Note about 'Going to Sleep'

Eh, I forgot to mention that I have an MP3 of a music-boxish accompaniment for the song, so if you would like to have that, just email me at charlesturner9(at-sign)yahoo.com.

Pattern Recognition

Just finished a novel by cyber-punker William Gibson, called Pattern Recognition. It's a sort of mystery/thriller set in the present - no fancy sci-fi trappings here, though there is a lot of techie talk.

The protagonist is a sort of fashion scout consultant who has great street sense for fashion and a number of phobias towards certain advertising labels. The mystery involves pieces of film footage that are left around on the Net: who is leaving them, and is there hidden spy-type info encrypted in them?

There's a nice balance of physical action, detailed observation (often of clothing) and inner world in this novel, and it's extremely well plotted and paced. I really cared about the characters, especially Cayse Pollard, with her neuroses and courage. She reminded me a bit of my favorite hard-boiled woman warrior, Smilla in Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg.

Well done, William Gibson!

Another new art song

I just added a new song, Going to Sleep, to my web site. It's repetitive and strophic, but the accompaniment is rhythmically ambiguous in a way that keeps it interesting, I think. The singing range is not wide, and it should be easy to sing, if you can count.

The song is all about looking at your newborn baby and realizing what an immense undertaking a life is, and how delicate.

As I say in the score, the accompaniment should be rather mechanical, but the voice should be expressive.