Show 29: The Cafe is Open

set list

Part I
holmes bros.: shine
susan tedschi: rock me right
mike ness: don't think twice

Part II
primal scream: movin on up
velvet underground: new age

Part III
Liner Notes Presents: SOUL POSITION--EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH RJ & AL

Manuscript Radio Poetry Cafe Presents. . .

Dan Waber

For more info on Dan, check out:

Otoliths Magazine
Dan's own page: Logolalia
Paper Kite Press
The 365 poetry project

Mission #28 Code Name: AWOL

Set List:

Bobby Womack: Across 110th St
Matt Guitar Murphy: Gonna Be Some Changes Made
Primal Scream: Movin on Up

Spinners: 1 Kind of Love Affair
Mississippi John Hurt: C-H-I-C-K-E-N
Holmes Bros.: Run Myself Out of Town
Bettye LaVette: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Jeff Buckley: Satisfied Mind


LINER NOTES PRESENTS: WAYNE COCHRAN- THE WHITE KNIGHT OF SOUL 59-72
Harlem Shuffle
Last Kiss
CC Rider
Get Ready
No Rest for the Wicked







War: Spill The Wine
Rory Gallagher: Callin' Card
Stevie Wonder: Livin' For The City

Eddie Palmieri: Tema del Appolo
Tom Waits: Johnsburgh, IL
Elmore James: The Sky is Cryin'

Return of Bibbi?

Soon. I promise. Mama's got something big brewin'! Until then,

April 25, 2006, 7 p.m. CUNY, Proshansky Auditorium, Fifth Avenue @ 34th Street, New York, NY

Free

The Academy of American Poets presents a reading by Sonia Sanchez, the judge of the 2005 Cave Canem Prize, along with Constance Quarterman Bridges, winner of the 2005 contest, and the prize finalists Christian Campbell and Raina Leon.

Edmund White, My Lives

Come on over to the Strand Bookstore. That's 12th and Broadway NYC, kids!

April 25 06:30PM - 08:00PM

Essayist, novelist, biographer (of Proust and Genet), travel writer, critic and all-around man of letters, Edmund White now turns the pen on himself in this autobiographical collection of meditations on his life. Essays on White's divorced parents—his conservative Republican father and hard-working, indulgent mother—are followed by "My Hustlers," which features the kind of candid writing about sex and relationships that has made White a gay icon.
Reading, Q&A and signing.

DangerDoom!

One of our faves from last year was DANGERDOOM--the tag team of Dj Dangermouse and MF Doom. Check this video out (it features Ghostface and Mexican wrestling!)

Cover Stories – John Crow's Devil by Marlon James

Marlon James – John Crow’s Devil

Hello once again, listeners! I am Matthew Hinton with another long overdue installment of cover stories…and I don’t know how you feel about it, but I’m glad to bring this segment out of the trunk, blow off the five or six inches of dust and see if this thing still works. Well, nothing to it but to do it, I suppose.
Anyway, it is, of course, Easter Sunday, and do I have a great gift read for you. John Crow’s Devil by Marlon James is this weeks selection; and what a selection. It follows the religious struggle that takes place in the fictional Jamaican town of Gibbeah during the year 1957. It begins with “The End,” the opening chapter that draws you in with mysterious conclusions and is cloaked in the darkness. A character called the Apostle York has taken over the town’s only church, by force, from the broken and usually drunken Pastor Bligh, known to the townspeople as The Rum Preacher. Here is a selection that picks up after the Rum Preacher has been thrown out by York:

“Clutter blackened the room. Light Blue walls surrendered to the shadows of books, pictures, and maps. Lucinda opened the glass window and the dust woke up, swirling around her like demons. She cursed the Rum Preacher, whose smell the room carried, along with liquor and failure. Lucinda threw out every book not marked Bible. Two hours later the clean and spacey room gave her pause. The large mahogany desk reclaimed its splendor, commanding the center of the room. The chair stood waiting behind it. Bibles were returned to clean bookshelves that bracketed the desk on the right and left walls. Lucinda had washed and polished the floor until she could see her bare knuckles in the reflection. Closer than a brother to swing low sweet chariot. She brought in the Apostle’s books, even though not told to do so, and caressed the ones she recognized: an American Bible and a Bible concordance. The rest, books of Maccabees and Wisdom, Notorious Arts and Hermetics, and some with no name, she puzzled over briefly, but stacked them confidently when she came across the name Solomon.”

This is just a sample of the ability Marlon James brings to the literary table. He creates a simply precise world to set down and study. Something with substance that is refreshing with new writers. His imagery is not the limitation of his skills, however. The story that James presents is as clear as the reflection in Lucinda’s floor polishing. There is a monumental struggle between the forces of Good and Evil, represented by the Rum Preacher and Apostle York, respectively.
James even takes this battle a step further by drawing a parallel in the storyline to two strong female figures. Lucinda, who continues to do all her work for Apostle York, worshipping his figure and movements, respecting and wanting him, and punishing herself with whipping for her desires, still gives into her old ways of witchcraft in the night. She flies here and there, mixes potions to prevent childbirth, and is driven by overwhelming sexuality. The other is the Widow Greenfield, who takes the Rum Preacher home, cooks for him, and becomes somewhat of an unspoken rock and shelter for him during a detox of alcohol and demons. James describes their relationship as having “developed a sort of un-speak that seemed better than words.” Between the sexuality and silences, the witchcraft and the worship, and the sins and forgiveness, the women of John Crow’s Devil personify frailty and strength as characterized by Marlon James and must not be overlooked. If you read this book for the idea of the fight between good and evil, do not limit it to the clergymen. Behind every great man, there is a great woman – regardless of their orientation on the moral compass.
I would like to read another selection from the text. Here we see the Apostle York’s charisma overtaking the town, as is shown in several powerful scenes, but this comes after certain “signs” have waved over the town:

“The Apostle cracked his knuckles on the podium and addressed the congregation directly. He declared that there were demons in the church and threw himself into a fit of tongues. He declared that there was a spirit of witchcraft in the village that had to be broken for the children’s sake. He commanded the spirits to be gone in the name of the Father. Cows were God’s creatures, as bright and beautiful as everything else He made. The Apostle reclaimed the cow in the name of the Father. The congregation whooped and hollered. Then he called to the altar all those with a burden on their hearts.”

Of course, there are just times that we can’t actually see the showdown that Good and Evil must have, but that is something that I truly applaud James for allowing to the reader. He leaves a great gap that allows you to imagine what might have taken place: What forces were called up and in what names, a spiritual theater of the mind that outdoes any film and makes one want to revisit a few biblical passages here and there. Here is how one of the confrontations ends, as the Rum Preacher’s turnaround becomes evident:

“The Pastor’s voice had vanished amidst the scream of vultures. When the Apostle turned around his jaw fell so far that he grabbed his chin to prevent the spit from escaping. The Pastor was on his knees, in the middle of Hanover Road, with his eyes closed but his arms wide open. Before him, behind him, around him, all the way up to the church steps and down Hanover Road, were dead vultures. John Crows with necks broken, heads crushed, and wings ripped away. The Pastor was praying in a circle of untouched road as the sky drizzled black feathers and blood.”

If I were to preach anything to you on this Easter Sunday, loyal listeners, it would be this. Try to find John Crow’s Devil by Marlon James somewhere. Even though it went through a second printing, it sold out at Barnes and Noble and has a zero ordering availability, you should have no problem searching online for it. Google it, borrow it, steal it from a friend, just make sure you get your hands on it and read. It is a powerful first novel from a brilliant writer who is now in the MA Creative writing program here at Wilkes University and it’s one of the best I’ve come across in its time.

By the way, John Crows are vultures.

Once again, in case you missed it, and if you’re just tuning in, the long lost book review this week was of John Crow’s Devil, the debut novel of Marlon James, and it’s on bookshelves somewhere – including mine. This has been another edition of cover stories, I am Matthew Hinton, reminding you to always judge a book by its cover.

FYI: Gonna Move. . .

For those of you who have sent us emails about this song. . .Paul Pena!

episode 27 and 7: easter hams--pressed and otherwise

Set List:

David Bowie: Heroes
Big Star: Ballad of El Goodo
Paul Pena: Gonna Move
Dobie Gray:The IN Crowd
Squeeze: Tempted
Toots and the Maytalls: Dreams to Remeber

LINEAR NOTES PRESENTS: YEAH YEAH YEAHS: SHOW YOUR BONES
-gold lion
-cheated hearts

Roberta Flack: Feel Like Makin' Love
Darrel Banks: Open the Door to Your Heart
Them: Turn on Your Lovelight
Geno Washington: Use Me

Little Walter: Juke
Wayne Cochran: No Rest for the Wicked

HOWL

April 17, 2006, 8 p.m. Miller Theater, Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY

$15

Celebrate National Poetry Month and the 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg's epic poem "Howl." The event will feature Mark Doty, Ann Douglas, Margo Jefferson, Philip Lopate, Rick Moody, and Jason Shinder, and others speaking about the influence of "Howl" and reading from a new anthology, The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later, to be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2006. Tickets for this event may be purchased in person or by telephone at the Miller Theater Box Office. Box Office Number: (212) 854-7799

episode twenty666: the band's back together.

The Set List. . .

bb king: how blue can you get?
johnny winter: messin' with the kid
bobby blue bland: members only
albert king: murder
ov wright: ace of spades
james carr: everybody needs somebody
sam cooke: chain gang
langley schools: i get around

LINER NOTES PRESENTS: DEEP CITY RECORDS

them 2: am i a good man
betty wright: good lovin'
moovers: i love you baby

Check out the album from the Numero Records Catalog.

jeff buckley: jewel box
mavis staples: the sweet things you do
wilson pickett: i'm a midnight mover

darondo: let my people go
harry melvin and the blue notes: wake up everybody
muddy waters: tiger in your tank

Goodbye Gene Pitney

Legendary singer Gene Pitney passed away Wednesday morning at a hotel in Cardiff, Wales, according to various sources. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was 65 years old. Just the previous night, he had received a standing ovation for a performance at St David's Hall in the Welsh capital. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but officials do not suspect foul play, Reuters reports.

Pitney is perhaps best known for the hits "24 Hours From Tulsa" and "A Town Without Pity", the title song from the 1961 Kirk Douglas film. The latter number also wound up among tunes by Sonic Youth, Beck, and the Flaming Lips on the soundtrack to Richard Linklater's 1996 film SubUrbia. A dedicated live performer, the much-loved singer died while in the midst of a 23-date tour of Britain. He is survived by his wife Lynne and three sons.

(As reported by Pitchfork News)

THANK YOU.

Friday night was a statement. The poetry scene is alive and in living color here in WBS. It was amazing to see Test Pattern crammed beyond any reasonable definition of comfortable to spend over two hours listening to poetry! We didn't even lose that many people throughout the night. It was a honor to be a part of that night with each and every one of you--reader or audience alike. . . when I got home, I couldn't fall alseep--I was just so blown away by the positive energy and passion that filled Test Pattern.

The challenge that stands in front of us now is keeping this fire lit. What will make Friday night meaningful is how we sustain the energy. We must keep pushing, supporting, and making it happen for one another. We may not all get along but we need to respect what everyone else is doing. One of the most exciting things about Friday night was the variety of voices gracing the stage--we are all on different stages in the journey but we are all traveling.

Okay, enough of the JFK/Hoffa rant--but in all seriousness it is up to us to make it work. I believe we are on the right track, and I promise to keep working hard for this poetry scene.

episode twenty5

Set List:

Alex Chilton: Sick and Tired
Koko Taylor: Wang Dang Doodle
Taj Mahal: Statesboro Blues
Ray Lamontagne: Forever My Friend
Steve Earle: Week of Living Dangerously
TNT Band: The Meditation
Gil Scott Heron: The Revolution Will Not be Televised
James Carr: To Love Somebody
Ishle Yi Park: Signs of God
Langley Schools: God Only Knows

LINER NOTES PRESENTS: VAN MORRISON

There Stands The Glass
Your Cheatin' Heart
Pay The Devil

deadboy and The Elephantmen: Stop I'm Already Dead
kings of leon: California Waiting
Robert Johnson: Walkin' Blues
Corey Harris: Keep Your Lamp Trim and Burnin
Shamika Copeland: Salt in My Wounds
Amos Lee: Colours
Townes Van Zandt: dead flowers
Jeff Buckley/Inger Lore: Angel Mine