The August Listening Lounge was hosted by Cate and Rene (and Clyde the Terrier). Thank you all for hosting.
Rene provided these highlights.
Announcements:
- Third Coast Conference in Chicago is October 4th-6th and registration is open.
-KCRW’s 6th Annual 24-Hour Radio Race will be the weekend August 25th-26. Registration closes Friday. DCLL member George posted a Facebook message recruiting a team for the Radio race.
Jocelyn mentioned that she will be moving to Minneapolis this fall, but she is interested in being part of Sound Scene (We hope she will be). On behalf of DCLL Rene thanked Jocelyn for her work facilitating DCLL and Sound Scene. She has supported a culture in which the meetings seem to run themselves. We will miss her participation but wish her well in her new adventure! A meeting will be organized to allow space for DCLL members to talk about how the responsibilities she managed could/should be handled in the future (who will/how to jump in and pick up the listserv, social media, scheduling, facilitating etc). Stay tuned!! That will probably be in early September before she leaves (Sept 23).
Also she’s having a send-off party Sept 21 and DCLL is invited! Email for details :)
Highlights:
Artwork and posters from prior year Sound Scenes were placed on the coffee table for the taking. It was a feast for the eyes and now many homes and offices are cooler for it!
There were many new faces at the lounge this month. Welcome!
Jocelyn suggested we kick off with a go-round : “What is the quietest sound that made an impression on you recently?”
Introductions:
Rene pointed out the living-room ceiling fan which makes a low-frequency sound which is almost inaudible but carries through the house. (Clyde hears everything and barks about it).
Melissa recently flew. When she landed, and the pressure finally shifted back in her ears, there was an overwhelming sound only audible to her.
Jackson recently heard a snake about to shed its skin. It’s a dry scratchy sound, but he felt the snake was happy for the transformation. After speculation by the group as to where he ran into a shedding snake in DC, we learned that it was a pet snake.
Elias recently had the window open and when he heard rats among the tall grass in his back yard.
Sonia was walking back from lunch when the wind hit the open bottle she was carrying and made a faint whistling.
Robbie recently noticed the sound of his mouth opening before he would speak.
Vika was in a studio and heard far-away voices. After some trial and error, the sound was traced to headphones sitting on the desk.
JC recalls the thick sound of stirring tuna salad. We learned that his recipe includes olive oil, goat cheese, and relish.
Deborah heard her own joints creaking. Her dog also heard it.
Lizzie opened the cupboard and heard what sounded like a tiny motorboat. She discovered a moth in her raisins and humanely released him outdoors.
Cate had a power outage in her office building which set off all the alarms. The next day, there was one faint beep that always seemed like it was coming from the other end of the building no matter where she walked.
Jocelyn thought she may have heard her fingertips when they rub lightly against each other. There was discussion about when a vibration becomes a sound and/or an experience.
HM recently had a very quiet moment in DC, she couldn’t remember the exact time and place, just the feeling.
Vinny has been deleting P-pops at work and when he last spoke to his mom on the phone he was fixated on the same sound. He’s worried he’s rewired his brain to notice plosives forever!
Esla’s sound was a chunk of tuna plopping out of the can, into a bowl. She pointed out that she and JC independently thought of tuna salad. Her recipe includes salt and pepper, mayo, and banana peppers. It is eaten straight from the bowl.
Nikalo’s bicycle makes the sound of like a tiny bell as a screw works its way loose from his handlebars.
Elisa recently enjoyed a sunset by the water and she was impressed by the sounds of birds and cicadas as nature prepared for the night.
Audio Shared:
HM played a composition by John Luther Adams “Dream of the Canyon Wren”. Discussion included the use of silence, surprise, dissonance, and emulating nature.
Nikalo played a scene he wrote, composed, narrated and performed flute for. It was inspired by fantasy and science fiction and evoked a city built into a mountain.
Robbie shared a piece he improvised on two analog synthesizers.
Rene shared several clips from a work in progress about grief and death coming too soon. The room provided notes to suggest to him some different /new direction.
Sonia shared a recording she made on a recent trip to Bali. She attended a fire dance known as Kecak. The intricacies of the vocals were stunning.
Elisa shared an audio mystery. It turned out to be the opening ceremony of this year’s Folk Life festival. An Armenian artistimprovised on a tambourine while blowing over an Orangina bottle.
By this time, it was after 10:00pm and the meeting was adjourned. Lively discussions followed and much later...eventually the living room was returned to Clyde.
Thanks everyone for an enthusiastic night of listening. Looking forward to the next.
-DCLL