Giving Spooky a second chance

So, after leading discussion on Monday, my thoughts about this book have changed slightly. I got the impression that most people in the class had at least some confusion surrounding what they read, which was comforting to me. Also, once I gathered my thoughts together and actually settled on my main discussion points, things got easier. I think that part of understanding this writting style and content is merely getting used to it by reading a portion of it even if you don't understand what you are reading. I found that after a certain point in my reading, things got easier. Also, I decided to pull out the few points that I really felt comfortable with and just focusing on those. As I continued to read, I was able to expand my knowledge of these points and slowly gained a further understanding of those and the reading as a whole. Part of the problem with this text is that it is written in such a unconventional style. The sentences are fragmented and Spooky jumps from one point to the next, never clearly connecting them together. Perhaps this is intentional. Just as sampling is utilizes a musical style that is artistic and abstract, perhaps he intentionally wrote this way to give is readers a taste of what it is like to sample. Also, I think that sampling is something rooted in creativity, and likewise, this writting hinges on the same creativity. Spooky might not one, common interpretation to surface from the text and so he wrote it to have some ambiguity in attempt to foster multiple interpretations of it. When I read further in the book I think that I will keep these things in mind. Instead of stressing about whether or not I am pulling the intended message out of the text, I will just try and pull some interpretation out and try and think of other possible ones that could be present. Also, if DJ Spooky reverts back to his writting style of chapter one, I am going to try and avoid becoming overwhelmed. I don't think you need to gather meaning from everything he says. Especially since we will discuss the reading in class and everyone can bring something different to the discussion, I will try and focus on the things that I do understand rather than feeling overwhelmed with the ones I do not.