When I Heard The Learn'd Astronomer

I heard this poem today while watching Breaking Bad. Gail, a character played by the Husband of the Superfan from Flight of the Conchords, recites it to Walt, the main character. I had never heard of it before and I love it.

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

-Walt Whitman

-jv

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My Favorite Poem

'Nothing Gold Can Stay' by Robert Frost is my favorite poem.

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leafs a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing Gold can stay.

In The Outsiders when Johhny and Ponyboy are looking at the sunrise out the back of the church they ran off too and Johnny says the mist is gold and silver and says that he wishes it could stay that way forever then Ponybody hits him with a "Nothing Gold can stay" and Johnny is like 'whats that?' then Ponyboy drops the whole poem on him to which Johnny replies "Thats what I meant", probably my favorite page of literature ever. I love that 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' so fucking beautifully can relate that even though you wish things could stay like this forever they can't.

AND this poem rhymes, no slant rhyme or maybe that rhymes, Eight lines Four couplets. And more then rhyming it rolls off the tongue if you recite it. I fucking love this poem, its my favorite.

What's your favorite poem?

 -jv
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#SummerJams

Technically this one was a late-spring-jam (April).

But it hasn't gotten much airplay, though it's been critically well-received, so there's a chance you missed TV on the Radio's latest album Nine Types of Light.

You should check it out:



Is that Hootie and the Blowfish!? Not even close.  More like a black Beck.  And Nigerian-born, Pennsylvania-raised, NYU-grad Tunde Adebimpe's lyrics are the tits:



It's electro-soul with some funky-ass horns for good measure.  I've been listening to this album like crazy recently: there's a ton of emotion in the songs, intelligent (and occasionally scathing) lyrics, and great beats.  There is even a dubstep-esque track on Nine Types of Light ($9.99 on iTunes), if you're into that sort of thing.  If you like what you hear, TV on the Radio's previous albums are also worth checking out (especially Dear Science).

Also, they released music videos for every song on the album.  That's pretty cool.

I'm going to try to see them at the Hollywood Bowl later this summer, and you can catch them in Boston, at the Bank of America Pavilion on September 6, with Broken Social Scene.

Sadly, their bassist Gerard Smith died of lung cancer 9 days after this album was released.  RIP.

Hope the summer's treating you all well.  More music still to come...

-DMc, West Coast Correspondent

Slam Poetry

Does anyone know who this is? I think you all should,, and if you don't, you should find out because he is powerful and he is moving and he does it all by speaking words.

I love slam poetry. I don't think a post has ever been made about it, but I think it's long overdue.
I could give you a good definition from an on-line dictionary, or I could give you mine, so I'll give you a combination:

Slam poetry is a genre of poetry deriving from a mixture of spoken word and theatre where the poem is read with the intent of being spoken. The feelings, emotions, and all other aspects are intended to be understood through hearing. It is a poem with or without a central beat, and it usually covers topics having to do with race, politics, current events, and gender or economic injustices.

Basically, it's that happy medium for everyone {who loves poetry but isn't used to rap yet} to find because then they will get used to rap AND still love poetry. And love slam poetry, win-win-win!

Kanye West???

Robert Frost!!!<3<3<3

                                


At least, that's what happened to me

So, I've compiled for all y'all my favorites over the two years that I've explored slam poetry. Feel free to comment with slams that you find or whatnot, I love hearing new things.


PS, you might notice that half of them are from a man named Anis Mojgani.

That is simply because Anis Mojgani (the lovely man above at the top) is undisputedly one of the best slam poets of our generations. So, yeah.

So, without further ado, go crazy-

Anis Mojgani:
the branches are full and these orchards are heavy

direct orders, here am i, shake the dust

For Those Who Can Still Ride An AIrplane For The First Time

George Watsky(Emerson Alum):
S is for Lisp

Lost Count: A Love Story:
Lost Count: A Love Story

Saul Williams:
Coded Language

Ernest Cline:
Dance Monkeys Dance

Listen and let your mind run wild.

< ! 3jb