Later,
they suggest that the only reason we suspect that these are the sounds of
blue whales is that we can’t imagine what else they might be. That
is, no-one actually saw the whales singing these songs: but what else could
they be, at these volumes, at such depths? What they are is a series of
occasional, slowly rhythmic shudders that had been going on for several
minutes before I was certain I wasn’t just hearing a train in the distance.
Like all good drones, they reduce sound to its most basic element and elevate
all listening from passive reception to active engagement. Unlike “drone
music,” they are not performative (though they might be: who can say?);
unlike too much music, they are unpretentious. When I listened to them this
afternoon they didn’t just hit the spot -- they hit the spot with Thor’s
Own Hammer. I am pleased to report to you that a quick search of web-based
music merchants finds this record still in print, though no longer on a
major label: so much the better for us all in the long run. It’s here,
and if you’re religious it’ll make you see God, and if you’re
not, it’ll still send slow, pleasant shocks through your system. I’ve
ordered from Earth Ear before, and can vouch for them; the whales don’t
need anybody to speak on their behalf, at least not
so far as their art is concerned, so I will here take my leave of you.
I am going back to the Drone, where it’s warm and preverbal. I will
see you next week if I can get up off of the floor.
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