Filed under: Books, Literature, Mexico, Philosophy | Tags: Add new tag, Agamben, Books, Charlatanism, Cover Art, Guilt, Liminal, Literature, Nancy, Solitude, Villoro
From Juan Villoro’s Artaud Prize-winning collection of short stories, Los Culpables (The Guilty Ones), which made for excellent subway reading:
“La soledad te vuelva charlatán.”
Roughly translated, it means, “Solitude turns you into a charlatan.” Taken alone, the quote uttered by the narrator of Villoro’s title story efficiently sheds light on the work of Octavio Paz, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Giorgio Agamben. With Villoro as an heir to Paz’s cultural project in El Laberinto de la Soledad, his narrator’s thought expresses the non-knowledge gained at the very limits of social and ontological isolation. It is the point where Paz notes that solitude renders human existence to getting on day by day with little but one’s wits and no pre-existing knowledge, “al dia”.
Paz’s post-revolutionary Mexico is an ur-post-modern space from which Mexico can contribute to a universal philosophy acutely attuned to a situation that persists in varied forms. This situation is marked by heightened social alienation and the evacuation of meaning in the face of devastating traumatic encounters that influence the trajectories of our moods and thoughts inwards, and our disposition to the existence of others problematic at best. Agamben refers to this situation in various forms in The Coming Community, Means Without End, Homo Sacer, and Profanations. In The Coming Community he introduces us to the characters in the limbic* world where politics, culture, and religion can only react against and unsuccessfully make its own: ‘toons, fakes, assistants, tricksters. Charlatans, thugs, con-men**, swindlers, and similar figures dwell in this area at the borders of identity, nationality, language, culture, and class. They are left to themselves, abandoned to one another (an idea that Nancy pursues in Being Singular Plural under the term co-appearance or compearance, which Agamben uses in his discussion of the sovereign ban in Homo Sacer.) Which is all to say, we are all charlatans of a sort or another, most especially when we are at our most earnest or seeking out the authenticity’s perverse thrills.
As to how tricksterism and solitude come into play in Nancy’s philosophy, I can only pose the question. Though a discussion devoted to solitude in a portion of Being Singular Plural entitled ”The Measure of the ‘With’” may offer some clue.
Admittedly, in light of this pochista musing concerning things Mexican I’m much more partial to the more colorful and morbid cover art for the book’s Argentine edition over the domestic version in Mexico. But a bright, a lime-green silouhette of an iguana set against a black background on the cover of the Mexican edition shouldn’t deter a good translator from making the book available to an Anglophone reading public.
*Interestingly enough, the brain’s limbic system plays a key role in non-verbal communication, including the generation and regulation of gestures, a topic that Agamben attends to in Means Without End.
**Having started Melville’s The Confidence Man: His Masquerade a couple of days ago has got me on an uncanny path asking about the significance of these figures and types in philosophy and politics more than usual.
Photo credit: Juan Villoro at a reading and book signing in Puebla, MX, 2007; Source: Colorpardo on Flickr.
Filed under: Music | Tags: grandmaster flash, judgment, qui est 'in'? qui est 'out'?
From the founding practicioner of the turntable sciences, Grandmaster Flash, on the cruelty of irrelevance:
“…if you was wack in the analog world, you will be wack in digital world.”
Which leads me to muse, “Is not being wack a talent, or the fruit of what you do with your talents?” Let’s ponder over the weekend.
Quote courtesy of The Bat Segundo Show, via Hermenautic Circle.
Filed under: Latinos, Music, Philosophy, Rock, art | Tags: contributiions to web circulaton, housekeeping, link payloads
Having returned from a week and a half in L.A. for various reasons pertaining to leisure, family obligations, and relaxation, my Google reader was filled with items that I had ’starred’ and set aside to examine more carefully at a later time. It’s the one section of the reader that should be periodically cleaned out, just for the sake of having a clear deck. The problem is, that I hardly, if ever, clear said decks.
So now’s the time to unload some links on you, if only to share a broad sampling of the items that have backlogged in my infobox and have stood worthy of reapeated attention. May they not be slept on.
Philosophy
- “…but what do the others think?”: On the daunting prospects of exercising judgment, especially when judgment is suspended by the fear of judgment. [Infinite Thought]
- From the latest entry in The Book of Engagements, as translated and edited by Marcelo Ballve of Sancho’s Panza: “Writing is an untangling of the mind knot, and once it is untangled, a gesture: the ribbon is allowed to float away and twist and turn in the wind.” [Sancho's Panza]
- A fictional speculation on the enigmatic encounter in 1967 between Paul Celan and Martin Heidegger in the Black Forest: The Elegant Variation interviews Irish playwright John Banville, whose Conversation in the Mountain has been re-issued in an extraordinarily limited run. [The Elegant Variation]
Art and Literature
- Henry Miller painted subjects very similar to what he wrote about: sex. In no way should this be a startling revelation. [Moleskine Literario]
- Orhan Pamuk weighs in on the beautiful game at the height of Euro 2008 fever. His well-played remarks temper the insidious nationalist and ethno-centric undercurrents often at work in international soccer. In spite of comments made by coach Fatih Terim at Paumuk’s remarks, Turkey’s fabulous run in the tournament was exhilarating to witness. [Moleskine Literario]
- Cassette Art introduces us to the work of Pablo Franco: five parts fashion photography to two parts portraiture. [Cassette Art]
- The op-art inspired stylings of Jamiaca Plain-based artist John Guthrie get some love from Apartment Therapy. What they didn’t mention was that John has an adorable pug. [Apartment Therapy]
- July 3 marked the 125th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s birth. Moleskine Literario brings our attention to the festivities, and naturally, Apartment Therapy goes mental with product envy at the bookcases in Prague’s Franz Kafka Society Center, oblivious to the coming birthday.
- What’s with Apartment Therapy loving on the art these days? Aside from liking color saturation, Apartment Therapy finds Carrie Moyer’s pieces decoratevily suitable, but underplays the specters of emancipatory political symbols of yore lurking in the work, were paintings were to have an unconcsious. [Apartment Therapy]
- Criticism and disc-jockeying are not the same: What I am doing here is not criticism, even when I make critical comment. Marcelo Ballve is right on this count. [Sancho's Panza]
- Dulce Pinzon’s Superheroes photo project receives more attention. [Conjunto is Life, Guanabee, Mother Jones]
Sport
- A quasi-combative struggle for the sun, power, and influence with the gods- isn’t that what most ball games are about? My favorite underappreciated latino sports blog Machochip discovers the Oaxacan game of Battle through the Asia Brief. [Machochip]
Music
- Yeah, Sub Pop’s celebrating its 20th anniversary with an all-weekend blowout bringing together artists from across its legendary history. L.A.’s Beachwood Sparks is partaking in the festivities, and The Owley Patrol was around at the band’s pre-show practice in June for a poignant and heartfelt reunion of sorts.
- Sub Pop alums Sebadoh re-issue Bubble and Scrape, a record that certainly kept me rapt in my Ford Ranger for many hours in 1995 and 1996. Visceral, aggressive, heartfelt, stinging, and downright beautiful. A jumble of early-90s chimp rock shaking its head and seeking relief after having been smashed against a punk rock. Essential listening. [Pitchfork]
- More classics to date myself: the already widespread news that My Bloody Valentine has started playing live again, beginning with a show at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art. This marks the death of 80s nostalgia-mongering and the beginning of 90s-era cultural stripmining. [Arthur/Magpie]
- Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Byron Coley (Forced Exposure) discuss their new book about the No Wave Movement, just in time for Coley to also announce the multi-city No To Bush tour. Check the listings for a city near you. [Arthur/Magpie]
- Long-time Smell residents Abe Vigoda turn out a new disc, Skeleton, and everyone’s on their nuts, including me. [Drowned in Sound, The Fader]
News and General Interest
- Daniel Hernandez introduces readers of his Intersections blog to former Mexican Mafia higher-up Rene Enriquez. The post contains great links to more information on a fearsome dude who somehow made it out the other side of a menacing environment. That he turned is back on La EME is incredible; but that he speaks about it is corageous. [Intersections]
- Jamaica Plain native, Hermenaut editor/publisher, columnist, and all-around good guy Joshua Glenn leaves his post at Brainiac, the blog he started and the only reason to regularly visit the Boston Globe. The blog is now in Chris Shea’s able hands. [Brainiac]
Image Credit: blue explosion, Originally by sounder2 from spirit surfers [Rhizome]
In a nod to Sub Pop’s much lauded 20th anniversary, here’s a video that until recently, I had never thought existed from Eric Matthews. His superlative 1995 debut It’s Heavy in Here is emblematic of the creative risks the Seattle-based label continues taking to this day. While the clip drips with references to Anton Corbijn’s videos for Enjoy the Silence and Atmosphere, it’s a pretty succinct document speaking to the label’s confidence and ambition to make good independent rock worth listening to. Here’s to many more years of amazing releases from S>P!
Filed under: Music, Rock | Tags: L.A., rock shows, stuff stumbled upon, the tyde, to do
Getting a chance to see The Tyde play tonight is a pleasant way to end a 4th of July weekend in L.A. that started at the Hollywood Bowl with watching Randy Newman kick “I Love L.A.” solo on the piano and listening to Vin Scully narrate a version of “Casey at the Bat” (with a nod to Kirk Gibson’s memorable 1988 World Series homer).
Formed in late 1997 or thereabouts by Darren Rademaker after Further (a group with his brother Brent) disbanded, The Tyde have quietly plugged away to produce three solid and singular records. Ten years have seen Rademaker’s outfit take on a variety of inspirations, from Spiritualized, the Byrds, and Felt, and wash them in the dry sunlight of California’s desert sea.
They’re playing tonight at the Echo as part of the Part Time Punks series at 10:00, opening for Phil Wilson. Mike Shulman of the Slumberland and Dropbeat record labels will be spinning records. A video for Brock Landers, the first single off of their third album Three’s Company (Rough Trade), is below. Be prepared to be transported to the good times, surfing, and beach cookouts that are paradigmatic images of a Southern California summer.
Fuckin’ right on…
Filed under: Books, Music, Philosophy, art | Tags: books and music, deleuze, figures, herman melville, julian opie, keith jarrett, miles davis, nobody, sebald, stuff I've bought, to read and listen to
Some time away in L.A.’s offered the opportunity to visit the blog and catch up on posting some things I’ve been meaning to get up on tirado for a while. If there’s anything that these posts indicate, is that unless I just spend hours a day writing, I could never write with a gun or paycheck pressed against my temple.
If anything’s characterized the last couple of months, it’s been a steady stream of book and music-buying. They are the consumer vices I allow myself to indulge in from time to time. Consider this an offline roundup of what I hope to be drawing from a little more deeply in from the future. A short summer reading or listening list, if you will.
- Gilles Deleuze’s Two Regimes of Madness. It looks like a good introduction to his basic concerns and the trajectories of his though. I’m dreadfully unaware of Deleuze’s work. Given that Deleuze drew the attention of Badiou, Agamben, and Zizek, and is seen to have an influence on thinkers such as Manuel De Landa, he’s worth boning up on.
- The Tate’s Modern Artists treatment of Julain Opie’s work. So you’ve probably seen his work on St. Etienne and Blur album covers and in various public spaces, including the Northern Avenue bridge in Downtown Boston. His extremely recognizable later work imbues digitally-rendered and animated drawings with eye-catching simplicity. Skimming through the text reaffirms a constantly-held thought: that I am a perpetual beginner when it comes to just about anything. It’s a pleasant retrospective. The accompanying essay is informative, if not slightly pedantic, but worth flipping between different sections of the defectively bound book to read the book from beginning to end.
- The Confidence Man: His Masquerade by Herman Melville. Two immediate associations coming to mind from the title were Roxy Music’s nine-minute trackThe Bogus Man and Agamben’s assertion that the exemplars of the coming community are “Tricksters or fakes, assistants or ‘toons…”. What fun will lurk at the indiscernable turns in the darkness? I’ll find out when I read it. To what extent was Melville’s writing a bellwhether of ascendant American capitalism? Will reading Melville’s work offer more insight into that historical question? Is this text capable of illuminating notions of the Coming Community or Whatever Being? Maybe I’ll let you know in a few months.
- Miles Davis’ On the Corner. Here we find Miles insistently beating at the boundary distinguishing music and sound. And that a portion of the image on the gatefold is the inspiration for Troubleman Unlimited’s logo is a bonus. It’s long-overdue essential listening.
- DJ Nobody Presents: Blank Blue, Western Water Music Vol. 2: Elvin Estela’s been plugging away at manufacturing sounds and rhythms for well over ten years now. Blank Blue is his fifth full-length production. His pedigree in underground hip-hop is solid, having collaborated with Project Blowed in the late 1990s and working with Busdriver in the present day. As a producer, Estela is active with Guillermo Scott Herren (aka Prefuse 73) as part of the outfit La Correcion, and is a prolific remixer. He is a regular on dublab.com and he co-hosts the weekly cavalcade of psych-rock on KXLU, She Comes in Colours, consistently touted as one of the best radio shows in Los Angeles. Someone once called his music “Paisely Soul”, and it’s an affectionate, if mildly apt, descritption. In a previous post, I mentioned something to the effect of how the Rain Parade was able to temper psych-rock with doses of punk discipline. Estela’s project weds free floating psychedelic soundscapes and makes them sway with beats that move away from an imaginary center point in the first half of the bar and return in the second. Singer Nikki Randa’s vocals emerge from the aquatic soundscapes to ping Blank Blue’s way through your subconscious.
- When I was picking up the above three records, I was looking for a Miles Davis record featuring Keith Jarrett. I had no such luck. In an ironic twist (perhaps out of exhaustion), I picked up Jarrett’s Standards in Norway, one of his many straight-forward jazz discs with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
- W.G. Sebald’s The Emigrants. If I remember correctly, I was introduced to Sebald’s work when I read an article by Benjamin Kunkel mentioning him. In any case, what matters less was the specific written piece than the fact that Sebald became interesting to me. After reading the traversals and intersections of time, images, recollections, fiction, truncated interaction, nostalgia, and reflection that was his Vertigo, I wanted more Sebald. This particular copy was whatever I could get my hands on at the time.
I’ll leave this post with footage of Keith Jarrett getting down with Miles Davis prior to Jarrett’s renunciation of electronically-generated music. He bluntly stated his discontent in the liner notes for his Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne album from 1973:
I am, and have been, carrying on an anti-electric-music crusade of which this is an exhibit for the prosecution. Electricity goes through all of us and is not to be relegated to wires.
In a way, it’s too bad, because what the video below will show that the Jarrett’s got soul in super-abundance. But then again, had he kept on working with electricity, those amazing solo piano concerts of the mid-70s would probably not have happened. At any rate, the electricity hops out of the wires and into his body through the keys while Jarrett plays, coinciding in an ecstatic display. Check him out on the Rhodes for his part of “Inamorata”. (You might have to turn it up to hear…)
