Chapter 20

"the effect of the tapes is that they're tapes."

"Sure, sure, sure. I agree. Absolutely. I'm with you. It's you and me. Absolutely. Teammates. Rah, rah, rah." Globke was a toy motor in my ear, evidence of the muggy¹ passion of telephones, his voice feverish² with allegiance. He was largehearted in his sovereignty, dispensing³ benedictions⁴ to every quarter, a healer and teacher, prepared to animate⁵ what was moribund⁶ in me, to lash⁷ what was reluctant, to tease and feed the smallest fires of my mind.

"Talk, I'm listening. Tell me freely what's worrying that boy-genius head of yours. I'm sitting here with so many answers they're coming out of my clothes. Just make sure you don't ask me where I was with the tapes last night because I can only answer that in the flesh, person to person, and even then I'll have to whisper it in your ear just to make sure there's no security leak. I don't tolerate laxness in that area. My people know that. So do my people's people."

"How do I face crowds?" I said. "I can t do the material on the tapes. I don't want to do old material. I don't have new material. So how do I get back out? I don't know how I do that."

"You don't know how because it's not your appointed task to know how. It's not your professional identity. It's not your blood and muscle.  But I know how, Bucky.  I know exactly how." "Okay."

"Guest appearances," he said. "We've got bands touring all over the country. You show up with one group in one place, a different group two nights later a thousand miles away. Surprise appearances. We don't announce anything to anybody. This way we build up tremendous interest. It's not only your return to action. It's not only a secret appearance.  It's a whole series of appearances, different places, different times, weeks on end, never any clue where you'll show up, or when, or which group. Nobody knows, including the bands you appear with.  You just show up, say hello and go on. We buüd up fantastic interest and suspense⁸.   Tremendous speculation⁹ on your movements and whereabouts. You're in Seattle one night, New Orleans the next. Crowds go wild wanting to know where you're going to turn up next.   Every band you perform with is under contract to Transparanoia but that's the only clue anybody has and we've got enough bands blasting away out there to make it impossible for anybody to pinpoint¹⁰ your itinerary¹¹.   We build up unbelievable publicity¹² for the tapes. All these performances lead up to the release of the mountain tapes on a two-record set. By the time you're on the road, word will be out about the tapes.   So all the time you're out there, you're building up unprecedented¹³ interest in the tapes. You tour. Then we release the album. Then you tour again. I know what you're about to ask."

"What material do I perform?"

"You're about to ask what material you perform for all these concerts weeks on end with totally different groups. Bucky, it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. You can jam, you can whistle, you can hum, you can do top-forty AM schlock, you can just stand there and shout at the audience. It doesn't make any difference what you do. The idea is to get you out there, get the whole mystique going again, make them wet their pants, make them yell and scream. Jam. That's what I say. Tap the mike and start picking. Do twenty minutes' guitar work and get the hell off. Make loud sounds, that's the thing. Move your lips, that's even better. Stand there and move your lips. Don't think of it as a performance. Think of it as an appearance. You're back on the road, that's the thing we're concerned about. Twenty minutes and run for the airport. You pick up one group in one city, zoom¹⁴ over to another city and another group, hit a third city and a third group, jump into a fourth city and pick up the original group there. We build up incredible interest this way."

"And the day after my funeral you release the tapes."

"You can't wait to get out there. Admit it, Bucky. You know the truth about the tour. You know you need the tour. It won't be long. Six or eight weeks, more or less. Then we release the material on the tapes. Then you hit the road for six or eight more weeks. A two-record set. Early spring release. Obvious title: The Mountain Tapes. We'd be crazy to call it anything else since that's the name everybody knows it by. Right now we're culling¹⁵. We're editing down to twenty cuts. Getting rid of tape hiss¹⁶ and other noises. Snipping¹⁷ and clipping. Moving things around. Making up titles. Mixing in some instrumental work on about three quarters of the cuts. The thing's going to be rough as hell. But I think that's what we need right now. We've had enough of instant phasing and sixteen track and synthesizers. The people want something plain. Plain but complicated. The kind of material you and only you can deliver. I don't go in for levels in popular music and I don't even know if this is level-material or not. Maybe that's the power of it. Is it one level or two levels or no levels at all? Are the levels simple levels or profound levels? That's the power of the mountain tapes as I view it from my own particular viewpoint. It's not my sound. It's not the sound I listen to when I look across the river from my bedroom window on a summer night and my wife is sitting up in bed reading the Eastern teachers and there's moonlight on the river and the great rotting towers of Manhattan are arrayed across the night and I turn off the air conditioner and open a window and insert a cartridge¹⁸ in my music system. Your sound frankly¹⁹ isn't the sound I listen to at times like that. But it's a valid²⁰ sound and it should sell by the carload. So right now we're culling and mixing and refining. The technical minds are hard at work. We aim for early spring. Definitely a two-record set. Positively²¹ called The Mountain Tapes."

"First pressing of a hundred million billion," I said.

"I'm in the middle of arrangements for the tour. Everybody's working on it here. Late nights, weekends, quickie lunches. It'll be unprecedented, Bucky. Give me a few days to work out the second tour. Then well talk again. I've got tour one just about nailed down. Then we have to do some coordinating²². Then we have to work out chart cities versus²³ test cities. It's a valid sound. No doubt about it. I'll tell you where you'll be traveling the first time around. You want to hear? I've got the list right here marked confidential²⁴ in big red letters."

"Not now," I said.

"The third, a Wednesday, Atlanta. Fourth, Memphis. Fifth, San Antonio. Sixth, Dallas. Seventh, New Orleans. Eighth, Albuquerque. Ninth, L.A. Tenth, Portland. Twelfth, Seattle. Thirteenth, Portland. Fourteenth, Tampa. Jacksonville the fifteenth. Miami the sixteenth, a Tuesday. Milwaukee the seventeenth. Flint the eighteenth. Grand Rapids the nineteenth. Grand Rapids the twentieth. Long Beach the twenty-first. Phoenix²⁵ the twenty-second. Emporia twenty-third. Oneonta twenty-fifth. Cortland twenty-fifth. Brockton twenty-sixth. Toronto twenty-seventh. London twenty-eighth. Salt Lake City thirty-first. Lubbock the first, a Thursday. Houston on two. Galveston on three. Baton²⁶ Rouge²⁷ on four. Nashville on five. Memphis on six. Chattanooga on seven. Knoxville on eight. Alliance the tenth. Millersburg the eleventh. Ripley the twelfth. Bradford the thirteenth. Wellsboro the fourteenth. Hazelton the sixteenth. Woodland the seventeenth. Calistoga the eighteenth. Clover-dale the nineteenth. San Francisco the twentieth, a Tuesday, fog rolling in, sea gulls²⁸ sitting on the pilings."

 
****
The Mountain Tapes

 

Press Preview and Record Industry Orientation²⁹

Edited transcript³⁰ of lyrics—Tape 4

 

Prepared by Esme Taylor Associates

in collaboration³¹ with Pulse Redactor Co.

 

DIVISIONS OF TRANSPARANOIA

 

15:    Near and far

Night so high

Water falling

Water falling

 

Night so high

Water falling

Night so high

Water falling

 

Water falling

Water falling

Near and far

Water falling

 

Near and far

Night so high

Water falling

Water falling

 

16:    Dadmom sis

Driving in the black car

Dadmom sis

Sighting on the white line

 

Long come something

In a blinding light

Long gone something

In a blinding light

 

Dead all dead

Oooh all dead

 

Bloody foot

Bloody head

 

Eat the nose for Christmas

Eat the toes for Lent

Eat the car for Eat-A-Car

Send the bones to Kent

 

17:    Roses roses never red

Sweet the buzzard sings

 

Tell me tell me tell me

Time weather seasons

Story tell

Lesson give

Maiden words to learn

 

Being young restores the god

That eats itself

That eats itself

Better than the feast that ends

When they pick us from their teeth

 

Tell me tell me tell me

Cloud that's making

Less of sky

That more of flying

Tries to make

 

Down the wind it comes

Something flying down the wind

 

Time weather seasons

Maiden words to learn

 

Standing sitting

Strip by strip

I pick the skin from off my face

Becoming god

Begin to glow

Behead the rose

 

Better than the feast that ends

When they pick us from their teeth

 

Tell me tell me tell me

Roses roses never red

Soft the vulture croons

 

18:    I was born with all languages in my mouth

 

Baba

Baba

Baba

 

This and that

Egramine and woe

Sandwords on mud

High taljonics

 

Everything ever spoken shines from my teeth

 

Baba

Baba

Baba

 

Halda Ny Wadji

Hilda Krywicki

Mildred Hayes

Bionongenics

 

Mambo magic

Oh oh oh oh

Mambo madness

Oh oh oh oh

 

Dancing on a Latin balcony

Swaying to a starry symphony

Mambo mania

Oh oh oh oh

 

Undreamed grammars float in my spittle

 

Baba

Baba

Baba

 

Gadung gadung gadung

Uma childa nobo

Distiptics in wine

Insane today

 

I was born with all languages in my mouth

 

Baba

Baba

Baba

 

Nothing-maker

But to blurt

 

But to sing

Baby god and goo

 

19:    Nighttime come

Mountain dark

Treetop wind

Mad dog bark

 

20:    I know my toes

One to ten

This one's big

This one's no

Big one big

No one no

I know my toes

One to ten

 

I touch my hand

One touch one

One is touching

One is touched

Touching touching

Hand touch hand

I touch my hand

My hand touch me

 

I smell my nose

I smell my nose

I know my toes

I touch my hand

I smell my nose

I close my mouth

 

DO NOT QUOTE WITHOUT PERMISSION

1 muggy   

adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿

参考例句：

• We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时，我们预料有闷热的天气。
• It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿，而且天色阴沉。

2 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

3 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 benedictions   

n.祝福( benediction的名词复数 )；（礼拜结束时的）赐福祈祷；恩赐；（大写）（罗马天主教）祈求上帝赐福的仪式

参考例句：

5 animate   

v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的

参考例句：

• We are animate beings,living creatures.我们是有生命的存在，有生命的动物。
• The girls watched,little teasing smiles animating their faces.女孩们注视着，脸上挂着调皮的微笑，显得愈加活泼。

6 moribund   

adj.即将结束的，垂死的

参考例句：

• The moribund Post Office Advisory Board was replaced.这个不起作用的邮局顾问委员会已被替换。
• Imperialism is monopolistic,parasitic and moribund capitalism.帝国主义是垄断的、寄生的、垂死的资本主义。

7 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

8 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

10 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

11 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

12 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

15 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

16 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

17 snipping   

n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The crew had been snipping it for souvenirs. 舰上人员把它剪下来当作纪念品。 来自辞典例句
• The gardener is snipping off the dead leaves in the garden. 花匠在花园时剪枯叶。 来自互联网

18 cartridge   

n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子

参考例句：

• Unfortunately the 2G cartridge design is very difficult to set accurately.不幸地2G弹药筒设计非常难正确地设定。
• This rifle only holds one cartridge.这支来复枪只能装一发子弹。

19 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

20 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

21 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

22 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

23 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

24 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

25 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

26 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

27 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

28 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

29 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

30 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

31 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。