In Steve McQueen’s new film, Shame, there is (specifically) a scene where the main character, Brandon (a sex addict) is running. The shot is long, drawn out, borderline boring. While running, Brandon is accompanied by Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Minor; this particular recording was performed by Glenn Gould. I absolutely love that McQueen used music which is so steady, even, meticulous, yet played by a total crazy. Glenn Gould was infamous for only using a particular chair [made by his father] while he played, which would wobble as he constantly rotated his body in a circular motion. Similarly, Brandon is perceived by others as a composed individual. He is handsome, neat and essentially put together well. My point? I was excited to make this connection while watching the film and even more excited that McQueen executed this with grace.

Baroque.me (2011) by Alexander Chen. Video capture. baroque.me visualizes the first Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suites. Using the math behind string length and pitch, it came from a simple idea: what if all the notes were drawn as strings? Instead of a stream of classical notation on a page, this interactive project highlights the music’s underlying structure and subtle shifts.