Reading Saul Williams

Saul Williams is an artist of words.
He has been around for quite a while, but only recently discovered by me.
Lately I have been swimming in him, soaking in his words, being penetrated by his energy. In the last week I have read three of his books, SHE, said the shotgun to the head, and The Dead EMCEE Scrolls.
Wow.
Saul is a poet, timeless and yet timely.
I am grateful to have discovered his words.

This is but a brief sample:

they say
that i am a poet

i wonder what
they would say
if they saw me
from the inside

i bottle
emotions
and place them
into the sea
for others
to unbottle
on distant shores

i am unsure
as to weather
they ever reach
and for that matter
as to whether
i ever get
my point
across

or my love

even my pen man ship
throws thoughts overboard
into a black sea

and how many thoughts perish
before they reach the page?

--- Saul Williams, SHE, 1999

Where Is My Hair?

Wild weekends
Spent with wild women
Result in realignments
And renegotiations
With the material world
The boundaries of my mind
Are not the boundaries
Of my skull
Of my brain
Of my capacity to speak
Words which though clear
Concise
Syntactically correct
Do not come close
To containing the meaning
The knowledge
The experience
Which lures me onward
Then knocks me on my ass
Struck dumb
So that all I can manage
Is to watch my breath
That cosmic in and out
To be aware of my breath
And the thump, thump, thumping
Of my heart
Pump, pump, pumping
The contents of the
Entire fucking world
In and out of
That cosmic me
Like sticky syrup
Not always sweet
But sustaining
Thump, pump, fucking
Through my veins
Weather vanes
All expressions are in vain
True poetry a pain
In my dumb ass
As I sit
In the presence of
God ESS ness
Dumb founded
Pointing with a child’s finger
To the reflection of the moon
In the still waters
Of an ocean
We are all rushing toward

Shadow of a Wing

There once was a man who thought himself king
His kingdom was small
Composed of many cages
Song birds in them all
Waited on by no pages
All their needs met by the man who thought himself king

Sweet song for the dawn
Mournful song for the moon
Song issued from all the small cages
The man wondered what song
The birds would sing for the wind
But he could not bear to free them
So he paraded them each day
Down the towns dusty streets
Hands loaded with wire cages

The townspeople were greeted
Each day around noon
By whispering songs on the wind
The songs made them feel hopeful
Yet strangely forlorn
When the twittering faded into the distance

There was a man who thought himself king
He ruled over many small cages
Birds sang in them all
Until one day while taking his walk through town
All the bird fell silent, never to sing again
When the shadow of a wing fell upon them

One wild cry
Came down from the sky
And the shadow of a wing fell upon them

---------
Shadow of a Wing, Acrylic, Ink & Paper on Canvas

Jammed Up at the Crossroads

Too many chosen people
Jammed up at the crossroads
Confused about what to do
With prophets made of stone

Again
You gotta keep those redhead girls
Firmly on your side
They know where bones are buried
They know those fears you hide
Pickled in a secret jar
Not deep but very wide

Again
Too many one-eyed captains
Too many monkey ships
Jammed up at the crossroads
Where even elephants forget

Again

-----

Jammed Up at the Crossroads, Acrylic, Paper & Ink on Canvas

Time to Paint

It’s my birthday. I’m 44.
My wife asked me what I wanted.
I said, I feel a painting coming on.
So she gave me a whole day to paint.
And this is what came of it.
Two pictures, like bookends.
I put Saul Williams and John Mayers on the stereo.
I put them on repeat.
You can see their music running as a white line,
A cardiograph of sound cutting through the clutter.
I took a deep breath.
I trusted my mind, my intuition.
And created something I still do not know the meaning of.
I will put up better pictures one day when I’m older.

For now I am just happy to have created something.

Listening To: The Apples In Stereo

New Magnetic Wonder by The Apples in Stereo
I have to admit that I have never listened to these guys before. But I downloaded their newest album from eMusic.com and have found it to be an addictive package of lovely tunes. I don’t know what the band sounded like previously, but on this album they seem to be channeling the ghosts of many 70’s pop icons. You can hear Beach Boys and Beatles influences, especially George Harrison-esc turns of phase on songs like “Energy.” There are lush Electric Light Orchestra moments complete with vocoder chorus in “Same Old Drag,” that will make my friend Steve (an old ELO fan) swoon with nostalgia.

But for all the classic pop influences, the Apples still manage to make the album feel fresh and not just derivative. There are a lot of tracks on the album because there are 12 “link tracks” between the more conventional tunes, so if you are paying by the song for downloads skipping these short tracks might save some money. But I found the whole collection worthwhile, fun and groovy.

And it’s got a great beat and you can dance to it…4 out of 5 stars for this gem.

Flying Lessons

At dusk a strange bird
Appeared to the assembly
Crying, calling
A coven to convene
Chanting, weaving
Stories kind and devilish
Building momentum
Whirling like a dervish
Shining light blinding
Stretching out his shadow
Casting it beneath our feet
For all and one to see
Tracing out patterns
Holy and obscene
Blessing, baptizing
Inviting the willing
We soar for an hour
On borrowed crows wing
Flying, wheeling
Returning for a landing
Excited and relieved
Panting, sweating
Unchanged and yet redeemed
Tales will be told tonight
Told, but not believed

Listening to Stuart Davis Live

March 3rd, 2007
After having dinner with Stuart Davis, we all headed to the Tractor Tavern and got great front row seats for the show. The crowd was not huge, about 70 people I would estimate, but the Tractor is not a very large club so it did not feel empty.

Stuart performed solo with just his acoustic guitar for accompaniment. He started right off with a version of Good Wyrd from his ?What album. Stu is able to produce a very full sound for a solo performer. He has a strong vocal style and an intimate mastery of his guitar. He even managed to use the stage like a kick drum adding a thumping bass to many of his songs.

Stuart’s sense of humor was on good display. After the first song he joked that we had just heard the only song he had written. He was very proud of it, but now he realized that a concert really should include more than just one song, no matter how good it was. Later after singing a song, he said that he had written us a new song while performing the previous one. Now that is talent!

Davis played lots of tunes from his new album, but he also played older songs and asked the audience to call out requests. From the number of suggestions shouted out it was obvious that the crowd was very familiar with his work. Stuart is a charismatic performer and he has an easy going yet fearless manner which really helps him to connect with his audience. And his engaging blend of irreverent humor and spiritual depth makes him a unique artist.

There was a fashion show going on just down the street from the club, so Stuart had great fun trying to convince the entire audience to strip naked and crash the fashion show with him right after the gig. He claimed that David Bowie would want us to do it, and he sang a few bars of Bowie’s Fashion to motivate us.

Earlier at dinner, I had complained to Stuart that I had still never heard a full version of his song, Ladder from his Self Titled 2003 album. I had only heard portions of the song on the Kosmos CDs by Ken Wilber. I have tried to purchase the album from Stuart twice but received the new ?What album by mistake. So I was pleased and honored when Stuart closed the show by playing Ladder for us. It is a great song about evolution and spiritual development. “The higher that we climb, the more the ladder sways. There is more to evolution than a little DNA.”

After the show Davis sold CDs and took time to talk with everyone who waited in line to see him. He remembered many of the fans and there were lots of hugs going around.

Stuart Davis is an interesting and talented musician and an engaging performer. After enjoying his studio work it was thrilling to see him perform live in such an intimate setting. If you ever have a chance to see Stuart Davis live, do it!

Thanks Stuart for a great show and a memorable evening. Love and hugs.

Hanging Out with Stuart Davis

March 3rd was a memorable evening for a lucky group of people in Seattle, me and my wife included. We got to hang out with musician and artist Stuart Davis before his show at the Tractor Tavern.

I discovered Stuart through his work at Integral Institute, especially Integral Naked. As I was eagerly awaiting his Seattle appearance I discovered that there is a local group of Integral fans, Seattle Integral, and that several of them were planning on getting together for dinner before the show. So I told my wife, Evelyn, that we should drop by the Tai restaurant and see if we could figure out which table was the Integral table. Unfortunately, I had never met anyone from the group and had only found one picture online of one of the members named Gary Stamper. As luck would have it, there was Gary looking just like his picture, sitting right by the window.

Evelyn and I introduced ourselves and started talking with the great folks from Seattle Integral (all of whose names I do not remember) when this very tall young man came in and started giving hugs all around the table. It was none other than Stuart Davis, the man we had all come to see that evening. Stu sat down next to me and we talked and ate dinner together.

Stuart talked about a movie project he is working on. Evelyn and I gave him advice on parenting two girls, something we have in common. We talked about music, film, art, kids, relationships, Mormonism, Ken Wilber and lots more. I found him to be as intelligent, funny and articulate in person as he is in his work. Everyone at the table had a fantastic time, including Stuart.

Stuart left after another round of hugs to go do his pre-show sound check, and we all settled up our bill and walked down the street to the Tractor Tavern for the show. See the next post for details of the show. After the show most of us got together with Stuart at a nearby bar and shared some more stories before the evening came to a close.

A good time was had by all and I look forward to getting together with the Seattle Integral gang again in the near future. I’m also looking forward to a new live CD Stuart recently recorded and any other new work he blesses us with. Sometimes it pays off when you just barge in and introduce yourself to strangers.

Thanks Stuart for being such an open and sharing guy! We hope to see you in Seattle again as soon as possible.

In Like a Lion

We have been getting more snow in Western Washington. This has been a wild winter already, and we have all been looking forward to spring. Suddenly the Equinox looks far away...
I told my daughter, Chani, that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But she says that this March is way too white and fluffy to be a lion, so it must be coming in like a lamb. I hope not, because that means the month might go out like a lion.

Here is a classic haiku about snow and much more:

Just being here,
I am here,
And the snow falls.
--- Issa

Monkeys in Space

Sometimes I get nostalgic
For futures that died in the past
Strap on your jet pack
Grab your favorite monkey
And ride that rocket to the moon

What Do We Know?

Who am I?
Who are we?
Who asks the questions?
Who has these thoughts?
Who feels these emotions?
Who is aware of sensations?
Who is aware of this awareness?

Why are these questions so much more satisfying than the so called answers?

What do we know?

I AM in this moment what I AM

Next question?

Cleaning Mirrors, Finding Windows

I want to climb higher but
I keep missing the ladder
Blinded by the inner light
Falling into Freudian basements
Filled with Jungian archetypes

But congested cognitive maps
Tangled with twisted developmental lines
Just add to the confusion of my
Moral, interpersonal, emotional,
Psychosexuality, know what I mean?

The whole parts of my holons
Contest the content of my consciousness
Leaving an empty space
In which all phenomena arise
Butterfly dreams and lazy candle flames

Spiraling around the value core
I desperately want to survive this magic
This impulsive, purposeful achievement
I want to commune with the starry net
That holds the world within the heavens

But I have to take my ox to the marketplace
Afterwards, maybe we can get together for a time
Over tea at that little café near the traffic circle
You can always get a window seat
And I will join you there

Oscar Night Review

Sunday was Oscar night. The red carpet was rolled out. All the pretty starlings were wearing their designer dresses. All the networks were there, cameras flashing, video rolling. So I think I should give you the Thunder Echo Review of Oscar Night 2007.

I didn’t watch the Oscars.
I watched Anna & the King, which I believe won an Oscar once upon a time, with my family. It was a great movie. And my youngest got some idea of why her teachers told her she reminds them of Jody Foster. She is a strong-willed girl with a lot of brains and a huge heart. Chani gets my nomination for best 6th Grader in a starring role.

I heard on the news this morning that Little Miss Sunshine got an award. I saw that movie and thought it was hilarious. I thought it was a great view into dysfunctional American families. So I’m cool with that one.

I heard that An Inconvenient Truth won Best Documentary. I own a copy on DVD and I have read the book. It was a well produced documentary about a topic that should be a no-brainer for anyone who has been paying attention for the last 30 years. But I keep forgetting that people don’t pay attention. I’ll have to pay more attention to that.

Other than that, I’m not too interested in the Oscars.

Boogie with Stu

I have advance tickets to see Stuart Davis live at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle next Saturday, March 3rd.
Stuart Davis is one of the most interesting musical artists I have been exposed to in years. And he has strong connections to Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute. I will be sure to give a review after the show. But if you are in the Seattle area and love quirky well played pop music with real depth, then get your arse to the show this Saturday.