Noise #140: Voting at gunpoint... and a cat
As democracy is perverted, life and cuteness go in.
Russia’s election is over, and I don’t think anyone is surprised by the result.
Portions of the election took on a darkly farcical nature, with residents of occupied Ukraine being forced at gunpoint to vote.
Reading The Washington Post’s coverage, I was struck not just by the stories of dictatorship snickering within democracy’s stolen skin—but by the photographs.
One image shows poll workers preparing a ballot box, with an armed soldier behind them. Then in the foreground, chill as can be, sits a tan and white cat.
The animal gazes off, reflecting peacefully on who-knows-what, occupying a plane of existence in which perversions of democracy don’t matter or don’t exist.
I found this image oddly reassuring. Even as the geopolitical universe spasms, cats yawn. I recorded Noise #140 around a descending melodic line to reference noon-time lines many Russians formed in protest; I interwove playful motifs as tribute to the cats that remain cute even as worlds explode around them.
It’s a reminder that this, too—all of it—shall pass. I hope you enjoy listening:
Wishing you peace,
Michael
(Noise #140 by Michael Gallant. Copyright 2024 Gallant Music LLC. All Rights Reserved. )