2024
Sacred Music: Collected Works
Experiments in DNA, made between 2020 - 2024


[Dialogue]
Are you gonna be?
Say you're gonna be
Are you gonna be?
Say you're gonna be
Are you gonna be?
Say you're gonna be
Well well, well well
Still in love, so in love,
still in love with me
Are you gonna be?
Say that you're gonna be

Baby hold out your arms, or I’m goin’ it alone.Hold Out
John Cope,
2024.

Set in 1950s New York City, Todd Haynes's romantic drama "Carol" follows the unexpected and transformative connection between Therese Belivet, a quiet aspiring photographer working as a department store clerk, and Carol Aird, an elegant, older woman going through a bitter and contentious divorce. When Carol accidentally leaves her gloves on the store counter, Therese mails them back, sparking an encounter that quickly blossoms into a profound infatuation. As they embark on an impromptu cross-country road trip to escape the suffocating pressures of Carol’s domestic life and her husband Harge's custody threats, their romantic bond deepens, forcing both women to confront the intense social constraints and homophobia of the era.
               Director Todd Haynes uses rich visual symbolism to mirror the characters' internal emotional states and the suffocating barriers of mid-century society. Windows, reflections, and glass recur throughout the film, framing Therese and Carol as voyeurs looking in on a conventional world to which they do not belong, while also highlighting the emotional distance and surveillance they constantly endure. The color red acts as a powerful motif associated primarily with Carol—appearing in her coats, lipstick, and car—symbolizing her passion, defiance, and warmth, which gradually awakens the muted, cooler tones of Therese’s world. Additionally, the toy train set Therese buys at the beginning of the film serves as a subtle metaphor for prescribed tracks and societal expectations, which both women ultimately derail to forge their own authentic paths.


Carol
Todd Haynes,
2015.


Ultimately, "Carol" explores central themes of identity, agency, and the courage required to live authentically in the face of institutionalized oppression. The film contrasts the oppressive patriarchal expectations of 1950s America—where women were heavily policed for defying traditional roles—with the quiet revolution of female self-actualization. Carol sacrifices her maternal role to preserve her integrity rather than succumbing to a lavender marriage, while Therese evolves from a passive observer into a confident artist and independent woman. By subverting the tragic tropes often assigned to queer narratives in cinema, "Carol" delivers a powerful meditation on love as a liberating force, culminating in a hopeful and resolute conclusion where both women choose truth over safety.


Raw Dog, Ohio
John Cope,
2024.


Mummering is the four songs from Marianas’ Summering EP remixed and reimagined. Recorded in late Winter / early Spring 2023 under the pseudonym John Cope. Sold separately or bundled as a bonus EP with the Summering 12" release.



Mummering Compact Disc
John Cope,
2024.

My days are one long masquerade,
I wear a disguise of motley hue—
And sometimes I am half afraid
I shall forget the soul I knew,
And lose it midst this varied crew
Of puppets grave and puppets gay,
And yet I am no worse than you—
We’re mummers all and life’s a play.

Upon my face the paint is laid,
As though a mask hid me from view,
And artifice is called to aid
What time I need disguises new.
If laughter be my sorry cue,
I still must laugh along my way;
Small matter if my heart wears rue—
We’re mummers all and life’s a play.Pierrot his penalty has paid,
For all his tears and smiles are his due.
And Harlequin’s gay colors fade—
What matter? Here are jesters new
To mimic life and prove it true
That each man’s soul must some time say:
Applaud, good friends, our motley crew—
We’re mummers all and life’s a play.

L’ENVOI
Friend, I am sick of masquerade.
Of all my roles, both brave and gay,
The curtain falls, the bright light fade—
We’re mummers all, and life’s a play.

The Mummer’s Carol,
Traditional.




1. "Tout doux, tout doucement.”
2. Hold Out
3. Good God! Damn!
4. Ischia
5. Anacortes
6. We Were Saved, Now We’re Starry
7. Cosmo(s) I
8. Harvest
9. The Coral Set
10. Au Bord de Ciel (John Cope’s Malicious Compliance Mix)
11. Pearly
12. Pious
13. The Breadth and Width of Uh Huh
14. Raw Dog, Ohio
15. Cosmo(s) II
16. Heaven Waltz
17. Lowercase Numbers
18. The Clatter of Hearts at Dusk
19. 7 Hours (15 Days)
20. Cumulo Dingus
21. Heatt(t)
22. Le ave the TeleV isio n ONnnn







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