Solar System Poems 3: Outlandish Reds and Oranges

Dragged and squeezed by your neighbors, 

you lost the cool countenance 

still worn by your big siblings.

Instead you live! 

Donating plasma to the void,

painting in outlandish reds and oranges,

never settling on one look for long.

Four hundred years after your debut

you still impress your fans,

some plan to swing by fair Europa

when it's you they hope to see

when off to work they go.

It was said that your namesake 

was comforted by Prometheus

after Hera found you hidden in 

a cloud of Zeus' making.

Is that why you act as you do,

using Prometheus' gift

to make a cloud of your own?

Solar System Poems 2: Some Noble Creature In Her

Her central planet's rings are thin,

Not those that Saturn grace.

No storms (to Voyager's chagrin)

like those upon Jove's face.

None of her siblings have any air

Seen in data or math

And humans may never tread there:

Not flexible that path.

Yet the features that we've found,

Scarps, grooves, and coronae,

Give lie to the idea we're bound

To treat interest as phony.

For if this brave vessel was dashed all to pieces

Has been the subject of several theses.

Solar System Poems 1: Two Faced Orb

Two-faced orb, more Janus than Janus,

light and heat separate soot from frost

in a place where tons are pounds

and Roland's song still echoes 

from Laurentia to Baltica.

Around its world in eighty days,

its showier sibling spits salt to gain fame.

But he, a mystery from Cassini to Cassini,

can wait a while longer for someone to crack the walnut.

NaPoWriMo 2012

It's that time of year again, so once again I'll be participating in National Poetry Writing Month.  I've done this for a couple of years, with the 2010 theme being baseball teams and the 2011 theme being chemical elements. I've been struggling a bit to come up with something for this year, but I think I'll do what comes natural and have the theme be solar system objects. I'm not sure if I'll restrict it to the subset of non-planetary bodies or if I'll keep everything in bounds.  Regardless, first poem should be posted here sometime today, along with poems every day thereafter (in theory)!

I may also still post some songs here through the month of April, though it's more than possible the poems will keep me plenty busy...

Another cover!

I was listening to the Jayhawks this evening, and got in the mood to record something.  So I thought I'd tackle one of my favorites of theirs. Only twice in my life have I bought an album because it was playing in the record store where I was browsing-- the first time was an REM album I was on the fence about.  The second time was in Flagstaff, where I was spending the summer of '95. Tomorrow The Green Grass was playing in the background, and when this song came on, I immediately asked who the band was (I was vaguely aware of the Jayhawks from their sort-of hit a few years earlier) and bought the album.

Bad Time was originally by Grand Funk Railroad, but the Jayhawks version is much better in my opinion.  The Science Diet version was based on the Jayhawks', not surprisingly.

Anyway, after several tries I got through a correct version live with the Rover and then overdubbed the (weak) guitar solo.  And here it is: Bad Time by Yours Truly (sans Gedankenband)

Do Not Tip Or Rock, now on Bandcamp

I'm continuing the process of posting my old albums up on Bandcamp, at http://andyrivkin.bandcamp.com. The latest to go up is 2005's Do Not Tip Or Rock, featuring Science Diet-era favorite "Crunchy Granola Girl", the geek rock classic "OBAFGKM", the Mexican tinged "Casa De Nancy", and Jen's songwriting and singing debut "Song For Nicholas".

Also available are 2003's In-Jokes With Myself and 2000's The Red Album, along with 2011's Local Technique EP.

I'd feel bad for shilling this stuff, but since you can name your
price (including "free") I feel it's less unseemly. ;)

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams

After mostly using this site for cover songs for a while, I figured I'd put up an original or two. To be precise, two versions of the same original: (Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams. The song was written around 2000 but never quite finished until I took it up a month or two ago. I tried to get into the same mindset I might have had back then, including a reference that would have been a little dated even at the time.

I recorded the acoustic version in December, then I forgot about it and recorded a version tonight with the Gedankenband. So here's both:

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams (Acoustic)

(Good Luck With The) Woman Of Your Dreams (Electric)

Not sure if this one will make it onto the next album or not, but I suppose time will tell....