Finally made it back to Bowery Poetry Club last week after a three year absence. Last open mic of the season. Felt good.

It’s a sobering thing to try and calculate
The exact percentage of time I’ve spent of late
Trying to fill myself up with
Myself
Trying to fill myself up with
Myself

Heading out into the winter of my spirit
Wrapped only in my distractions
While my truest need
Becomes such a whisper

I can’t even hear it

I like bombast
I like subterfuge
I like noise
I like to shout down any ounce of substance

that tries to penetrate
Any ounce of anything
I didn’t orchestrate

I gravitate toward surface
I gravitate toward sheen
I gravitate away
From whatever gravity means

I line my insides with my outsides
I play dress-up

I try on skinny jeans
I try on cigarettes
I try on crossword puzzles
I try on the internet

I try on “Rock of Love with Brett Michaels”
I try on MSNBC
I try on whatever I can buy
To make myself more “me”

I try on too much red meat
I try on too much red wine
I try on snarky dismissive and
“No, no, really, I’m fine”

I hang myself with ornaments
And pray the branches hold
I play Dead Kennedys on the way to my office job
To keep from getting

old

I put in as much as will fit
With little regard
For what I’m getting out of any of it

When I was growing up there were actually channels on the television
That had no content
just static
just space

A hissing, scrambled buzz of nothing
(Or, if not nothing, then
Something close to not-quite-something)

But not now

Now

Every channel is full and multiplied
300-plus points on the dial
Each with its own picture, sound & style

most still static

But structured & groomed & with a target
Demographic

All a fitting metaphor
For a collective human nature that says
Empty is an eyesore

That clamors desperate, loud
For moremoremore
And doesn’t bother to distinguish or define
More of what
Because more itself
Seems to be enough

I have tried
Filling myself up with
Myself

And I have left myself
Unsatisfied

I have tried

Filling myself up with
Myself

And I have left myself
Full of shit

There’s truth out there somewhere
Hidden in the little spaces between
What I want
And what I do

Yes, it’s soft
But not completely out of earshot
If I can keep my mouth shut long enough

Only open
Only empty
Only silent
Only still
Only flushed of what separates
Me from me
Me from God
Me from you

Me from the life I only dare talk about in the abstract

-IMBA

4/08

Ladies & Gentlemen... The World Premiere of...

DJ PROVERB

Oh, yes. Hot damn, indeed.

Totally last minute, but if you find yourself in Astoria tomorrow night between 10pm and midnight looking for a place to listen to a kickass mix of Indie Rock, Electronica, Vintage Alternative, Progressive Hip Hop and Transglobal Beats while enjoying any of the 25 great microbrews on tap, come check out my inaugural DJ set at Sunswick.

I'm hoping this will be the first of many. I'll keep you posted.

Quote of the Week

From The Missus. Wednesday night. 12:49am.

"I'm very open right now. Now's a good time to know me."

"Please Explain #27"

Dup invited me to be the next contributor in his "Please Explain" series. I was honored and happy to oblige.

The Boss Backs Obama

From Bruce's websiste...

Dear Friends and Fans:

Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams of My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

-Bruce Springsteen

Thank you, sir.

This blog agrees.

Onion Headline of the Week

April 7, 2008
Charlton Heston's Gun Taken From His Cold, Dead Hands

Tough Decisions

Jesse, Maker of Huts sent me the following story and it was too good to pass up. He thought it might be an Onion article at first, but alas... it was real.

I think it speaks to the passion of parental commitment and the nuances of making the tough decisions involved in the proper upbringing of a child.

Parents Fight Over Which Gang Toddler Should Join

Police: Mother A Crip, Father A Westside Baller

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- A couple fighting about which gang their 4-year-old toddler should join caused a public disturbance that resulted in the father's arrest, Commerce City police said Thursday.

On Saturday, Joseph Manzanares stormed into the Hollywood Video store where his girlfriend worked, threatened to kill her and knocked over several video displays and even a computer, Commerce City police Sgt. Joe Sandoval said.

After he ran out of the store, police were called and the 19-year-old was arrested at his home.

His girlfriend told police that they had been arguing about the upbringing of their son and which gang he should belong to. The teen mother, who is black, is a member of the Crips. Manzanares is Hispanic and belongs to the Westside Ballers gang, the woman said.

"They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised. Basically, she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would 'claim,'" Sandoval said.

Manzanares was charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, and domestic violence. He was transported to the Adams County Detention Facility.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a year of probation. The misdemeanor harassment charge was dropped.

The Troops Weigh In On The '08 Election

Radio You Can Actually LISTEN TO in NYC???

Yes.
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Anyone who lives here knows what a wasteland New York radio is. And anyone who's read this blog for any amount of time knows what a huge fan I am of Seattle's independent free-form station KEXP.
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I've now been listening to KEXP online for 5 years. It literally gets me through the slog that is my workaday life. It's the kind of place where you can hear Wilco, Bright Eyes, Johnny Cash, Dead Kennedys, Ministry and The English Beat all in the same hour. Everything from indie rock to vintage punk to classic soul to 60's Cambodian psychedlic pop. No bullshit. As well as introducing countless new bands that you will quickly come to love.
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I have long been pining for something of that ilk on the dial here in NYC and have long done so in vain.
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...Until now.

91.5FM Radio New York and KEXP have teamed up to bring something DESPERATELY NEEDED to the New York airwaves.

WAKE UP (6am-9am) is a morning radio show hosted and curated by KEXP's director of programming, Kevin Cole. The site describes it as "An inclusive mix of alternative rock, hip hop, electronic, roots, soul, and global — as well as exclusive music features, NYC show info and news from NPR and the BBC."
The Missus and I have been listening for over a week and it's really given us a much-needed boost in the morning.


And then from 9am-12pm, 9.15 simulcasts the first 3 hours of KEXP's John In The Morning Show, hosted by John Richards.
"The music you want to hear when you need to hear it. From the Pixies to Pela, M.I.A. to Massive Attack, JITM breaks new music, embraces old music and ties it all together."

Something this special doesn't come along very often. The best way to support it is simply to tune in. (And pledge, whenever KEXP has their quarterly fundraising drives.)
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I guarantee if you start tuning in, you'll quickly become a fan. And what New Yorker couldn't use a little something to look forward to in the morning...