I “Ground Control to Major Tom,”are likely the first words any of usever heard from David Bowie. Maybe I was five, and for yearsI would hear that distinctive voiceon the radio and knew the hits, but my older siblings, the arbitersof new music into the householdnever brought home a Bowie album. I didn’t start buyingContinue reading “#628: B is for Bowie (“Five Years,” The Box)”
Tag Archives: poetry about music
#613: B is for the B-52s
One of the greatestnerd-rock bands ever, The B-52s arrived in 1979with this gem of a debut.They were not accomplished musicians, but these spirited performances completely overshadowed what they may have lacked in precision, or what the serious musicians might have called “chops.”I might have been one of those dismissive listeners. I can imagine myself sayingContinue reading “#613: B is for the B-52s”
#612: B is for Beauty Pill
I’ve got to get my alphabet shitback together. They say smoke follows Beauty but damn it, BECK follows Beauty too. And so here I am with another corrective, trying to write a poem-like-thing about an absolute favoritediscovery of the lastfew years, Beauty Pill. My friend Ericturned me on to this band a few years ago.Continue reading “#612: B is for Beauty Pill”
#611: B is for Beck
New stylus acquired and installed. I asked the guy, can you look me upin your system, and tell me when I bought this turntable? Sure, he said,and he looked me up. He said, 2017. We had a laugh, then, didn’t we? I hadn’t changed my stylus in almost nine years, and I listen to aContinue reading “#611: B is for Beck”
We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program To Bring You This Breaking News Announcement
In my project of listening to (nearly) every single record in my collection from A to Z and then writing a little poem-like-thing for every artist represented, I have come to the conclusion that my turntable needle is shot to hell. For a while there, I was making annotations to the effect that certain recordsContinue reading “We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program To Bring You This Breaking News Announcement”
#610: B is for The Beach Boys
Don’t start with me. I know my alphabet. But when recordsare inside ordered boxes as opposed to longuninterrupted shelves, it’s easy to sneak anartist into a box before it belongs. Bears go before Beatand Beatles, and Beachgoes before Bearsand Boys go before Houses. The other benefit of going through my collectionin this way is theContinue reading “#610: B is for The Beach Boys”
#609: B is for The Bears
By the time I get out of the B section of the alphabet, It turns outthat Adrian Belew will have appeared threetimes in three differentpoems representing three different artists. This is his second arrival, as the front man and collaborative songwriterfor a short-lived, once-reunited, fouralbum-making band called The Bears. As much as I was interestedContinue reading “#609: B is for The Bears”
#608: B is for The Beatles
I I couldn’t have beenmore than five or sixyears old, sitting on the floor of my sister’s bedroomin front of her portable suitcase record player spinning Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandover and over. Too youngto understand the magnitudeof their success or brilliance, and too young to be susceptible to whatever commercial influences mighthave beenContinue reading “#608: B is for The Beatles”
#606: B is for Beach House
My music listeninghas become so obsessivethat one night I dreamabout the Beach House album. In the dream, the albumbecame like a movie I was watching. In fact, there was no music, just people doing things, saying things, none of which I can remember now, none of which had any connection to the band or the record, save thatthe image of theContinue reading “#606: B is for Beach House”
#605: B is for The Babys
The Babysopen with strings. Soften the impactbefore the giant guitar riffs begin. Appropriately, the lyrics at least in the first few songscontain a voluminoususe of the word “baby.” But these guys rockedpretty hard, despitehow cute they were, and you know, thatJohn Waite characterwould go on to havea long, successful careerbecause he could reallysing the shitContinue reading “#605: B is for The Babys”
michael jarmer 