Shelby Smith

Live from ‘The Pretty Parlor’

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:46:00 +0000

By Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground

When I first got the album, Live from ‘The Pretty Parlor’ in the mail, I was a little disappointed. The jacket had pictures of women dressed like they stepped off of Laugh-In or came from a Jimi Hendrix concert. I was not looking forward to listening to or viewing the DVD. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised.

Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground’s Live from ‘The Pretty Parlor’ is a CD/DVD of a live concert performed by a band with two violinists, three guitarists (one the lead singer who also plays harmonica), a tuba and trumpet player, a bass player, a keyboard player, a drummer and a backup singer (who is joined by various members of the band as needed). While a large group of folks, I couldn’t imagine positive results from removing any one member.

The music of Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground has a whimsical feel to it inspired by Hungarian melodies with just a touch of the Beatles. At times, because of the trumpet sounds, I felt like the songs could fit into the soundtrack of the musical Chicago. The lead singer’s voice is a pleasant, dreamy tenor that is a bit on the softer side. The backup singers provide the appropriate amount of accompaniment: at times barely there and loud and garish at others.

For all of its mixing of older forms of music, Live from ‘The Pretty Parlor’ has a modern feel to it. It’s new in a way that makes contemporary radio tunes boring and commonplace in comparison. Radio stations are all the more lacking for not playing such music as that by Kay Kay and the Weathered Underground. I absolutely love this album!

Written by: Shelby Smith, June 6th 2007

Whisper of a Newborn Ghost

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:45:00 +0000

By The K23 Orchestra

On Whisper of a Newborn Ghost, the K23 Orchestra combines 70s style rock with spoken word. Described as a “unique blend of funk, rock, Latin, jazz fusion and spoken word,” the K23 Orchestra aims high, with thoughtful lyrics and talented musicians. However, the combination never gels and the songs drag on for far too long.

Many of the songs on Whisper of a Newborn Ghost are filled with descriptions of angst experienced under the reign of Bush. The first song, “Big in El Portal,” describes a yearning to escape. The chorus is “Awake/I’ll break out this city/Make my escape.” The verses depict disgust at the state of the nation and the use of rhetoric to brainwash the people: “Robin Hood fed his child and got thrown in jail/Another man kills a thousand and his approval ratings sail.”

The second song on the album, “Whoop Tee Dee,” addresses the way that the term “freedom” has been twisted to suit the needs of politicians. “Please cease misusing the word freedom” is repeated three times in the beginning of the song. The lines “We crave what we don’t need and cannot afford/As freedom flaunts finance in the face of the poor” articulate how materialism has clouded American eyes.

This song, like others on the album, contains a good analysis of the issues, but unfortunately, the length of the song overshadows the meaning. The lyrics begin to blend together, and after listening to more than one song, they all begin to sound the same. This is not aided by long instrumental sections in the songs.

Lyrically, the K23 Orchestra has a lot to offer. The words are poetry, and the topics of the poems are relevant and needed. The K23 Orchestra is, in their own words, creating a message of “social change through music and art.” If they want this message to be received, it needs to be curtailed.

Written by: Shelby Smith, March 10th 2007

The Resurrection Trade

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 12:44:00 +0000

By Leslie Adrienne Miller

Graywolf Press

The Resurrection Trade is a collection of poems that details early anatomical research performed on female corpses from the point of view of the author, Leslie Adrienne Miller, who also provides glimpses of her own life as a daughter, a wife and a mother. There are over 44 poems in this collection, and taken together they create a rich tapestry about “the resurrection trade,” which is “the business end of trafficking in corpses,” and Miller’s experience in writing about it.

Miller conducted extensive research of historical documents and medical illustrations in studying this process, and she includes a multitude of resources in the notes section that were used in writing the poems. (Visiting the notes section is highly recommended while reading through the book.) All of this research lends a weight and authenticity to the poems that reminds the reader at every turn that the bodies, the people described, actually existed. At the same time, the reader is made aware of the way that women’s bodies were objectified in this process.

One poem, the title poem, is divided into stanzas that describe mezzotints, colored prints, Miller viewed. The most difficult poem to get through due to the graphic nature of the topic; this poem depicts corpses in different poses and at different stages of “undress.” For example: “She entire, arm raised, profiled looking left,--unwrapped entirely of skin except for two--breasts, neck and one greeny cream of shoulder.” Miller highlights how the bodies of women are still sexualized in death and dissection.

Equally disturbing but fascinating is “Mother and Son,” in which Miller makes comparisons between the bombing of the twin towers and a mother’s diseased body to help a son understand impermanence. “He’d seen the footage at school that day,--heard the talk meant to help him ‘process,’ and yet,--he couldn’t help himself: he had to ask his mother—to put her body up.”

The poem “Parous in Paris” brings together the reality of studying corpses and Miller’s life. She writes, “I’ve left my only child--home in another country for this walk--into a history of the body of woman--in labor,…the coppery scent of formaldehyde--sticking in my throat, I fight down--the unthinkable news delivered--at dawn via e-mail: someone else--is in my marriage bed,…”

[The Resurrection Trade(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1555974635?ie=UTF8&tag=feminrevie-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1555974635) is a revealing look at the one of the ways women’s bodies have been constructed over time through the eyes of men. The book remains grounded through Miller’s writing of her present day experiences that contain the humanity that is lacking in the tinted prints she has studied.

Written by: Shelby Smith, March 10th 2007