Waywords and Meansigns
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''Waywords and Meansigns: Recreating Finnegans Wake
n its whole wholume N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
' is an international project setting
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's novel ''
Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...
'' to music. Waywords and Meansigns has released two editions of audio, each offering an unabridged musical adaptation of Joyce's book. A third edition, featuring over 100 artists and performing much shorter passages of the book, debuted May 4, 2017. The project brought together a diverse array of musicians. An artist or group performed each chapter in the first two editions; artists performed shorter, page-length passages in the third edition. The musicians only requirements were that "the words be audible, unabridged and more or less in their original order". With a goal of making Joyce's famously obscure novel more accessible, all audio from the project is distributed freely online.


Background

The Waywords and Meansigns project began in 2014 with a goal of setting James Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake'' to music unabridged. The first edition, which premiered in 2015, featured a different artist or musical group performing each of the book's seventeen chapters. The second edition, which premiered in 2016, also offered an unabridged version of the book, performed by a different set of artists and musicians. A third edition, dubbed the
Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition The ''Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition'' debuted in 2017 as a part of the Waywords and Meansigns project setting James Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake'' to music. The Opendoor Edition features over 100 artists and musicians performing unabridged pa ...
, premiered in 2017 with a focus on performing shorter passages rather than complete chapters. In an open edition, with contributors invited to create new recordings on an ongoing basis, the Opendoor Edition features over 100 contributors from 15 countries. Over 300 people have been involved in Waywords and Meansigns since 2014. While some passages in Waywords and Meansigns adhere to traditional song structures, much of the music is experimental. The musicians' only requirements were that "the words be audible, unabridged and more or less in their original order." All audio from the project is distributed freely online under Creative Commons licensing. Finn Fordham, a James Joyce scholar at
Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
has called the project "wonderfully innovative" and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' has highlighted the project for making Joyce's famously difficult novel more accessible. Contributors to Waywords and Meansigns are a self-described collection of "musicians, artists, poets, scholars, weirdos, passionate Wake-heads, those totally ignorant of the Wake, and anyone generally adventurous." Waywords and Meansigns has been noted as a uniquely ambitious, and unusual, project. Rock critic Jesse Jarnow applauded Waywords and Meansigns for their innovative use of the digital platform and
University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
's Digital Platform for Contemporary Irish Writing includes Waywords and Meansigns in their "Joyce Today" collection.


Editions


First edition

The first edition of ''Waywords and Meansigns'' premiered on May 4, 2015.


Track listing

Book I I.1 - Fall, pp. 3–29 - Mariana Lanari & Sjoerd Leijten, with Erik Bindervoet I.2 - The Humphriad I: His Agnomen and Reputation, pp. 30–47 - Robert Amos; Chelidon Frame; Alan Ó Raghallaigh I.3 - The Humphriad II: His Trial and Incarceration, pp 48–74 - Greg Nahabedian I.4 - The Humphriad III - His Demise and Resurrection, pp. 75–103 - Un monton, torero; with Charlie Driker-Ohren & Walker Storz I.5 - The Mamafesta, pp. 104–25 - Tim Carbone (of
Railroad Earth Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, rock, country, jazz, Celtic and other Americana influences. Recognized as " ...
) I.6 - Riddles: The Personages of the Manifesto, pp. 126–68 - Kevin Spenst I.7 - Shem the Penman, pp. 169–216 - Belorusia I.8 - Anna Livia, pp. 196–59 - Dérive Book II II.1 - The Children's Hour, pp. 216–59 - Street Kids Named Desire; with Derek Pyle, Parker McQueeney, Zach Leavitt & Samuel Nordli II.2 - The Studies, pp. 260–308 - Liz Longo & Izzy Longo, with Leo Traversa II.3 - The Stories: Tavernry in Feast, pp. 309–82 -
Hayden Chisholm Hayden Chisholm (born 27 May 1975) is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist from New Zealand. He performs jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music. Life and career Chisholm was raised in New Plymouth, New Zealand, by paren ...
II.4 - Mamalujo, pp. 383–99 - Ryan Mihaly Book III III.1 - Shaun before the People, pp. 403–28 - Gareth Flowers (of
International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City and Chicago. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works. History ...
) III.2 - Jaun before St. Bride's, pp. 428–73 - Steve Fly, with William Sutton III.3 - Yawn under Inquest, pp. 474–554 - Peter Quadrino, Jake Reading & Evan James III.4 - Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker and Anna Livia Plurabelle: Their Bed of Trial, pp. 555–590 - Graziano Galati Book IV IV.1 - Dawn: Return to the Beginning, pp. 593–628 - Mariana Lanari & Sjoerd Leijten; with Eloísa Ejarque, Grace Kyne-Lilley, & Erik Bindervoet.


Second edition

The second edition of ''Waywords and Meansigns'' premiered on February 2, 2016.


Track listing

Book I I.1 - The Fall, pp. 3–29 - Mr. Smolin & Double Naught Spy Car I.2 - The Humphriad I: His Agnomen and Reputation, pp. 30–47 -
David Kahne David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive. Professional career Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...
I.3 - The Humphriad II: His Trial and Incarceration, the Acoustic Disturbance, pp 48–74 - Steve Gregoropoulos (of
Lavender Diamond Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark. History While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created a ...
) I.4 - The Humphriad III: His Demise and Resurrection, pp. 75–103 - Rio Matchett I.5 - The Mamafesta of Anna Livia, pp. 104–25 - Neil Campbell I.6 - Riddles: The Personages of the Manifesto, pp. 126–68 - Maharadja Sweets I.7 - Shem the Penman, pp. 169–216 -
Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
& Adam Harvey (reportedly delayed; forthcoming in 2016) I.8 - The Washers at the Ford (aka ALP), pp. 196–59 - Brian Hall &
Mary Lorson Mary Lorson is an American writer, musician and composer. Best known for her time as the lead singer of alternative pop groups Madder Rose and Saint Low, Lorson has gone on to release albums with The Piano Creeps and Mary Lorson & the Soubr ...
Book II II.1 - The Children's Hour, pp. 216–59 - Robert Amos II.2 - The Studies: Nightlessons, pp. 260–308 - Ollie Evans, Steve Potter & Co. II.3 - The Stories: Tavernry in Feast, pp. 309–82 - Janken's Henchmæn II.4 - Bride-Ship and Gulls, pp. 383–99 - Aleorta Book III III.1 - Shaun before the People, pp. 403–28 - SIKS III.2 - Jaun before St. Bride's, pp. 428–73 - Kio Griffith III.3 - Yawn under Inquest, pp. 474–554 - Hinson Calabrese (formerly of
Tom Fun Orchestra The Tom Fun Orchestra is a Canadian indie rock ensemble from Cape Breton, Canada. The band features an unconventional mix of electric and acoustic instruments, including violin, banjo, accordion, trumpet, double bass, electric guitars and drum ...
) III.4 - Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker and Anna Livia Plurabelle: Their Bed of Trial, pp. 555–590 - Conspirators of Pleasure (
Poulomi Desai Poulomi Desai is a British photographer, multi-media artist, curator and an activist community worker. A self-taught outsider artist originally inspired by a street theatre background, her works are performative, textual, image based, and acoustic ...
and
Simon Underwood Simon Underwood is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the bands The Pop Group and Pigbag. As described by punk rock producer Dennis Bovell, Underwood was "a wicked bass player... Together Simon and Bruce mithwere the Sly & Robb ...
) Book IV IV.1 - Ricorso, pp. 593–628 riverrunning back to The Fall, pp. 3–29 - Graziano Galati


Third edition

The
Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition The ''Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition'' debuted in 2017 as a part of the Waywords and Meansigns project setting James Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake'' to music. The Opendoor Edition features over 100 artists and musicians performing unabridged pa ...
debuted May 4, 2017. This edition emphasizes brief passages rather than complete chapters, with over a hundred contributors from 15 different countries. As an open edition, listeners are invited to record their passages for inclusion. Contributors include:
Krzysztof Bartnicki Krzysztof Bartnicki (born 1971) is a Polish translator, writer, musician/composer, Lexicography, lexicographer and James Joyce, Joyce scholar. His translations into English include poetry of Stanisław Dróżdż and Bolesław Leśmian. He is the au ...
;
Martyn Bates Martyn Bates (born 1960) is an English singer, musician and songwriter. Bates grew up listening to English folk music before as a teenager becoming excited by punk, getting involved in the more diverse and experimental post-punk scene. After rele ...
; Gregory Betts;
John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He ...
; Neil Campbell; Tim Carbone of
Railroad Earth Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, rock, country, jazz, Celtic and other Americana influences. Recognized as " ...
and Lou Rogai of Lewis & Clarke as Cedar Sparks; Joe Cassidy of
Butterfly Child Butterfly Child were a Northern Irish group led by singer/songwriter Joe Cassidy, based in Chicago, Illinois. Described as "purveyors of shimmering, oceanic rock," they have released three full-length albums and numerous singles/EPs. Their latest ...
;
Hayden Chisholm Hayden Chisholm (born 27 May 1975) is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist from New Zealand. He performs jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music. Life and career Chisholm was raised in New Plymouth, New Zealand, by paren ...
; Conspirators of Pleasure (
Poulomi Desai Poulomi Desai is a British photographer, multi-media artist, curator and an activist community worker. A self-taught outsider artist originally inspired by a street theatre background, her works are performative, textual, image based, and acoustic ...
and
Simon Underwood Simon Underwood is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the bands The Pop Group and Pigbag. As described by punk rock producer Dennis Bovell, Underwood was "a wicked bass player... Together Simon and Bruce mithwere the Sly & Robb ...
); Steve Gregoropoulos of
Lavender Diamond Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark. History While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created a ...
; S.A. Griffin;
David Hurn David Hurn (born 21 July 1934) is a British documentary photographer and member of Magnum Photos. Life and work Hurn was born on 21 July 1934 in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was raised in Cardiff, Wales. Because of his dyslexia he joined the ...
and Abigail Hopkins; 90s duo Insides; Kinski;
Ulrich Krieger Ulrich Krieger (born 1962 in Freiburg) is a German contemporary composer, performer, improviser and experimental rock musician based in Los Angeles. Krieger's artistic work spans a broad field from contemporary classical composition and free impro ...
of
Metal Machine Trio Metal Machine Trio was a group founded in 2008 by Lou Reed, Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun. The group played free improvised music, touching on various genres from free rock, free jazz, minimal music, noise music, electronica, to ambient mu ...
; Little Sparta (Band) with
Sally Timms Sally Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and lyricist. Timms is best known for her long involvement with The Mekons whom she joined in 1985.Sally Timmsat Allmusic Career Born in Leeds, in 1959,Wallenfeldt, Jeffthe Mekons in ...
and Martin Billheimer; Seán Mac Erlaine; Jason Merritt (
Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
), Kenneth Griffin (
Favourite Sons The Favourite Sons is an indie rock band from Brooklyn, made up of Ken Griffin (former member of Rollerskate Skinny) and four members of Jagjaguwar's Aspera.Raper, Dan (2006)Favourite Sons ''Down Beside Your Beauty'' (review), ''PopMatters'' They ...
,
Rollerskate Skinny Rollerskate Skinny were an Irish band formed in 1992 by singer and guitarist Ken Griffin, guitarist Ger Griffin and bassist Stephen Murray, and were later joined by Jimmy Shields. They released two critically acclaimed albums, ''Shoulder Voices' ...
), Jason Sebastian Russo, and Paul Dillon (
Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Phil Minton Phil Minton (born 2 November 1940) is a British avant-garde jazz/ free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook's ...
; David Moss and Boris Hegenbart; Papa Sprain;
Chris Rael Chris Rael is an eclectic American musician, singer, composer, and songwriter. He is the founder and leader of Indo-pop band Church of Betty, based in New York City. He has composed, recorded, and produced more than 25 CDs, collaborating with ar ...
;
Schneider TM Dirk Dresselhaus (born 28 August 1970), better known by his stage name Schneider TM, is a German musician from Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a pop ...
;
Gerry Smyth Gerry Smyth (born 14 September 1961) is an academic, musician, actor and playwright born in Dublin, Ireland. He works in the Department of English at Liverpool John Moores University, where he is Professor of Irish Cultural History. His early pub ...
; Thrum’s
Monica Queen Monica Queen is a singer from Glasgow, Scotland who has collaborated with Belle & Sebastian (e.g., on ''Lazy Line Painter Jane'' from the Lazy Line Painter Jane EP), Chris Coco, James Grant and Jim White, among others. She is listed on the Fire ...
and Johnny Smillie as Tenement and Temple; Owen Tromans; Jon Wahl of
Claw Hammer A claw hammer is a hammer primarily used in carpentry for driving nails into or pulling them from wood. Historically, a claw hammer has been associated with woodworking, but is also used in general applications. It is not suitable for heavy h ...
;
Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
and Adam Harvey; and many more.


Reception

While many reviews of Waywords and Meansigns celebrate the project for its uniqueness and ambition, other reviewers find the project's massive scope daunting. The project has been lauded for its digital distribution platform, utilizing Creative Commons licensing to freely distribute audio. Writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Billy Mills described ''Waywords and Meansigns'' as one of many Internet-based projects helping to make Joyce's famously obscure novel more approachable. While premiering advance audio from the second edition, Bort of
Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...
wrote "this massive undertaking will provide an endless supply of head scratches and cheers alike to its undertakers". While reviewing Neil Campbell's contribution in ''The Wire'', Dan Barrow spoke positively of the overall project: "As a putative adaptation of the ''Wake'', does the approach of ''Waywords and Meansigns'' work? Undoubtedly." The
James Joyce Centre The James Joyce Centre is a museum and cultural centre in Dublin, Ireland, dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. It opened to the public in June 1996. The centre is situated in a restored 18th-century G ...
dubbed the first edition "31 hours, 8 minutes, 11 seconds worth of delightful strangeness." James Joyce scholar Finn Fordham called the project "wonderfully innovative" and described the second edition as "a series of unexpected transformations of this endlessly transformative text." The open information site and public domain blog Open Culture featured all three editions of the project, writing of the first edition "as with all compilation albums, some tracks are better than others... It is definitely a labor of love." Open Culture wrote of the second edition: "these artists try to transcend ordinary ways of reading great literature, and clearly have lots fun in the doing". Aodhán Kelly and Tom De Keyser reviewed the first edition of Waywords and Meansigns for the ''
James Joyce Quarterly The ''James Joyce Quarterly'' (''JJQ'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1963 that covers critical and theoretical work focusing on the life, writing, and reception of James Joyce. The journal publishes essays, notes, reviews, l ...
''. Noting that "the project has gathered considerable interest among both the artistic community and Joyce enthusiasts and reading groups", Kelly and De Keyser wrote that "each track is... a unique and completely personal interpretation of an artist's reading of the text". The review concludes: "While we cannot say that we enjoyed the music in all instances, the project does attempt to bring challenging literature to a broader public... add nganother layer of richness to the life of the book with its own musical interpretation as a new form of cultural production". '' Pastes Jay Horton wrote of the third edition: "It’s soon enough made clear that there are as many varieties of musical renderings as there are interpretations of its prose, which sparks the likely-unavoidable problem concerning the songs and the book they’re taken from and the ideas it (barely) contains – there’s just too damn many." In her
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
review, Maria Schurr wrote of the third edition: "the well of inspiration springing from Joyce's words is thrillingly infinite." Open Culture's Josh Jones deemed the third edition "one of the most appropriate responses to the novel in the 78 years since its publication."


See also

*
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
*''
Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...
'' *
Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition The ''Waywords and Meansigns Opendoor Edition'' debuted in 2017 as a part of the Waywords and Meansigns project setting James Joyce's ''Finnegans Wake'' to music. The Opendoor Edition features over 100 artists and musicians performing unabridged pa ...


References


External links


''Waywords and Meansigns'' website
{{Finnegans Wake Creative Commons-licensed works Digital humanities projects Finnegans Wake Macaronic language Music organizations