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Tuesday, January 3, 2017

William S. Burroughs: Mr Bradley Mr Martin, hear us through the hole in thin air

** I don't know if this piece was ever transcribed;  I searched the Internet for quotes and nothing came up.  It originally appeared in Aspen magazine as a recording only.  The breaks and punctuation are mine, and hopefully reflect the author's intent.**

Mr Bradley Mr Martin hear us through the hole in thin air.  Thing police, all boardroom reports now are ended.  Fading out in _onolulu, _ew York, _aris, _ome, _oston.  The great wind, evolving turrets, towers, palaces.  Sound and image flakes fall.  His dogs that were his eyes, shut off, Mr Bradley, mister-- gone away.  Pulled the reverse switch.  Place no good, no bueno.  Turned off the Swedish river of Gothenburg, Saturday, March 17th, 1962, past time.  These colorless sheets are empty.  You never existed at all.

I smoke is all boy.  Goodbye to William.  Al hab.  Last twinges of a coffin posting this book where the awning flaps a distant thank you.  Explosion splits the boat.  SOS.  Five times SOS.  Hear this little time, five scars left the dawn.  Goodbye to Mr Martin, who never had courage to let go.

He heard your summons.  Time hiccups.  Last cigarette loud and clear.  Last flag fading.  Rings of Saturn in the morning sky, whatever remains could give no human contacts.  Front for the hot reward business.  Chinese youths sent the resistance vision to you tilting through pinball machine. Remember, I was the ship gives no flesh identity.  Lips fading.  Silence to say goodbye.

If you wanted a cup of tea with whatever remains, breadknife in the heart.  Fade quivering excuse for being.  Shadow American, look anyplace, empty new.  Our actors proffer the account.  Sheets are empty.

Many years ago, that breadknife in the war.  Inessential word from the past.  For I have known through faulty human equipment the vacant courage to let all messages in and out, to the mountain wind, loud and clear now.  Through faulty human equipment hustling myself; your stale overcoat not taking any dirty pictures.  Twisting hole in everybody, spilling out limestone john hamburger mary jackie bluenote.  Had enough movies.  No good, no bueno.

Yas, adios, meester.  I go home, having lost.  In sun I held the vacant courage to proffer the mountain wind.  And I can see the flesh words answer your summons, no more falling on all flesh.  Sheets are empty, the recordings remain.

Last human contact used as model for a bad move.  Other identities are a rubbish heap to life form A, better than shouts, no good no bueno.  Crime child, it's five times.  Had enough flak of absent world?

Child of Nova, the story over.  I fold distant fingers.  The Doctor on stage, hand falling.  Slow metal fires tap on the bloody sky.  I think now I go home.  Goodbye to William.  You and I fading.  Silence to say, you are yourself, Mr Bradley, Mr Martin, who never existed at all.  Silence to say goodbye.






Thursday, December 15, 2016

Atlantic Russian Hack

I don't know, did Putin "direct" The Atlantic?  Apparently this whole "fake news" thing might have to do with computers writing all the headlines.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Stoned Police News

In today's Google News:

-- !! -- ...I wasn't aware the police were enforcing any laws while stoned.  And as for facing obstacles while doing it, (sputter) -- I would expect so!  Stoned policing may be more of a problem than we thought, if it garners headlines like this!  I'm George Putnam.  

Friday, December 2, 2016

Hendrix restorations

Well, look who's sitting out in the lobby.  Here's an offering for his birthday last Sunday.

Hound Dog was made from a bootleg of his Albert Hall soundcheck.  The scratchy vinyl makes it ancient.

Hound Dog

There's a bootleg of Ezy Ryder that has a couple blank spots, about 45 seconds total, like someone accidentally pulled the line out of the board a couple times.  I patched it up, back in ought-12.

It had a few plays, and may be a rerun on this site (full disclosure).  Is it the only "complete" copy of this take, or is the original out there undamaged?  Who knows.  They're just jammin.  I could leave or I could play on...

Ezy Ryder



Monday, November 21, 2016

3 Shots Rang Out


(4:44) Comments on the JFK murder.  Primarily, the over-use of the phrase "rang out," like it was a manufactured story from one source, and the Washington DC phone lines going down at the same time.

link

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Furtwangler and the Magic Brain Guy

Been thinking more about that Magic Brain that Putnam was describing.  I wonder if anyone noticed this at the time...

The "Magic Brain" was an RCA Victor ad concept, a platform touting an exciting new technology that allowed you to listen, hands-free, to over two hours of phonograph music.  (A 78 rpm side maxes out at about 12 minutes.)  Their symbol was this little conductor guy.

(The invention of the airbrush really revolutionized commercial art, didn't it?  This is from 1942.  Look at that impervious plexiglass dome protecting your records, and his expression of stoic confidence, bathed in the honest, unforgiving light of the future.)






Wilhelm Furtwangler was a celebrity conductor back then-- toured the world putting on musical extravaganzas, kind of like a 1930's rock star, very prominent.  Especially in regard to his cranium.  Lots of room for music to bounce around up there.  He started out with a shock of red, bushy hair but after it burned off, he became increasingly gaunt, his great celestial brow a symbol of his look, like Lennie Bernstein's sneakers.










So when RCA's ad agency designed their futuristic jukebox head, this is what I see:
Furtwangler-in-a-box?  Sounds great!  That gaggle of Park Avenue swells seem to think so, too.  Even though they can't quite tell why.  (It's subliminal Madison Avenue mojo, circa 1940's.)  

Sunday, November 13, 2016

MacArthur vs the Flying Saucers

(4.44)  What if General Douglas MacArthur used the occasion of his 1962 farewell speech to warn us of an impending war with an intergalactic civilization?  It might have gone something like this here link...

(Version 2-- added music and picked up his speaking pace quite a bit.)