field notes – Page 39

White Noise with Narrative Intent

The sounds of Hellblade 2

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025 / By Marc Weidenbaum

I don’t know much about Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, though I know more than I had since it became available on the PlayStation 5 earlier this month, over a year after its initial release. The game is heavy on the Iceland / Norse environs, which is why this hour-long ambience of a “frozen settlement” makes for especially grueling — intended as a compliment — white noise. The intense gusts of wind and snow are realistic, indeed: background listening with narrative intent. The video shows the game’s main character, Senua, standing there grimacing as the fierce weather does its best to knock her over. The video was uploaded to on YouTube on the Atmospheric Gaming channel, which specializes in this sort of thing.

LJ Holoman, Live

At Mr. Tipple's, Saturday, August 23, 2025

August 24, 2025August 25, 2025 / By Marc Weidenbaum

Went to Mr Tipple’s, a jazz club in San Francisco, again, a fantastic trio led by organist LJ Holoman. It was the final night of a two-week run of concerts featuring a Hammond B3 organ that, if I understand correctly, previously belonged to the defunct Club Deluxe on Haight Street. The owner of Tipple’s is now co-owner of the soon-to-be-reopened Club Deluxe. When Deluxe reopens, this organ will move back there. Holoman and band — Elijah Green on bass, Qyu Jackson on Drums — were tight as could be.

Scratch Pad: AFX, Bandcamp, Airwaves

From the past week

August 23, 2025August 29, 2025 / By Marc Weidenbaum

At the end of each week, I usually collate a lightly edited collection of recent comments I’ve made on social media, which I think of as my public scratch pad. I find knowing I’ll revisit my posts to be a positive and mellowing influence on my social media activity. I mostly hang out on Mastodon (at post.lurk.org/@disquiet), and I’m also trying out a few others. And I generally take weekends off social media.

▰ The Polygon Window (aka Aphex Twin) album Surfing on Sine Waves, now coming out in an “expanded edition,” was the first thing I ever bought on Amazon. I was working for Tower Records at the time, and figured I should check out the budding retail competition.

▰ When did the Bandcamp collection icon change from a “heart” to a “stack”? Makes sense. I own music I don’t love. This is my browser on my laptop. The iOS app still has the heart.

▰ Fairly intense emotional response when you’re alerted that the email address of someone you’re aware has very recently died is removed from a mailing list you moderate. Means someone out there is doing some difficult digital tidying.

▰ Overheard on the street:

One dude: “The airwaves are everywhere — when you think about it.”

Other dude, after a pause: “Even when you don’t.”

▰ Reading: I read a lot, but I didn’t finish anything, which after a couple weeks of heavy duty reading is a sign that (1) I’m feeling better and (2) I’ve been getting back into photography after several years without a proper (non-phone) camera.