On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:56:59 -0700 (PDT) Stephen Stubbs <theother1510@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > Dave Phillips <dlphillips@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> > >> I must be perverse. As I listened to this (very fine) tune I kept > >> thinking about the horror movie "Carnival Of Souls"... > >> > > > > Thanks Dave, although I find it slightly disturbing that you sensed > > something not entirely happy in the tune. You're actually one of three > > people who have said that, and I can't for the life of me understand how > > that should come about. > > > To my ears the form and instrumentation are reminiscent of music for a > > carousel or carnival. In my psyche (admittedly influenced by 'way too > > many horror and sf books & movies from the 50s and 60s) there's > > something inherently surreal or even menacing about such things and > > events. Perhaps it's a cultural conditioning ? > > It was definitely early conditioning in my life regarding circus clowns. > > As a very sickly infant and young child, I quickly learned to associate circus clowns with intense, physical pain. > > The pediatrician had circus clown portraits on the walls of his waiting rooms, hallways, and patient rooms. Everywhere I went and waited, there were circus clowns. Then came the treatments and pain, with those circus clowns watching and laughing. > > To this day (I'm 56), I don't find anything remotely joyful or comforting about circus clowns. They were the stuff of nightmares to me. > > Amazed and just realizing how much I'm *still* upset with circus clowns, > Stephen. It is astonishing how easily we can be accidentally 'conditioned' when very young. When I was 3 I was in a children's home for a while. All the kids had a distinctive flower as a tag on all their possessions. This was also used to indicate where they should sit at the table, which cot/bed was theirs etc. I'm sure it made things a lot easier for the staff, but to this day I feel a sense of affinity to anything with a wild poppy on it - and a field of them always gives me a lift. -- Will J Godfrey http://www.musically.me.uk Say you have a poem and I have a tune. Exchange them and we can both have a poem, a tune, and a song. _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-user mailing list Linux-audio-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-user
