Stereophonic Distractions

There are these moments that while watching a movie, you suddenly

realize you are watching actors doing their job. During the opening

scenes of Killing them Softly there is a shot that I associated with

an improvisation during the rehearsal; artificial mucking about with a

prop. That sort of association is distracting.

Talking about association.

Killing them Softly stars the late James Gandolfini. When I heard he

passed away I watched a few Soprano episodes. In one of the scenes

Tony Soprano is fooling around with his goomah and Tony's tattoo

shows. From that moment on I miss a few minutes of dialogue because my

mind ponders off. Does Gandolfini have a tattoo? How do they apply the

tattoo to Tony's character if Gandolfini doesn't have one, sticker,

paint? How do the producers assure tattoo continuity? Which other

actors have prominent tattoos? Doesn't Sean Connery have a tattoo as

well? And suddenly my head is filled with a John Barry composition

instead of Alabama 3's "Woke up this Morning".

This sort of distraction happens more often when watching movies than

when listening to music. But it does happen occasionally.

The other day I was listening to "When in Doubt: Vamp" on my

headphones. That tune features a drum track that covers all the toms

from high to low, from left to right using the most extreme

stereophonic measures possible.

What the hell; from left to right? That is like I am sitting behind my

own drumkit, not like I am standing in the audience. How is that with

other recordings? What is the recording convention? Is this a

headphone artifact? Which other tunes do feature that stereophonic

effect? And before I recovered from the associative stream of thoughts

the next tune on the album had started: a slick cover of the

Parliament's "Up for the down stroke". I had completely missed a Maceo

Parker solo.

Excellent funk never the less, that 1977 album by Fred Wesley and the Horny

Horns. Take a listen here.

OMK