Music as Theatre Lab
"I asked some of my favorite songwriters to make videos of their tunes.
Check these out…"
/stew
Static Eccentricity, like all of Ty Barnes’ work, is honest, unexpectedly funny and wise.
The charge inside my neurons
Have nurtured art for eons.
They light the skies like fireflies
But die before the dawn.
But when I see what’s going on
The spark is gone
I sing her a melody,
An offering of creativity
Even if it’s temporary
Or devoid of any clarity
++++++
Brianna Gonzales’ “soulmate su” asks…
what do you do
when the script don’t work for you?
you improvise
...which is fitting advice, yesterday, (especially) today and always.
And then there is…
what do you do
when the sky don’t look blue?
you get a second pair of eyes
This song is your second pair of eyes.
It’s on you to find your third.
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Hallie Riddick’s Northern Train carries a tale of hometown escapades…
Takin’ rides in your mustang
Yellin’ at the world till it sang
and dreams of leaving…
I can see your face now
You got a ride and hitched out of town
and the reality of returning…
Lookin’ for a bigger dream
Just to come back and sell by a screen
Lots of us have returned home lately.
This song was not written about our current situation
but it’s hard to not think of how it applies.
I can see your face now
You got a ride and hitched out of town
Just to go down the drain
And come back on the northern train
+++
Kasey Britt’s Coke & Nuts performs a vital public service as it charitably informs the previously unenlightened among us that…
In the South there’s a tradition for a good old hearty snack
You git yourself a Coca-cola and a peanut pack
You mix the two together, dump the salty in the sweet,
And thus you have created your own two dollar treat
I draw a line between my pre and post awareness of Coke & Nuts.
Life hasn’t been the same since.
And to address any confusion you, dear listener, may have…
Do I mean Cola or cocaine, the world will never know
Do I want a wholesome snack or do I just want blow?
By nuts do I mean peanuts or just testicles?
Either way that salty taste beats any vegetable
Food Channel, are you listening???
+++
In Maddie Aldecoa Ghost Story we find a poet who writes songs.
But you would’ve figured that out yourself just by listening…
I’m missing a good old fashioned ghost story
Where we turn to birds above the apothecary
There hang the words and the berries
When it goes, well it heaves real slow
I haven’t taken the time to look like you thought I might
You caught me with the bed unmade appreciating morning light
I ride side saddle for days trailing chains just like a kite
When it goes, well it heaves real slow
Can’t shake the pressure to change
Lights out and i'm still the same
All of my limbs turn to dust In the river
While a blackbird on the ridge watches me deliver
A sermon to the slugs and the fish while I shiver
When it goes, well it heaves real slow
When it goes, well it heaves real slow
It’s sorta unfair when poets are also capable of writing such great songs.
However, that’s a kind of unfairness in our world I can happily live with.
+++
Maura Hrynczyszyn sings…
I want to be a Franciscan nun
And get laid steadily
And while I’m sure this is a thought we’ve all had on occasion,
no one can quite sing it like Maura.
We’re actualizing emptiness
We are nothing without everything else
Intrinsic to this beautiful mess
The algae, the fish, the grouse
And the littlest creatures
Make the majority of our atmosphere
We’ve got something right right here
These are profound, beautiful and useful words to hear these days.
Maura puts it all into perspective by stretching our perspective.
+++++++++++++++++++
Zach’s paean to everyone’s favorite “island franchise”…
When I was just fourteen
I turned on CBS
…is funny, sincere and moving…
And so I watched survivor
And five were
A voting block that night
God it felt so right
A new
Way to excite
…giving new meaning to the words “reality show.”
And so I watch survivor
I thrive stirring in the television light
Dreaming of the night
When I
Will get to fight
++++++++++
Meaghan Bonds’ stained glass sun is just beautiful to look at and listen to. Art as invite to thoughtful visitation - sounds and pictures as vacation - your ticket to storyland. We all want to live in that video and in that song as well, right now.