Interlude: If James Wood Supposes...

[Monte Davis]

I don't know what got me thinking about this number from Singing in the
Rain, but it connects with my response to Pynchon's holy fool-ishness -- all
the puns, jokey songs, pie fights, "vitality at all costs" etc. that turn
off some readers and critics. 

In case you don't know the movie (which would be a shame), it's about
Hollywood as 'talkies' came in to replace silent films
 some movie stars
needed speech coaching to come up to the new standard. Gene Kelly is
practicing nonsense phrases with the stuffy instructor, then his buddy
Donald O'Connor comes in
 

But the context is irrelevant and soon forgotten, because what's happeniing
is anarchic joy taking over, as close to animation in its perfect loopiness
as movies can get. I can never watch it without thinking of Saure Bummer's
great rant in GR (440):

" 'The point is
 a person feels good listening to Rossini
. there is more of
the Sublime in the snare-drum part to La Gazza Ladra than in the whole Ninth
Symphony
 The walls are breached, the balconies are scaled —listen!' It was
a night in early May, and the final bombardment of Berlin was in progress.
Säure had to shout his head off. 'The Italian girl is in Algiers, the
Barber’s in the crockery, the magpie’s stealing everything in sight! The
World is rushing together
' "

Turn up the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFW-_QEHTws



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