOTION TO SUMMON EVEN AS A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT. THIS HAS NOT STOPPED US FROM TRYING TO DO SO FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WE CAN EASILY TRACE OUR EFFORTS BACK AS FAR AS AUGUSTINE AND BOETHIUS.

THE STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY SUMMARIZES THEIR RESPECTIVE EFFORTS.
 
"IN BOETHIUS, THE CONTRAST IS BETWEEN TIMELESS ETERNITY, WHICH ONLY GOD ENJOYS, AND EVERLASTINGNESS, WHICH (FOLLOWING PLATO) THE WORLD ITSELF POSSESSES....AUGUSTINE CONNECTS GOD’S TIMELESS ETERNITY TO GOD’S BEING THE CAUSE OF ALL TIMES AND GOD’S IMMUTABILITY."
 
B5.	BY THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C.E. WE HAVE DOCUMENTED THE TEMPORAL SCHISM BETWEEN THE PHILOSOPHERS AND THE THEOLOGIANS WHO WILL ADVISE THAT A PROPER EXEGESIS TAKES ONE BACK ALMOST ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS TO EXODUS 3:14.

"GOD SAID TO MOSES, “I AM WHO I AM. THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE TO SAY TO THE ISRAELITES: ‘I AM HAS SENT ME TO YOU.’”
 
B6.	THE ORIGINS OF TIMELESSNESS ARE ANCIENT AND INCLUDE THE FORMS, IDEAS, AND MECHANICS  THAT WE PERCEIVE TO PERSIST IN EVERYDAY LIFE, AS WELL AS A THEOLOGICAL TIMELESSNESS THAT APPLIES TO THE DIVINE, A STATE COMMONLY ATTRIBUTED AS BEING "OUTSIDE OF TIME" OR AS AN ASPECT OF "ETERNITY."

B7.	WE ARE IN THE HABIT OF REFERRING TO SOME CULTURAL OBJECTS OR EVENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, AS TIMELESS. THE BACH SUITES FOR CELLO, THE SCULPTURAL MASTERPIECES BY MICHELANGELO, FOOTAGE OF JESSE OWENS CROSSING THE FINISH LINE, THE FIRST IMAGES OF EARTH RISE TAKEN FROM SPACE. WHILE THESE ARTEFACTS AND EXPERIENCES WILL LIKELY PERSIST FORWARD IN TIME FOR QUITE AWHILE, THEY ARE NOT LITERALLY TIMELESS. THEY CANNOT PRE-EXIST THEMSELVES.

IN RETROSPECT, WE CAN APPRECIATE THAT THE APOLLO 11 AND SUBSEQUENT  MOON LANDINGS ARE THE CONTINUATION OF A JOURNEY THAT STARTED WHEN OUR ANCESTORS FIRST VENTURED ACROSS CONTINENTS TWO MILLION YEARS AGO. BUT FOR THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF OUR EXISTENCE, WALKING ON THE MOON HAS NOT BEEN A HUMAN ASPIRATION.
 
B8.	TURNING TO SCIENCE, TIME AND TIMELESSNESS ARE TOPICS OF GREAT INTEREST, ESPECIALLY FOR ASTROPHYSICISTS. OFFERING A COGENT EXPLANATION OF THE NUANCES OF SPECIAL AND GENERAL RELATIVITY, TIME DILATION, AND RELATED MATTERS IS ABOVE MY PAY GRADE. I AM COMFORTABLE CONVEYING MY GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPLES AT PLAY. 

 
i) TIME IS CONSIDERED TO BE CONTINGENT, BECAUSE:

ii) TIME IS ENTANGLED WITH PLACE. DAVA SOBEL'S HISTORICAL WORK ON THE PROBLEM OF LONGITUDE DOCUMENTS THE STORY OF HOW SAILORS WERE HELPLESS TO KNOW THEIR EAST/WEST DISPOSITION FROM PORT --- UNTIL JOHN HARRISON DEVELOPED THE H4 CHRONOMETER THAT PROVIDED THE MEANS OF ACCURATELY TELLING TIME AT SEA.  IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, EINSTEIN (AND POINCARÉ) DEMONSTRATED THAT TIME AND PLACE ARE EVEN MORE UNIVERSALLY ENMESHED AS A RESULT OF THE THEORY THAT THE NATURE AND  FABRIC OF SPACE ARE SHAPED BY GRAVITY;

iii) TIME IS ALSO ENTANGLED WITH MOTION, WHICH IS ALWAYS ALREADY RELATIVE TO OTHER THINGS IN MOTION;

iv) THE FASCINATING ONGOING EFFORT TO RATIONALIZE ASPECTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS WITH GENERAL RELATIVITY INTO A NOTION CALLED "QUANTUM GRAVITY" GIVES RISE TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE PROBLEM OF TIME;

v) THE PROBLEM OF TIME, THEREFORE, MIGHT PARADOXICALLY BE AN EXAMPLE OF TIMELESSNESS SINCE IT LEAVES THE NATURE OF TIME ITSELF IN QUESTION. 

IN SUMMARY, WHAT WE CAN DO IS MEASURE TIME UNDERSTANDING THAT IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED TO CHANGE RELATIVE TO SPACE AND VELOCITY.

B9.	I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THE THREE ARROWS OF TIME. HERE'S WHAT STEPHEN HAWKING WROTE IN HIS 1988 BOOK A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME:
 
"THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT ARROWS OF TIME. FIRST, THERE IS THE THERMODYNAMIC ARROW OF TIME, THE DIRECTION OF TIME IN WHICH DISORDER OR ENTROPY INCREASES. THEN, THERE IS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ARROW OF TIME. THIS IS THE DIRECTION IN WHICH WE FEEL TIME PASSES, THE DIRECTION IN WHICH WE REMEMBER THE PAST BUT NOT THE FUTURE.  FINALLY, THERE IS THE COSMOLOGICAL ARROW OF TIME. THIS IS THE DIRECTION OF TIME IN WHICH THE UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING RATHER THAN CONTRACTING."
 
B10.	HAWKING GOES ON TO MAKE THE CASE THAT ALL THREE OF THESE ARROWS POINT IN THE SAME DIRECTION. THE CONSENSUS UNDERSTANDING OF WHY THEY DO IS BECAUSE SPACE-TIME ITSELF WAS SET IN MOTION BY THE BIG BANG.

IN FUTURE CHAPTERS, I WANT TO GO INTO MORE DEPTH ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF TEMPORAL THEORY AND SOUND STUDIES. I RECOMMEND THE EXCELLENT WORK OF BRIAN GREENE, WHOSE BOOK AND PBS NOVA MINI-SERIES ARE ENTITLED THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS. YOU CAN FIND LINKS TO THIS AND MORE ON THE SHOW NOTES PAGE FOR THIS CHAPTER AT PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE.

B11.	HAVING MADE THE EFFORT TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE MORE CONFUSING NOTIONS OF TIMELESSNESS, I CAN NOW BE SOMEWHAT MORE PRECISE. I AM INTERESTED IN SENTIENT EXPERIENCES OF TIMELESSNESS IN WHICH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ARROW OF TIME IS DISORIENTED OR ABSENT. I LIKE THIS. THE LANGUAGE AND THE CONCEPTS BEING CONVEYED NOW ALIGN AND ARE SITUATED IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN PHYSICS.

B12.	I CAN THINK OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EXPERIENCES THAT ENTAIL TEMPORAL DISORIENTATION SUCH AS AN EXPERIENCE OF THE SUSPENSION OR DISTORTION OF TIME. THE FIRST IS A PHYSIOLOGICALLY INDUCED TIMELESSNESS, SUCH AS THAT EXPERIENCED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS.

THE SECOND CATEGORY IS THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA DURING WHICH PEOPLE OFTEN REPORT THAT THEY FELT LIKE TIME STOPPED OR SLOWED. POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER HAS COME TO BE VIEWED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS AS A TEMPORAL DISORDER IN WHICH SOMEONE HAS BECOME "STUCK IN TIME."

B13.	LEIA SALTZMAN AT TULANE UNIVERSITY HAS RECENTLY WRITTEN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "IT'S ABOUT TIME: RECONCEPTUALIZING THE ROLE OF TIME IN LOSS AND TRAUMA" IN THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION'S JOURNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA: THEORY, RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY.  SHE OFFERS A FRAMEWORK FOR SHIFTING TREATMENT OF COMPLEX AND TRAUMATIC GRIEF FROM VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS TO INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING VULNERABLE TIME. BY SO DOING, THE PROCESSING OF GRIEF IS SEEN AS CYCLICAL AND OCCURRING IN "MEANINGFUL, RATHER THAN CHRONOLOGICAL, TIME." 

B14.	THE ABSENCE OR LOSS OF TIME  IS DIFFERENT THAN THE EXPERIENCE OF TIME BEHAVING STRANGELY. THE ABSENCE OF TIME IS ASSOCIATED WITH MEMORY LOSS OR NEUROLOGICAL DISRUPTION: AMNESIA, DEMENTIA, ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, CONCUSSIONS, BEING COMATOSE OR ANESTHETIZED, FEINTING SPELLS, OR MIGRAINE HEADACHES ARE ALL ASSOCIATED WITH LOSS OF MEMORY AND A CORRESPONDING LOSS OF TIME.

B15.	ON A DIFFERENT AXIS OF EXPERIENCE, THERE IS THE FANTASTICAL PARADIGM OF PARANORMAL EXPERIENCES THAT ENTAIL REPORTS OF LOST OR DISTORTED TIME. DURING HYPNOSIS, TIME IS SUSPENDED FOR SUBJECTS WHO FALL INTO A TRANCE. GHOSTLY VISITATIONS ARE EXPLAINED AS CROSS DIMENSIONAL INTERACTIONS WITH DISTANT, PAST, OR FUTURE ENTITIES. AN ENDURING NARRATIVE DEVICE OF SPECULATIVE FICTION IS TIME TRAVEL. CHRIS CARTER'S POPULAR TELEVISION SERIES (FROM THE NINETIES)THE X-FILES INCLUDED INQUIRIES INTO LOST OR MISSING TIME BY ALIEN ABDUCTEES.

B16.	THERE ARE ALSO TWO COMPARATIVELY PROSAIC BUT LEGITIMATE EXPERIENCES OF TIMELESSNESS I WILL MENTION HERE. THE FIRST MIGHT BE CALLED "LOST TIME." THIS IS PRIMARILY A BEHAVIORAL CHALLENGE, SUCH AS PROCRASTINATION, UNDIRECTED ACTIVITY, AVOIDANCE, OR TIME INVESTED IN UNFULFILLING WAYS SUCH AS BINGE VIEWING IN WHICH TIME "ESCAPES" OR "GETS AWAY."  MORE EXTREME MANIFESTATIONS INVOLVE ADDICTIONS TO SUBSTANCES, BEHAVIORS, OR DEVICES IN WHICH TIME IS EFFECTIVELY HIJACKED IN THE UNCONTROLLABLE PURSUIT OF AN ELUSIVE GOAL.

B17.	BY CONTRAST, ANOTHER EXPERIENCE OF TIMELESSNESS IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS A "FLOW STATE" IN WHICH A DIRECTED SENSE OF CLARITY ENABLES ONE TO MAINTAIN EFFORTLESS FOCUS, OFTEN ON A CREATIVE OR PHYSICAL TASK, FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD WITHOUT DISTRACTION. ATHLETES, YOGIS, WRITERS, ARTISTS, AND MUSICIANS LEARN TO TAKE THEMSELVES INTO THIS TIMELESS ZONE TO ACHIEVE REMARKABLE RESULTS. AND OF COURSE SOMETIMES WE JUST GET BUSY...AND THE CLOCK KEEPS TICKING.

B18.	TIMELESSNESS CAN BE EXPRESSED, AND EXPERIENCED TOO, IN LITERATURE AND THE ARTS. AS DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER TWO OF THIS PROGRAM, SURREALISM IS THE PARAGON OF VISUAL TIMELESSNESS. MELTING CLOCKS, CONFUSED SHADOWS, STRANGE JUXTAPOSITIONS COMBINE TO CREATE A TIMELESS ATMOSPHERE. THE UNCONSCIOUS MUSINGS OF OUR MINDS ARE EXPERIENCED IN A TIMELESS STATE WE CALL DREAMS. THE DEPRIVATION OF SLEEP CAN GIVE RISE TO HALLUCINATIONS AND OTHER SIDE EFFECTS SUCH AS FORGETFULNESS.

B19.	THE ALGERIAN BORN, FRENCH WRITER-PHILOSOPHER JACQUES DERRIDA WAS PROFOUNDLY INTERESTED IN TIME AND TIMELESSNESS. HE SOUGHT TO SUBVERT HIERARCHIES OF THOUGHT THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF OPPOSITES. IN HER 2007 BOOK DERRIDA ON TIME, JOANNA HODGE EXPLORES DERRIDA'S RADICAL CONCEPTION OF TIME AS NON-LINEAR. THE PARADIGM OF TIME AS A CONTINUUM OF PAST INTO PRESENT INTO FUTURE IS PRIVILEGED.  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY?  IS TIME HAUNTED?

B20.	NO LESS AN HISTORICAL FIGURE THAN THE RECIPIENT OF THE LONGITUDE PRIZE, JOHN HARRISON, MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT SO. IN THE DEFINITIVE 2000 TELEVISION DRAMA DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY CHARLES STURRIDGE WITH DAVA SOBEL, MICHAEL GAMBON PORTRAYS HARRISON. AT ONE POINT LATER IN HIS LIFE, HE MUSES  TO HIS SON AND COLLABORATOR, WILLIAM, ABOUT THE BUREAUCRATS OF THE LONGITUDE BOARD  STRUGGLING TO EVALUATE HIS VISIONARY CRAFTSMANSHIP:

"WHAT DO THEY KNOW? IT WASN'T ONE OF THEM THAT LISTENED TO WHAT I WAS SAYING. EVEN THE WATCH MAKERS DIDN'T SEE EVERYTHING. THEY THINK IN STRAIGHT LINES, UNPREPARED FOR THE CURVE. THE LINE OF SURPRISE THAT TAKES YOU TO A PLACE YOU CANNOT SEE."

B21.	IN THE NEXT SEGMENT, I WILL SHARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE POWER OF TIMELESSNESS IN FILM, LITERATURE AND MUSIC. THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW CONTINUES.


C-BLOCK

"TIME RULES OVER US WITHOUT MERCY, NOT CARING IF WE'RE HEALTHY OR ILL, HUNGRY OR DRUNK, RUSSIAN, AMERICAN, BEINGS FROM MARS. IT'S LIKE A FIRE. IT COULD EITHER DESTROY US OR KEEP US WARM. THAT'S WHY EVERY FEDEX OFFICE HAS A CLOCK. BECAUSE WE LIVE OR DIE BY THE CLOCK, WE NEVER TURN OUR BACK ON IT. AND WE NEVER, EVER ALLOW OURSELVES THE SIN OF LOSING TRACK OF TIME!"

C1.	THIS SHORT SOLILOQUY ON TIME IS SPOKEN BY THE CHARACTER CHUCK NOLAND (PLAYED BY TOM HANKS) IN THE 2000 FILM CAST AWAY, DIRECTED BY ROBERT ZEMECKIS. THE FILM PORTRAY'S NOLAND'S ORDEAL WHILE STRANDED ON AN  ISOLATED ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC FOR YEARS AFTER SURVIVING THE CRASH OF A FEDEX CARGO PLANE IN A STORM.

CHUCK "NO-LAND" FINDS HIMSELF SURROUNDED BY THE SEA. HE IS A MAN PRESUMED DEAD, "OUT OF TIME," CAST AWAY INTO UPON THE SHORES OF AN ISLAND TERRA INCOGNITA WITH ONLY A BROKEN HEIRLOOM POCKET WATCH CONTAINING A PHOTO OF HIS GIRLFRIEND WITH WHICH TO MOOR HIS SANITY.  

C2.	NOLAND'S PREDICAMENT, HIS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, REVEALS A FLAW IN HIS SELF-PROCLAIMED SIN. HE SURVIVES BY RE-DISCOVERING THAT WE DO NOT SIN BY TURNING OUR BACKS ON A CLOCK BUT IN FORGETTING THAT TIME IS A FLUID, PERVASIVE, ONTOLOGICAL PHENOMENON; NOT A MECHANICAL ONE. WHEN A CLOCK STOPS, TIME DOES NOT. A CLOCK REPRESENTS TIME. IT IS A SIGNIFIER OF TIME, A GHOST BORN 13.8 BILLION YEARS AGO. 

C3.	IN CHAPTER TWO, I DISCUSSED HOW THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SURREAL IS ACTIVATED BY AN UNEXPECTED JUXTAPOSITION. TIMELESSNESS ACTIVATES, OR IS ACTIVATED BY, A SENSE OF DISPLACEMENT --- NOT BY THE DISPLACEMENT OF TIME ITSELF, BUT A SHIFT OR DISPLACEMENT IN OUR PERCEPTION OF TIME.

AS I HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED REGARDING THE PROBLEM OF LONGITUDE: IN A STATE OF TIMELESSNESS AT SEA, WE ARE DISORIENTED. WE ARE "OUT OF PLACE." LIKEWISE, IF WE TAKE CERTAIN DRUGS, IF WE EXPERIENCE A TRAUMA, ARE CONFRONTED WITH AN UNEXPECTED SHOCK, IF OUR MEMORY IS HIJACKED OR COMPROMISED, THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW SLOWS DOWN AS A WAY TO COMPENSATE. WE MAY PERCEIVE TIME TO BECOME, AS HAMLET PUTS IT, “OUT OF JOINT.”

C4.	IN HIS IMMENSE WORK ON THE INFLUENCE OF HEGEL UPON MODERNITY, LESS THAN NOTHING: HEGEL AND THE SHADOW OF DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM, SLAVOJ ZIZEK DISCUSSES THE 1963 NOVEL BY SPANIARD JORGE SEMPRÚN ENTITLED LE GRAND VOYAGE (THE LONG VOYAGE). ZIZEK IS INTERESTED IN HOW THE AUTHOR FINDS A WAY TO SHOW WHAT CANNOT BE SAID REGARDING THE TRAUMA OF THE HOLOCAUST CAMPS. HE WRITES:

"IN SEMPRÚN'S NOVEL, IT IS AS IF, AFTER GOING THROUGH THE NIGHTMARE OF THE LIFE IN A CAMP, OUR PERCEPTION WIDENS AND WE CAN SEE ALL THREE DIMENSIONS OF TIME SIMULTANEOUSLY --- TIME BECOMES SPACE, GIVING US AN UNCANNY FREEDOM… THERE IS, HOWEVER, ... A BLIND SPOT IN THIS FIELD OF SPATIALIZED TIME: WE CAN SEE EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE PRESENT OF THE CAMP ITSELF. THIS PROHIBITED PRESENT IS, OF COURSE, DEATH --- BEING ALIVE AFTER BUCHENWALD IS NOT THE SAME AS HAVING SURVIVED IT INTACT...LIFE IN THE CAMP IS THUS NOT SO MUCH THE ULTIMATE REFERENT OF HIS MEMORIES AS THE DISTORTING SCREEN WHICH TAINTS AND SPOILS THEM ALL."

C5.	NATIVE AMERICAN POET NATALIE DIAZ REMINDS US THAT TIMELESSNESS CAN ALSO BE LIBERATING. SHE WAS INTERVIEWED BY JACQUELINE WOODSON IN THE MARCH/APRIL 2020 EDITION OF POETS & WRITERS MAGAZINE ABOUT HER NEW COLLECTION OF POETRY POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM. DIAZ DISCUSSES MULTI-FACETED IDENTITY AND DESCRIBES HOW NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY INFORMS HER SENSE OF SELF.

"I THINK WE ARE OUTSIDE OF TIME AND BEYOND TIME. TIME IS JUST ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE US THINK WE ARE THE CENTER, OR WE ARE THE POINT, WHEN REALLY LIFE IS SO MUCH MORE AND LARGER THAN US. LIFE IS ALL OVER --- SOMETIMES IT IS US, SOMETIMES IT IS A WILLOW TREE, SOMETIMES IT IS AN AGATE OR ALGA, AN ANT COLONY OR A JAGUAR OR A RAIN . . . WHAT I HOPE TO BE IS OUT OF TIME --- NOT SIMULTANEOUS BUT ALWAYS BECOMING, ALWAYS NOT YET."
 
C6.	SO HOW DOES THIS LIMINAL TEMPORALITY THAT DISPLACES US IN TIME FIND EXPRESSION IN MUSIC?

IN HER NOVEMBER 2000 ARTICLE FOR CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY'S JOURNAL ORGANISED SOUND ENTITLED "MUSIC AS MIRROR OF MIND," COMPOSER LAURIE SPIEGEL PROVIDES A CONCISE CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVOLUTION OF MUSICAL PARADIGMS. SHE SUGGESTS OUR FIRST EARLY PRACTICES WERE OF GROUPS OF SOUNDS. NEXT CAME AN APPRECIATION FOR SEQUENCES OF TONES, FOLLOWED BY THE EVOLUTION FROM HORIZONTAL CONTRAPUNTAL MUSIC TO THE VERTICAL/HARMONIC HEGEMONY OF THE MODERN SCORE. THEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CAME THE DISSOLUTION OF HIERARCHY AND PERFORMATIVE INSTRUCTIONS REQUIRING MUSICAL NOTATION AND THE ADVENT OF COMPOSITION FOR THE "SUBJECTIVE AUDITORY EXPERIENCE." SHE WRITES:

"POSSIBLY FOREMOST IN ATTRACTIVENESS...WOULD BE MUSICAL MODELS BASED ON THE WAY HUMAN PERCEPTUAL AND COGNITIVE MECHANISMS ACTUALLY RECEIVE AND INTERPRET SOUNDS (DEUTSCH 1981). SUCH MUSICAL REPRESENTATIONS WOULD BE DESIGNED BY WORKING BACKWARDS FROM THE NATURE OF HUMAN HEARING, INSTEAD OF FORWARD FROM THE SOURCE OF SOUND. AS MORE IS LEARNED ABOUT THE WAY WE INGEST, PARSE, AND EXPERIENCE SOUNDS, THE TECHNICAL RUBRIC ON WHICH OUR CREATIVE CONCEPTS TAKE FORM WOULD BE DESIGNED FOR OPTIMAL PLUG-IN COMPATIBILITY WITH OUR MUSIC’S INTENDED DESTINATION, THE RECEIVING PROCESSOR, THE EAR AND MIND."
 
C7.    "THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE" WAS COMPOSED IN THE MID-70s BY LAURIE SPIEGEL USING THE BELL LABS ROOM-SIZED GROOVE COMPUTER MUSIC SYSTEM. IT WAS THE TITLE TRACK OF HER 1980 DEBUT ALBUM, WHICH IS CONSIDERED A PIONEERING TOUCHSTONE OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC. (YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GROOVE SYSTEM IN THE SHOW NOTES PAGE FOR THIS CHAPTER.)

C8.	IN 1977, THREE YEARS PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF HER DEBUT, SPIEGEL HAD WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL THE ULTIMATE HIT SINGLE. HER REALIZATION OF JOHANNES KEPLER'S "HARMONY OF THE WORLDS" WAS SELECTED BY CARL SAGAN FOR INCLUSION ON THE FAMOUS GOLDEN RECORDS INCLUDED ON BOARD THE VOYAGER ONE AND TWO SPACECRAFT.

AS ANDY BETA NOTED IN A 2012 REVIEW FOR PITCHFORK.COM, THIS IS SOMEWHAT OF AN HISTORICAL IRONY GIVEN THAT KEPLER CONSIDERED THE HARMONY OF THE WORLDS TO BE DISCERNABLE ONLY TO THE EARS OF GOD.

C9.	COMPOSER JENNY GOTTSCHALK SELECTED  SPIEGEL'S "THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE" AS A SUBJECT FOR ONE OF HER CONTRIBUTIONS TO A COLLECTION OF CASE STUDIES FOCUSED ON MUSICAL TEMPORALITY CALLED BEING TIME, PUBLISHED BY BLOOMSBURY IN 2019. GOTTSCHALK WRITES OF THE PIECE:

"I AM RESISTANT TO WRITING ABOUT IT IN A NARRATIVE FLOW. I SIMPLY DON'T EXPERIENCE IT AS A PASSAGE OF TIME....THE CLOSEST IMAGINED EXPERIENCE I CAN LIKEN IT TO IS A LISTENING TOUR OF A GALAXY. EVERYTHING IS EXISTENT ALREADY, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY STATIC...I AM TRAVELING THROUGH THIS NETWORK OF POSSIBILITIES....WEIGHTLESSNESS HERE FEELS EQUIVALENT TO TIMELESSNESS."

C10.	GOTTSCHALK IS JOINED BY RICHARD GLOVER AND BRYN HARRISON IN THE BEING TIME COLLECTION OF CASE STUDIES. IN THEIR INTRODUCTION THEY DISCUSS HOW MUSIC IS A POWERFUL LENS WHICH BRINGS OUR INTERPRETATIONS OF TEMPORALITY INTO SHARPER FOCUS. 

THIS IS, IN PART, BECAUSE IT PROVIDES AN EXPERIENCE OF LAYERED TEMPORALITY. AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT IS TO SET A METRONOME TO A RATE OF SIXTY BEATS PER MINUTE, OR TO YOUR RESTING HEART RATE, AND THEN LEAVE IT PLAYING AS A CLICK TRACK WHILE LISTENING TO DIFFERENT PIECES OF PRE-RECORDED MUSIC.

C11.	SO WHAT ARE THE HALLMARKS OF TIMELESSNESS IN A COMPOSITION?  SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES I'VE IDENTIFIED THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SENSATION INCLUDE:

* THE USE OF A SUSTAINED OR CONSTRAINED TONALITY;
* A SENSE OF UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS, OR PATTERN-DRIVEN MOTION (SUCH AS ARPEGGIATION) AGAINST (OR CREATING) A STABLE GROUND OR DRONE;
* EVENTS WILL BE GESTURAL RATHER THAN DRAMATIC;
* ELEMENTS ARE OFTEN PRODUCED BY, OR SOUND LIKE, BREATH (SUCH AS FILTERED WHITE NOISE); POLYRHYTHMS MAY BE FEATURED;
* THE USE OF PHASING, AND A GENERAL TENDENCY TO FOCUS ON SONIC TEXTURE OVER HARMONY;
* THE PREFERENCE FOR SPARSE ETHEREAL VOCALS, RATHER THAN LYRICS; TRANSITIONS FROM ONE AREA OF SOUND TO THE NEXT ARE GRADUAL.


C12.	JUST AS IMPORTANT ARE THE ABSENCE OF SOME ELEMENTS, SUCH AS:

* THE ABSENCE OF A CLEAR ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE TO A WORK;
* THE ABSENCE OF STRONG CADENCES;
* THE ABSENCE, OR MINIMIZATION OF, MOTIVIC MOTION IN SERVICE TO A TIME SIGNATURE;
* THE ABSENCE OF ANYTHING RESEMBLING A HOOK OR RIFF OR REFRAIN; IF A MELODY IS PRESENT  IT WILL BE SIMPLE, SUBLIME.  


C13.	I HAVE COLLECTED EXAMPLES OF THESE TRAITS IN THE PLAYLIST OF NOW  FOR CHAPTER THREE. IT INCLUDES WORKS BY BEETHOVEN, HOLST, STRAVINSKY, JOHN COLTRANE, PAULINE OLIVEROS, PHILIP GLASS, STEVE REICH, FLEETWOOD MAC, LAURIE SPIEGEL, TIM HECKER, ROSALIND HALL, AND DAME EVELYN GLENNIE WITH MICHAEL A. LEVINE. THESE ARE WORKS THAT EVOKE AN EXPERIENCE OF TIMELESSNESS. I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE A LISTEN.

THE PLAYLIST OF NOW IS AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY OR FROM THE HOME PAGE AT NOW.PERCHANCEMUSIC.COM.


SHOW NOTES AND CREDITS

EC1.	MY GOAL IN THIS CHAPTER WAS TO INTERROGATE THE NATURE OF TIMELESSNESS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A MORE RIGOROUS CONTEXT FOR WHAT I MEAN BY THE CONCEPT OF "NOW." HERE'S WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I THINK THAT NATURE OF EXPERIENCED TIMELESSNESS REVEALS TIME TO BE A USEFUL CONSTRUCT FOR COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES AND THE MEASUREMENT OF DURATION AND SPACE. 

EC2.	A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF TIMELESSNESS ALSO REVEALS THE LIMITATIONS OF TIME: IT IS CONTINGENT AND HAS A TENDENCY TOWARDS SUBJECTIVE, DIVERGENT INTERPRETATIONS. THE ENIGMA OF TIME AND TIMELESSNESS IS A TALE OF TWO CITIES. TO EXPERIENCE THE PRESENT THROUGH THE PRISM OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS A FUNCTION OF SIMULTANEITY.  

SFX:	"THINKING IS A WAY OF LISTENING, AND LISTENING IS A WAY OF THINKING."

EC3.	JOIN ME NEXT TIME ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW  FOR CHAPTER FOUR, MY NEXT SOJOURN IN SOUND. I WILL BE MUSING ABOUT QUANTUM SOCIAL THEORY AND ALEATORIC MUSIC. ALSO, I WILL SHARE A FIRST LISTEN TO THE NEXT MOVEMENT FOR MY WORK-IN-PROGRESS, A MEDITATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN SOUND, ENTITLED THE DISQUIETING.

EC4.	THIS CHAPTER OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND (TM) FEATURES WORK SHARED THROUGH THE CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSING FRAMEWORK. MATERIAL HEARD IN THIS CHAPTER WAS SOURCED FROM: FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE, THE OPEN SCORE PROJECT, MUSOPEN, THE SCOTT BUCKLEY LIBRARY, AND SOUNDCLOUD.

MY SINCERE THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING MUSICIANS AND SOUND ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD  FOR SHARING THEIR INSPIRING AND DIVERSE TALENTS:

KIMIKO ISHIZAKA, JASON SHAW, CHANCE ENCOUNTERS ENSEMBLE, THE OPEN SCORE PROJECT, LAURIE SPIEGEL AND THE VOYAGER MISSION ARCHIVES OF THE NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY AT THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, UNHEARD MUSIC CONCEPTS, MUSOPEN SYMPHONY, CHRIS ZABRISKE, AND SCOTT BUCKLEY.

MY SPECIAL THANKS AND APPRECIATION TO JENN KIRBY FOR PERMISSION TO INCLUDE "THESE DAYS" FROM HER COLLECTION ENTITLED 2020 AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP. THE CLOSING GROOVE IS A TRACK CALLED "OF ALL THE MOMENTS" LICENSED FOR USE COURTESY OF RUMBLEFISH BY THE BAND PUBLIC SYMPHONY. 

FIND LINKS TO ALL MUSICAL SOURCES ON THE SHOW NOTES PAGE AT PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE.

FULL DISCLOSURE: PERCHANCE MUSIC & DIGITAL MEDIA WAS THE OPEN SCORE PROJECT FINANCIAL SPONSOR FOR THE TRANSCRIPTION AND DIGITAL LIBERATION OF "THE PLANETS" BY GUSTAV HOLST.

ALL QUOTED  MATERIAL IS INCLUDED UNDER FAIR USE GUIDELINES FOR COMMENTARY AND CRITICISM.

ADDITIONAL SOUND ELEMENTS ARE LICENSED FOR USE COURTESY OF: POND5 AND PRESONUS. 

SYNTHETIC VOICES RENDERED BY POLLY, FROM:
AMAZON WEB SERVICES.

FOR COMPLETE ATTRIBUTION AND LINKS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND PRODUCTION RESOURCES, PLEASE VISIT THE SHOW NOTES PAGE FOR THIS EPISODE AT PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE. YOU CAN ALSO VISIT THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW ONLINE AT NOW.PERCHANCEMUSIC.COM TO FIND LINKS TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW ON ALL MAJOR PODCASTING PORTALS.

EC5.	I HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED CHAPTER THREE WHICH WAS WRITTEN, PRODUCED AND HOSTED BY YOURS TRULY. ANY MISTAKES, INACCURACIES, OR EDITORIAL FAILURES --- IN CONTENT OR PRODUCTION --- ARE UNINTENDED AND ARE ENTIRELY MINE.

I’M CHRISTINE BUSH. THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW CONTINUES. KEEP LISTENING.