Only three more days till Let Me Ascertain You: Sex Variants 1941 at Joe's Pub this Monday night! All of the evening's originals songs are inspired by, and derived from, 80 graphic first-person accounts from one of the earliest “scientific” surveys of sexual deviancy. Tickets available HERE!
We wanted to give our friends across the blogosphere a special sneak peek at the evening's entertainment, with this short excerpt from the original composition, "Moses," by Max Vernon, a songwriter lauded as "equal parts bohemia and broadway" by the New Yorker.
On the genesis of the song:
Max: This was a tricky song to write because there was a lot to unpack–I wanted to figure out how to honor the sensationalistic and darkly comic tone of the medical journal itself while also being very clear about Moses' depression and dysmorphia and not turning that into a joke. It's pretty obvious to me that Moses, while into some mild kink, was not in fact a "deviant," but rather a transwoman who in 1941 had no language to articulate that. To me, there's nothing funny about that. Writing a song that was equally absurd and painful was the only way for me to make sense of the material.
Check out the lyrics, and take a listen below. And stay up to date on Max's projects by visiting his Website and Facebook!
Excerpt from "Moses" by Max Vernon
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| Artwork by Gwen Shockey |
We wanted to give our friends across the blogosphere a special sneak peek at the evening's entertainment, with this short excerpt from the original composition, "Moses," by Max Vernon, a songwriter lauded as "equal parts bohemia and broadway" by the New Yorker.
 |
| Max Vernon |
On the genesis of the song:
Max: This was a tricky song to write because there was a lot to unpack–I wanted to figure out how to honor the sensationalistic and darkly comic tone of the medical journal itself while also being very clear about Moses' depression and dysmorphia and not turning that into a joke. It's pretty obvious to me that Moses, while into some mild kink, was not in fact a "deviant," but rather a transwoman who in 1941 had no language to articulate that. To me, there's nothing funny about that. Writing a song that was equally absurd and painful was the only way for me to make sense of the material.
Check out the lyrics, and take a listen below. And stay up to date on Max's projects by visiting his Website and Facebook!
Excerpt from "Moses" by Max Vernon
Sometimes I dream that I'm a female cat
and another cat is taking advantage of me
sometimes I like to wear my mother's gown
and twirl around while masturbating frantically
until the day my balls shrivel up and die so I can realize
my castration fantasy – and this body will fade
away like a memory.
Hello my name is Moses
I got a cruel and strange neurosis
I get a thrill from panty hoses
doctor what's your diagnosis?
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