Current Dissonance: Noises of 2023

Noise #122

Michael Gallant — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:38:00 GMT

The floor can tilt sometimes when I think about what’s changed since this time last year.

AI got not-just-regular-big but HUGE.
One world-shaking war distended even further in Ukraine, while another exploded in Gaza. (Read Thomas Friedman’s thoughtful perspective.)
The U.S. bloodied itself figuring out how to handle our ever-malignant former president’s crimes and ambitions.
Scientists reanimated spider corpses for research.
And so very much more.

In the texted words of a friend, 2024 is “gonna be a weird year, for sure.” Yet I find it important to remember that weirdness isn’t always bad.

Noise #122 is my three-part hymn to whatever bizarre, terrible, wonderful form 2024 will assume. May your new year be marked by peace and health, the openness to flow with whatever “good-weird” may come—and resilience to weather the rest.

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With love,

Michael

Noise #121

Michael Gallant — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 22:56:04 GMT

Last night, every news outlet in the U.S. reported that the Colorado Supreme Court made some very big noise with a very big decision.

I recorded Noise #121 thinking about that court decision, the circumstances that layered tensions to create this particular flashpoint (among others), and the foundation-shaking echoes that will no doubt follow.

You may hear whispers of famous songs within my improvisations: ”This Land Is Your Land,” “God Bless America,” “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Lift Every Voice”—and “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.” I hope you enjoy the music.

Wishing you peace,

Michael

Noise #120

Michael Gallant — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:00:42 GMT

When I think of galactic exploration, the country of Djibouti does not quickly come to mind.

But as per a compelling article published today, the tiny African nation (about as big as New Jersey) has built a fiercely expanding space program within the last three years.

Djibouti just launched the first of two observational nano-satellites to collect climatological data. This year, plans and partnerships for building an international commercial spaceport began coalescing as well.

I recorded Noise #120 thinking about how soaring efforts can launch from very small places. I hope you enjoy listening:

Noise #119

Michael Gallant — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 22:07:22 GMT

A former Somali refugee and journalist traveled to Geneva this week to receive the UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award. From the UNHCR:

Abdullahi Mire, 36, has provided crucial learning opportunities to tens of thousands of displaced children and youth at Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps through the Refugee Youth Education Hub, the organization he founded.

Over the…

Noise #118

Michael Gallant — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 17:30:08 GMT

In today’s New York Times, Jamelle Bouie chronicles how red and blue states are submerging more deeply into their respective pigments—and how monochromatic shadow countries rise as a result.

Check out his closing paragraph:

Americans are often taught to think of the differences between Republicans and Democrats as a set of reasonable disagreements over how to tackle agreed-upon problems. But what we can see, in the divergent agendas of Republican-led states and Democrat-led states, is how the differences have far more to do with the actual purpose of government. For Democrats, that purpose is usually the public good. For Republicans, that purpose is harsh social regulation, with little apparent regard for the lives of those who have to endure these policies.

Noise #118 is inspired by strong colors, stark contrasts, and the raw landscape of Bouie’s editorial.

Wishing you peace,

Michael

Noise #117

Michael Gallant — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 03:39:56 GMT

Last month, Sheynnis Palacios became the first Nicaraguan to win the Miss Universe crown.

Initially, Nicaragua’s authoritarian president celebrated. But things got twisted after old pictures of Palacios at pro-democracy rallies surfaced on social media.

Now, the government has accused the Miss Nicaragua Pageant’s longtime organizer, as well as the orga…

Noise #116

Michael Gallant — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 23:14:27 GMT

There’s a cave in Finland long believed to house spirits. According to folklore, sages would lead their sick followers inside to commune with the devil, then perform healing rituals of intense noise and movement.

Deep within the Devil’s Church, priests and patients alike would “feel the presence” of ghosts around them.

Now, new research suggests that the cave’s remarkable qualities may be sonic rather than supernatural. Parallel walls of smooth stone vibrate at fixed frequencies when triggered by a shaman’s voice or a drum’s impact, the study describes. And the amplified, unearthly tones of the cave’s natural resonance could lead visitors to believe they’re dancing with spirits—when they’re enveloped by sound waves instead.

Noise #115

Michael Gallant — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 02:06:29 GMT

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I’m grateful to have stumbled on an article that highlights glimmers of beauty amidst the ugliness of war.

The New York Times published this story about Palestinian and Israeli teens training together in the same Jerusalem swim club. Despite their differences in heritage and loyalties and beyond—and the bitter violence that has boiled up around them—the teens stick close. They find ways to coexist, honor each others’ humanity, and manage jagged conflict while remaining vital friends.

“This is my second family,” one swimmer says in the article. “If we have a problem, we fix it like a team.”

I’m grateful for this worldview that prizes mutual respect over zero-sum destruction, and which the teens articulated with piercing, common-sense clarity. Noise #115 channels my hope that nations can follow the path that these young swimmers have illuminated.

With thanks,

Michael

Noise #114

Michael Gallant — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 18:39:22 GMT

Twisted, biased, and incomplete storytelling can fog our perception of news happening anywhere. But firsthand accounts from at least semi-reputable sources can help sharpen things.

Check out David Ignatius’ account of soldiers in Gaza and civilians leaving Gaza City. While no one is immune to bias, when a reporter from The Washington Post writes what he …

Noise #113

Michael Gallant — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 01:55:03 GMT

For the first time, a commercial plant in the U.S. has begun extracting greenhouse gasses from the air.

The process reminds me of a massively expanded middle-school chemistry experiment:

Limestone sand, after being scorched in an industrial kiln, divides into two separate compounds—calcium oxide powder and carbon dioxide gas.
The carbon dioxide gas is s…

Noise #112

Michael Gallant — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 17:37:58 GMT

This morning, The Beatles released a new song entitled “Now and Then.”

The core of the track is a vocal and piano demo that John Lennon recorded on a boombox in the 1970s—and has now been clarified and edited with AI assistance.

Layered on are guitars tracked by George Harrison in 1995, plus drums, bass, and other elements overdubbed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr earlier this year.

Noise #112 was inspired by the Beatles’ magnificent legacy and the technical magic that made this new track possible. My piano piece also channels my admiration for Paul and Ringo, their endless energy to jam and tour, and the timeless sounds they keep crafting after six decades in the game.

Wishing you love, love, love,

Michael

Noise #111

Michael Gallant — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 17:20:44 GMT

After Hamas attacked Israel, The New York Times conducted video interviews with survivors who fled to hotels seeking safety:

There, they’ve been processing their trauma as they move from that harrowing morning into a new world. In the Opinion video above, filmed in the days after the attack, survivors reflect on what they lost, whom they blame and what’s…

Noise #110

Michael Gallant — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:32:58 GMT

Four defendants in Georgia’s election racketeering case have flipped to plead guilty—and a new report suggests that six more will soon follow.

This domino rally of witnesses will only accelerate as the trial chugs onward; it will be fascinating to see who falls where before the final gavel sounds.

Noise #110 is my musical reaction to these bizarre and kinetic events, and their local, national, and global reverberations.

Thank you as always for reading, listening, and sharing the noise,

Michael

Noise #109

Michael Gallant — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:48:30 GMT

There’s massive ugliness on display around the world right now—but there’s also microscopic beauty to be found.

Via Science News:

A glimpse of the back of a rat’s eye, and the immune cells that keep it healthy, won first place in the 2023 Nikon Small World photomicrography competition. The image, composed of multiple snapshots captured with a confocal microscope, was taken by neuroscientist Hassanain Qambari of the Lions Eye Institute’s Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science in Perth, Australia.

I recorded Noise #109 while staring into the stunning rainbows of a rat’s optic nerve. The music explores the idea of finding grand beauty in vanishingly small places.

Noise #108

Michael Gallant — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 22:40:56 GMT

Hine Ma Tov—how good is it when brothers sit together in unity

Ma’oz Tzur—Rock of Ages

Yerushalayim Shel Zahav—Jerusalem of Gold

Lovely and time-worn, these melodies speak to the heartache of this horrible moment in Israel.

In Noise #108, I twist the songs to reflect the pain, discord, and uncertainty felt by so many. I love how the themes’ simple beauty still shines through.

Wishing you peace,

Michael

Noise #107

Michael Gallant — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:17:41 GMT

When a former American president talks violent trash with the grace of a Mortal Kombat gladiator, people get hurt.

The man’s rantings have caused jurors to be publicly targeted, says The New York Times Audio. Some public officials have been forced to flee their homes for safety, while others spend thousands of dollars daily on armed security for their fa…

Noise #106

Michael Gallant — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:15:53 GMT

For the first time in history, a Speaker of the United States House of Representatives managed to get himself fired, less than a year into his term.

And in response to intense criticism about his handling of recent flooding, my own hometown NYC mayor responded with the diplomatic grace of a rock, claiming that anyone who was caught off guard had been li…

Noise #105

Michael Gallant — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 19:41:09 GMT

Everyone is lifted when everyone has enough—a self-evident truth, and one that’s been on my mind and in the news this month.

A recent Washington Post editorial says that the United States can prevent millions of children worldwide from starving this year. Global food aid must move forward, the article argues, not just because feeding starving kids is the right thing to do morally, but because mass hunger threatens the hungry and well-fed alike:

When people do not have enough to eat, they often flee to other nations or join extremist groups who lure them with promises of food and change.

As the editorial spells out, the desperation of some can become danger for many, and when preventable desperation goes untreated, tragedy soon follows. In looking at global hunger, the Post addresses just one manifestation of this sad dynamic; other examples, big and small, can be seen everywhere.

It always stuns me to hear people describe vast issues of wealth and poverty, feast and famine not as vital opportunities to elevate humanity—but as zero-sum games governed by caveman-era moral standards. Only in a world of brutal and monochromatic fantasy are the many required to suffer for an anointed few to thrive. And when life is viewed through such a distorted lens, the simple logic of feeding starving children can simply fall away.

Everyone is lifted when everyone has enough—a self-evident truth, and one I hope to see embraced, with increasing conviction, everywhere.

My musical reflections on the above:

Wishing you peace,

Michael

Noise #104

Michael Gallant — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 19:54:58 GMT

Last week, Mexico’s Congress heard an unusual testimony—the discovery of mummified extraterrestrial remains on Earth—at least according to the presenter, journalist Jaime Maussan.

Many disagree.

The space mummies seem much closer to creepy-paper-mache-experiment than certified-dead-alien, argues Wired (read more here and here). And Reuters agrees that Maussan’s evidence holds together like old llama bones glued to fake skin.

I’d love to see future claims like Maussan‘a automatically coupled with reliable chemical analyses, third-party DNA tests, common sense rigor.

In the meantime, I’m just excited to record a new Noise inspired by MUMMIES FROM SPAAAAAAAAAAACE.

Here we go:

Noise #103

Michael Gallant — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 23:20:10 GMT

A whole mess of values and interests are exploding into each other in Indonesia right now. As reported by The Straits Times:

7.500 villagers live on the Indonesian island of Rempang. They’ve been there for generations and have built communities that include farms, schools, and stores.
Rempang is also home to tons of quartz sand, an important ingredient in…