Jukebox Capriccio by Christian Marclay

The barrage of record scratching signifies each new piece in Christian Marclay’s sound collage, Jukebox Capriccio. The beginning of the track starts with the needle dropping on the record, and a few sped up records on different turntables playing simultaneously, some tracks of voices, others of musical instruments such as trumpets and saxophones. When one record ends, another begins. The record scratching being more than the glue melding the pieces of the composition together but more about finding the correct placement for the mixmaster to choose what the listener hears next. The initial speediness in the beginning of the track is brought to a comfortable listening speed, where most of us typically listen to music. While it seemed the record scratching were the only constant in Jukebox, once the record speed normalizes, there are a few tracks that noticeably repeat, such as 1980’s synth pop hit “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. The record speed slows on approach to the track’s end. The closing of the track, while cut short, plays the iconic notes to Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In sketch comedy program. Where I have noticed the bits and pieces of the track that is familiar to me, I wonder: would another listener notice every piece to Jukebox Capriccio’s song melange?