July 28, 2009

It suddenly dawned on Conan O'Brien that the Palin speech is "a poem."

So here, as it was — per Conan — intended:



Something about the way Shatner peaks at "north" had me not laughing — as intended — but thinking about Glenn Gould's "The Idea of North." I can't find the audio on line, but it's here, along with 2 other things, on a CD that I have listened to many times and highly recommend.

Here's 10 minutes of Gould talking about it:

[VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM YOUTUBE]

"The Idea of North" is also one of the "short films" in "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould," which, you may have noticed, has always been listed in my Blogger profile as one of my favorite films.

Here's the scene in the movie where Gould — who puts ketchup on his scrambled eggs — is getting the inspiration to do sound montages:

64 comments:

reader_iam said...

When I saw that Grassley post, I thought, "Lord, I'll bet a Palin post won't be far behind."

Sure enough.

John Stodder said...

Now Conan should turn it around and invite Palin to come on his show and read the first stanza of "Howl" in the same manner in which she gave her speech -- same outdoorsy backdrop, same enormous wind-guarding microphone.

Conan's right -- I think that section of Palin's speech was supposed to be a "spontaneous poem," the kind the character in "Waitress" would invent to impress his girlfriend.

Once written, twice... said...

Ann please keep the red meat coming for the Althouse Hillbillies. They are getting restless!
You will also need to do another Gates post by this evening.

Ann Althouse said...

Hillbillies love Glenn Gould.

Ann Althouse said...

And Conan and Shatner were making fun of Palin. So how can you treat this as just another Palin post/red meat for the hillbillies, etc. etc.

Some of you people are on auto-pilot!

knox said...

L.E. Lee give the hillbilly thing a rest already.

Awesome said...

Glenn Gould inspires in me sympathetic contraposto.

reader_iam said...

Both my hillbilly side and elitist side love Glenn Gould.

reader_iam said...

Glenn Gould = perfect storm for reader_iam

Invisible Man said...

Sheer brilliance! Palin may not our greatest governor or wolf hunter but she is our greatest comedic muse. Woody Allen should give her a call.

reader_iam said...

Who says never the twain shall meet?

Unknown said...

L.E.Lee --

I bet you think "white" is disparaging too.

Once written, twice... said...

Now Ann, obviously I am not saying you are a hillbilly. You are Miss Jane Hathaway from the bank trying to keep the Alt house Hillbillies fed, fat and happy. After all, you need all twelve of them to post twenty times a day, otherwise the bank will fail!

Now, if Glenn Gould is the sweet lullaby that keeps the Althouse Hillbillies snoozing on the porch then I will take back my first post to this tread.

knox said...

Woody Allen should give her a call.

Not young enough for Woody.

pdug said...

Didn't I post the poem-form of this yesterday?

Once written, twice... said...

I must note that some of the Althouse Hillbillies post over and over stuff like "Obama is shuckin' and jivin'" and he is going to serve "fried chicken, greens, chitlins, and watermelon."

But, my little little romp gets the rebuke?

pdug said...

Yes, yes I did.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/it-is-because-i-love-alaska-this-much.html#1096681747388591912

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Didn't I post the poem-form of this yesterday?

Yes you did. Very perceptive of you.

:-)

TitusItsAHotOneToday,tankys for days said...

This is another attempt by the liberal media and Hollyweird to destroy Sarah Palin.

A very sad day in the history of America.

rcocean said...

Interesting that the Liberals never make fun of Mitt Romney. No doubt he's the MSM's new "favorite Republican" now that McCain lost.

garage mahal said...

There is a sort of strange genius in this line:

"In the winter time it’s the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn’t it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs?"

Once written, twice... said...

Now I maybe might disagree with some of Mitt Romney's relatively new, more conservative positions, I do find him to be an honorable Republican in the mode of Bob Dole and Howard Baker.

Amexpat said...

I think Shatner is more funny when his reciting of "poetry" is not intended to be humorous.

His reciting of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" come to mind. IMO, about the two worst covers ever done.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Rickey Henderson... on referring to himself in the third person:

“Listen, people are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey.’ But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying, ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn, Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say, ‘I?’ But I never did. I always said, ‘Rickey,’ and it became something for people to joke about.”

Thats Hall of famer Rickey Henderson.

TitusItsAHotOneToday,tankys for days said...

"Keep government health care hands off my medicare"-hilarious.

A quote from someone at a town hall meeting in South Carolina.

John Stodder said...

Future campaign ad against garage mahal:

"He even called Sarah Palin, quote, 'a kind of genius.' Can we trust someone who thinks a book-burning, rape-kit denying, wolf-shooting politician like Sarah Palin is a genius? Send Sarah Palin a message -- vote no on Garage Mahal!"

Invisible Man said...

Interesting that the Liberals never make fun of Mitt Romney. No doubt he's the MSM's new "favorite Republican" now that McCain lost.

We thougt he was the joke. I mean the guy wanted to "double down on Gitmo" and his idea of relating at a MLK parade was to robotically wonder "Who let the dogs out?". He's like a TV caricature that we've seen before and been laughing at since the 70's. Palin on the other hand provides new and exciting forms of comic inspiration. You just need to lazily recycle jokes about Louis Winthorpe the III to laugh at Romney.

garage mahal said...

John
Part of the allure of that quote to me is who wrote it!? If it originated from Palin I might have to re-think many things.

Robert Cook said...

Why do you point out that Glenn Gould put ketchup on his scrambled eggs, as if that were a particularly eccentric preference. Although I would never consider putting ketchup on my eggs, I see many people who do, and in NYC diners, the waiters often will ask if the diner would like ketchup served with the eggs.

John said...

Glen Gould was brilliant but insane. He thought Mozart was a lousy composer. Only someone who is crazy could think that.

"Now I maybe might disagree with some of Mitt Romney's relatively new, more conservative positions, I do find him to be an honorable Republican in the mode of Bob Dole and Howard Baker."

Let me translate. "I like Mitt Romney because he is a loser who will either lose an election or if he wins roll over and let me and others like me gang rape the entire country in the name of bi-partisianship."

There. Fixed it.

John said...

"I mean the guy wanted to "double down on Gitmo"

Unlike our current President who closed the place immediately upon taking the Oath of Office.

Once written, twice... said...

The only prayer Republicans have is to nominate a centerist northeasterner like Romney. If they select Palin, the Republicans will be reduced to minority party status for the next generation.

Roger J. said...

Glen Gould was also Canadian, eh? I suppose he put brown gravy on his french fries--so ketchup on eggs isnt too bad.

George said...

NBC has sent a take down for the Conan clip. Here's the Hulu link, which is what they want us to use.

link

kathleen said...

"The only prayer Republicans have is to nominate a centerist northeasterner like Romney. If they select Palin, the Republicans will be reduced to minority party status for the next generation."

(Hillbill) L.E. Lee, you libs are your own worst enemy. I'd agree with you except that libs like you can't seem to shut up about her, which likely means that she'd be the greatest thing for republicans ever. Consider using double reverse psychology on us in future.

Once written, twice... said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Once written, twice... said...

Sorry, I was not authorized to post the previous comment.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Actually the most musical voice in baseball would have to be Mr. baseball himself Bob Uecker.

Shanna said...

I must note that some of the Althouse Hillbillies post over and over stuff like "Obama is shuckin' and jivin'" and he is going to serve "fried chicken, greens, chitlins, and watermelon."

Actually, somebody said they were going to have “fried chicken, greens, chitlins, and watermelon” to celebrate being a hillbilly, it had nothing to do with Obama. And with the exception of chitlins, that sounds like a pretty damn good meal.

Nice attempt to make up some racism, though.

Once written, twice... said...

No. She wrote about President Obama, Gates and Crowley meeting in the thread about the Gates tape being released

"I think they should drink Black Dog ale.
Then dinner should be fried chicken, greens, chitlins, and watermelon."

Roger J. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ryan said...

Gould's Solitude Triology must be out of print. There are only two used copies on Amazon, one is $199 and the other is $378.

John Stodder said...

who wrote it!?

I'm pretty confident it was La Palin herself.

It's her farewell speech as governor, why wouldn't she write it? And can you imagine a professional speechwriter coming up with those lines? If she had any pros looking over her shoulder, those are the first words that would've been taken out.

Finally, I've always found a disconnect between my observations of Palin and the Palin is Stoopid meme. Lots of inexperienced but highly intelligent people stumble badly in network interviews. Lots of smart people ramble and fall in love with the sound of their own voice. She is a little too high on life right now. But I think her career thus far is testament to a strong intelligence -- more of an instinctual quality than something from school. I think she could stand to be more educated. But dumb? No way.

Synova said...

It's gone!

Drat it.

J. Cricket said...

Once again, Palin looked like a complete fool. An utter moron. Gawd, the lunacy of those lame-brained enough to promote her.

What to do when the obvious is so obvious? Quick! Change the subject. Yeah, let's talk about Glenn Gould.

His chances are about the same as Palin's in 2012. Ha!

Synova said...

"Once again, Palin looked like a complete fool. An utter moron. Gawd, the lunacy of those lame-brained enough to promote her."

How?

Her speech? (Since they took down the "poem" I listened to the speech. I'm guessing it was the Denali part at the beginning?)

There was nothing remarkable about the speech at all. It was pretty standard and nothing but mere nit-picks to improve it. It wasn't hard to follow and she said standard things with standard phrases and spoke to her audience. Fairbanks has rather large military installations so the military call-outs can be expected.

The Denali and all was aimed, and aimed *well*, at her audience.

I honestly do not understand the prejudice and hatred that overwhelms objectivity this far.

The only people who look like fools and morons are those who simply can not separate differences in political outlook and opinion from someone's performance while giving a speech.

The speech, what she said, the delivery, all of it was as well done as any political speech ever is.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

This tread was so... abundant some people could move beyond the introductory course that was Palin and Conan inspite of it getting retired from the table.

not that there is ... yadi yada ;)

garage mahal said...

And can you imagine a professional speechwriter coming up with those lines? .

I can picture some yet to be discovered writer penning this and smacking the last key with authority "thought that last speech was confounding? whap! get a load of this!"

If it was a professional speechwriter I NEED more. If the lines were wrapped from that quote and re-arranged it almost reminds me of a Kerouac haiku.

Synova said...

Oh, I see you got a good copy up.

Hey, I missed the reference to "frost heaves" the first time.

Don't have those here.

Did at home in Minnesota, though.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Hey, I missed the reference to "frost heaves" the first time.

Don't have those here.


We do here. That's why it is hard to have a decent paver patio and you'd better have a really really good concrete guy if you don't want your garage slabs to crack in a few years.


Also we don't use the term sourdough like they do up in Alaska, but if you are a tourist and for the first 5 to 10 years of moving up here....you are a flatlander. :-) A local term of affection.

dave in boca said...

Shatner appeared to be a few more than three sheets to windward as he mouthed Palin's words. His mind left him a while back and the shell remains.....

Ann, auto-pilot implies an ability to fly. They excel at slithering & you can't do that well on auto-pilot at their level.

William said...

It seems to me that if Conan wished to pick up some of Letterman's audience, he could have staked out a position of neutrality or even mild support for the Palin phenomenon. No so. This just goes to show that for liberals ideology trumps self interest, and there is no such thing as pragmatism.

Synova said...

The Shatner part was funny enough.

The "haha isn't she stupid" to get the trained parrots to laugh... wasn't.

The Dude said...

Been listening to Gould since I was young. Have listened to his second recording of the Goldberg variations many times. Like his work on Bach, but life is too short to listen to modern music.

Read a biography of Gould, and according to the author, he was brilliant, but, how shall we say, not too well grounded. A bit out there. Ok, crazy as a bedbug. But damn, the man could play.

Hillbillies for Gould! Impeach Obama Now!

reader_iam said...

Completely OT, so I'll make it quick: @Synova : Have you read "Best Care Anywhere" by Phillip Longman? I have not and I know nothing about it. I also have no direct or personal experience with the VA. I'm asking purely for info purposes, for perspective on whether to buy this book. Thanks.

/OT (and thanks to everyone else for ignoring this brief digression)

Hector Owen said...

If a news org likes a subject, they'll clean up the quotes. If not, not. Here's a surprisingly candid NPR piece on this, Pulling Back the Curtain.

Comparing the transcripts of the speech at HuffPo and elsewhere -- this seems to be the one that's going around -- with the clean one at Townhall, makes the strategy transparent. But how many will bother? If the newspaper says it was rambling and Conan says it was incoherent, that's enough to make up a lot of minds right there. Another false accusation, as described by Bill Whittle.

John said...

NKVD

I love the later recordings of the Goldburgs. I like them much better than the 55 one. Good to see someone else is in the minority with me.

Synova said...

No idea Reader, sorry.

themightypuck said...

The later Goldberg recording is really great. I love how you can hear Gould singing along.

kentuckyliz said...

I am so honored to be quoted! About the dinner menu.

Not realizing that I called the president a Black Dog.

A little red meat for the libtards. Glad to see it worked! Gotcha!!!

--proud hillbilly

Unknown said...

http://drop.io/hidden/kynysm0ksppaqf/asset/Z2xlbm4tZ291bGQtb24tdGhlLWlkZWEtb2Ytbm9ydGgtZnVndWVzLWFuZC13%0AZWJlcm4tbXAz

the audio for

Glenn Gould on The Idea of North, Fugues, and Webern

is above. It is 8 min and 53 seconds and can be downloaded

Unknown said...

more gould is here

from this youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhKWTVTl5Y4

here is the audio

http://drop.io/hidden/kynysm0ksppaqf/asset/Z2xlbm4tZ291bGQtb24tc2Nob2VuYmVyZy13ZWJlcm4tYW5kLWJlcmctbXAz

Anonymous said...

Gould's playing is incredible. His habitual humming, grunting, etc. is abysmal. It ruins what would otherwise be some of the most amazing interpretations of classical music.

ZZMike said...

The trouble with genius (Gould) is that not too many people understand them.

John: "Glen Gould was brilliant but insane."

They say that the dividing line is indistinct.

Gould was Bach through and through. I heard a recording of his piano transcription of Beethoven's 6th. Awful.

But his Bach - awe-inspiring.

Speaking of the Goldberg variations, there's a record out there where they recreated his playing from an audio recording (the tape masters), then ran it through a keyboard-playing machine, so you get honest-to-God Gould, without the humming.

Here it is on Amazon - they call it a Re-performance

(There are samples of all the variations except #4.)

And it's in stereo. There are two versions, standard stereo, and a binaural version, recreating what the performer heard, sitting at the piano.