JD Green Rocks the FunkyJazz, Yo!

Last month, I was freaking out. Pretty hard, yo. You see, as a recent discoverer of my own race, I needed suggestions for some good, greasy FunkyJazz. Now, what is FunkyJazz you ask? Well, I'm not sure. But, I know The Brooklyn Jazz Essentials are FunkyJazz. They were reccomended by a, er...fellow Cave Canem Fellow. And, they were supremely Funky and Jazzy. But I was still on the lookout. Then Thelonious Monk was suggested, and that scene rocked my world as well. And then...

On Facebook I found out a CC Fellow JD Green (http://jdgreensoul.com/) had just released her new FunkyJazz album, "diurnal movements". I skipped to Amazon and downloaded it, and, um...wow. Although not greasy at all (in fact, it kinda sounds like Vegitarian Jazz -- light on the grease, heavy on the healthy on the heart) it sounded so good I added "diurnal movements" to my playlist, which includes BJE and Thelonious among other classics.

The first thing I noticed about this album is how clean it sounds. It's like JD is singing right into my ear herself. It's very uncluttered music, which I really appreciate.

The second thing I noticed was the song Funky Soul. Now, what I was looking for was FunkyJazz, but hey. Beggars can't be choosers, and when music is this good (and it's just the "interlude") it's like not even having to make a choice. I used to listen exclusively to Tool, A Perfect Circle and the like. Now, instead of dark Cerberus-style music, my home is filled with love and light. My sons are happier, and the wife is glad I'm listening to music that can both be meditated upon and the background of our, umm...lives. You know, cleaning, cooking and the like.

The best thing about this album is the lyrical quality of the lyrics, especially in the song Commute, which you, dear readers (all five of you) have GOT to listen to. Now, first off, it is a poem committed to music. But it's a really, really good poem, with some really, really fantastic music. I feel guilty listening to this song, because I'm a married man, and the hottness of voice makes me blush, especially when JD hits the nail on the head with the song's reference to old-fashioned candy. That brand of lyric really hits my God Module. Here's some lyrics (I hope the artist doesn't mind):

first kiss

From what I remember

it took some doing

we had to practice

I needed steps, directions

and your willingness

eased my smile.

Was it over the course of days?

Uh, unh, a week.

Each day, after school

your Auntie in the Probe ("Probe" may not be the right word, if not, my bad)

we in the kitchen

smiling but serious.

Ready for the lesson.

Yes. Ahem. Very sensual, very smooth, very I Want to Take Lessons Like These. JD makes old-fashioned candy the perfect metaphor for new love. This song (checking in at over 8 minutes) is reason enough to check out this awesome, awesome album. Do it for America, people. And thanks, JD, for working so hard that folks like me with no musical talent can enjoy some very, very fine FunkyJazz.

-- thebone

This Coffee is Strong, Yo!

...and thanks to Aaron Stuvie for getting me started on this with his whole ",Yo!" blog inclusion. Anywho, this coffee is strong, yo! And I can't even believe what has already happened today. I rebooted my iPod but that's not all! I wrote a poem about the flooding in Pakistan. It's below.

NPR said money isn't getting to the children fast enough. Yeah, it's children. They say that it may be, in part, because the flooding happened over several days and wasn't a sudden inundation. They said if it was sudden, like a car wreck, people would identify and send more aid. Since it's slow, like cancer, they said many people were all like, "meh!" Can you believe it? Oh, and they have nukes. Just FYI n all.

I got a poem forthcoming in Breadcrumb Scab! It's my piece about sex slavery in America, "Escape from North Korea." I'd publish that one, but I can't really have it online. This coffee is pretty strong. It's Folgers Black Silk. We have coffee coming in the mail from Oregon where we went for my BFF's wedding. It's Fair Trade and Organic and All Natural, and Pakistani children are dying. Wonder what the Taliban is up to 'round those parts. Am I having a panic attack? I hope not, although the doctor IS in Wakefield this morning (we get doctors 2 days a week!). I sure can't wait for that Oregon coffee. Everyone drinks coffee up that way, and a lot of it! Do I need sugar? I do!

Three Million Pakistanis

When the flood becomes more intimate,

becomes a slow moving cancer

instead of immediate inundation,

a tree falling in a faraway forest

do we find it easier to ignore the thoracic burble?

Do we sleep in, greedy for relative peace

and the quiet of drier pillows? We had French toast

for our breakfast. The kids were tired

and we gave them hugs on their way

to the first day of school. The young one

had a sugary shirt, the old one no time to shower.

The wife and I made love last night. Enjoyed

the bodies moisture and mingled sweat. I remember

the blackberry scratches on my arm hurt a little.

I remember a mosquito’s desperate hum in my ear.

I poured a bucket of water onto dry, cracked ground

where grass had died in our back yard last

4^th of July. Watched the dirt sop it up too quickly

to become mud. I heard water and food

were coming slowly because the water came slowly,

remember how I heard since it wasn’t quick like Katrina

the suffering quickly became blasé. Easier to ignore.

This coffee is strong, and it is priming my bowels to move.

I’ll most likely read a magazine

before flushing that part of me down.

Man, I miss meth sometimes, yo!

Yo! Man, I miss meth sometimes, yo!

Actually, not methamphetimine itself, but the total lack of responsibility that comes with lighting up a fresh glass. I remember just sitting in my chair at 409 Windom grilling wings and smoking meth. I was way too drunk and high to pull it off though, and ended up burning the food. That happened a lot, actually. See? You don't have to be responsible when smoking meth, snorting Ambien, drinking Wild Turkey and grilling out. I used to come home all the time and open the grill to get 'er ready and finding last night's "supper" there.

Why is "supper" in quotes? Simple -- I never ate anything I grilled!

I'm better now. Why this post? Well, I was jamming to Recovery by Eminem and folding the laundry and it hit me -- if only I could smoke a great big glassa meth, all this laundry would go away...but so would my wife, my kids, my education, my job...the list goes on, yo!

The bird clock is singing 3:00. Actually, it's singing 7:00 cause the batteries went out 'n' I haven't bothered to fix it. NO, I'm NOT on meth...pinkie swear!

-- The Bone

Prison Rape Poems

Hi there!

Today I'm starting my research into prison rape for a series of poems I'm writing. It's pretty threatening stuff actually. I just sent an email to several folks connected with the Nebraska State Corrections Facility. I'm wondering if they will be of any help...I'd hate to have to get a Freedom of Information Act packet and do this the hard way.

There is actually quite a bit of research on the net about this, ranging from Maxim interviews with Mike Tyson (!) to actual accounts from inmates. The content is OK, but I think actual interviews would help with the personae in a more personal way.

I wonder if there are any retired corrections officers out there? If you are one, get hold of me!

- The Bone

Cave Canem

Hi No one!

Just getting ready for Cave Canem by making the boys (my 2 sons and nephew from Kearney) chicken wings on the grill. Can't really say how I feel about either activity. The grill is on, and the suitcase is on the bed. I'm pretty excited. I'll probably burn the chicken!

--the bone