Jim Jarmusch: music, words and noise

Description

Jim Jarmusch: Music, Words and Noise is the first book to examine the films of Jim Jarmusch from a sound-oriented perspective. The three essential acoustic elements that structure a film— music, words and noise—propel this book's fascinating journey through his work. Exploring the director's extensive back catalogue, including Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law, Dead Man, and Only Lovers Left Alive, Sara Piazza's unique reading reveals how Jarmusch created a form of "sound democracy" in film, in which all acoustic layers are capable of infiltrating each other and in which sound is not subordinate to the visual. In his cultural melting pot, hierarchies are irrelevant: Schubert and Japanese noise-bands, Marlowe and Betty Boop, can coexist easily side-by-side. Developing the innovative idea of a "silent-sound film," Piazza identifies prefiguring elements from pre-sound-era film in Jarmusch's work. Highlighting the importance of... Introduction, Par 1 - Music: New York Stories Jarmusch, the Musician John Lurie, the Gamelan and Minimal Music Memphis Hip Hop, Half-Castes and Samurai Part 2 - Words: The Battle Against Verbocentrism The Melting Pot of Words, The Way of Cultural Relativism Jarmusch, the Poet Part 3 - Noise: Communicating at All Cost Silence References