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Natasha Khan recommended Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki in Music (curated)

 
Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki
Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki
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"There are certain records that I know a lot about and others that I don't, and I think this one, for me, purely on a symphonic, musical level, it just is one of my favourite classical pieces. I think it's especially about the first movement, where the double-basses come in barely audibly, and it builds and they're just repeating their pattern. There's something about pattern in classical music, and that's why I've chosen Steve Reich as well: phrases and themes that get repeated and then get others on top that repeat, it's a cyclical thing that starts to happen with this harmony and rhythm, and it fascinates me. I also love double basses being bowed, there's just something about that that really pleases me. It builds into this huge thing and there's this moment where there's just one piano note, like a summoning, and the woman's voice comes in. I just think it's really soulful. I could've chosen Ravel's Bolero, which is also a really popular piece of music, but it's another one of my absolute favourites because again it's repetitive, it's almost like dance music, it's a repetitive theme that builds and builds. When I was going to see Underworld, off my face, in a tent - I think there's something similar, when instrumental music just builds and builds and builds. [Górecki] is really interesting technically as well as emotionally, which is the theme of this whole discussion almost: my greatest love is of people that have managed to walk that line between technical, competent songwriting or structure or understanding the art form and understanding the craftsmanship and at the same time imbuing that with reality and grit and fucking true connection to soulfulness and the universe. You can make a person cry because of what you're doing. That combination is just dynamite, isn't it? There's nothing better. You can sit in a room making a lot of avant-garde white noise and wanking over yourself, that's fine, or you can make amazing, soulful pop songs. Surely the artist's job is to be a consummate craftsman but within that be a complete child, innocent of expression and tapped in."

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<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Written about a young girl by a young girl, <i>Trying To Float</i> is the amusing, witty story of Nicolaia Rips’ life thus far. About to graduate from LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City, Nicolaia talks the reader through her life from birth, through preschool and elementary school, before coming to rest at the end of her middle school experiences.

As the strap line <i>Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel</i> indicates, Nicolaia has lived in the Chelsea Hotel in New York for her entire life. Her unconventional father and travel obsessed mother decided to settle there after the birth of their only child, resulting in an unusual upbringing surrounded by avant-garde writers, artists and musicians, as well as the plethora of drug addicts, alcoholics and eccentrics.

Although Nicolaia’s lifestyle caused her to be the worldliest wise of five year olds, she was completely alien to the knowledge of friendships, hard work and the generally accepted behaviour of children. This resulted in numerous, often awkward, situations throughout her schooling which, although must have been soul destroying at the time, Nicolaia writes in a highly amusing tone.

<i>Trying to Float</i> reminded me of a television programme aired on the BBC last year: <i>The Kennedys</i> – a story of the daughter of highly peculiar and embarrassing parents, who was constantly surrounded by a mass of oddball characters. I could not help but see similarities even though there is absolutely no correlation between the two stories.

While Nicolaia has based this book on a journal she kept during her childhood, there are many scenes that have been warped by exaggeration and imagination to add comedic effect. Due to this, her original writing has been worked over so much in order for it to flow like a story, that it is more fiction than biographical.

It is not completely clear who the target audience is. Naturally a story about a child’s experiences at school would relate more to young adults, however the coarse language used by the inhabitants of the hotel make it more appropriate for adults. Whatever your age and background, you are likely to relate to something in this gem of a book. Nicolaia makes light of her experiences, but deep down it is a very heart-wrenching story.
  
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