Are You Interested in Music by Any Chance?
A LONE MAN in a sharkskin suit sits at an outdoor cafe in Madrid. There are two cups of espressoo the table in front of him. A MAN WITH VIOLIN wearing Elvis sunglasses and carrying a violin case walks up and sits at the table next to him.
MAN WITH VIOLIN: [character speaks in Spanish, English subtitles] You don’t speak Spanish, right?
THE LONE MAN: No.
MAN WITH VIOLIN: (takes off sunglasses) [in Spanish, English subtitles] It’s very loud here.
MAN WITH VIOLIN: [in English] Very loud. (Beat) Are you interested in music by any chance?
MAN WITH VIOLIN: [in Spanish, English subtitles] I believe that musical instruments, especially those made out of wood – cellos, violins, guitars – I believe that they resonate, musically, even when they’re not being played. They have a memory.
This is all a coded language. Like poetry.
It’s a scene from one of my favorite films of all time, from the first half of act two in Jim Jarmusch’s film “The Limits of Control.” THE LONE MAN is a courier/assassin in an action film where, intentionally, all the action takes place off screen. It’s similar to Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” which is another of my favorites. Yes, I also liked the campy vampire version, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead,” but it’s not a good film. Why haven’t I read everything written by Tom Stoppard?
THE LONE MAN meets several distinct characters while waiting for instructions for the job he’s on. With this structure, Jarmusch is able to infuse this film with his personal philosophy and tastes on everything from music to alcohol consumption.
Are you interested in music by any chance?
Did you know that yesterday was Mozart’s birthday? 1756 and we’re still listening to his music today and finding new ways to express it’s ebullient, joyous nature. I generally love the piano concertos and operas. Some of the symphonies too.
Not many people know that I accidentally ended up with a degree in opera (a story for another time). I never intended to sing opera specifically, but I would love to play Papageno in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” sometime. Not because of the connection to suicide and mass media, but because he’s a lovable minor character, a bird catcher, a woodland creature, one who talks too much to the point that three witches put a lock on his lips. As T.S. Eliot puts it in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”:
No! I am no Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous–
Almost, at times, the Fool.
That poem kind of took a different turn than I meant. So it goes.
Did you know the first known animated film was created by a woman? You have to see Lotte Reiniger’s short film on a scene from “The Magic Flute” with Papageno. From the Open Culture website, “Even the enormously budgeted and staffed productions of major studios have yet to replicate the stark, quavering charm of her silhouette animations.”
These things too inspired me recently:
“I’ll Open the Window” - poem by Anna Swir. “Aloneness // is the first hygienic measure.” I heard this at a virtual poetry reading last night. It’s so good for our times.
“A 400 Year Old Ring that Unfolds to Track the Movements of the Heavens” - This ring is too much! It’s amazing that 400 years ago when Mozart lived there was an app for that.
“Phillip Glass: Piano Works” - Vikingur Olafsson brings a truly new energy to some of our favorite piano works by Phillip Glass. If you’re a fan of Glass, you must listen to this album. Especially “Etude No. 9.” Brilliant performance.
Vikingurolafsson.com- Yes, the website itself deserves a mention because it did inspire me last week. And what a cool name? Check out the music video for some of his Bach performances on the homepage. Yes, a music video for J.S. Bach keyboard music.
“The Sound of Metal” - Musicians especially should see this film of a metal drummer who very suddenly loses his hearing. Riz Ahmed makes this film–his acting is simply amazing.