sounds of Paris
Ensemble Intercontemporain (Matthias Pintscher, direction), live, Paris, 2015: Helmut Lachenmann (1935-), Mouvement (-Vor der Erstarrung), 1984
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A dry riverbed
glimpsed
by lightning.—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass
basement jukebox
Sonny Boy Williamson (AKA Aleck [or Alex] “Rice” Miller, 1912[?]-1965), “Nine Below Zero” (S. B. Williamson), 1951
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Drooping
in this upside-down world,
a bamboo in the snow.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Tom Lowenstein
only rock ‘n’ roll
Carl Perkins (1932-1998), “Honey Don’t” (C. Perkins), live (TV show), 1956
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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Sight of that mountain
makes me forget
I’m getting old—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
alone
György Kurtág (1926-), from Signs, Games and Messages; Ensemble Musikfabrik (Hannah Weirich, violin), live, Cologne (Germany), 2020
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
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Another year gone—
hat in my hand,
sandals on my feet.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass
like nobody else
James Brown (1933-2006), live, Paris, 1968
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
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You shout from the other room
You ask me how to spell boogie-woogie
And instantly I think what luck
no war has been declared
no fire has consumed
our city’s monuments
our bodies our dwellings
The river didn’t flood
no friends
have been arrested
It’s only boogie-woogie
I sigh relieved
and say it’s spelled just like it sounds
boogie-woogie
—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), “Boogie-Woogie” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
spellbinding
Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Verbier (Switzerland), 2012: Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Eight Études (Op. 10, No. 11; Op. 10, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 1; Op. 25, No. 5; Op. 10, No. 5; Op. 25, No. 6; Op. 25, No. 7; Op. 25, No. 11)
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Look, look greedily,
when dusk approaches,
look insatiably,
look without fear.—Adam Zagajewski (1945–2021), from “Mountains” (translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh)
basement jukebox
Bobby Bland (1930-2013), “That’s the Way Love Is,” 1963
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Plates and bowls
dim in the darkness
cool of the evening—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
sounds of New York
Being & Becoming (Peter Evans, trumpets, compositions; Joel Ross, vibraphone; Nick Jozwiak, bass; Savannah Harris, drums, percussion), New York, streamed 6/29/21
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It is in no sense
essentialthat this crown of leaves,
sifted by windas if turning over
some problem,is a gray-green
brightening into rust-redat the tips
or that its equivocations
fill this instantto the brim.
—Rae Armantrout (1947-), from “Making”
alone
Miranda Cuckson (violin), live, New York, 11/30/21
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), Mikka S
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First rain of winter
today’s a day
people get older—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), translated from the Japanese by David Young
like nobody else
World Saxophone Quartet (Julius Hemphill [1938-1995], alto and soprano saxophones; Oliver Lake [1942-]. alto and soprano saxophones; David Murray [1955-], tenor saxophone; Hamiet Bluiett [1940-2018], baritone saxophone), live, Berlin, 1987
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For today’s tourist, orientation is impossible.
—Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), from “Cities (I)” (translated from the French by John Ashbery)
