TBT^2: Egged Off

The Portly Politico

Longtime reader fridrix commented a couple of weeks ago that was “[l]oving how you nest these annual pieces like matryoshka dolls.”  While casting about for a TBT post, I couldn’t resist more matryoshka-esque nesting, and eggs seem quite similar to the pear-shaped Russian dolls.  Surely we’ve all nested little plastic Easter eggs into bigger plastic Easter eggs, no?

This post was itself a throwback to a 30 April 2021 post about excessive officiousness in the enforcement of laws that, while they may serve a purpose, are typically of no great harm to anyone.  The original post dealt with two little girls who in Texas who had their roadside egg stand shut down due to lack of proper licensure and oversight from the local government and the State’s health department (if there is any government more odious than various departments of health—the dreaded SC DHEC here in South Carolina—I can’t…

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Dorothy Sayers and “The Lost Tools of Learning”

The Portly Politico

“For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spent in vain.” —Dorothy Sayers

What a powerful sentiment, because it is True! I recently had occasion to read Dorothy Sayers’s speech—later adapted into an essay—entitled “The Lost Tools of Learning“; it was akin to my first reading of Richard Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences: a lightning bolt of the True and the Good striking directly upon my mind.

In the speech, Sayers lays out the medieval method of learning, the Trivium, consisting of Grammar, Dialectic (or Logic), and Rhetoric, we she argues should be divided into age-appropriate stages (the “Poll-Parrot,” the “Pert,” and the “Poetic”).  Each stage corresponds with one aspect of the Trivium (the Poll-Parrot studies Grammar, the Pert studies Logic, and the Poetic studies Rhetoric), and while the ages…

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TBT: Mahler’s Composing Shack

The Portly Politico

We’re getting into the time of year when my personal creativity seems to spark.  I should be way more productive creatively in the summer, when I enjoy loads of unstructured time, but I find that I work better in the constrains and confines of a busy schedule.  For whatever reason, that extra pressure helps me to eke out, if not diamonds, then at least some lesser gems.

One well from which I have drawn some considerable inspiration the last couple of years was my Pre-AP Music Appreciation class.  It was a broad survey of Western music from the medieval period to the present, with a strong emphasis on the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods.  Due to a combination of scheduling difficulties and lower enrollment last year, the class did not run this year.

On the one hand, I’m thankful—it’s given me more time to focus on other…

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Supporting Friends Friday: Frederick Ingram’s “Ephemery”

The Portly Politico

My phone has twelve tracks downloaded to it, which auto-play in alphabetic order every time I get into the car.  Six of them are the tracks from my album, Contest Winner EP; four are from Frederick Ingram’s Elements; one is Frederick’s single “Fish Bowl“; and one—oddly—is Ozzy’s “Shot in the Dark” from The Ultimate Sin album.

This Friday, I’m diving back into Frederick’s exquisite EP Elements, one of my favorite indie releases of the past decade.  Because I listen to this EP multiple times each week, I’ve gotten to know these tunes very well.  Indeed, I wrote about another song from the EP, “Yesterday’s Weather,” back in January.

Today, I’d like to examine the other standout track from Elements, the shimmering “Ephemery.”

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The echo of her voice

I took another listen to the songs of Katie Janness with a ear for signs of domestic violence. I didn’t find much. Not exactly. But the diversion of time, attention, and money into her music career after several years of slumber could easily strain a relationship. As a more serious than successful songwriter myself, I should know; it’s killed more than one of mine.

Two decades of song

Before last year, Katie doesn’t seem to have released any music since about 2013, when her Atlanta-based three-piece Statue of a Robot (https://soundcloud.com/statue-of-a-robot) put its eponymous EP on Soundcloud, where at present it has just a dozen or so followers. She was in a couple of bands before she moved to Atlanta in 2006. The night she was killed, she had been planning to fly back to Detroit to jam with Monogatari (https://soundcloud.com/monogatari-detroit-mi), another trio she led, the very next day. At this writing, it has just two-dozen followers on Soundcloud and tracks from “The Never-Released Album,” also uploaded around 2013, have garnered at most a few dozen plays each on the musician-oriented platform. Before that came all-girl group called Violet Skin, which actually was reviewed by the local Detroit entertainment paper (https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/violet-skin/Content?oid=2278826) and by an online site (https://www.allmusic.com/album/kabuki-mw0000694964) after they put out a CD in 2001.

I point out the dismal numbers because although Katie (or whoever was managing her account) had subscribed to Soundcloud’s Pro Unlimited services, which are designed to push music out there and theoretically even create some revenue, there was little if any income from these recordings, at least online. As far as I can tell they’re not even available on streaming services like Pandora or Spotify, not that those pay anything for such obscure acts (myself included).

Blue romantic

After two decades of growth, the five songs Katie uploaded to Soundcloud under her own name last year (https://soundcloud.com/katie-janness) are no doubt much more sophisticated than her early punk band days. She sounds like someone who’s played a lot of guitar and written a lot of songs, rather original ones at that.

“Swimming” describes the rootless feeling of being immersed in a romantic relationship. One line, “I figured if you don’t want me, it must be me that’s broken,” could point to a discard in progress. But there’s no telling when it was actually written, whether it was “fresh ink” or not. She mentions Vicodin and the slowly swinging psychedelic rocker does sound quite druggy. It’s also suggestive at times: “Sometimes I keep my lips from opening / There’s got to be a better use for them.” In “Habits,” pinned to the top of her page, she is even more of a bad girl.

“Telescope,” my favorite, is a really gorgeous, waltzing gaze at the stars from a city parking deck. “Orion and Jupiter in the sky / While Saturn and Jupiter say hi.” But it’s also a good segue into the songs that are really, really sad in retrospect: “Maybe one day we’ll fly away.”

There’s also a concept I’ve pondered myself after witnessing the launch of a NASA sun-science mission shortly before the loss of my father: “Energy doesn’t die, it just changes form / Our forms will die but cannot change.” I hope this imagery brings some peace to all those who miss Katie, particularly her mother.

“Been thinking about Michigan and family,” begins “Away,” over dreamy, chiming, indie-style guitars. “So many of you are gone / Death took you away.”

Stand up

But social-justice is never far from Katie’s consciousness. “Stand Up,” the only track to be released on Bandcamp (https://katiejanness.bandcamp.com/track/stand-up), on 14 April 2021. “You stand up for me, and I’ll stand up for you.” It’s a protest song touching on George Floyd, tiki torches, and other liberal flashpoints. It’s preachy and not the kind of thing I would immediately gravitate towards, but the guitar work is very creative and the lyrics are indeed witty; one line about five minutes into the seven-minute song brilliantly breaks the fourth wall, as they say in film, with a shift in perspective that is just too ironic and clever to spoil here.

The most plays any of these have gotten, six months after her death, is a little more than 800, low numbers still but actually much more than she got to see in life. And that is a damn shame. I consider the music platforms, the industry, to be co-conspirators in Katie’s downfall. Like Gabby Petito chasing the #vanlife dream on Instagram, the prospect of creative success is but a mirage for most. There isn’t any upside; just a constant outpouring of promotional expense.

Equipping a quality rig and setting forth into the great adventure costs money. Katie’s Soundcloud won’t be mistaken for a major-label production but to my ears it seems expensive large-diaphragm condenser mics were involved. The real expense, though, is that music is a mistress that demands your whole life. But someone like Katie, or like me, has to create. It’s how we remain sane.

I’ve written elsewhere on psychosocial dynamics that push sensitive souls into the arts. The idea is that we’re dealing with trauma, covering deep inner trauma with layers of meaning and beauty like a pearl in a shell. But what’s the alternative?

The alternative is to become a psychopath, a narcissist, a murderer. I sympathize with them too, though, even child molesters, because they were invariably grievously wounded in their early lives.

Coming to terms with trauma is vital. So, arts education is crime prevention. Maybe renewed awareness of this mindset could be one positive legacy of this tragedy.

Reverberations

We are very fortunate, actually, that these songs remain. I don’t understand why more people aren’t sharing them. They were her life’s work. What about her friends? Musical colleagues? “The scene”? Am I really the first one to give her a review in 20 years? I can’t find any others online. For that matter, why isn’t there more interest from the national press in catching her killer?

I think I would have gotten along with Katie Janness, a witty poet and accomplished guitarist, very well. I guess that’s why I became drawn to her case, as a fellow singer-songwriter, a romantic. Her words still hold meaning, perhaps now more than ever.

Old-school 911-call analysis

There are quite a few statement-analysis–type blogs out there. Looking for a framework, I was lucky to find a pretty solid reference, albeit one from way back in June 2008, “911 homicide calls and statement analysis: is the caller the killer?” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/911+homicide+calls+and+statement+analysis%3a+is+the+caller+the+killer%3f-a0180406725

It’s based on a relatively small study based on just 100 emergency calls. Can you imagine how much the art has progressed since then, after studying thousands and thousands more calls, especially with the possibility of applying AI?

Given the small sample, it is just staggering the correlations they found for certain indicators of guilt:

• 96% of callers who offered extraneous information were later found to be guilty; as were
• 100% of callers who blamed or insulted the victim;
• 100% who gave conflicting facts and failed to correct them;
• 100% who requested help for themselves and not the victim;
• 100% who accepted the non-obvious death of the victim;
• 100% who were “patient and polite” (as opposed to demanding an immediate response);
• 100% who repeated words or phrases during the call;
• 100% who interrupted themselves;
• 100% who seriously resisted complying with dispatchers;
• The “huh factor,” having to pause before answering, almost always indicated guilt.

The COPS Scale (Considering Offender Probability in Statements) serves as a practical framework for law enforcement in evaluating such statements in the field.

It seems obvious they found many of these indicators in Emma Clark’s 90-second 911 call (transcribed here yesterday: https://fridrix.wordpress.com/2022/02/07/forensic-statement-analysis-your-lips-can-be-a-snare/ ) and immediately focused on her. This explains the lack of concern about a possible serial killer on the loose, and the refusal to publicly clear Emma Clark, despite her protests.

Forensic statement analysis: your lips can be a snare

A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

Proverbs 18:7 (KJV)

I wouldn’t call forensic statement analysis a “junk science,” but it is a relatively new one, probably more of an art. I would like to believe my own wide range of skills and experience with language, from transcribing notes for forensic psychologists while in college, to proofreading for academic presses, to contemplating the nuances of spoken speech as an actor in true-crime stories, might all be applied to helping people in real-world cases in the here and now.

Often a written or spoken statement is all investigators have, so naturally they are keen to extract as much actionable information from it.

I can’t think of a more compelling use of an English degree.

Death of a Songbird: The Murder of Katherine Janness

The Katie Janness case to me is compelling because I myself am an obscure songwriter with songs parked on SoundCloud.

Statement analysis is also especially relevant here, since so little information has been released to the public about this horrendous murder in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park in the summer of 2021.

What we, the public, do have are a couple of interviews with the victim’s longtime girlfriend, as well as her initial 911 call after she discovered the body. I’m attaching my verbatim transcription of it below as a public resource since I don’t think it’s ever been posted in written format.

Emma Clark 911 call

911:     Atlanta 911, Operator 7959. What’s the address to your emergency?

EC:      Sir, I’m at the entrance of Piedmont Park? I just … was searching for my girlfriend, sir, because I couldn’t find her! She’s dead. She’s here at Piedmont Park. Please help.

911:     You said somebody’s dead—

EC: Oh my god.

911: —at Piedmont Park?

EC:      Yes sir. Please send help. Please!

911:     Alright. Yes ma’am, I’m going to send help to you.

EC:      Oh my god.  Oh my god.

911:     Alright, can I get an, um, can I get your name please?

EC:      Emma Clark? [sobs]

911: You said, what was your name, ma’am?

EC: Emma.

911: Emma?

EC: Clark. Yes, sir.

911: Alright, Miss Emma—

EC: Oh my god!

911:     May I get a callback number?

EC:      Oh my god! [phone number]. I’m out here by myself, sir, there’s nobody here— [inaudible]

911: [phone number]?

EC: Yes sir. Oh my god! [sobbing]

911:     Alright.

EC:      [sobbing and panting]

911: I’m here, Miss Emma.

EC: Oh my god! [whispered]

            [inaudible]

            [bleep]

911:     [bleep] Where’s she at at—

EC: [inaudible]!

911: Where’s she at in the park?

EC:      She’s right …  near the entrance, like … I don’t know how to explain it to you.

            [inaudible]

UI: [inaudible]

EC:       Did you just see that!

UI:       [inaudible]!

EC:      That’s my fucking girlfriend.

UI:       What the fuck!

EC:      Yes!

911:     Alright, [inaudible]—

EC:      Please … Oh my god, [inaudible] like she’s dead, dead. Like, it’s so [inaudible].

911:     Alright, I’m about to— I’m about to call Grady, okay?

EC:      Please!

Grady: Grady EMS, what’s the address of your emergency?

911:     Hey Grady, I have one for 1073 Piedmont Avenue Northeast.

Grady: [inaudible] have the caller on the line?

911:     Yes m— Ma’am are you still on the line?

            Okay I guess she must’ve disconnected. She said uh, her girlfriend is dead in the park.

Grady: Okay. Uh. Girlfriend is dead in the park?

911:     Yeah, at uh, Piedmont Park.

Grady: Okay, did she advise where at in the park? It’s a huge park.

911:     Sh, she was saying it’s, she was at the entrance.

Grady: Okay, at the entrance. Okay, can we get Fire and PD? I’m 915.

911:     Yes ma’am. I already sent them. Thank you, 915.

Grady: Which operator?

911:     7959.

Grady: Alright, thank you. We’ll have that en route.

911:     Alright.

Grady: Alright.

This is a test

I believe this case will be solved soon, within a month or a year. I am eager to apply a statement analysis approach here to validate the art itself. If it produces results that are backed up by harder evidence, that is a testament to its predictive utility. Of course, the contrary is a possibility, especially in inexpert hands. I want commitments on paper so the methodology can be evaluated later.

Caveat

If you’re horrified at the audacity of someone questioning the involvement of a grieving widow in this heinous crime, I understand. I never even wanted to listen to this 911 call in particular. I listened to Emma’s news interviews originally without a hint of suspicion. I thought Katie might have encountered some darkness from the music or bar scenes or unfinished business from the underworld, as her late father was apparently a convicted murderer.

Of course, based on statistics alone, the police are going to start with the victim’s family and associates. So I’m not breaking new ground here. And quite a few people were shocked to see that the Clarks spent GoFundMe proceeds on a new apartment. That’s what prompted me to reexamine everything.

I don’t believe any journalist is completely objective. It’s more honest to reveal your biases than to maintain that pretence. So, I think we’re looking at a narcissistic “discard” here, of a financially aquisitive younger partner wanting to discard an aging, graying, unsuccessful, out-of-shape spouse, coupled with jealous resentment. A lot of that is based on my own life experiences as an underappreciated creative. Others see an anti-LGBT hate crime. Some observers are reminded of Jodi Arias and Chris Watts; I think that’s what we’re dealing with.

Of course, I could be wrong. I’m an amateur. In fact I’m wrong probably half the time or more. I hope to get better at this sort of thing. The Good Judgment Project, a forecasting tournament in which I participated, says that practice helps. That and constantly updating your predictions as new information comes in.

One thing we are united on is the cause of justice. Absolutely no one deserves to die the way Katie did. This is a perplexing, complex case, so let’s not lose sight of the value of each other’s creative, divergent opinions in shining light into all corners of this darkness.

Supporting Friends Friday: Frederick Ingram’s “Yesterday’s Weather”

The Portly Politico

My good friend and fellow musician Frederick Ingram released a hot new LP (really a “double EP”), Initial Exposure, back in December.  It’s a great album, and I’m going to review it soon(ish).

But today, I wanted to look back at one of his older songs, from Frederick’s Elements.  This single/EP has always held a warm place in my heart.  I remember playing some Christmastime gigs with Frederick when he released this little recording, and I still find it enjoyable.

It’s not just nostalgia for younger, slimmer days and more musically ambitious times.  It’s a good recording.  The lead-off single, “Carolina Sands,” is a highly listenable song about the beauty of South Carolina.  But for all of its radio-friendly qualities, I find it is now my least favorite track on the release (which, to be clear, does not mean it is a bad song—it’s very good!).

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Supporting Friends Friday: Frederick Ingram’s “Initial Exposure”

The Portly Politico

Just last week I wrote about my friend Frederick Ingram‘s new Christmas jam, “Jesus of Nazareth (Walked into a Bar).”  What I didn’t realize is that the tune was a part of a new album—really a double EP—that Frederick has been quietly assembling.

(Note that I’ll refer to Frederick Ingram as “Frederick” here on out, as I know him personally and consider him a friend.  I know the standard is to use the artist’s last name in subsequent mentions, and if some big city alternative paper picks up this review, I’ll happily edit it accordingly.  For this blog, though, I’m keeping it on a the first-name basis. —TPP)

The record—which drops today!—is Initial Exposure, and it combines tracks from two EPs from earlier this year:  June 2021’s Initial Exposure and November 2021’s Culture Exposure (which features the song about Jesus delivering His…

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Lazy Sunday CXXIX: Friends, Part I

Thanks pardner

The Portly Politico

Back in June, I started a new feature on non-Bandcamp Fridays, Supporting Friends Friday.  It’s a small way to highlight and support the works and talents of my various friends, of both the IRL and online variety.

Now that I’ve written several of these posts, it seemed like a good time to look back at them.  The three this week are all good friends I know personally—indeed, they all live within forty-five minutes of me—and we have a musical connection.  The first friend featured is a poet, but we met at local open mic nights.

• “Supporting Friends Friday: Jeremy Miles’s New Book is Out Now” – My real-life buddy Jeremy Miles (who also maintains a blog) released his latest book of poetry, Hindsight: Poetry in 2020 in June.  It’s available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle editions.  He gets a little political…

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