Song For the Philopoets by Dan Hedges

The world has crowned you with the phrase

‘industrial unit’, and despite the economic

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

surround, you strive to grow into

the term ‘philopoet’. In this struggle to

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

be free, you repeat the words to yourself,

“don’t let the intellect bully the heart.”>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It is clear that she has nurtured numbers,

and you have preferred imagination,

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

all this time, and will never regret it.

She will never appreciate that it takes bird

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

aesthetics to sanctify the light, though she

never noticed the light of her noticing to begin

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

with. It is, after all,

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

the case, that we are using words to absorb

the severe angles of our sacrosanct madness,

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

not to mention our nether-space visions that

shuffle into the haunting tense.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We are using words as nether-space conduits through

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

which we cause to fortify the god metaphor with

linguistic spells of lucid somethingness.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We are mischief in the Nietzscharium, and

she is the reason for our semantic word harvest,

in the first place.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

‘She’ is the world, and ‘you’ are you.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Suddenly, the conundrum breaks into it’s

mathematical parts, causing stare-downs

with the Fibonacci entry points into

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

all abstract semantic buzz.  Instead of

closure, it all ends with urgency.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dan Hedges is the editor of  HUMANIMALZ Literary Journal. His writing appears in The Monarch Review, The Apeiron Review, and more than ninety other journals.  He writes out of a small white house in rural Quebec.  He teaches English near Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Song from the Uproar: An Interview with Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek.


_DSC1390

Abigail Fischer and Now Ensemble and Aaron Roche performed SFTU at Le Poisson Rouge, Dec 2012

Song from the Uproar originally premiered at The Kitchen in Feb 2012 and was reprised at Le Poisson Rouge this past December with the NOW Ensemble and Abigail Fischer. Aaron Roche also performed and video was shown from Stephen Taylor. The narrative of SFTU revolves around Isabelle Eberhardt, a gender defying Swiss explorer and journalist who kept extensive diaries of her extraordinary lifestyle in the 1800s. In the early 1900s she moved to Algeria where she wore the garb of men and called herself, Si Mahmoud Essadi. She married an Algerian solider, and was eventually killed by a flood in 1904, after an early assassination attempt. Creator Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek were interviewed about the project below.

WATCH SFTU TRAILER.  
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT.

Continue reading

THE WEEK/WEEKEND: Nov 9-14.

SANDY FUNDRAISERS:

GREENPOINTERS ONLINE RAFFLE
Brooklyn Relief: A night of words, music, and comedy to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

THE KITCHEN: FUNDRAISER
Fuck. Off. Sandy. // Vintage Crawl // Dog Masquerade
New Amsterdam Headquarters Fundraiser
Defiance: A Literary Benefit to Rebuild Red Hook
ROB DELANEY Benefit
FASHION ACTION AT HOUSING WORKS
SPIRITUAL LEADERS AND ELDERS | PRAYER | LIVE MUSIC | FOOD | HEALING
SANCTUARY | ARTISAN MARKET
BROOKLYN LOVES BROOKLYN
QMA ROCKAWAY FUNDRAISER
“Anything But Politics” – A Pop Culture Trivia Benefit for Hurricane Sandy Relief
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ED OSBORNAlbedo Prospect

Party + Auction + Community = TLC for an Ailing DUMBO
FOOD EVENTS FROM GRUB ST
Bushwick Star Auction
HURRICANE SANDY FUNDRAISER WITH…NASS GNAWA

Continue reading

Track Number Nine: song for the untitled.



TRACK NINE: song for the untitled from Tommy Becker on Vimeo.

“All things come out of the One and the One out of all things.” – Heraclitus, 500BC

Track Number Nine: song for the untitled | 3min 40sec | DV | 2004
Track Number Nine is a celebration of the unknown. It’s an embrace of the often obscured unity presented to us by the twisting opposites continually untangling in our fragile lives.

video & music: written, recorded, performed and edited by T.Becker| bck voice – E.Becker | 2004 | found film footage from Prelinger Archives

WEBSITE.

Track Number Seven: song for disobedient youth.



TRACK SEVEN: song for disobedient youth from Tommy Becker on Vimeo.

“Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” – J.K. Rowlings

Track Number Seven: song for disobedient youth | 2min 35sec | DV | 2008
It’s a natural response for teenagers to question and react against their cultural conditioning. Song for Disobedient Youth is an exhortation to embrace unfettered joy and chaos before the agonies of adulthood set in. It invites the viewer to momentarily indulge in the fantasy of youthful rebellion, self-discovery, recklessness, love, disregard, dream and contempt that continues to escape us as we are pulled further into the constructs of age and culture.

Written, recorded and edited by T.Becker | 2008 | still images – thank you students | found film footage from Prelinger Archives

WEBSITE.

TRACK THREE: song for hellos and good-byes.



TRACK THREE: song for hellos and good-byes from Tommy Becker on Vimeo.

“We die to each other daily. What we know of other people is only our memory of the moments during which we knew them.”
― T.S. Eliot

Track Number Three: song for hellos and goodbyes | 2min 35sec | DV | 2010
This short video poem is dedicated to the fleeting relationships which so often percolate through contemporary life. Song for Hellos and Goodbyes leads viewers through the birth and death of a romantic relationship using the cliché lines of purchased gift cards. Within the script, a second voice emerges to reveal a more authentic picture as the relationship blossoms, sours and disappears.

video & music: written, recorded, performed and edited by TBecker | 2010 | text compiled from a variety of gift cards at the local grocery

WEBSITE.

TRACK TWO: song for the fate of animals.



TRACK TWO: song for the fate of animals from Tommy Becker on Vimeo.

“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.” ~ Chief Seattle

Track Number Two: song for the fate of animals | 2min 10sec | DV | 2003
Track Number Two is a celebration of the wild. It’s a war chant heard bellowing from the mouths of animals as they march, fly and slither down the streets in protest. Images of the untamable flash across the screen as a stream of consciousness unfolds. A recited mantra drives the pack to the beating of tribal drums. Titled after one of his paintings, “song for the fate of animals” is dedicated to Franz Marc, an artist who expressed so much beauty before witnessing so much death.

Written, recorded, performed and edited by T.Becker | 2003 | found footage – Prelinger Archives | still images – Google

WEBSITE.

TRACK ONE: song for a significant other.



TRACK ONE: song for a significant other from Tommy Becker on Vimeo.

“pulling down the sky to give you the sun”

Track Number One: song for a significant other | 1min 50sec | DV | 2005
After piecing together a yellow outfit from second hand stores, the simple act of jumping is turned into a performed act of giving as a figure struggles to transform himself into the sun. Track Number One was a belated birthday present and is a gift to be shared with others, especially the artists who continue to exercise their light and amuse their imaginations.

video & music – written, recorded, performed and edited by T.Becker | 2005

WEBSITE.

The 22 Playlist #3 (Threefifty), August 31, 2012.

We’ve got a special playlist this week, curated by and dedicated to the sonorous sounds of Threefifty and friends. Threefifty is currently trying to raise money for their third album and today is the last day to donate! Although they’ve reached a goal of around $2200, they need more like $7000 to create something truly spectacular. They’ve called on friends who are stellar musicians to help build this playlist. Ranging from the building block strings of Redhooker, to the randomized perfection of Dither, to the stripped down tones of Runaway Dorothy, each of these bands is special not only musically but as avid supporters, friends, brothers, and lovers of Threefifty. This playlist is truly amazing, please take a listen and HELP SUPPORT!

DONATE LINK: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/threefifty/collapses

To check out artist’s websites, video and to buy tracks please visit the single tracks here.