The Roving Musicologist

Travel Post #28: Running the God Drill (Latakia, Syria)

Travel Post #15: Bathroom Temple Dehumidifier OM (Istanbul)

In direct relation to yesterday’s post is this machine that is meant to clear moisture from the air, thereby preventing the spread of mold in an ancient basement of Istanbul.  This post needs headphones or good speakers.

Travel Post #14: Radio Chant Outside the Ashram (Pune, India)

The Small Machine made the noise, drawing power from the socket.

Travel Post #13: Mumbai Conveyor Belt Torture Technique

First, Take a night flight from Istanbul

Second, Make sure there is at least one crying baby on the flight.  Find another crying baby to make a chorus of painful situations.

Third, go through customs.

Fourth, Wait for your bag

Fifth, make sure it is 4am in the morning.

Sixth, The conveyor belt welcomes you to India.

Mumbai is much like this sound, only slower.  The city is an assault of everything at once.  An explosion that rolls like a ball.  Then again, sounds like this aren’t for everyone.

Waiting is actually quite easy.

Travel Post #12: Istanbul Asian Side Ferry Station

People like it when things beep

This is an example of the most common cosmic concept.

And this is another goddamn tourist:

Tourism is Terrorism. Note ferry in background, which gives the picture relevance to the topic.

Travel Post #9: Selling Bread on the Streets of Istanbul

It’s not easy to get noticed when you’re selling bread.  There are many people in Istanbul rolling around carts full of a bread that is in the shape of a ring.  You can hear the calls all over the city, and where I was sleeping was on this guy’s particular route.  Towards the end of the track, you can hear another guy with a completely different call coming into the street just as the first merchant was leaving.

Another, Inscrutable, Language

Sometimes it may be better to not understand what is being said.  When recording sounds and noises, the actual meaning of the words might get in the way of the plaintive tones of the voice.  Maybe this would be the case for a listener that understands Turkish.

I never read the plaques explaining the silent green sarcophagi, because they had some strange effect on me that was outside of their historical context.  It wasn’t intentional to avoid the information, but later I linked the them to the tones of the man selling bread.

Travel Post #8: Mystery Beast of Midyat

Behold the door of the Beast (Midyat, Turkey)

Never have I heard an animal like this.  I couldn’t see what it was, but then again I wasn’t so sure I wanted to.

Gorf Freaks Out

I was at an arcade in Portland, Oregon the other day called Ground Kontrol and this game, forgotton among the pinball machines on the second floor, was completely fucking freaking out.  After the fairly long game of pinball I played right next to it, I felt like it was trying to communicate with me.

http://www.klov.com/G/Gorf.html