Meat Factory Ear Worms

We listened to some examples of experimental sound pieces, one of which I found to be particularly interesting: Meat Factory Ear Worms. It can be heard in its entirety here. It concerns a young man with a dead-end and rather brutal job in a meat factory. His narration reveals that he is kept motivated by what he coins as "ear worms": songs that get stuck in his head. The piece frequently utilises contrapuntal music and juxtaposition of the brutal sounds of machinery and blades with that of soothing music; acting as a metaphor for the narrator's use of music as a coping mechanism.

The piece often uses the sounds of machinery and knives in order to set the rather sombre atmosphere of the meat factory. This is juxtaposed with the narrator's calm, rather cheery narration to create an almost humorous combination. This juxtaposition is intended to highlight the way in which music has livened the narrator's life; his rather casual description of his gruesome day-to-day job is as a result of the hope and motivation that said music provided. The music often plays in combination with the sounds of the factory; the former often dominating the latter, showing that the narrator's disgust of his job is numbed by the music stuck in his head.

Overall, I enjoyed this piece and the tone it creates. I find the concept of juxtaposing two opposing concepts to be an interesting idea; capable of evoking a variety of emotions and attitudes in the viewer, just as it does for the narrator. It works very well in symbolising the narrator's use of music as a a form of escapism.