Over the year + that I’ve been creating here on Naked & Alive, I’ve done a good number of “remixes”. In my early days of video, I was really taken by the remix revolution. Unfortunately, the hopeful, possible, hyper-creative, sharing world that the amazing thing “the internet” beckoned, was closed down by copyright nazis, paywalls and making every god-damn goodly creative act, a crime. Larry Lessig (one of my heroes) would understand and agree.
Stealing is one of our greatest talents. There is no creativity without theft, however you frame it.
I’ve always admired Cohen’s patient writing and mixture of music and poetry. My mother gave me his “The Spice Box Of Earth” as a little tyke, a 6 year-old and after that I was off to the races. It also began my own search for meaning through the Holocaust and my own story through that lens.
I hope you enjoy my quickly done karaoke of Leonard Cohen’s iconic - Everybody Knows. I take a different approach, I’m not so sure everybody knows, from the evidence I’ve gathered. The pandemic also made it much more clear for me.
Cohen wasn’t a Bob Dylan. Two different creatures, who approached art in two different ways. True story about when they finally met, which was later in both their careers. Paris, late 80s, backstage of one of Dylan’s shows. Cohen shook Dylan’s hand and they had the usual pleasantries. Dylan said, his favorite Cohen song was “The Law”. He asked him about the process of writing it. Cohen related how it took him about 12 years and 600 rewrites before he published it and got the song finished. Cohen then said his favorite Dylan song was “I and I” (in my own song pantheon) and he asked Dylan about writing that. Dylan just smiled and said he wrote it while in the shower and kept it in his head during the drive to the studio. He cut the song there and it was released a few weeks later.
Here are a few of my other remixes.
Horrid Day - Tribute to Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”.
It’s Not Dark Yet - Remix of Dylan’s beautiful song.
I Wanna Be Yours - John Cooper Clarke ditty.
God Damn The King. A rendition of the stupid anthem.
There are many textual rewrites I’m proud of … Just off the top of my head readers might like - The Lord’s Prayer.
Most of my own beliefs and thoughts about creation and poetics, can be found in my manifesto titled Gagaism. My ars poetica.
Here is a tribute to a fine musician poet. As fine as any. The late Gordon Downie. My words in honor of his voice. Got a number of remixes of the Tragically Hip in my pockets somewhere …
Ask A Poet
Rusted tanks and melting ice cream cones.
Love on dirty mattresses all alone.
Don’t tell me what the poets are doing.
Don't tell me you got it made.
Don’t tell me our troops will win.
Who the fuck made you king?
Jets look cool flying shiny, high above.
Babies cry while they dodge, whiter doves.
Don’t tell me you’re buying an electric vehicle.
Don’t tell me you don’t buy from the frozen food section.
Don’t tell me you are fightin’ for peace.
Who the hell made you the thought police?
There’s blood on the kitchen counter.
Jane isn’t coming home.
The boots are hittin’ the ground.
The sabers are rattlin’ on the road.
Don’t tell me you believe the president.
Don’t tell me you follow the evening news.
Don’t tell me the medicine you take is true.
Don’t tell me - I’m not a poet for you.
Sun is going down.
Pink smoke covers the tired sky.
I forgive you all
for you know not
what you do.
Ask a poet.
He’ll tell you.
in memory of Gordon Downie
Nobody Knows