Relationships between the world and Mark E. Smith

Dada:

An anti war rhetoric (WWI)
Designed to combat Nationalism
It denied the cultural value of at
Deliberately disregarded artistic convention

“…disgusted by the butchery of WWI, we devoted ourselves to the Fine Arts. Despite the remote booming of artillery we sang, painted, pasted, and wrote poetry with all our might and main. We were seeking an elementary art to cure man of the frenzy of the times and a new order to restore the balance between heaven and hell. This art rapidly became a subject of general disapproval. It was not surprising to us that the “bandits” were unable to understand us. In their puerile megalomania and power-madness, they demanded that art itself must serve to brutalize mankind.”

HORRORS OF WWI, lost generation, disillusionment

Influences on Mark E. Smith:
Total rejection of the standard coupled with an active desire to undermine and make ridicule of that same cultural standard.

The Fall influence on the name:
The bands name, the fall, is itself a reference to the novel by Albert Camus, a nihilist.

The ides of nihilism is inherently tied to punk.

Punk itself is a rejection of a norm, namely:

The Sex Pistols’ slogan “no future”

The post baby-boom generation (Mark E. Smith) had nothing to rally behind. No wars, no great oppressor, only the disillusionment of the hippies and the general distaste for the political workings of the older generations. Punk stems from boredom.

One could criticize punk as an inability to face up to the harsh realities of the world (being that there was nothing to actually rally for)

Mark E. Smith’s lyrics speak chiefly at the dissatisfaction with the world.
• anger and mediocrity (like all punk)
• lament for the death of literacy
• disgust with the state of culture

“Contradictory” reference points I was told to research:
Opera and contemporary dance music, witchcraft and amphetamines, Luddism and valium, hobgoblin and Queen Victoria.

Though they seem contradictory in the world of Mark E. Smith the represent the dissatisfaction with the ideas and ideals held by many as sacred.

Each shows the same thing, just put forth under a different flag.
Hobgoblins are essentially fictional beasts that live to cause torment, and are pressed into our psyches from an early age but so is the Queen Victoria. In other words, these comparisons serve to show that all human inner workings are frail and pointless, i.e. Nihilism.
Albert Camus sought to prove life itself to be meaningless. Taking a cue from the “pure reason” of Nietzsche, Camus showed that only in CHAOS there is TRUE ORDER or vice versa. *Camus: Humans are a victims of their own lives and in the end they are just going to be fucked*


Mark E. Smith was a college dropout and become a working class hero as he worked in the Salford docks, which he quit shortly to gain attention and recognition for his ideas by devoting his full energies to The Fall.

This new energy came with the disregard of social standards as well as
Dress
Attitude
Actions

Smith’s attitude and “bellicose insobriety” is, likely in his own estimation, a rejection of the social value of courtesy; most of us grow out of being visibly inebriated in public before the age of 25; Mark E. Smith is still at it.


CONNECTIONS Mark E. Smith and Dada

Dada was a knee jerk response to the shock of modern warfare and in inability to cope.

Mark E. Smith has a similar response to being born into a relative comfort and normality in Manchester 1957, an inability to cope with the very drabness of life itself.

He would much rather people think about his music that sit/dance and enjoy it.


Although Camus is a great writer, he and his cohorts like Jean Paul Sartre are, at heart, lazy whiners (at least from one perspective). The same can be said about Mark E. Smith.
• He is always dunk (or at least represents himself to be)
• Draws influence from a purely philosophical perspective
This is to say he does not account for any perspective, but for his own ideals – look at the interviews with him, he is very quick to dismiss alternative (which is oftentimes ironically mainstream) methodology as “shit”.

ALTHOUGH Mark E. Smith draws verbal influence from the depth of literary knowledge, his complaints are the same as any punk rocker:
• the song “God Box” which is anti TV
• many songs in which he decries David Bowie and Glam Rock such as “Hard in the Country” and “Glam Racket”
• angry over a girl in “Hillary”
• and every other song criticizing the stiffness of society.


A friend’s interpretation of the life Mark E. Smith:
What society ever did to Mark E. Smith, we may never know for sue. But rest assured it weaned him on both comfort and knowledge, without any real cause for struggle while feeding him drugs and making him bitter that the world cares not for a visionary artist. Rather than actually going ahead and enjoying what he had, he took the “punk” route, and concentrated on how miserable his life was. It earned him millions of dollars.


Smith’s mail goal in life was NOT TO CONFORM, this appears more important than any underlying social message.

More typical Smith complaints:
• Things are too “trendy” ex. Glasgow, scenes, kids
• Government “becoming fascist”

It’s possible Smith could just be a drunken commie.

Mark E. Smith

I checked the Library at Chelsea and it led me to The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith
I found it in 9 pieces on youtube. The following are part 1 and then part 5.








A music video:


WIKI'D SMITH

Mark Edward Smith (born 5 March 1957) is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and sole consistent (OF 49!) member of The Fall, a renowned and idiosyncratic offshoot from the English post-punk popular music scene.

Biography

Smith was born to a working-class family in Broughton, Salford, in Lancashire, England, and moved to nearby Prestwich, in Bury early in his life. He formed The Fall (named after the novel by Camus) with friends after dropping out of college at the age of 19. He gave up his job at Salford docks shortly after to devote his full energies to The Fall, and has continued to do so ever since. Smith married Californian guitarist (and Fall band member, 1983-89, 1994-96) Brix Smith on 19 July 1983, though they divorced in 1989. He has since remarried twice. He married his present wife, Eleni (sometimes called Elenor or Elena) Poulou, in 2001, and she joined The Fall in September 2002.
Smith has won much acclaim for his unique lyrical style, which mixes elements of social realism, surrealism, and absurdism, dwelling on subjects as far removed as unemployment and football violence to time travel and ghosts, all with the same wit, astute humour and precarious balance between brutalism and intellect. In interviews, he has cited Colin Wilson,[1] Wyndham Lewis, H. P. Lovecraft, and Philip K. Dick as influences.[2] When British DJ and Fall champion John Peel died in 2004, Smith made a notorious appearance on the BBC's Newsnight show.[3] Regarded by many as a bewildering performance, Smith has made his appreciation for John Peel clear in several subsequent interviews. Nevertheless, the two only met a handful of times. Though he broke his hip while promoting the album The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click) in 2004, Smith refused to cancel an upcoming American tour, instead choosing to perform in a wheelchair. Unfortunately the pain and medication caused a number of dates to be cancelled.
In January 2005, The Fall were the subject of The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith, a BBC Four television documentary. The following August, Smith received the "Contribution to Music" award at the Diesel-U-Music Awards. Smith is currently working with Manchester-based writer Austin Collings on an autobiography, Renegade: The Gospel According to Mark E. Smith, due to be published by Viking Books in February 2008. His latest musical project is Von Südenfed, a collaboration with Mouse on Mars, whose first album, Tromatic Reflexxions, was released on May 21, 2007.

Work without The Fall
Music
Alongside his work with The Fall, Smith has released two spoken-word solo albums: The Post-Nearly Man (1998) and Pander! Panda! Panzer! (2002). Both albums feature readings of Fall lyrics, samples of Fall songs and contributions from members of The Fall, and the line between Smith's solo career and his work with the group remains somewhat blurred.
Smith has also appeared as a guest vocalist for Edwyn Collins, Inspiral Carpets, Elastica, Long Fin Killie, Mouse on Mars, Coldcut, and Ghostigital.
[edit]Writing and acting
In 1987, Smith wrote the play "Hey Luciani!" based around the short-lived reign of Pope John Paul I. Smith has also periodically acted as guest contributor to publications including the NME. He has appeared in an acting role in several television programmes and films. He made a brief appearance as himself in the Michael Winterbottom film 24 Hour Party People (2002) and in May 2007 he made an appearance on the BBC Three sitcom Ideal, playing a foulmouthed, chain-smoking Jesus.

Added sound.

Dialog and sound update

I hate flat images.

Mapping the territories. Mapping out Hearing and Sound {noise}.

Possible titles: listen

sound diaries

The processes of turning my sense of hearing into a coherent and visually stimulating map format have been long and difficult. Representations of the sound are subjective, and it is still unknown whether they will be taking the form of organic lines or typography. Although these aspects still must be solidified, it will be measured in a time line of sorts. After Friday’s session, I researched some Concrete Poetry, which led to Visual Poetry topics and then finally to the concept of Lettrism. With no means of recording the sounds this weekend because the rental place was closed and I was out of town and out of Internet I only had my notebook and pen to write down the things I heard and thereby transcribing their sounds. My first idea was to record all the sounds in, or that found their way into my room, indicating the source, type, and volume. The idea couldn’t be carried through, however, because the sounds would be repetitive and predictable. Noises such as the six o’clock drum and bass that blasts through the corridor of my hall flat, and the chattering outside my window at three in the morning were originally to be mapped. I decided to then record the sounds of my entire day, by time, taking note of whether I interacted with the sound, or was forced to listen to it. Hopefully, hand cut, handset, and/or hand drawn typography are options in executing the final product in an attempt to get away from the computer.


Notes:
... defined concrete poetry as writing that "begins by being aware of graphic space as a structural agent", so that words or letters can be juxtaposed, not only in relation to each other but ... to the page area as a whole.

The Lettrist worked on the level of the letter at the heart of what they believed to be an experiential language that was to be the basis of their new culture. Their Lexique Des Lettres Nouvelles, for example was a sonic alphabet of a 130 or so sounds from which a new natural language was to spring from and from which they composed their poetry. Isou along with his chief lieutenant, Maurice Lemaitre, worked out a notational style that resembled that of traditional, 'common-practice' music, sometimes even with staffs, bar lines, and dynamic markings. Lettrist poetry was also often performed by choral groups.






This is the START of my new map layout.
The ones posted below are totally bogus. I had a spin wheel idea as well that I still might do. But I like this one best.

I am currently uploading two days worth of sound from the MD Recorder onto my laptop.
I am glad this project is not subjective after all.

Transcribing the sound and dialog is going to take me YEARS. I'll do it though.
I can't wait till all the type setting is done.

I am finally getting sorta excited about this.
Also, very frustrated!

A close up of recorded dialog (done before sound because sound will need more time)

Very very very basic.

White spaces are indoors, blue are outlets to the outdoors or the outdoors themselves.
The rings are closer to the source of the sound, the size of the rings and distance are determined by how loud they start and how far they spread.

ROUGH ROUGH draft.




I compared different sound snippets and they're wavelengths in garage band.

There are many ways to express sound visually. The most common are the sound waves we are familiar with seeing in textbooks or the one's on your computer that are produced to look like they flow with the music.

Do I want to stick to this widely known visual concept of sound or do I want to create my own.

Do I express noise in a media not so scientific but more graphic? Whose to say that the lines of a wavelength aren't graphic or pleasing. I like the idea for free form organic shapes, I could possibly do something with type. I can possibly spell the things I hear the way I hear them and make them look the way I hear them.

But I would also like to categorize the sounds I hear. Music, people talking to me/people talking, animals, electronics, etc.

The following is from this site.


Here's what sound waves look like. The caption reads, "A visible pattern of sound waves. This new technique of studying sound demonstrates the focusing effect of an acoustical lens on sound waves issuing from the horn at extreme left. Wave pattern is produced by a scanning technique . . ." Bell Telephone Laboratories photograph, from the book The First Book of Sound: A Basic Guide to the Science of Acoustics by David C. Knight, Franklin Watts, Inc. New York (1960). p. 80



The Physics of Sound
Put simply, sound is vibration. As such, sound can pass through many different substances - in fact, it requires the presence of a medium. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum.

The most common medium within which we perceive sound is, of course, air. Various movements around us cause vibrations in air molecules, and this sound energy is transported outwards as waves. Much in the same way as waves move across the surface of a pond, so does sound move through the air. Once the action that caused the waves ceases, then the pond will gradually return to its original position, as if nothing had happened.

Sound also travels through water, and can travel through solids too, such as wood, brick, iron and so on. The ease with which it can do so depends upon the composition of the medium, and the nature of the sound itself. Different frequencies can move more easily through certain substances than others, and some frequencies travel further than others. Approaching a concert, for example, you may well hear the thumping of the bass drum before all else.

Waves travel as a transfer of energy within a medium - a wave is essentially a sequence of compressions (moving together) and rarefactions (moving apart) of molecules





Properties Of A Wave

A number of properties are commonly used to define a wave. The wavelength may be defined as the horizontal distance between two successive equivalent points on the waveform. For convenience, these two points are usually taken at peaks (highest point) or troughs (lowest).

The period then is the time it takes for the wave to complete one full cycle.

The amplitude equates to the height of the wave; loud sounds produce waves of higher amplitude. The loudness or intensity of sound is measured in decibels; however, it must be remembered that this is not a linear or absolute scale of measurement. The lowest threshold of human hearing is set at zero; a decibel is sometimes defined as the smallest change in volume discernable by a human. For a doubling in volume, the decibel level goes up by six. Within this scale, normal speech levels fit in at around 60dB.

The frequency of a wave is the number of cycles that pass a set point in a second, and is measured in Hertz (Hz). Frequency is intimately connected to pitch, although they are not exactly synonymous; the A above middle C is a vibration at a rate of 440 Hz. Lower frequency vibrations are perceived as being lower in pitch, and higher frequencies seem higher in pitch.
Basic Interference Patterns

Sound, like all waves, rarely occurs in isolation. Every day, the world around us is awash with sounds, from the rustling of leaves to the roaring of engines. All of these sounds interact with one another, and with all the elements and obstacles of their environment. Hence, the same sound sources can sound vastly different depending upon the position of the listener in relation to them.

A practical example can illustrate how soundwaves interfere with one another. We can set up two loudspeakers located at a distance of three metres from the listener. The speakers are producing the same tone, with a wavelength of one metre. The speakers� diaphragms are also moving in synchrony - that is, they both move in and out at the same time.



As the distances are equal, the compressions of each wave (peaks) are reaching the listener at the same time. A process of linear superposition then occurs - the combined pattern of the waves is the sum of the individual wave patterns. As the pressure of both waves is waxing at the same time, the pressure fluctuations where the two waves meet exhibits twice the amplitude of the individual waves. This means that the waves are exactly in phase - creating a condition known as constructive interference.

However, if one of the speakers is moved half a wavelength further away from the listener (in this example, half a metre), then an entirely different effect will be observed. The rarefactions (troughs) of one of the waves will now reach the listener at the same time as the compressions (peaks) of the other. Following the same additive principles as before, the variations in air pressure now cancel each other out. This is destructive interference, when two signals are perfectly out of phase. Noise-cancelling headphones use this technique to reduce unwanted ambient sounds.


Beat Patterns

Now that we know what happens when two sound waves with the same frequency overlap, let's explore what happens when two sound waves with different frequencies overlap. Two instrument tuners are placed side by side, one set to emit a sound whose frequency is 440 Hz and the other set to emit a sound whose frequency is 438 Hz. If the two tuners (which have the same amplitude) are turned on at the same time, you will not hear a constant sound. Instead, the loudness of the combined sound rises and falls. Whenever a condensation meets a condensation or a rarefaction meets a rarefaction, there is constructive interference and the amplitude increases. Whenever a condensation meets a rarefaction and vice versa, there is destructive interference, and you can hear nothing. These periodic variations in loudness are called beats. In this situation you will hear the loudness rise and fall 2 times per second because 440-438=2. So, there is a beat frequency of 2 Hz. Musicians listen for beats to hear if their instruments are out of tune. The musician will listen to a tuner that has the correct sound and plays the note on his instrument. If the musician can hear beats, then he knows that the instrument is out of tune. When the beats disappear, the musician knows the instrument is in tune.

SOUND SOUND SOUND SOUNNNNNND

This was Tuesday:
Given the time and the frustration and lack of creativity I mapped out my aggravation levels on the route to school.







These were the retarded ideas I had:

The voice of my fellow New Yorker calling me through the window

The train rider ratio of crazy to normal people on the trip from my Brooklyn flat to FIT

How well I know the area in which my parents used to live and how little I know of where they just moved and how it is only 3miles apart or less but so completely different.

Winter dryness.

Getting the English cold.

Mapping out everything I've ever wanted to be when I grow up and see how it stemmed off into the field I'm in now.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So the voices through my window, door, wall, ceiling, etc, got me thinking. MAYBE I'll map out sound. Everything I hear. How it affects me? How it interacts with my surroundings? My brain? Hm. HMMMM

Let the research begin!


SOUND, physical compressions through a medium
Audible compression waves, as used in music
A speech sound, or phone, in phonetics


Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a wave (through fluids as a compression wave, and through solids as both compression and shear waves). Sound is further characterized by the generic properties of waves, which are frequency, wavelength, period, amplitude, speed, and direction (sometimes speed and direction are combined as a velocity vector, or wavelength and direction are combined as a wave vector).

Humans perceive sound by the sense of hearing. By sound, we commonly mean the vibrations that travel through air and are audible to people. However, scientists and engineers use a wider definition of sound that includes low and high frequency vibrations in the air that cannot be heard by humans, and vibrations that travel through all forms of matter, gases, liquids, solids, and plasmas.

The matter that supports the sound is called the medium. Sound propagates as waves of alternating pressure, causing local regions of compression and rarefaction. Particles in the medium are displaced by the wave and oscillate. The scientific study of the absorption and reflection of sound waves is called acoustics.

Noise is often used to refer to an unwanted sound. In science and engineering, noise is an undesirable component that obscures a wanted signal.


SOUND PRESSURE

As the human ear can detect sounds with a very wide range of amplitudes, sound pressure is often measured as a level on a logarithmic decibel scale.

The sound pressure level (SPL) or Lp is defined as


where p is the root-mean-square sound pressure and p0 is a reference sound pressure. Commonly used reference sound pressures, defined in the standard ANSI S1.1-1994, are 20 uPa in air and 1 µPa in water. Without a specified reference level, a value expressed in decibels cannot represent a sound pressure level.

Since the human ear does not have a flat spectral response, sound pressure levels are often frequency weighted so that the measured level will match perceived levels more closely. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has defined several weighting schemes. A-weighting attempts to match the response of the human ear to noise and A-weighted sound pressure levels are labeled dBA. C-weighting is used to measure peak levels.

Mapping the Territories.

So, typically, I get an assignment that CLEARLY states to chill out and not get to complicated but one of the only ideas that keeps popping into my head are these images of religion v. reality. The things that religion make difficult because they make it wrong to the rest of the world and at the same time telling us not to judge one another, yadda yadda. How do I map out the faults in religion?

Blah.

Speaking of religion, here's something I did in the past.





Maybe like a road to heaven with a crap load of detours that are filled with the judgemental nonsense that religion uses to suck the life out of you sometimes, or some of of its contradicitons, or who knows.

I've got to think harder and simplify an idea that won't blow up in my face when I try and execute it.


I would even like to destroy that approach completely and think of something way more lighthearted.

Maybe a map of my drinking patterns or the gross stains on the residence hall walls. Hm.


I don't want to get personal like blah blah my life story blah blah, besides, if you cared about my life story, you can just ask me over a beer or a coffee.


Maybe I can map out how being in London has changed my New York adjusted body and given me the shittiest cold ever, and makes my snot black and my ears dirty, and makes my big hair fall out. That might get a bit graphic and disgusting. But hey, I am sorta graphic and disgusting.

Assigment #1 (YOU ARE HERE)

A lot of New Yorkers have a problem with tourists and being tourists themselves. I however, don't really give a hoot. It's my first time being REALLY away from home, and I am okay with the idea of being the stranger here. I have no problem asking for directions and looking like a fool.

Youtube destroyed my images, it looks better on facebook but you can't link facebook videos.

sex and babies

This is so not school work.


night show of shrek 3.

UK OK

Going to London in the fall.
Have to figure out living situations.

In fact. This is def gonig to turn into a photo blog when Im there bc its easier to load pics.

I'm sick of doods. Between them being emotional as hell and me being, well, not so emotional, but rational..... it's annoying.


anyway, this was on of my final campaigns:





and a final type project that needs tweaking:

Photoshoot bitches.

please note:
These are not MY legs. But the legs of the lovely Callie. I shot this on Monday in class.


If I was a dude I would so be into lady legs.

india is pretty cool

see?

GHBupsy: which fairytale does your family subscribe to?
mmmaryx: ahahahhaha
mmmaryx: catholic

i don't believe in hair brushes.
oy this may have been the beginning of something troublesome! eep

i feel good about things.

i bought some fucking sweet ass summer dresses this weekend.

boys take blurry pics.

news to me: portfolio due tomorrow.

roommate caught flu from me and is being a fucking ninny about it.
man up.

portfolio portfolio portfolio



i need to wash my stockings and my body.

you wish you were this good.