Spoken Word: Jugalbandi of Words and Art

Love of poetry and storytelling made me stop flipping radio stations and listen to “The deck of cards” by Tex Williams;

Experiencing a Haruki Murakami moment “Whatever it is you are seeking won’t come in the form you are expecting.” I  discovered a form of art, Spoken Word.

An estuary of narrative and music for the soul.

A confluence of words and performing art, dance and theatre.

All this, over a banal trip, ridden with gnarling Delhi traffic, browsing through FM channels indifferently, driving back across 3 states from work.

I was in the throes of a scripturient urge to celebrate my finding. The drive seemed longer than usual, there was so much to do; quench my curiosity by reading more, attend to a deluge of examples, listen to new finds and compile a playlist. Most of this though, was curtailed to the luxury of late evenings that afforded time for myself.

Political motivations, social causes, religious discourses, leadership speak, life experiences, stories, folklore and many more expressions have found themselves in this experimental art form. Examples of which will follow.

Sunscreen,  Are you lonesome tonight, Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, have been all time favorites, only today I  know better, I can flaunt the genre of music they belong to and discover more such gems.

Here is a playlist

1. Baz Luhrmann: Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
2. Johnny Cash: What Is Truth
3. James Brown: King Heroin
4. The Shangri-Las: Past, Present and Future
5. Tex Ritter: A Deck of Cards
6. Elvis Presley: Are you Lonesome Tonight
7. William S. Burroughs and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy: Words of Advice
8. National Lampoon – Deteriorata
9. Kenny Rogers: Coward of the County
10. Dolly Parton & Kelly Rogers: We got tonight
11. Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
12. John Cooper Clarke – Evidently Chickentown
13. Jim Morrison: A Feast Of Friends
14. Material: Seven Souls
15. Jim Backus & Friend: Delicious
16. Laurie Anderson: O Superman
17. Jimmy Dean: Big Bad John
18. Paul Hardcastle: 19
19. Maya Angelou: Ain’t I a woman
20. A Life Story: Look at yourself after watching
21. John Cooper Clarke: Beasley Street
22. Slint: Good Morning
23. Prince Buster: Judge Dread
24. Talking Heads: Seen and Not Seen
25. Ballboy: A Day in Space
26. Ballboy: I hate Scotland
27. Ivor Cutler: Life in a Scotch Sitting Room- Check out the entire series
28. The Velvet Underground: The Murder Mystery
29. Abba: I have a Dream
30. Loudon Wainwright III: History
31. Buddy Starcher: History Repeats Itself
32. Jimmy Dean: Big Bad John
33. Byron MacGregor: The Americans
34. Victor Lundberg:  An Open Letter to My Teenage Son
35. Obama: Yes We Can

There are several songs with parts in spoken word. Explore the musicians in the list. Drop in a comment if you like any of these or have suggestions.

Coming up: A playlist for Hindi spoken word songs. Stay Tuned!