Author Archives: Alexandra Lippman

Paperphone, a Scholarly Voice Playground

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Alexandra Lippman

Digital humanist Wendy Hsu and experimental music artist Jonathan Zorn have been hard at work on Paperphone, an audio effects processor designed for scholarly papers exploring the nexus between humanities and sound. Version 1.0 boasts 16 effect presets including Operatic, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic, Los Angeles | 2 Comments

Seashell Sound: Eerie and Eary Doubles

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Alexandra Lippman

At Cabinet Magazine Stefan Helmreich speaks shells and: “puts an ear to popular science and poetry, following a history that has, first, shells singing, speaking, sighing, and echoing distant oceanic and communal pasts, and next, shells reflecting back the personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Oceanic, scienceart, SoundLit | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Preserving Sound: A documentary on the British Library’s Sound Archive

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Alexandra Lippman

The Wire goes underground into the vaults of the British Library’s Sound Archive. “The 20th century was about audiovisual material, our memory of the 20th century is heavily audiovisual, but our sense of the 21st century is going to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, England | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Listening in London

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Alexandra Lippman

I am visiting London to participate in an inspiring conference organized by Kat Jungnickel and Nina Wakeford at Goldsmiths College on “Inventive Enactments of the Social: Transdisciplinary methods of transmission and entanglement.” I spoke about the Sound Ethnography Project while … Continue reading →

Posted in Archives, England, museum | Leave a comment

Archiving Sound in Mexico City

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Alexandra Lippman

  Recently Mexico’s Fonoteca Nacional, National Sound Archive, opened an exhibition dedicated to the paisajes sonoros (sonorous landscapes) of different neighborhoods of Mexico City. Lauren Villagran reports: How Mexico City sounds is part of the country’s cultural patrimony, according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Mexico, museum | Leave a comment

Água Viva

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Alexandra Lippman

Clarice Lispector’s words electrify and hold you captive to the pages. Água Viva–in a new translation by Stefan Tobler–refused to let go of me a few evenings ago. In Portuguese “água viva” translates as “jellyfish.” Like the animal, the book … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, novels | Leave a comment

Made in L.A. Soundmap

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Alexandra Lippman

Imagine if as you traveled through the city, you could hear some of its stories? Imagine if this were in L.A., a supposed non-city, where most people who can afford it travel the freeways until spit out at their destination. … Continue reading →

Posted in Los Angeles, mobile phones | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sacred Bells and Sparklers, San Miguel de Allende

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Alexandra Lippman

San Miguel’s Bells We had kept as good of a handle on time as we could as while sipping mescal negro. “Qual es lo más ahumado?” my sister had asked the bartender. “What’s the smokiest?” It bit like grappa. Sucking … Continue reading →

Posted in Mexico, sacred sounds | Leave a comment

A Sonic History at Rio Parada Funk

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Alexandra Lippman

re-write/evolution of a post on Pirate Anthropologies. Field Recording Rio Parada Funk (recorded on ZOOM H4n) After the post-work beers Friday evenings, the Centro of Rio de Janeiro empties out. The most bustling district of streets packed with suits and … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil | 1 Comment

Mangueira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Alexandra Lippman

Mangueira January 14, 2011 — Best listened to loud. A few weeks ago, I heard that the police had invaded Mangueira early Saturday morning. My first thought was: the time when the weekly baile funk street party. One friend told … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil | 3 Comments