If I Was John Hudak.

A bell is a cup until it is struck.
--Wire

If I was John Hudak--actually, if I was any sound artist--I know exactly what I'd be doing right now. I'd be hightailing it down to Ground Zero to document a mournful synchronization that's been taking place daily for the last week or so.

The Salvation Army has been out ringing their bells, a normal activity for this time of year. However, on the construction site the workers have been using one of those huge (and loud) earth pounders lately. Everytime I've walked by the bell ringers seem to have unconsciously synced their bells with the booming rhythm of the construction equipment. It's makes for a strange brew of sound. Somebody needs to document it. They could just slap it onto a CD and release it that way. It's a ready-made piece of sound art. Of course, if I was John Hudak I'd totally procress the sound to within an inch of it's life and it'd sound absolutely brilliant. Either way, I don't need to go into how this would work on a symbolic level. I mean, I could but that would limit things. So I won't.

This little runaway train of thought has reminded me of Jonty Semper's Kenotaphion. Partly because of the bells, but also because of the sadness inherent in the sound.

Photo via Grand Rapids Public Library