the daily poxy soundsystem: james vincent mcmorrow- if my heart should somehow stop.

who: james vincent mcmorrow

sounds like : longing and the endless distance travelled by a day dream.

why we love him: celtic druid meets french connection man and their combined beards produce a song.  i am beard. i am song.

most likely to say: what’s the premium on your facial hair insurance?

not out of place on: into the wild mix tape,  as alexander supertramp wanders the alaskan wilderness. oh how our hearts  still hurt.

something to ponder: separation anxiety is just one of my co-morbidity disorder’s. somebody get the charlson index out…

[aine herlihy]

the daily poxy soundsystem: bag raiders - shooting stars

who: bag raiders.

sounds like : as if someone has just thrown a slice of pineapple at your face from a passing fruit cart.

why we love them: one member of the group used to be an elephant trainer. true story. he might even train us.

not out of place on : a cadillac car stereo as you drive along the palm tree ridden coast, into the encroaching dusk.

most likely to say: no, we are not cut copy. next.

   
something to ponder: will they serve pina coladas when we get there?

[callum dickson]

what inspires the inspirational: ivan m. granger

ivan m. granger is a poet and the creator of one of our favourite poetry websites, poetry chaikhana. ivan joyfully shares the sacred poetry of cultures, religions, and spiritual traditions from around the world. in particular, poetry chaikhana has a middle eastern theme, honouring the vibrantly, devotional, irreverent, and truly profound sacred poetry the region has given to the world. but ivan also says there is another important reason for this middle eastern flavour: to counter the miserably limited portrayal of middle eastern cultures and religion we are given in the west. he says “although i am not a muslim or sufi, it is desperately important to remind the western world of the rich spirituality the middle east has given to us”.

so what’s the deal with the un-pronounceable name?  well, my fellow philistines,  “chaikhana is a teahouse along the legendary silk road pilgrimage and trading route linking china to the middle east and europe. it is a place of rest along the journey, to sip tea, and to gather together to sing songs of the divine”.

ivan lives in colorado with his wife michelle. the man’s a mystic - sign up to the chaikhana poetry mail out and you will concur i'm sure.  

listening to: liszt's ‘la campanella’, i keep returning to this piano solo piece. it manages to be delicate and a bit agitated, while also surprisingly serene. i've also been listening to radiohead's ‘creep’.

reading: the yoga tradition by georg fuerstein. and the novel musashi, by eiji yoshikawa. of course, i have a stack (literally) of poetry books all around my desk.

watching: cadfael - a medieval monk solving murders. now why does that feel so cosy?

eating: gluten-free pumpkin pie. well, i would be if there was any left...

loving:the sunny day with snow glistening on the ground. inspires moments of stillness.

loathing: am i loathing anything? i hope not. though i have to admit to a few things i’d like to see changed. do you think we can set the world to rights with a list of 25 items or less?

tired of: ...social institutions that have forgotten what it means to be a human in the world.

bored of: too much is purposeful. it can become a compulsion. i know i'm doing something right when i have moments of boredom in my day.

scared of: plenty. but facing those fears, isn't that what makes for a good adventure?

dreaming of: i used to dream i was fighting zombies. or flying above rooftops at twilight. lately i've been travelling through strange lands, labyrinthine buildings, following vaguely familiar pathways to unknown destinations. every time i think i know my dream landscape well, new, strange vistas open up.

visit the website at : http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com

[aine herlihy]

the daily poxy soundsystem: veronica falls- come on over

who: veronica falls

sounds like : a hypnotic invitation to make out, based on meteorological circumstances.

why we love them: they sing about finding love in graveyards and perennial bad feelings -our inner wednesday addams has found an outlet.

not out of place on : anything christina ricci related (prior to pan am).  

most likely to say: let's just watch roger corman movies all day and discuss the terrifing effects raven haired women named ligeia, have on us.

   
something to ponder: maybe i should get my hep shots before i wear a vial of someone elses blood?

[aine herlihy]

the daily poxy soundsystem: peter and kerry-crash and burn

who: peter and kerry

sounds like: a sunday morning migraine brought on by regrets rising up through your body.

why we love them: they wanted fluidity so drank excess fluids. we get it.

not out of place on: the soundtrack for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

most likely to say: how do i get home from here? i want my own bed and my own ibuprofen.

something to ponder: hubris is for pioneers. hangovers will teach you humility. 

[aine herlihy]

what inspires the inspirational: eva baker.

today sees the launch of a new and exciting community arts space at 44 marlborough avenue hackney, with  a day of performances, interactive sessions and general good vibes to be enjoyed by all. we caught up with the events spirited organiser, eva, (whose tireless efforts to promote the arts always keeps us hopeful) to find out what inspires the inspirational. 

listening to: explosions in the sky for atmospheric wintry bus rides, billie holiday to warm up a cold evening, and basement djs 'the heatwave' podcast for house party shake downs.

reading: john snow's autobiography - he's a bit of a hero and it's a great account of what it's like to be an investigative journalist, which is my dream.

watching: the power of nightmares, a 3 part documentary by adam curtis about the rise of the politics of fear in relation to neo liberalism and radical Islam. a truly illuminating watch. 

eating: borek, the spinach and cheese pastries that my amazing local corner shop sells. they're massively addictive!

loving: the amount of suggestions, insights and warmth i've got from the residents of the hosing estate where we've just set up a community centre. i feel really grateful for having a job which allows me to interact with some inspiring people in a meaningful way, and that doesn't involve sitting behind a computer.

loathing: the media's relentlessly negative portrayal of young people and their position in society. if you keep telling them they're the 'lost generation' they'll start to believe it... put some solutions out there instead of telling people how hopeless  they are.

tired of: the police popping up at every demo in vast numbers, no matter how peaceful, and using unnecessary force.

bored of: everyone  in the public eye talking about how shit everything is (politicians, journalists, media).

scared of: prejudiced, narrow minded, greedy people... especially the ones in parliament and heading up other powerful institutions.

dreaming of: far away places... continually.

to find out more about the event visit: http://www.facebook.com/events/192422744176372/

[aine herlihy]

tube tutorials - an underground enlightenment #1

the tube isn't just a breeding ground for germs and jerks alike. when it’s not rush hour on the central line, and you're not head-locked under a fat mans underarm, it can be an almost metaphysical investigation, like a john donne sonnet, y’know? despairing amid anomie and now an elitist educational system, we’ve decided each week, to transform otherwise bleak platforms full of weary, nameless strangers and ask, is there anything they can teach us?

it started on the cirlcle line, as all great shit analogies for everything should. we sat as we always do, playing foosball with our eyes, when suddenly i felt an elbow on my arm. his name was arlin, a new york jewish gent, and he wanted words. sporting a powerful, powder blue suit he claimed to be a professional bridge player and a best friend of omar sharif. OMAR SHARIF!? we couldn’t think of any one we’d like to meet more, aside from murphy brown, perhaps. as we journeyed west, arlin helped us compile a list of nine ( he hopped off before we could get to ten) yiddish words, you need to know, now.  it doesn’t matter, that after all that, we realised that omar sharif isn’t in fact jewish and never was.  however, we suppose that these additional words, a source of rich expressions, will benefit your syntax thus improving brain elasticity.  happy days.

1. bupkes:  a rather rude way of implying a strong sense of nothing, by which we mean, ‘horse droppings’. as in,  “after everything i have done for you, what do i get? bupkes”.  

2. chutzpah: in english, chutzpah often denotes courage or confidence, but among yiddish speakers, it’s not a compliment and implies arrogance. which is the same difference. as in “that willow smith kid, she got too much chutzpah for something that size”.

4.feh: representative of the sound of spitting and used to suggest disgust. where would you be going without it?

5.kibbitz: what a word! it means to gossip or give unwanted advice. kibbitzing, it’s what we do best.

6.maven: used to connote an expert, often used sarcastically. for example “quit acting the maven, you don’t know bupkes ‘bout nothin”. 

 7.oy vey:  an exclamation of dismay, grief, or exasperation. most likely to be used on a sunday morning, when you check your sent messages. 

8.shlep: just shleping around y’know? get slouchy, get shlepy.  

9.schlock: meaning cheap, shoddy, or inferior. the words your landlord didn’t use to describe your apartment. oy vey. 

[aine herlihy]