hooves on the turf

Miranda July’s sold-out reading at the 42nd street Humanities and Social Sciences Library was much more of a formal event compared to the one organized by 192 Books three days prior. The vibe here was more wine-and-cheese, both of which were present. During the intermission, however, I did spot two young men excitedly having Michel Gondry autograph an orgami bird (or was it a plane?).

More photos, and review continues, after the jump.

Miranda July read “This Person” and “Majesty” from her new collection of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You. Her family members were not in attendance, so she took the liberty of reading one of the “racier” stories, which involves a 46-year-old’s obsession with the young prince William of the British Royal family. I was also glad that, unlike many authors, she avoided repeating stories from the previous reading.

To suggest that the best way to hear these stories is in the voice of Miranda would be to undermine the format of a book. But the trademark narrative voice we’ve come to know through her plays and Me and You and Everyone We Know has the quality of drawing you in. And while the chance to hear some of the book in that voice is certainly worth taking, and now that I’ve taken that chance, I’m curious to know if other stories will feel more liberated from the author’s strong personality (I’ll find out soon).

For the Q&A David Byrne put together some Audio/Visual evidence to support his long-winded observations, which Miranda July identified as “What Up” questions. Amongst other things, this involved (i) the use of visual symbols and shapes in the movie to communicate something greater (ii) the tendency to instruct the audience (the suggestion on her book’s website to match the color of the book with your clothes, and her website Learning To Love You More which assigns users different tasks) (iii) the inclusion of flawed utopias in the movie, and so on. Miranda worried over this sort of dissection, wondering if she’ll be repeating the same elements in the movie she’s currently working on.

Becky Stark of Lavendar Diamond performed between the reading and the Q&A. She was hilariously quirky and awkward, hence adorable. She sang a few songs not on her album, one of which she turned into a sing-along. With just an acoustic guitar, her voice sounded angelic (she used to be in a choir) and the songs had a very spiritual tone to them. This made the sing-along a definite success, giving it an eerie, otherwordly quality (the kind that befits the theatrics of a Church, with or without the religion).

The lyrics of the sing-along celebrated the birth of a girl, and Becky explained that her mother, who is now a Minister, asked her if she could have the girl be a boy in the second chorus so that she could use it at her service. Becky gleefully shared her dramatic response, “No, mom, I cannot.” She returned after the Q&A, at Miranda July’s special request, to play a song that is on her record, with David Byrne accompanying on humming and strumming. Before leaving the stage, she said that she’d be playing with her fancy band at Bowery Ballroom on June 3rd.

Becky Stark of Lavendar Diamond performing w/ David Byrne

Michel Gondry, director of The Science of Sleep and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, amongst other things, w/ David Byrne.

Director Mike Mills, who is currently Miranda July’s boyfriend, w/ Miranda’s friend Julia Bryan Wilson, to whom the book is dedicated.

Miranda July responding to David Byrne’s “What Up” questions