In this episode, I read two of Al's unpublished poems that he gave me. "A Plastic Haiku for The Bruce," which for me, immediately summons an image of the two of them sitting at a bar, laughing hysterically, and "Tonight: This Business of Mortality," which is vintage Hellus - his depth and insight, the kind of work that makes him one of my favorites. Way back in Episode #4, I dedicated a show to Al when he passed, where you can hear some more of his poetry. Also, one of his poems, from our book Saginaw Songs, can be found here.
The music in this week's episode is The Plastic Haiku Band doing their version of Allen Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California." The Plastic Haiku Band featured Hellus' poetry and Crawley on bass, Shabazz on percussion, Mike Brush on keyboards, Mark Dault on drums and John Rickert on trumpet.
Click below to listen:
Report #51
Marc-- I tried to copy the poem I wrote for Al's wake into this space, but for some reason known only to computers, it didn't work. Your show today nearly brought me to tears. In the words of Joni Mitchell: "...you don't know what you got till it's gone." So great to hear Al's voice again. Those were great years. Thanks, man.
ReplyDeleteJim Crissman