This diary is a complete diversion and has nothing to do with electing more and better Democrats.
However, it does make Justin Bieber sound a whole lot better.
Follow after the fold.
I was just sent a Gawker link via Facebook from Paul Rapp, Capital Region/Berkshire-based copyright/performing arts lawyer and a serious musician in his own right.
Basically, there's a PC-based app called Paulstretch that allows one to manipulate an audio file by contracting or compressing it. Musician Nick Pittsinger has taken Bieber's recent pop hit "U Smile" and slowed it down 800%. I think the result is truly awesome. If you're the kind of person who listens to Music from the Hearts of Space you may think so too. The original is also included on the Gawker site for comparison purposes. Ironically, I just went to the Hearts of Space website to grab their URL and their motto is "slow music for fast times".
Taking a familiar object and manipulating it in order to expose, uncover, or create otherwise unobservable patterns has been a hallmark of art of the last century--whether in photography, cinema, or music. The ebb and flow of this piece as well as its drone-like quality put me in mind of "Koyanisqaatsi" and other projects that involve a non-Western time narrative. Commenters on the site talk about cymbal crashes sounding like waves hitting the shore.
Some may find it excruciating and that is OK too. I recall a guest artist in grad school talking about and practicing a type of performance art in which everyday activities are slowed waaaay down in order to make the audience think about everything that goes into the act. It's like Andy Warhol's super-long, super-slow films "Sleep" and "Empire"--a fly crawls across a sleeping guy's face and in context it's more exciting and dynamic than Quentin Tarantino blowing up a movie theater.
That is all--now back to your regularly-scheduled Michelle Bachmann rant.