Sunday, June 18, 2006

1001 Real Apes isn't an oddity or a novelty. It's composed of monologues based on the stories gathered by David Greenberger during his work at the Duplex Nursing Home in Boston. These have been set to music by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic and this adds a cinematic feel. Like they should be accompanied by film. Maybe film of the people who told them, or situations that they fit but this is a pretty moving experience no matter how you call it. Real life is like that but this isn't an outsider project. The contents "meander, as minds tend to do" and David has been careful to present these verbatim. Maybe some of you aren't familiar with his publication which is 25 years old right about now, "The Duplex Planet"? If not, then check out the site and you'll get a feel for where this all comes from. You have to experience it and react to it yourself, I don't think the figurative clout around the head can really be described in words, particularly on a screen. It's very tactile and this kind of "stream of conciousness" conversation sure makes a lot more sense to me than all the soundbite bullshit that we're presented with on a daily basis. BOTM present the perfect mood backdrop to Greenberger's rich oratory in every case just like it was scored by Bernard Hermann moonlighting with MX80. Please investigate this, it'll take you on an unexpected journey where life might not be beautiful all the time but where the warts and all are part of the landscape. "Obstacles of life" indeed.

1 comment:

Paul said...

Hi-

I just posted a two hour interview I did with David on WBCR-LP (Great Barrington MA) as a podcast on my blog at splattofestival.blogspot.com.