In ‘Say Something’ I re-investigate the rhythmic and melodic qualities of language, first explored in ‘And Now for the News’ (1983). While The News explored direct transcriptions of the rhythms of Vietnamese speech, Say Something examines tonal and stress variations in English.
In English, the same words can have multiple and complex variations in meaning depending on the placement of stress, emphasis, and pitch. For instance, ‘I think’ differs significantly from ‘I think.’ Say Something’ is a collection of ambiguous text fragments and loops that are akin to Möbius strips, enigmatically seeming to arrive where they started. The performer is tasked with considering where to place stress, emphasis, and pitch in their delivery, all while playing a sometimes virtuosic drum accompaniment.
