T R A N S C R I P T

THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND™ WITH CHRISTINE BUSH
CHAPTER SIX: THE OCEAN, REMIXED.
WRITTEN, PRODUCED, AND HOSTED BY CHRISTINE BUSH.

PATREON RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 29, 2020
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 2, 2020
UPDATE: DECEMBER 15, 2020
CC-BY-SA 4.0

===============================

THIS CHAPTER OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND, IS RELEASED UNDER AN ATTRIBUTION, SHARE-ALIKE, FOUR POINT ZERO, INTERNATIONAL, CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE BY CHRISTINE BUSH, PERCHANCE MUSIC AND DIGITAL MEDIA, SERVICE MARK: 2020. ATTRIBUTION DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT NOW.PERCHANCEMUSIC.COM.


NEPTUNE HUMS A WEIRD REFRAIN
(ENGLISH LANGUAGE HAIKU BY JONATHA CHANCE)

THIS WATER IS STRANGE:
NEPTUNE HUMS A WEIRD REFRAIN.
THE OCEAN, REMIXED.


A-BLOCK

A1.    GREETINGS. THIS IS CHAPTER SIX OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND (TM). I'M CHRISTINE BUSH.

A2.   IN THIS CHAPTER, I WILL SHARE A TRIBUTE TO A VISIONARY BLACKSMITH OF ELECTRIC GUITAR EFFECTS. THEN I WILL SWITCH FROM THE FORGING OF NOISE-INSPIRED SOUNDS TO RE-IMAGINING THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT AS A FORM OF NOISE POLLUTION --- IN EARTH'S OCEANS. WITH THAT, I WILL OFFER THE NEXT MOVEMENT FROM MY NEW WORK IN PROGRESS, A SERIES OF MEDITATIONS ON ASPECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, TITLED THE DISQUEITING.  MY NEW COMPOSITION IS INSPIRED BY A CRISIS FOR THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIVING STRUCTURE: THE GREAT BARRIER REEF.

A3. 	IN A 1998 COLLECTION ENTITLED INVENTING THE TRUTH: THE ART AND CRAFT OF MEMOIR, TONI MORRISON CONTRIBUTED AN ESSAY CALLED "THE SITE OF MEMORY" IN WHICH SHE WROTE:

QUOTE-01:

“YOU KNOW, THEY STRAIGHTENED OUT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN PLACES TO MAKE ROOM FOR HOUSES & LIVEABLE ACREAGE. OCCASIONALLY THE RIVER FLOODS THESE PLACES. ‘FLOODS’ IS THE WORD THEY USE, BUT IN FACT IT IS NOT FLOODING; IT IS REMEMBERING. REMEMBERING WHERE IT USED TO BE. ALL WATER HAS A PERFECT MEMORY AND IS FOREVER TRYING TO GET BACK TO WHERE IT WAS. WRITERS ARE LIKE THAT… LIKE WATER, I REMEMBER WHERE I WAS BEFORE I WAS STRAIGHTENED OUT.”

A4.   IF IN FACT WATER HAS A PERFECTION OF MEMORY, OUR OCEANS ARE LIQUID HISTORY. SO MUCH THAT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN (OR TRY TO FORGET) FROM MASSIVE GYRES OF PLASTIC, RUNOFF FROM AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS, DESTRUCTIVE SEA BED TRAWLING, HEAT TRAPPED BY OUR ATMOSPHERE, AND TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE...IS ALL "REMEMBERED" BY THE SEAS. AND AS PREDICTED, THE WATERS ARE RISING...REMINDING US OF THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF OUR MISMANAGED PROGRESS.

A5.    IN THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK T.S. ELIOT CONCLUDES HIS POEM WITH THE ENVIRONMENTALLY PRESCIENT WORDS: "WE HAVE LINGERED IN THE CHAMBERS OF THE SEA // BY SEA-GIRLS WREATHED WITH SEAWEED RED AND BROWN // TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US, AND WE DROWN."

...LET US GO THEN, YOU AND I...INTO THE OCEAN (FROM WHENCE WE CAME) AND LISTEN FOR THE SOUND OF SCUTTLING CLAWS BENEATH THE WARMING WAVES. THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW CONTINUES.

[PROMO]

FIND LINKS TO MANY OF THE SOURCE MATERIALS, A TRANSCRIPT AND MORE,  ON THE PATREON SHOW NOTES PAGE FOR THIS CHAPTER OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND. PATREON SUPPORTERS ENJOY EARLY ACCESS TO THE DEVELOPING DRAFT OF THE SHOW NOTES AND EARLY ACCESS TO EACH CHAPTER. PATREON SUPPORTERS ALSO RECEIVE PRIVATE POSTS FROM CHRISTINE, WHICH PROVIDE CONTEXT AND INSIGHT INTO TOPICS AND PRODUCTION METHODS. A VARIETY OF UNIQUE INCENTIVES ARE AVAILABLE. YOUR SUPPORT IS SINCERELY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU!


B-BLOCK, PART ONE

B1.    ONE HALLMARK OF SUCCESS AND ACCLAIM IS HAVING A LARGE TARGET ATTACHED TO EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH. CRITICS AND FANS LOVE TO HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT GUITARIST TOM MORELLO. IN HIS MASTERCLASS, MORELLO CITES RANDY RHODES, ANGUS YOUNG, ACE FREHLEY, AND EDDIE VAN HALEN AS MAJOR INFLUENCES --- MANY A SHREDDER DOES. CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT FROM HIS LIST, HOWEVER, ARE THE MAKHAI, THE GREEK PERSONIFICATIONS OF BATTLE AND COMBAT WHO INCLUDE AMONG THEIR RANKS HOMADOS, THE GOD OF BATTLE NOISE. PERHAPS AS A MODERN-DAY INCARNATION OF HOMADOS, THIS IS A MATTER OF MODESTY FOR MORELLO WHOSE UNDERSTATED, CALM DEMEANOR ON SCREEN BELIES HIS WELL-HONED ARSENAL OF GUITAR PYROTECHNICS.

B2.    MORELLO HAS WIELDED HIS GUITAR AS A MIGHTY SONIC WEAPON OF SHOCK AND AWE FOR DECADES WITH THE BANDS RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE, PROPHETS OF RAGE, AND STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB. MORELLO HAS ALSO RELEASED SEVERAL POLITICALLY FOCUSED SOLO PROJECTS AS THE NIGHTWATCHMAN. MANY OF HIS GUITARS ARE EMBLAZONED WITH SLOGANS LIKE "ARM THE HOMELESS," "WHATEVER IT TAKES," AND "SOUL POWER." ACCORDING TO SOCIAL MEDIA HE IS SELF DESCRIBED AS [QUOTE] "THE ONLY BLACK KID IN AN ALL-WHITE TOWN, THE ONLY ANARCHIST AT A CONSERVATIVE HIGH SCHOOL, THE ONLY HEAVY METAL GUITARIST AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY" FROM WHICH HE GRADUATED IN 1986 WITH A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN SOCIAL STUDIES. HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RAP METAL SUCCESS OF RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE YIELDED SEVEN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS AND TWO AWARDS.

B3.    IN 2018 MORELLO SMASHED THE MOLD OF EXPECTATIONS BY RELEASING AN EDM-INFLUENCED SOLO PROJECT --- THE FIRST UNDER HIS OWN NAME --- CALLED THE ATLAS UNDERGROUND. SOME CRITICS HAVE CONDESCENDED TO SAY THAT MORELLO HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO MAKE AN ALBUM THAT CONFOUNDS EXPECTATIONS. FEW THINGS ARE LESS AGREEABLE THAN A CRITIC WHO FEELS THEIR ROLE IS TO POLICE ARTISTIC EXPECTATIONS.

JUST TO THROW GAS ON THE FIRE, IN 2019 HE FOLLOWED UP WITH A FULL ALBUM OF INSTRUMENTAL TAKES OF THE ATLAS UNDERGROUND. HERE'S MY SIX WORD REVIEW: I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO IT.

B4.    THROUGHOUT IT ALL, MORELLO HAS HAS BEEN A SONIC INNOVATOR, APPROACHING THE ELECTRIC GUITAR AS A HUMAN INTERFACE FOR GENERATING WHATEVER SOUND OR NOISE HE REQUIRES TO MAKE HIS MUSICAL, OR POLITICAL, POINT. THROUGH A MASTERFUL USE OF WHAMMY AND EFFECTS PEDALS AND MORE FAMILIAR GUITAR TECHNIQUES SUCH AS HAMMER-ONS, PULLOFFS, WHAMMY BARS, OR THE CONTROLLED HARNESSING OF AMPLIFIER FEEDBACK, MORELLO HAS DEVELOPED AS MUCH DEXTERITY IN HIS AURAL IMAGINATION AS IN HIS PANACHE AS A PLAYER.
 
B5.    IN HIS MASTERCLASS, TOM MORELLO SHARES HIS "NOISE CHART," A DIARY OF TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATING SOUNDS THAT RANGE FROM AIR RAID SIRENS AND SCREAMING MONKEYS TO BAGPIPES, MACHINE GUNS, TURNTABLE SCRITCHY-SCRATCH SOUND EFFECTS AND HIS SIGNATURE KILL SWITCH TOGGLE TECHNIQUE. 


HIS METHODOLOGY HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS "SMASHING MUSICAL IDEAS TOGETHER, THEN SEARCHING FOR ART IN THE WRECKAGE." WHILE THIS IS A TASTY SOUNDBITE FOR A NATIONAL RADIO AUDIENCE, WATCHING MORRELLO RE-CONSTRUCT A PARTICULARLY COMPLEX SOLO FROM THE SECOND TRACK OF THE SELF-TITLED PROPHETS OF RAGE ALBUM, WE WITNESS A POSTMODERN POET, NOT A JUNK COLLECTOR. SOUND IS HIS ECOSYSTEM. THE MORE DIVERSE IT IS, THE BETTER.
 
B6.    MORELLO ENCOURAGES US TO DECONSTRUCT OUR MUSIC MAKING, TO CHALLENGE LISTENER EXPECTATIONS BY RECONTEXTUALIZING MUSICAL STYLES, TO FIND OUR OWN AUTHENTIC VOICE, AND TO USE IT FEARLESSLY. HIS NEXT SINGLE IS AN ACOUSTIC BOMBSHELL ABOUT SLAVERY CALLED "YOU BELONG TO ME." YOU CAN HEAR IT ON THE PLAYLIST OF NOW FOR CHAPTER SIX ON SPOTIFY.

B6.1   I HAVE A POSTSCRIPT TO THIS SEGMENT. DURING THE COURSE OF PRODUCING THIS CHAPTER, ON OCTOBER 6, 2020, THE MUSIC WORLD WAS STUNNED TO LEARN THAT GUITARIST EDDIE VAN HALEN HAD DIED OF CANCER AT THE AGE OF 65 IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA. I WAS ONE OF MANY WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET HIM ONCE. IT WAS A PRE-SHOW EVENT IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, AT WHICH I HAD THE THRILL OF GREETING THE BAND AND STOOD BETWEEN EDDIE VAN HALEN AND SAMMY HAGAR WITH THEIR ARMS WRAPPED AROUND MY SHOULDERS FOR A BRIEF MOMENT DURING A PHOTO. I REMEMBER BEING SOMEWHAT STAR STRUCK. I ALSO REMEMBER THE SMELL OF CIGARETTE SMOKE. I SEND MY CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND ACQUAINTANCES AND BEG YOUR INDULGENCE FOR TWO MINUTES SO THAT I MIGHT HUMBLY OFFER THIS FAREWELL...

[SOUNDTRACK OF NOW LINER]

B-BLOCK, PART TWO

B7.    AS I DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER FIVE, NOISE IS AN ASPECT OF ANY COMMUNICATION CHANNEL THAT ALTERS OR DIMINISHES A SIGNAL MOVING THROUGH THAT CHANNEL. ACOUSTICAL NOISE MAY BE USED TO CALIBRATE THE CHANNEL ITSELF, OR TO PROVIDE TEXTURE TO ANY SIGNAL, SUCH AS A SOUND WAVE, THAT MOVES THROUGH IT. SEMANTIC NOISE, SUCH AS THAT DEPLOYED IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE, SEEKS TO CONTAMINATE, DISTORT, OR CANCEL A SIGNAL. NOISE POLLUTION IS AN OBLIVIOUS FORM OF SENSORY ENCROACHMENT THAT DISRUPTS OR DESTROYS THE SIGNALS TO WHICH AN ENVIRONMENT IS ACCLIMATED. IT EFFECTIVELY HIJACKS THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW.
 
B8.    ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY IS THE DISCIPLINE CONCERNED WITH THE IMPACTS, AND REVELATIONS, OF SOUND AND NOISE ON THE ENVIRONMENT. 
 
THE ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY LAB AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY IS CO-DIRECTED BY DR. SABINE FEISST AND DR. GARTH PAINE. DR. PAINE'S PAPER "ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY 2.0" WAS PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL CONTEMPORARY MUSIC REVIEW IN NOVEMBER OF 2017. IN THIS PAPER, DR. PAINE ARGUES FOR:
 
QUOTE-02:
 
"...A REASSERTION OF THE PRACTICE OF ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY. I PRESENT AN ARGUMENT FOR THE REJECTION OF THE TERM SOUNDSCAPE IN FAVOUR OF THE NOTION OF AN ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY; ALONG THE WAY, I SHOW HOW THE CONCEPT OF ECOLOGY IS A POWERFUL TOOL IN RE-IMAGING THE ROLE OF SOUND AWARENESS IN THE SOCIETY."
 
B9.    ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY BRINGS TOGETHER A RANGE OF DISCIPLINES FROM ETHNOMUSICOLOGY TO AUDIO ENGINEERING. FIELD RECORDINGS, VIRTUAL REALITY, CITIZEN SCIENCE, AND HUMAN LISTENING COMBINE TO ANALYZE, INTERPRET, AND GIVE WITNESS TO SOUND AND NOISE IN THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK. MOST PEOPLE WHO CAN SEE, UNCONSCIOUSLY PRIVILEGE THE VISUAL. THIS IS WHY GHOST STORIES, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE MORE SPOOKY WHEN TOLD AT NIGHT IN THE WOODS --- FEWER DISTRACTIONS AND OUR INCREASED ATTENTION COMBINE TO HEIGHTEN THE DRAMA. AS CEDRIC ENGELS SHARES IN HIS TEDx TALK ON "SOUND ECOLOGY," WE HEAR PASSIVELY WITH OUR EARS, WE LISTEN ACTIVELY WITH OUR BRAINS.

B10.    ACOUSTIC ECOLOGISTS OFFER WORKSHOPS TO TEACH LISTENING SKILLS. THEY BEGIN WITH "PASSIVE LISTENING," QUIETING YOUR THOUGHTS AND FOCUSING ON THE FIELD OF SOUND THAT SURROUNDS YOU. THIS PROVES DIFFICULT FOR MOST PEOPLE, AT FIRST, EVEN FOR JUST A FEW MOMENTS. BUT AS PART OF A PRACTICE OF MINDFULNESS, TIME SPENT SIMPLY LISTENING BECOMES ITS OWN REWARD. 

NEXT IS "DIRECT LISTENING" WHERE WE FOCUS OUR LISTENING ON A SINGLE SOUND: THE CADENCE OF A SPECIFIC BIRD SONG, THE RHYTHM OF A PURRING CAT, THE DRONE OF A KITCHEN APPLIANCE. 

FINALLY, THERE IS "ACTIVE LISTENING," CONCENTRATING ON MULTIPLE SOUNDS AT THE SAME TIME AND PERHAPS DISCOVERING PATTERNS OR CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN THEM. 

B11.  I HAVE BECOME INTERESTED IN WHAT ACOUSTIC ECOLOGISTS MIGHT BE LEARNING FROM OUR OCEANS, WHICH PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN MITIGATING THE HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CONTINUED FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE AND AGRICULTURE TO SUPPORT 7.8 BILLION HUMANS.

B12.    ACCORDING TO ANDREW FREEDMAN AND CHRIS MOONEY AT THE WASHINGTON POST, IN MAY OF 2020 --- DESPITE A PANDEMIC-INDUCED DROP IN EMISSIONS --- AN AVERAGE OF SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 417 PARTS PER MILLION OF CARBON DIOXIDE WAS RECORDED IN THE ATMOSPHERE. THAT'S THE HIGHEST IN HUMAN HISTORY AND, THEY SAY, PROBABLY THE HIGHEST IN THREE MILLION YEARS.

THE OCEAN ABSORBS 93 PERCENT OF THE HEAT TRAPPED BY GREENHOUSE GASES AND MUCH OF THE CARBON DIOXIDE AS WELL. AN INCREASE IN THE FREQUENCY AND POWER OF CYCLONES IS A SYMPTOM OF WARMING WATERS. WHEN SALTY SEA WATER COMBINES WITH CARBON DIOXIDE, THAT PRODUCES CARBONIC ACID. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, THE OCEAN HAS BECOME 30 PERCENT MORE ACIDIC. THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT IS SIGNIFICANT.

B13.  AS I HAVE BEGUN TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY AND OCEAN CHEMISTRY, I HAVE BECOME FASCINATED THINKING OF SOUND AS CHEMISTRY.

I FIRST CAME ACROSS THIS UNUSUAL CONCEPT IN RICHARD POWERS' NOVEL ORFEO IN WHICH A COMPOSER TRIES TO ENCODE HIS WORK INTO GENE SEQUENCES USING A LAB HE SETS UP AT HOME. (DRAMATIC AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES ENSUE.) WHILE FICTIONAL, IT DOESN'T SEEM IMPLAUSIBLE AS WE ARE ALREADY ENCODING OTHER KINDS OF DATA INTO GENE SEQUENCES. 

B14.    LIFE DEPENDS ON CHEMISTRY. WE INTERACT WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THROUGH EACH OF OUR SENSES USING CHEMISTRY. WE SEE THE WORLD THROUGH EYES THAT INTERCEPT PHOTONS AND CONVERT THEM TO ELECTRICAL IMPULSES USING THE CHEMICAL RETINAL. WE TASTE AND SEASON OUR FOOD THROUGH CHEMISTRY. POISON OAK, POISON IVY, BEE STINGS, AND CERTAIN ACIDS ON OUR SKIN CAUSE PAIN. PERHAPS MOST POTENTLY  WE SMELL CHEMISTRY, BE IT PLEASANT OR NOXIOUS. AS CEDRIC ENGELS SAID, WE PASSIVELY HEAR WITH OUR EARS, WE ACTIVELY LISTEN WITH OUR NEUROCHEMICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING UNITS: OUR BRAINS. THIS ECHOES ONE OF MY INITIAL PREMISES FOR THIS PROGRAM: THAT LISTENING IS A FORM OF THINKING AND THINKING IS A FORM OF LISTENING. THE MORE EFFECTIVELY WE LISTEN, THE MORE EFFECTIVELY WE THINK.

B15.    ACCLAIMED MUSICIAN AND CONDUCTOR MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS IN HIS 2012 TED TALK ON "MUSIC AND EMOTION THROUGH TIME" JOKINGLY ATTRIBUTES THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF HAPPINESS OR SADNESS TO [QUOTE-UNQUOTE] "37 FREAKIN' VIBRATIONS." THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE E-NATURAL AND E-FLAT THAT MAKE A MID-RANGE C CHORD MAJOR OR MINOR, RESPECTIVELY. (AS YOU PLAY THE SAME CHORDS LOWER ON THE KEYBOARD, THE DIFFERENCE BECOMES EVEN SMALLER --- HALF AS MANY VIBRATIONS FOR EACH OCTAVE.)

B16.    SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS MEASURE THE VELOCITY OF SOUND WAVES MOVING THROUGH AIR AND LIQUID. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, OSCILLATORS, SYNTHESIZERS, AND SOFTWARE ALLOW US TO MANIPULATE THE FREQUENCY AND AMPLITUDE OF SOUND WAVES. THESE ARE QUANTITATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF SOUND. MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS' COMMENT ABOUT THIRTY-SEVEN FREAKIN' VIBRATIONS IS HUMOROUS, IN PART, BECAUSE WE DON'T TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE MUSIC AS MATH. YES: SOUND EMERGES FROM THE INTERSECTION OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS. MUSIC...IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GIVE SOUND A CHANCE TO STIR THE CURRENTS OF EXPERIENCE AND EMOTIONS WITHIN US. I SUGGEST THAT MAGIC IS DEPENDENT FOR ITS EFFECT ON ELECTRICAL SYNAPTIC IMPULSES AND CHEMISTRY.

B17.    IN HIS ARGUMENT TO DISTINGUISH AN "ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY" FROM THE TERM "SOUNDSCAPE," DR. PAINE OF THE ARIZONA STATE ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY LAB QUOTES TIM INGOLD FROM HIS 2011 COLLECTION TITLED BEING ALIVE: ESSAYS ON MOVEMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND DESCRIPTION. INGOLD WRITES:

QUOTE-03:

"SOUND IS NOT THE OBJECT BUT THE MEDIUM OF OUR PERCEPTION. IT IS WHAT WE HEAR IN. SIMILARLY, WE DO NOT SEE LIGHT BUT SEE IN IT."

B18.    AN ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY, WRITES DR. PAINE, SURFACES THE DYNAMIC NETWORK OF ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT INDICATE THE HEALTH OF THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH SOUND AND THE FACTORS THAT SHAPE SOUND. SO, IT SEEMS TO ME, WATER IS FOR MARINE LIFE, NOT THE OBJECT BUT THE MEDIUM OF ITS PERCEPTION.    

FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, EVERYTHING THAT LIVES IN THE OCEAN CAN BE SAID TO BE LISTENING TO THE CHEMICAL MEDIUM IN WHICH IT DWELLS: WATER. IF WE APPLY THE CONCEPT OF SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO AND CONSIDER OCEAN CHEMISTRY AS A CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION...WHAT WE HEAR IS THE NOISE OF HEAT AND CARBONIC ACID STARTING TO OVERWHELM THE ANCIENT SIGNALS OF THE SEA. WHAT THE HOPI LANGUAGE MIGHT CALL "KOYAANISKUUYI" --- WATER OUT OF BALANCE.

B19.      THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IS A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE DESIGNATED AS [QUOTE] "A SITE OF REMARKABLE VARIETY AND BEAUTY ON THE NORTH-EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA. IT CONTAINS THE WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF CORAL REEFS, WITH 400 TYPES OF CORAL, 1,500 SPECIES OF FISH AND 4,000 TYPES OF MOLLUSC. IT ALSO HOLDS GREAT SCIENTIFIC INTEREST AS THE HABITAT OF SPECIES SUCH AS THE DUGONG ([OR] ‘SEA COW’) AND THE LARGE GREEN TURTLE, WHICH ARE THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION." [/UNQUOTE]
 
A COLLECTION OF 2500 INDIVIDUAL REEFS, IT IS THE LARGEST LIVING STRUCTURE ON THE PLANET. STRETCHING 1,429 MILES OVER AN AREA 133,000 SQUARE MILES OFF THE COAST OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IS VISIBLE FROM SPACE.
 
B20.     CORAL REEFS ARE COLONIES OF LIVING ORGANISIMS THAT HAVE A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CYANO ALGAE THAT GIVE THEM THEIR BRILLIANT COLORS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH NUTRIENTS. WHEN THE WATERS IN WHICH THEY LIVE BECOME TOO WARM THE ALGAE ARE EXPELLED AND THE REEF TURNS WHITE, AN EVENT WE KNOW AS BLEACHING. SOMETIMES CORAL CAN RECOVER, SOMETIMES THEY DIE. WHEN THEY DIE, THEY NO LONGER REPRODUCE AND THE COLONY IS THREATENED. WHEN A COLONY DIES, ONLY THEIR GHOSTLY BRANCHES, PILLOWS, AND SPIRES REMAIN.
 
B21.    IN APRIL OF 2020, MADDIE STONE REPORTED FOR THE WASHINGTON POST UNDER THE HEADLINE: "GREAT BARRIER REEF SUFFERS ITS MOST WIDESPREAD MASS BLEACHING EVENT ON RECORD: BREADTH OF DAMAGE IS MORE EXPANSIVE THAN 2016-17 EVENT." THE 2017 BLEACHING WAS FACILITATED BY AN INTENSE MARINE HEAT WAVE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN EL NIÑO. STONE NOTES THAT THIS MOST RECENT BLEACHING OCCURRED WITHOUT AN ASSIST FROM EL NIÑO, WHICH SUGGESTS ANTHROPECENTRIC CLIMATE CHANGE IS PLAYING A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE CRISIS AT THE GREAT BARRIER REEF. 
 
HAVING THREE BLEACHING EVENTS IN JUST FIVE YEARS, ACCORDING TO A SPOKESPERSON FOR NOAA, IS "UNPRECEDENTED." RAPID SUCCESSIONS OF BLEACHING EVENTS DO NOT GIVE THE REEFS SUFFICIENT TIME TO RECOVER.

B22.    ACCORDING TO BILL MCKIBBEN IN HIS 2019 BOOK FALTER, MANY SCIENTISTS EXPECT MOST OF THE PLANET'S CORAL REEFS TO DIE BY 2050. MCKIBBEN ALSO OUTS THE QUEENSLAND TOURISM ASSOCIATION FOR LOBBYING THEIR GOVERNMENT TO CUT FUNDING FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE REEF AS THEY DON'T WANT TO ALARM TOURISTS PLANNING TRIPS FROM ABROAD THAT SIGNIFICANT STRETCHES OF IT HAVE BEEN SEVERELY COMPROMISED. MORE CONSTRUCTIVELY, TECHNIQUES FOR RESCUING, SAVING, AND RESTORING CORALS ARE UNDER WAY IN AUSTRALIA, HAWAII, FLORIDA, AND ELSEWHERE.

B23.    WE CAN ALSO DOCUMENT THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON CORAL REEFS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF SNAPPING SHRIMP. THIS PROVIDES A CURIOUS CASE STUDY IN ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY.

IN 2016, THE ROYAL SOCIETY B PUBLISHED AN ARTICLED TITLED "SILENT OCEANS: OCEAN ACIDIFICATION IMPOVERISHES NATURAL SOUNDSCAPES BY ALTERING SOUND PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD'S NOISIEST MARINE INVERTEBRATE." BY CONTRAST, IN FEBRUARY OF 2020 NPR REPORTED "CLIMATE CHANGE MAY MAKE THE SNAPPING SHRIMP SNAP LOUDER" AS A RESULT OF WARMING SEA WATERS. THESE DIFFERENT VECTORS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ACIDIC SEAS AND WARMING WATERS, CORRELATE TO DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS AND RESULT IN SECOND ORDER EFFECTS.

B24.    FOR EXAMPLE, SOME SCIENTISTS ADVISE THAT LOUDER OR MORE FREQUENT SNAPPING SHRIMP COULD DISRUPT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SOME SPECIES OF FISH ALREADY STRUGGLING TO BE HEARD OVER INCREASED SHIPPING AND OTHER HUMAN MARINE ACTIVITIES. OTHERS CAUTION THAT SOME FISH LARVAE HAVE EVOLVED A PRACTICE OF DIRECT LISTENING. THEY RELY ON THE SOUND OF SNAPPING SHRIMP TO NAVIGATE THEIR WAY TO HEALTHY CORAL REEFS. SNAPPING SHRIMP MAKING LESS NOISE OR SNAPPING LESS FREQUENTLY MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE FISH LARVAE TO FIND A GOOD HOME, BUT IT MAY ALSO CONVEY THAT THIS IS NOT THE REEF THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.

WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP LISTENING TO THE SHRIMP --- AND TO THE WATER --- BEFORE WE MIGHT KNOW FOR SURE.

B25.    YOU CAN FIND LINKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY, OCEAN WARMING AND ACIDIFICATION, THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, AND SNAPPING SHRIMP ON THE SHOW NOTES PAGE FOR CHAPTER SIX AT PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE.
 
B26.    THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW CONTINUES, WITH A PIECE INSPIRED BY THE CHANGING SONIC ECOLOGY OF THE SEA FOR MY WORK IN PROGRESS, THE DISQUIETING.

[APPEAL FOR SUPPORT]

THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND (TM) IS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY HOST CHRISTINE BUSH, CREATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR AT PERCHANCE MUSIC & DIGITAL MEDIA. THIS PROGRAM IS FREELY AVAILABLE UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. IN ORDER TO SUPPORT AND SUSTAIN THE PRODUCTION OF THE SHOW, PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION ON ANCHOR.FM OR BECOME A MEMBER OF THE PERCHANCE PATREON COMMUNITY ONLINE: PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE. THANK YOU!

[SMART SPEAKER PROMO]
ASK YOUR SMART SPEAKER TO "PLAY" OR "TALK" TO THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW.

[SOUNDTRACK OF NOW LINER]


C-BLOCK

C1.    YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW: A SOJOURN IN SOUND. THIS IS ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM THE DISQUIETING BY JONATHA CHANCE.  THIS MOVEMENT IS TITLED "THE OCEAN, REMIXED" --- PERFORMED BY CHANCE ENCOUNTERS ENSEMBLE.

C2.    "THE OCEAN, REMIXED" FROM THE DISQUIETING BY JONATHA CHANCE. YOU CAN HEAR THE ENTIRE WORK IN PROGRESS CAN ALSO BE HEARD ONLINE AT THIS PROGRAM'S WEBSITE FOUND AT: NOW DOT PERCHANCEMUSIC DOT COM. ALSO, ON SOUNDCLOUD.

[PROMO FOR THE PLAYLIST OF NOW]

ENJOY A CLOSELY CURATED SELECTION OF MUSIC RELEVANT TO THIS CHAPTER OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW. THE PLAYLIST OF NOW IS AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY AND ONLINE USING  YOUR BROWSER OF CHOICE FROM: NOW.PERCHANCEMUSIC.COM.

[PROMO FOR ACHOR.FM]

THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW ORIGINATES FROM ANCHOR DOT FM WHERE YOU CAN RECORD A MESSAGE FOR THE PROGRAM. WHETHER YOU HAVE A COMMENT, A QUESTION, OR JUST WANT TO SHARE YOUR NAME AND WHERE YOU'RE LISTENING...YOUR VOICE IS WELCOME IN THE MIX ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW. TO LEAVE A MESSAGE, VISIT ANCHOR.FM/SOUNDTRACKOFNOW. THANK YOU.


END NOTES AND CREDITS

EC1.    POET NATALIE DIAZ CONCLUDES HER POEM "THE FIRST WATER IS THE BODY" FROM HER 2020 COLLECTION POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM WITH THE WORDS:

QUOTE-04:
"WILL WE REMEMBER FROM WHERE WE'VE COME? THE WATER. // AND ONCE REMEMBERED, WILL WE RETURN TO THAT FIRST WATER, AND IN DOING SO RETURN TO OURSELVES, TO EACH OTHER? // DO YOU THINK THE WATER WILL FORGET WHAT WE HAVE DONE, WHAT WE CONTINUE TO DO?"

EC2.    THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW IS AVAILABLE ON A GROWING NUMBER OF SYNDICATION PLATFORMS, NOW INCLUDING PANDORA. PLEASE CHECK OUT THE COMPANION PLAYLIST OF NOW FOR CHAPTER SIX ON SPOTIFY, WHERE YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW THE PROGRAM. THE PLAYLIST OF NOW IS THE TERRITORY TO WHICH THIS CHAPTER IS A MAP. 

EC3.    JOIN ME AGAIN ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW FOR CHAPTER SEVEN, MY NEXT SOJOURN IN SOUND, WHEN I WILL UNMASK THE SILENT SORCERY OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

EC4.   THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF A SMALL, BUT GROWING, COMMUNITY OF PATREON SUPPORTERS. I AM ALSO PLEASED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT PATREON NOW ALLOWS YOU TO JOIN THE PERCHANCE MUSIC PATREON COMMUNITY USING A VARIETY OF CURRENCIES, SO CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES ARE NO LONGER AN OBSTACLE TO EARLY ACCESS AND MORE. VISIT PATREON.COM/PERCHANCE TO JOIN AND MAKE THIS A TRULY INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE. ADDITIONAL WAYS TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM CAN BE FOUND AT NOW.PERCHANCEMUSIC.COM.

EC5.    THIS CHAPTER OF THE SOUNDTRACK OF NOW FEATURES WORK SHARED THROUGH THE CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSING FRAMEWORK. MUCH OF THE MATERIAL HEARD IN THIS CHAPTER IS SOURCED FROM: BANDCAMP AND THE FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE.

EC6.    MY SINCERE THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING MUSICIANS AND SOUND ARTISTS FOR SHARING THEIR DIVERSE TALENTS: KIMIKO ISHIZAKA, REVOLUTION VOID, KEVIN MACLEOD, BEN GOLDBERG, AND THE BAND PUBLIC SYMPHONY. THE MUSIC OF TOM MORELLO IS COPYRIGHTED AND IS NOT HEARD IN THIS CHAPTER. MUSIC FEATURED FROM SEBASTIAN HAS, THE SOUNDALIKES, AND RADIO DIRECT WERE LICENSED FOR USE. 

INTERSTITIAL SWEEPERS WERE PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH DR. JENN KIRBY. ADDITIONAL VOICE TALENT WAS PROVIDED BY DR. SHERYL MEBANE.

[PRODUCTION CREDITS/FAIR USE DISCLAIMER]
ALL QUOTED MATERIAL IS INCLUDED UNDER FAIR USE GUIDELINES FOR COMMENTARY AND CRITICISM.

ADDITIONAL SOUND ELEMENTS ARE LICENSED FOR USE COURTESY OF: POND 5 AND RUMBLEFISH. THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED USING PRESONUS SPHERE, NATIVE INSTRUMENTS, AND SOUND IRON. SOME VOICES WERE RENDERED BY POLLY, USING SYNTHETIC SPEECH MARKUP LANGUAGE AND AMAZON WEB SERVICES.

EC7.    CHAPTER SIX 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.