Data For The Doubtful Part 7: The Children of the Toasted Cheese

Niall takes down my argument that there can never be an objective analysis of music by mentioning a system that can statistically quantify the quality of a pop song. Not wanting to sound too much like an ageing hippy, I slump off to the corner, to try and discuss Data for the Doubtful Part 7 within the context of a New Criticism I am trying to invent.

It's difficult to connect to those objective qualities that Niall mentioned within Data for the Doubtful. Sure, it has music - Mark Vernon deconstructs diverse samples, illustrating Barry Burns' casual dream recollections - but even time seems suspended in this hypnogogic revery. Some of Burn's descriptions share preoccupations and themes - both parents and film repeat like the aftertaste of the toasted cheese that gives Part 7 its subtitle - but Vernon's eclectic soundtrack ranges from delicate repetition to bleak, shimmering drones. Radiophonic Art is not a category that easily defines itself.

Perhaps the most important detail is the quote from Andre Breton in the programme notes. "Man is above all the plaything of his memory." Burns intones each dream in a sparse, unemotional voice, neither monotone nor boring but adding little emphasis or humour to the bare narrative: the audience's laughter responds to the absurd detail contrasted with his mundane tone. This isn't comedy and only funny in places, though: the tale of showing a slideshow of pornography to a mother is uncomfortable and hints at lurking anxieties. Dreams recast as symbolic memories, the mind juxtaposes moments and themes to reveal deeper truths just beyond rational apprehension...

And Vernon's soundtrack choices follow his personal responses to the short stories? The words float along the top of the music...

Triple Bill