Huai linjumen

Saturday, April 16, 2005 » general music update

Let me tell you about the house next door. Last year it was populated by a bunch of people who kept a relatively low profile, aside from their cats being everywhere, but we were okay with that. They moved out over the summer, though.

This year, the house has apparently been turned into some sort of cooperative, with the occupants constantly cycling in and out. Right now there's something like ten people over there, not to mention some homeless guy who's had a camp in the backyard for most of the year. I don't know if their landlord is completely out of his or her mind, or if it's an independent property, or what. We generally just acknowledge that next door is really weird.

This quarter, though, the current occupants have taken to kicking off each weekend with a bonfire and bongo drums. This isn't that offensive of an idea. The neighbors on the other side last year, being the first-year-away-from-home freshmen they were, would frequently engage in acts bordering on arson or start shouting matches with their girlfriends-of-the-week, but it wasn't too bad because they'd usually do so in the opposite corner of their yard. When these new hippies (as the bum describes them) have their little powwows, the smoke stench and aggressive bongo playing are quite invasive. So, last night around 11, I opened up the windows and blasted a few selections from Kronos Quartet's Nuevo.1 This got them to pack it up after about fifteen minutes. I felt very accomplished.

BUT!! I need to come up with something new for next week. Surely, at this very moment, the neighbors are reinforcing their fire pit and augmenting their bongos with the latest contraband bongoing technology. It won't be enough to stick with the same songs. Besides, it wouldn't show enough dedication to the battle on my part to stick to the same handful string-quartet-turned-mariachi-ensemble tracks. I'll definitely need an improved arsenal of my own. Right now I'm thinking the best of M.C. Hammer or Will Smith. If only I had complete Corn Mo albums.

1 "El Llorar" is my favorite.