This is it boys, over the hill

I rarely get out to the movies these days. Last night though, what a doozy.

This is the best film about a tire that kills people with its mind that has ever been made.



Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year.

I'd say these guys. See them live if you can, they are spectacular. Really want this band to follow up with a strong second record.



And with this the April 2011 project is done. Thanks for tuning in people. Time to mow my lawn and yell at people to get off of it!

Susie Wore her Dresses Tight

Day 29 - A song from your childhood.

What is more perfect than the first 45 you ever bought?

Thursday Morning Wind

Grand slams usually bring out the best in a poet's performance and last night's WB slam was no exception. Seven poets brought their A game to the stage of Kafe Kerouac. Four of them would get on the National Poetry Slam team.

After three rounds that were were fast paced thanks to emcee Joanna Schroeder, Izetta Nicole, Scott Woods and Vernell Bristow finished 2-4 with J.G. the Jugganaut winning the slam outright.

It's a fine mix of veteran an rookie slammers that will represent Writers' Block and head to Boston in August.

I like this team and though they did the best in the slam I think Louise Robinson got robbed in judging in the second round, which knocked her out of the third. Such is the nature of slam though.

We arrived late, the room was already full and open mic had a waiting list. But the poets practically did haikus so many got to read, including me. I did a new one called "If You Can't Say it in Three Minutes, Don't Say it at All" and dedicated to the poets competing in the Grand Slam. It was very well received. Before I got back to my seat a woman asked me for a copy of the poem, I gave her the pages then and there. Rock star moment that, like I was throwing my drumsticks into the audience. That felt good.

IWPS is next, I'm getting ready.

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty.

I forgot where we were when we came across the sheet music. But I found the music to what I guess she considered 'our song.'

Looking it over, I saw it had a few easy chords, more than three though, and that I could muddle my way through it. She wanted me to play it at our wedding, but I never practiced it much and it fell through the cracks like so many things did in our time together.

Doubt I would have had the confidence to play it in front of family and friends regardless, which is probably another excuse in a seven year series of excuses from the two of us. Maybe my playing would have melted the hideously over priced claddagh ice sculpture she wanted and got. Maybe I would have smashed it with my guitar.

?/30

To the Women in My Spam Folder


Congratulations Krystina Louann, I’m sending you the iPad 2 I just won.
Hey Bertha Hoyt, you get a special 1-2-3 greeting that only you and I understand.
We need a forklift, Carol Cuevas, will you look at the prices for us?
Tell me which one is the best value
Are you in pain Annalisa Elza? I can get us a deal on Vicodin better than the House discount
We will watch the hottest shows on television, Diana Goff, with our Dish Network.
Maybe even some of ‘those’ movies
For that film making project we are working on, Connie Diamond, once you get your college degree in two weeks or less! We will apply for a federal grant.
With you Sidney Randall, I will share my free Subway for a week coupons. Fine dining guaranteed.
I’m waving with you, Tracey Whitfield, as we say goodbye to joint pain
Hester Margarete, sexy shoes will be on your feet as we enjoy our Caribbean cruise
And you, a thirty six year old female from New Carey, Texas, who keeps looking for me on mylife
You had your chance.

You Know Where I can be Found

Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play.

Sure, I'd like to play guitar like Hendrix, or Knopfler. Bang the drums the way Moon did. Blow the sax like Parker.

No one wants to play bass.

If I had my druthers I'd sit at a keyboard, play Larry Knectel's classy intro to Bridge Over Troubled Water, bang it the way Elton could.

Ultimately, I'd do an arrangement of this song on the piano.



Chick magnet.

I play guitar, A, D, E

Writing has been going slow, but steady. Not even close to 30 poems this month, but that's ok. Received some good feedback and editing advice from a fellow poet about a troubling piece. I've been frustrated with my own poetry recently and it's spread to hating on others work, which is not right. Got some feelings sorted out. It's good to be able to send something to someone, unsolicited, and to get some unconditional quality advice instead of having it ignored and unacknowledged.

Day 26 - A song you can play on an instrument.

Define play.

I know some guitar chords, but not necessarily how to put them together coherently. It was a big deal for me to get up on stage and Do the Chet a couple of weeks back. That was a first.

Again though, three chords and the truth, sometimes that's necessary. Which is what this Buddy Holly song is about. I can muddle through it. Here's the original.

You can have your feet on me, even though I’m scared of feet

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh.

A lot of interpretations here. When I was a kid I had a bunch of Dickie Goodman records. Funny stuff, when you're nine. Using the same criteria, The Streak was comedy gold.

Then more of the dark cynicism of life crossed my path, and the comedy got bleak. In my record collection there are a lot of comedy albums - Steve Martin, Python, Firesign Theater, Bill Cosby - but not a lot of comedy songs.

I've written about Annika Norlin before. She's Säkert! when she's her native Swedish and Hello Saferide in English. She's quirky, adorable and makes your brain laugh and ache - often at the same time. This song came on the in the car yesterday. My Scottish Wife and I laughed, and there you go.



I'll listen to this one, you can Do The Chet. I'll wait.

Over the Voyeur

Day 24 - A song you want played at your funeral.

One song only?

Dude, I have a playlist.

Think I'm going to give up control over the music at my own funeral?

You are nuts.

Chances are, by the time I go in for the big sleep, there will be one of those slideshows put together too.

So let the photos play on the Hi-Def screens the fancy funeral homes have these days. They will have a CD, or a thumb drive of 23 songs that can be played on repeat, but not shuffle as the order of songs is specific. Yes, I've worked it out.

Note to Scottish Wife, it's in the document file, easily found.

One may be able to guess many of the songs on the list. You may be right about many of them, but there are some curveballs. Songs to keep you on your toes while celebrating my demise.

Sports and Weddings

First up I am reading at the Columbus Arts Festival again this year. The reading is set for Saturday, June 4th at 2:20. You can see the whole Word is Art schedule here.

Thrilled that I'm not going first. Good mix of poets this year, the familiar and unfamiliar.

An early post for Saturday because I will be busy in the morning watching Everton play Manchester United.

Just watched the Sabres blow a three goal lead only to win in overtime against Philadelphia. Game six is in Buffalo on Sunday. I do not know if this Buffalo team can win a game seven on the road.

Also on Sunday is the Old Firm match. This one has some unfortunate drama as Celtic Manager Neil Lennon was targeted with a nail bomb. Luckily it was intercepted but it's yet another ugly incident for the rivalry to stomach.

Enough about sports.

Day 23 - A song you want played at your wedding.

My answer to that is which one?

At wedding one, there was no music. Maybe that's why it was a joyless marriage.

Wedding two had music, nice music. Some unexpected music. Alice Cooper and Annie's Song were played. It also had a hideous, excessive ice sculpture. More on this on day (checks sheet) 28.

Wedding three also had music. Nice music. Some unexpected music. The DJ called us to the dance floor, which was the lawn of the B&B. It was also something neither of us really wanted to do. We did not have a 'song'

But we gamely got out there and the song started, and we were confused because the song had nothing to do with us. It was also, really really long. Or it seemed that way.



We muddled through it.

I'm going to embed the original of the song, because I like it better than the cover. This is not a slam on the DJ either. He's awesome.

Sad Songs Say So Much

Day 22 - A song you listen to when your sad.

So many choices, so many eras of sad.

A lot of Beatles have been played, that was high school.

I really was not sad in college, just bat shit crazy.

In the eighties and most of the nineties I was in a trance. Kind of like college, with less pot and more alcohol. There was some sadness amidst the awkward late teen age years

Elton John's "Elton's Song" off the little remembered The Fox album was a sad unrequited love long.

John Hiatt's "She Loves the Jerk" was sad, but not sad enough to make the embedding.

The heavy sad kicked in around 1997-98. Playing XTC in the five disc changer and staring at the ceiling until it played out.

Maybe that was not quite sad either.

The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow) by The Jam is one of the saddest songs ever written by a 24 year old.

No one sings sad like Traceyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. She's not sad enough to make the cut though.

Then there was the crazy, and yes, sad time of 2006-07 when I'd be driving around playing this song on repeat. It does not have much relevance to me today, but it brings me back to a time when I was sad, dripping emo out of my poetry, with no real regrets other than being too sad too publicly.

A Fair Definition

A lot of people ask what a Poetry Slam is. There are people do not like Poetry Slam because of inner prejudices, their own insecurities or simply have never been to one to be able to adequately give it a chance.

My friend Scott Woods has given a new statement on the craft.

"They take people’s number one fear – public speaking – and commit an act of sharing so frequently personal that it staggers the mind with its audacity. It is not always great art – many are not great poets – but there isn’t one who doesn’t want to be, even fleetingly, just once, one week out of the hundreds of weeks that make up their lives. Poetry slams don’t prove that you are good. They do not require that you be good. They merely ask that you try…very publicly and democratically and by fire.

You can read the rest of the entry here.

Hey You!

Day 21 - A song you listen to when you're happy.

I've been listening to Radio 10 out of the Netherlands a bit these days. A great station that plays songs from the 60's and 70's. It plays hits but throws a lot of curve balls on. One of the following guy's other hits came on and happiness ensued.

This can also fit nicely into Day Nine.

Jackie was the shit. A lot of energy. Elvis and Michael Jackson learned a lot from him. He spent his last years in a coma and was taken from us way too soon. I own this album on vinyl. Not the single, but the whole album.



Integrated dancing too, radical for 1965. Kudos!

Anger can be power if you know that you can use it

Trying to keep productive during this mini vacation. When the weather cooperated, some yard work was done. May have finally fixed the wiring in the turntable so both channels work right. My next quest is for some retro bookshelf speakers, to go with my retro Onkyo receiver, but I may have a lead on some old school Marantz.



That image just says quad to me.

Also got some writing done. My Scottish Wife was kind enough to let me go to Writing Wrongs last night. I do not get there much to read but I had a good time with writers known and unknown. The Chet was there, hope he does his poem tonight.

Happy Earth Day.

Day 20 - A song you listen to when you're angry.

When I'm angry I generally like the music loud and fast. Punk can work. The Clash are a better fit. I discovered them a bit late, at college between the time Sandinista and Combat Rock were released. I swear the record company sent a mystery 45 before the album was released, that did not identify the artist, but the song was Should I Stay or Should I go. I did get to see them live, at Rich Stadium, opening for The Who.



They were good, but too far away. I do not think their music and presence were stadium material, we'll never know if they could have realized that potential.

This song was a good one I used to play in the bar when I was pissed off, usually at my ex. I can't embed it, but you can hear it here. It's a great song. Play this song from the only band that matters really loud!

You Better Look Out for Love

Day 19 - A Song from your favorite album

I said no repeats so Rubber Soul is out.

Next up, something a bit more recent. A record that got my ears back. It was recommended by someone who is no longer speaking to me. Got my copy from the library, it had not hit big yet so there was little wait for it.

Thirty seconds into the first song I knew I was going to love this band.

"Then we tried to name our babies,
but we forgot all the names that,
the names we used to know."

And the music was bombastic, anthems pouring out of grief. Damn near every song is from the heart. Creme brulees of sadness. So damn beautiful.

And this song. Jesus God I love this song - with its easy sing along chorus right up to the B. Bumble and the Stingers showing up at the end. It's not perfect, but it fit me at the time, and still hits me. Hard.



Arcade Fire - Wake Up, from the Funeral album.

A First?

N has been been outside today. I had the lawn mower out and he started pushing it around. It was not running. I put it in the garage and kept his wagon out. He asked for it. "I want wagon"



Later, I put both the wagon and mower in the garage and he went out again and opened the garage door. I brought the wagon back out.

He tried pushing it around like the mower, but it did not work the way he wanted and he got frustrated. Knocking the wagon over, was not a happy kid. But he persisted, and the wagon still did not do what he wanted it to do.

He went back to the garage, presumably to pull out the lawn mower, which he was not going to get.

As he closed the door, he said, "I feel sad."

Swear to God he said those exact words.

Ah, scratch my back baby

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio.

Geez, where to do you want me to start?

I've written about her extensively here, my answer remains Maria McKee.

Eighteen years later this song still has more energy than 90% of the pablum on the airwaves today.

Endure the ad, you will be rewarded by a killer cover.

This one, is easy

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio


Why I Am Ambivalent About a Certain Band

I am being followed
on my car radio
the engine comes on
if the station is in the middle of a song
the next one is that voice singing
if there is a commercial
there's that voice again, following it up
all the time
this has been going with that damn band for years

if i had a headboard in my bedroom,
I suspect that person would be hiding behind it
peering over me while i slept
why couldn't it be kate bush, beyonce or even lily allen
no
it has to be you
anthony kiedis of the red hot chili peppers
your band stalks me
on road trips
in bathroom stalls with PA systems
that track my every move
when i go to a concert
anthony kiedis, you are there as the pre show music
i hear you before i hear the band i paid to see

in my dreams that i forget you appear
shirtless, running at me in slow motion
looking like you wish you had pecs and abs like iggy pop
dressed in torn cutoff cargo pants
face painted in I do not know what
you shout at me in white boy rap
words that are not memorable
anthony kiedis, you have better teeth than I do
however the riffs you compose are flat, tuneless
yet you sell more records than i ever will
your guitar players die or go into rehab
but your band has survived for almost thirty years
longevity in today's disposable market is admirable
anthony kiedis i'll make you a deal
you get out of my head
stop following me around for a few weeks
i'll hum the song of your choice while driving my car
with the stereo switched off

It Starts with an Earthquake

Day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate

Again, hate is a very strong word. Back in the old days at Fredonia, we used to wait for the new records to come in the mail. We did not have download codes. Rarely was anything leaked to the middle of nowhere in Western New York.

Every year in the eighties there would be a new record by this band, and its arrival was celebrated.

Damn, this new record of theirs was big. College radio big. Commercial radio big. MTV big.

Loved it.

Over the years though, it got the Stairway to Heaven and Freebird number of plays. First it took on the 'oh this again, don't they play any other songs by this band?' attitude. Now, to me, it's pretty annoying.

I can't listen, but I can cut, paste and embed. You may like this song, a lot. You can have it.

Waking up, feeling rough, totally stressed

Day 15 - A song that describes you.

A curmudgeon.

According to his brother (not mine, maybe an ex though - just add sociopath), "Vain, egocentric, narcissistic arsehole."

Could only be Ray Davies, right?

Um...

When this song from his first solo record started playing I thought the guy was spying on my life.

"Right now I want some peace of mind
So let it go right over my head
Just want to give myself a little more time
And every single word that you said
Went over my head, yeah"

Truth from the world's most overlooked songwriter.

And about that Kinks reunion, It's on you now Dave!

Tougher than it seems

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love.

What would surprise you? What would surprise me.

It's not Don Ho or throat singers from Tuva.

Maybe it's this one, from my favorite musical. Yes, I have one of those.

In the original form, it was a Roger Corman film. In the eighties it became an off-Broadway musical then a big budget film. I saw it onstage and was totally charmed by the story of a boy, girl, and man-eating plant. The film was uneven, but the performances of the leads were decent. Rick Moranis, once of Canada's SCTV was pleasant enough as Seymour, but Ellen Greene, as she did onstage, made the part of Audrey her own.



I would also be greatly amiss if I did not put the great Levi Stubbs in here.

I Do The Chet

Tonight at WB I did something I've never done before. I played guitar in public for the first time. I was inspired by The Chet and the idea came to me driving home from last weeks night. My guitar skills are weak but the song only had three chords and I already knew two and a half of them. Been playing for about thirty years, but never seriously. And again, never in front of a crowd.

There was no music stand so my Scottish Wife was very helpful as you see. Vernell shot this video. The pick broke at the end. I messed up the chords, often, could not see the page because Emma was bopping (poems that make you dance!) and one lyric should be Claudia and N-Bomb instead of F-Bomb. I was terrified.

Oh hell here it is...



I hope Tim Curry does not sue me.

This is about a song, right?

Had some restorative pho at Lac Viet in the North Market. Did not quite cure what ailed me, but tasted pretty darn good. Best six dollar meal in the city.

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure.

There's something about her. The ginger hair. The sweet voice. Who knew she was over thirty? A former child star...



Then turned pop star in the swinging sixties. During her television special in 1968, she incited a furor by taking hold of Harry Belafonte's arm during a duet.

Yeah, MILF.



Even hotter in French.

Tumbling Further into the Abyss

My son has got his energy back. He's worn me out to the point of illness. I think the recent temperature changes have done that to me as well. It was thirty degrees warmer than today on Sunday. Which was when I got some yard work done, and went on the roof to make sure the gutters were secure.

Who knows when I got sick? Was coughing all day yesterday, dealing with insurance bureaucracy, a school meeting and a busy day at work.

Day 12 - A Song from a Band You Hate.

Hate is such a powerful word. Keeping with the no repeat rule, since the band I hate has plenty of songs I hate let me present you with some more musical filth.

I was part of a crowd that booed these wanker poseurs off the stage at Rich Stadium back in 1981. These sing songy twerps somehow got their way into one of the opening slots on the Rolling Stones "Tattoo You" tour. After George Thorogood donned a raincoat and blew the clouds away, these middle of the road hacks came on with their smiley waving feel good tunes that no one gave a crap about.

They left, still thinking they were loved, but did not finish their set.

Once again, because I like my readers (and there are more of you now, even if you do not comment) I will not embed the song. But if you click HERE you will see a foul site. Just looking at the lead singer's outfit is cause for a terms of service violation. You've been warned.

Out on my brain on the 5:15

Day 11 - a Song from your Favorite Band

Since I put my favorite song at day one, and vowed to not repeat any bands, I go to band two. I fell in love with this band the night of the junior prom, which I did not attend. I went with Frank to a long gone little strip mall movie theater in Bay Shore to see The Kids are Alright.

They had me at the first power chord. The first drum destruction. The first stationary bass player whose fingers moved like lightning. The first swing of the microphone cord. The first rock and roll scream.

It was this performance, not even their best, that put me over the edge.

A Sea of Honey

Day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep.

Not that this is a boring song, not in the least. But it is very relaxing.

Ariel is an uneven work of Kate's, but after twelve years of silence, not at all unwelcome. Disc two was what I listened to before bed for many months. It might not have worked for my son, nothing did, nothing does, but it helped get me to sleep.

There's no official video of this song, so enjoy this fan made effort.



Montauk is the end of the world.

Toe Tappin'

Day nine - A song you can dance to.

Dancing is not in my life description. I do not mind watching people dance, but me on the dance floor is not for anyone's senses to witness.

That said, this guy gets me shakin' a bit.



And that is an awesome hat.

Music Running Free

Day Eight - A song you know all the words to.

Man, I don't have my own poetry memorized. It's hard for my brain to memorize stanzas, choruses and shit. It's never been trained to do that.

I'm sure there are a lot of songs I can sing along with easily. Maybe I'll skip a word, or be slightly behind following along as I sing in the car (yeah, I do that sometimes)

Committing a song to memory. Pain in the ass.

For a brief, horrible, moment in high school, I was the lead singer in a band. It was 1980, a sucky year that ended a decade of suck. A year that would end in a pile of suck. My friend was in a band. I hung out with band. Did their sound. Relationships formed. Relationships broke up. There was high school drama. There was adult drama. Sound equipment was hidden. Fistfights and body slams happened, more punches were threatened in a parking lot. Van Halen blasted out of a van. Somewhere in there I was given a microphone.

It did not work. I had less stage presence than singing ability and even less of the confidence needed to fake it.

I know where the band is now, and no, they're not getting back together. Most of them are on Facebook, except the bass player. I have no idea what happened to him.

There's a tape of me singing this song, but it's hidden behind traps that would kill Indiana Jones. Don't ask me to sing it a capella, ok.

Our Music Changes Through the Years

A song that reminds you of a certain event.

I'm going to stray away from events in my life because there's something in my head that is bigger than that today.

On July 13th, 1985 I was walking down Clinton Street, a dead end street, to my job as WBUZ, a now defunct radio station that was in a double wide trailer. Pretty sure I was working the afternoon shift until sunset, when the AM radio station shut down for the day. I had my first Walkman on and was listening to the radio. Live Aid was being broadcast, and it was on every radio in the town it seemed. I remember hearing the Led Zeppelin reunion at Pizza, Wings and Things.

I'm still not sure if I actually saw Queen live that day on television or on the rebroadcast later than evening. Twenty six years of time blurs events sometimes. Watching this takes me back to that warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon. This is one of the greatest live rock performances you will ever see. Freddie Mercury not only owned the crowd at Wembley Stadium that afternoon, but the world.



He's still greatly missed.

Just realized right now this was just over two weeks before my first wedding, that blew my mind.

A Shiver in My Bones

Time to go back about thirty years.

A song that reminds you of someplace.

When I hear 10,000 Maniacs I cannot help but think of Fredonia. It was at BJ's, Rascals, the Old Main Inn, where they played their first gigs. Admission was a couple of bucks, maybe eighty nine cents, maybe even for free. As sloppy as they were and as crappy as the sound could be, there was a feeling they would go places, and they did.

I've written about this before: How Natalie talked in a weird voice because she was so insecure, how friendly the rest of the band was, how one of them ended up in my apartment. I've interviewed them for the school paper, got station ID's from two of the band members, have a signed copy of Secrets of the I Ching but regret, to this very day, not taking any pictures at the shows.

Thirty years later, the band, with a couple of personal changes (Natalie is obviously gone, replaced by Mary Ramsey. Is John Lombardo in or out this week? And Rob Buck died) is still playing live dates and recording some new tracks.

I saw them do a free show at Easton about ten years ago. Wore my BJ's shirt and waited in line at the now gone Virgin Megastore for a meet and greet after the performance. They vaguely remembered me. It was a genuine vagueness.

Here is one of their more popular songs, it describes Western New York weather perfectly.

Tea Candy at Blas

A song that reminds you of someone.

There are a few choices here. How far do I want to go back? Not much, to be honest. So I'm keeping today's post real, and very close to home.

Back in 2006, the year her country was around every corner of my life, this group showed up too. This band is her favorite.



Even though this video is another part of Stuart Murdoch's brunette fantasy, you should see how much she reads.

When I Say Assam, You Say Lovely

There's an ad before, but there's so much to love about this.



Chap-Hop. Look it up on youtube. I'm going to be laughing for hours playing this at home later.

Have You Found Another Sweetheart?

Congratulations to Scott Woods, who completed his sixth straight 24 hour poetry marathon. I was there, witnessing the halfway point. It was a rough three hours.

Two other people, Paul and Joanna were there with Scott for nearly the whole 24 hours. Congratulations to them as well. At 8AM there were four of us in the room, Paul and Joanna were dozing off and Scott was falling asleep on the mic so I had to clap appropriately, tell Scott what the last words he read were and look more awake than anyone else.

Donuts helped and Scott got through those trying hours and made it through the rest of the day to conclude the marathon with a strong hour of his own work.




Day Four - A Song that makes you sad.

So many choices here.

Nick Hornby, in High Fidelity, sad it best, "People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobodies worries about kids listening to thousands - literally thousands - of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss."

As Captain Kirk said in Star Trek V, "I need my pain!"

We seek out the sad in our music listening, perhaps to find common ground with the musician. They've been sad too, and can express it through song better than we can.

This was a tough call. No one does sad better than Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. She'll be back later in the month.

Today I'm going with this interpretation. Words by Woody Guthrie, music by Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy. This song guts me every time. Tweedy's vocal pulls me under the sand and Bennett's under acknowledged arrangement keeps me there. Billy Bragg's in the mix too. It's from Mermaid Avenue Volume One, one of the best records of the past twenty five years.

April Project - Day Three

A song that makes you happy.

There are plenty of those. Music generally alters a person's mood, right? It can be a potent as any drug.

But you put together the bass drum intro by Hal Blaine, the Wrecking Crew, the Wall of Sound and the unmistakably brilliant voice of Ronnie Spector - you get pure aural candy.

Seeing the Tree

Dinner last night was our first time at a place that's a bit alternative and off the beaten path. It was probably the last time we'll set foot in there. Not that the food was bad, it was not. I think I liked what I had more than she, and the meals were completely vegetarian, for both of us. The service left a lot to be desired. I was not expecting a white table cloth, with teams of men in tuxedos de-crumbing the tables. However, the server, who may have been the owner, was not the friendliest sort and his casualness crossed the line to indifference. Sorry we went, sir, we will not bother you again.

Our movie experience was stellar. After wandering the new Wexner Center exhibit and it's chandelier of underwear, we went to see Poetry.

After we sat down I saw a few other poet friends enter the theater. They joined us and we had a small WB clan representing at the Wex.

The film is quite profound. A woman is raising her grandson and trying to make ends meet. He is implicated in the rape and eventual suicide of the classmate. She is taking a poetry class because her sister once told her she had a 'vein for poetry.' This woman is also going through the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. The plot advances slowly but surely. The woman struggles to find her poetic voice as the rape victim's mother seeks compensation.

There are some wonderful scenes in the poetry class and one actor, who does some risque poetry, had a great impact.

The direction of Lee Chang-dong is top notch. He constructed a beautiful scene by using no dialogue, a river, a journal and rain. I have to highly praise the acting of Yoon Jeong-lee as the mother. In researching her life I see that she is an acclaimed Korean actress, and that this was her first role in sixteen years. She really took on the role of this woman, and you feel everything she experiences. See this film.



Day two of the April project now.

My least Favorite song.

Is this my most hated? A song that makes me want to break speakers? A song that makes me question the sanity of anyone who likes it? Hate is a strong word. Least favorite from my favorite band? Not in this case. And why post my least favorite song, it may cause me stress and discomfort. It may cause you stress and discomfort. It may cause my laptop stress and discomfort. Just searching for this song and embedding it gives it value. Why do I want to do that?

So here it is. I'm not going to mention it by name. Just by that song that sucks so much it makes when something actually suck seem like it shits gold.

Ha, the link cannot be embedded. You have to click here.

New Month, New Post

First off starting tomorrow night at seven, Scott Woods is doing his annual 24 hour poetry marathon. It's an amazing feat. He's been doing this for six, seven years now and has not repeated a single poem. He does a couple of hours of his own work and the rest are hours devoted to the work of single poets. Admittedly some hours are easier than others. I remember him saying that doing Leaves of Grass in the overnight hours one year was quite trying, but he seems to have made some wiser choices in recent years.

It all happens at Kafe Kerouac, corner of Northwood and High, and admission is free all weekend. Stop by and offer some support.

I'm not posting thirty poems in thirty days in April this year. I did last year and it was quite demanding. I chose the theme of autism last year and was quite challenged by the task. There was some good work done, but some seriously lacking work too.

So this year I'm doing thirty of something all month, it will not be poetry though. I'm taking that 30 songs in 30 days challenge that makes the round on Facebook.

Going to try not and simply post a link to a song, but may give an explanation, an essay and perhaps a poem or two about why the particular song was chosen. I'm also going to do my best and post thirty different songs from thirty different musicians. That's right, no repeats.

Day one: Your Favorite song.

Lists can be so general. Songs can inspire different moods at different times. If you know me you know I'm one of those Beatle people. My favorite album of theirs is Rubber Soul. It's my go to record. And here's my favorite song from it. It's calming, folksy I can almost play it on guitar and I like the feel. First, the demo.



The UK and American releases of this song have a slightly different beginning. The American version has the false start, that's the one I grew up on. I'm also including a short.



Finally, Paul's been putting this song in his sets, which is alright by me.