18. Implementing The Dream Imperative
3/10/24
Heya! I’m sending this out on a Friday because my old college chum Sam is coming to visit. I started working at my new branch this week and despite it being an involuntary transfer I’m going with the flow, appreciating the change, and enjoying meeting new co-workers and patrons. (I can’t pretend I suddenly have zen composure and a bright outlook, there is also “Better Living Through Chemistry” involved, anti-anxiety meds certainly play a part in general acceptance. Hallelujah.)
Books
A colleague of mine displayed this book on the new bookshelf at the library I work at. Did they know that the wry title/cover art combo would suck me right in?
I wasn’t played games with either. This was no bait and switch. I love these poems. Here are some excerpts that work magic for me:
You can visit the author’s website here: https://courtneybushgreatartist.com/ where there are links to more of her poems online, but more importantly I recommend you buy the book!
On her website she claims to love getting emails. I send unsolicited emails to people whose work I admire all the time to let them know they’ve touched me with their art. It’s a great feeling. It’s even better when they ask for email! (She emailed me back!)
I’ve been re-reading this incredible essay. It really spoke to me, a poet who has a really weird relationship to poetry. I guess I’m not alone.
Podcast
Transmission is an interview podcast that is an offshoot of one of my favorite music websites: Aquarium Drunkard. It’s one of those deals where the host, Jason Woodbury, is a great interviewer with great taste. So when he interviews artists I’m familiar with I know he’ll have a great conversation. When he interviews somebody I’m unfamiliar with I’ll be sure to check them out. Just today I was introduced to Vijay Iyer a jazz pianist. In the conversation Iyer said he prefers the term “Live Composition” to “improvisation” and I really dig that! So much so I’m gonna go and update the KalloHumina bandcamp page.
Jason recently ended a podcast saying he loved getting emails. So once again I reached out. Not only did he send me a great reply he gave me a shoutout and quoted my email on the next episode.
My buddy Skoz heard the episode in Brooklyn before I knew I was name checked. And to tie it all together that week he was interviewing Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier who Theresa was seeing live at the moment I listened to it. Fun stuff all around.
I had been making some noise with a Synth I borrowed from Synth Library Portland so I made a version with the Transmission Podcast shout out. Linked below.
Synth Library Portland
The Synth Library is an amazing organization where anyone in Portland can become a member and then borrow amazing synths, guitar pedals, and other cool effects for two weeks at a time. I borrowed an rad device by a company called “Make Noise.” It’s a semi-modular analog synth called the 0-Coast. I read enough of the manual to create a basic drone and then had fun plugging in patch cables and twisting nobs, all the while sampling my noises into the Roland SP404 MK2 for continued access after I have to return it. As mentioned you can hear some of the results above accompanied by the Funk Box app which is my favorite drum machine.
Poem
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After implementing the dream imperative
control system - relaxation becomes power,
studies have shown,
oh wait,
studies have
been flabbergasted by the onset of dream
imperative control systems, reach out
to the operatives, astute as they are,
wait, hold on, studies have
determined the dream imperative has been
operational throughout the fears, c’mon,
try our restrictive measures to choke
the lucid tendrils of the dream imperative,
where relaxation becomes power, that
girl Heather from third grade has
been trying to reach you - c’mon and do this. SkullHum Alum of The Week
This week’s artist is aforementioned visitor, Sam Mallery. In his words: I’m a writer, musician, photographer and video producer living in Durham, NC. Whatever I get into, I usually find that writing is the engine behind it all.
You can read more from Sam on his website: https://www.sam-mallery.com/
Below is Sam’s piece from Skullcrushing Hummingbird - The Zine Issue Two.
Thanks for reading and being the best damn Substack Subscriber one could ask for.