Cashel, my nephew,, wrote a story for my brother – in honor of Father’s Day. I am sure that you will find it compelling. It appears that there will be a sequel. The narrator has a certain film noir-esque charm. It could be Philip Marlowe speaking.
I particularly enjoy the aural complexity of the beginning – I am assuming that that is the wailing whistle of the Midnight Train. It’s quite a Joycean device.
That’s my boy.
The piece is called “The Midnight Train”.
The Midnight Train
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
hmmmhhmmmmmmhhmmmm
mmmmhmmmmhmmmhhhmmmmmmhhmm
hmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmhmmmmmm
mmmhmmmmmmmhmm
hmmmmmhmmmmmhmmmmmmm
hmmmmmhmmmmmmmmmm
hmhhmmhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Trailer 1
It was a long time ago. I never thought I would get it, cause I always wanted to see the moon. And, well, I thought when I was a grown up I could be taken away in a space craft, but I was so wrong.
I was, well, dreaming about when that happened and suddenly something woke me up. Instead of a space shuttle, it sounded like a, well, train.
So I opened the window, I climbed out, climbed down onto the fence and got off.
When I looked, there was a conductor and he said, “Well, you getting on board?”
“Why should I get on board?” I said.
“Well, to go to the moon of course,” said the conductor.
“Okay,” I said.
End of Trailer 1
Wow, that’s some avant-garde stuff, John Cage would appreciate it. I was hoping the whole thing would be the mmmmmmmmmmhhhmmmmmm.
I agree that the narrator has a Philip Marlowesque quality. Also, I think Beckett might have admired this piece. It reminds me of certain scenes in “Watt”, particularly the one in which the piano tuners come to tune the piano.
My favorite part is this:
“Instead of a space shuttle, it sounded like a, well, train.”
It’s that “well” that gets me.
And the placement is important. “It sounded like, well, a train,” would not have had nearly as strong of an effect.
I assumed the mmmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmhmmmmmmmmm at the beginning was the kickass soundtrack that accompanies the trailer.