Best Jack Sinclair Podcasts (2024)

1
As far from pity, as complaint 2:41

4h ago2:41

2:41

Emily Dickinson's in a goth mood again, but she makes such things sound lovely, so we sing her poem of everlasting nature and non-everlasting life today. Not just Dickinson, but that's what the Parlando Project does: takes various words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music. We've got over 750 such combinations in our arch…

1
E180: David Toop on Dr. John + Collusion + Scott Walker audio 1:23:29

2d ago1:23:29

1:23:29

In this episode we welcome the esteemed David Toop to Hammersmith – on the UK's General Election day – to discuss his extraordinary new book about (and around) Dr. John's 1968 album Gris-Gris. First we revisit the short-lived but splendidly eclectic Collusion magazine our guest co-founded in 1981: we hear about its inception and mission, as manifes…

1
The Guitar after a poem by Federico García Lorca 3:20

4d ago3:20

3:20

I made my own English translation of from Lorca's Spanish poem "La Guitarra" and performed this with my own simple guitar accompaniment. That's what the Parlando Project does: combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music. We've done over 750 of these combinations over the past 8 years. You can find more at our blog and archi…

1
E179: Luke Turner & John Doran on The Quietus + Yoko Ono + James Chance 1:16:43

19d ago1:16:43

1:16:43

In this episode we welcome John Doran and Luke Turner to downtown Hammersmith and invite them to talk about their much-loved and newly-revamped Quietus "webzine". (That's Noughties-speak, for all you kids out there.) The intrepid duo look back on the 2008 birth of their baby and reflect on its survival and evolution over the subsequent 16 years. Qu…

1
Gone 2:41

19d ago2:41

2:41

Today's musical setting is Carl Sandburg's short ambiguous poem about a strong-dreaming woman. The reader is left to decide, why the poem's Chick Lorimer is gone. Has she left with her flags flying high? Or is the poem's seeming praise of many lovers and her uninhibited nature hiding a more complex relationship with the town? As a singing performer…

1
The Little Octoroon 3:48

24d ago3:48

3:48

For Juneteenth, a song from the 1860s written by George F. Root, a white songwriter, depicting an enslaved mother sending her child to the Union lines alone for freedom. I revised Root's melody a bit and performed it for today's holiday. The Parlando Project takes various words (mostly literary poetry) and usually combines them with original music.…

1
E178: Ann Powers on Joni Mitchell + Tori Amos + Women in Pop 1:16:15

1M ago1:16:15

1:16:15

In this episode we're joined from Nashville by acclaimed critic, author and broadcaster Ann Powers for a discussion of her new Joni Mitchell book. Starting in Ann's native Seattle, we hear about her early '80s pieces for The Rocket before moving on to her stints at the San Francisco Weekly and the New York Times. Mention of Piece by Piece, the 2005…

1
The Doomed regard the Sunrise 1:49

1M ago1:49

1:49

Goth Emily Dickinson again, with a poem about what stirs the sharpness of our attention now turned into a song. The Parlando Project combines words (usually literary poetry) with original music in various styles. You can find more than 750 of these combinations at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org…

1
E177: Val Wilmer on free jazz + photography + Lesley Gore audio 1:27:29

2M ago1:27:29

1:27:29

In this episode — our first-ever "field recording" — we travel up to North London to interview the legendary writer-photographer Val Wilmer. Val takes us back to her earliest musical memories in Streatham, South London, and her immersion in the capital's '60s jazz and blues scenes. We hear about her first pieces for Jazz Journal and her experiences…

1
William Carlos Williams' The Birds 1:28

2M ago1:28

1:28

Williams melds birdsong, rain, and dawn into one instantaneous thing. I turned his poem into a short musical performance.By Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
A little Madness in the Spring 1:45

2M ago1:45

1:45

American poet Emily Dickinson's enigmatic short Spring poem performed with new music as a Spring song. For more than 750 other combinations of various words (usually literary poetry) with original music visit our blog and archives located at frankhudson.orgBy Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
Sexton! 1:33

2M ago1:33

1:33

Your presenter with an acoustic guitar galloping through Emily Dickinson's exhortation of Spring today.By Frank Hudson for the Parlando Project

1
E176: Simon Day on the Fast Show + Brian Pern + Steely Dan audio 1:08:25

2M ago1:08:25

1:08:25

In this episode we welcome Fast Show legend Simon Day to downtown Hammersmith and ask him about his musical passions and the immortal Life Of Rock With Brian Pern. We start with our guest's misspent youth in south-east London, where he frequently saw bands such as Dr. Feelgood and local lads Squeeze and even fronted his own punk combo Simon & the V…

1
Pea Brush 2:53

2M ago2:53

2:53

Robert Frost tells a little tale of nature and gardening for May. Being that it's Frost, there's a sharp observation woven into the story about man and nature. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done over 750 of these combinations, and you can hear them and read more …

1
John Sinclair writes 2 poems of Thelonious Monk 2:05

2M ago2:05

2:05

John Sinclair (who died during this National Poetry Month) did a lot of things in his life, generating so many stances and actions that I suspect no one can agree with all of it. But one thing he did throughout his life was write Jazz Poetry, and so for International Jazz Day this year I thought I'd seek out and perform a couple of his poems. The P…

1
The Fairies Have Never a Penny to Spend 2:04

3M ago2:04

2:04

Rose Fyleman wrote charming and popular children's poems in the early 20th century, like this one. I set her poem for performance in a jaunty rock'n'roll trio as I approach the end of my National Poetry Month look-back at poems aimed at children in the first half of the 20th century. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poet…

1
Dover Beach 3:56

3M ago3:56

3:56

I continue to examine poems from a pair of books of verse meant for the children who grew up to become "The Greatest Generation." This one's not a sunny day holiday for the kids: Matthew Arnold's at the beach, he puts a seashell to his ear, and hears....the future, or perhaps time itself, and it's harrowing. The Parlando Project takes various words…

1
Pippa Passes 1:58

3M ago1:58

1:58

A short Spring poem with a famous ending couplet that seems to be about contentment -- and after all, I found it inside a 1922 book of verse for children I'm looking at for National Poetry Month. In the context of the longer work Browning placed it in, it may not be that simple, but I perform it today as if it was. The Parlando Project combines var…

1
The Wind 2:03

3M ago2:03

2:03

For National Poetry Month this year I've been looking at poems from a pair of 1920s books of verse for children. Today's selection is a charming poem by Robert Louis Stevenson performed with an electric folk-rock band. The Parlando Project does this, takes words (mostly literary poetry) and combines them with original music. We've done over 750 of …

1
Hills: Children's poetry, but written by a child 2:34

3M ago2:34

2:34

To observe this National Poetry Month I've been diving into a pair of poetry anthologies for children published in the 1922/1923. One poet included in them was an unusual case: Hilda Conkling, a child herself. That this grade-schooler was composing poems that often seemed to share Imagism's approaches intrigued some Modernists. Here's one of her po…

1
The Coromandel Fishers 2:40

3M ago2:40

2:40

Sarojini Naidu's poem of stalwart Bengali fishermen asked to be sung, so I sang it. The author may have had a melody in mind, as she published this in a section of her poetry she called "Folk Songs." Naidu began as a promising poet ("The Nightengale of India") but left verse to for work for women's suffrage and Indian independence. The Parlando Pro…

1
The World Is Too Much With Us 2:04

3M ago2:04

2:04

William Wordsworth's well-known sonnet performed, as the word sonnet means, as a little song. Within the next 24 hour or so, I hope to have more to say about what you may have overlooked in this short poem on the Parlando Project's blog (see below). We've got a lot at the blog celebrating poetry and National Poetry Month. The Parlando Project combi…

1
E175: Steffan Chirazi on Metallica + Jack Casady audio + John Sinclair 1:21:59

3M ago1:21:59

1:21:59

In this episode we welcome the splendid Steffan Chirazi to RBP Towers and ask him about his career as a metal/hard rock specialist and his long association with the mighty Metallica. We hear about our guest's lucky break as a 15-year-old Motörhead maniac when the band's frontman Lemmy gave up three hours to Steffan during the sessions for 1983's An…

1
The Minstrel Boy 2:14

3M ago2:14

2:14

For National Poetry Month this year I'm looking at and performing poems found in a pair of 1920s anthologies of verse for children. The Girls of Verse and The Boys Book of Verse. Though "The Minstrel Boy" was included within books of poetry, this poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore was quicky adapted as a song and is best known as such today. Which sav…

1
Each in His Own Tongue 2:29

3M ago2:29

2:29

Today I read a summary of poet Mary Oliver's approach by poet and critic A. M. Juster. He concluded: "I also think her spirit wanted to write religious poetry, but her mind wouldn't let her." Lo & behold I was working this week on a singable version of this 1906 poem that I found in a collection of verse for children published in the 1920s that I'm…

1
Sea Fever 2:14

3M ago2:14

2:14

We're celebrating National Poetry Month with musical presentations of poems taken from a gendered pair of 100-year-old anthologies published as The Girls and The Boys Book of Verse. Today's is John Masefield's famous poem of seafaring. The Parlando Project takes words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music we write and perf…

1
There is no Frigate like a Book 2:01

3M ago2:01

2:01

We continue our National Poetry Month feature examination of a pair of century-old children's poetry anthologies with this famous invocation of book-fed imagination. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done over 700 of these things, and you can listen to them and find …

1
Piping Down the Valleys Wild 2:33

3M ago2:33

2:33

My feature this National Poetry Month is going to be examination of two 1920's poetry anthologies, one for girls and one for boys. This William Blake poem invoking childhood visions bringing joy was in the opening section of the girl's volume and it seems like an apt poem to set to music and lead off our celebration this month. The Parlando Project…

1
E174: Sean O'Hagan on Microdisney + The High Llamas + The Beach Boys 1:33:49

3M ago1:33:49

1:33:49

In this episode we welcome revered High Llamas leader (and arranger to the hip and the mighty) Sean O'Hagan to Hammersmith and ask him about his life and times from Microdisney to new album Hey Panda. We hear about Sean's Luton childhood, his family's move back to Ireland, and his 1980 encounter with the late Cathal Coughlan — the Corkonian with wh…

1
Singing at Dusk 2:33

3M ago2:33

2:33

Emmy Hemmings is a forgotten Dada artist, launching the famous Cabaret Voltaire during WWI as am organizer, performer and poet -- yet no one translated her poetry from German until this century. I just got done doing a somewhat free translation of one of her poems, and since Hennings was a performer, it seems fitting to present her work here in the…

1
Whispering Often 1:58

4M ago1:58

1:58

Here's a poem for March, for Spring, and for Easter now turned into a song, The words were written about a hundred years ago by a largely forgotten Midwestern American poet Edwin Ford Piper. This month I wrote music for Piper's words, and today's piece is taken from a demo session where I recorded the freshly made song. The Parlando Project does st…

1
Cool Tombs 1:56

4M ago1:56

1:56

Poet Carl Sandburg goes gothic-graveyard for this poem about Love & Death. I decided to accompany my performance of it with some new music in my "punk orchestral" style, which means it's short, not-to-fancy, and uses whatever virtual orchestral instruments I can figure out something for them play. The Parlando Project takes various words (usually l…

1
The Wind Didn't Come from the Orchard Today 3:54

4M ago3:54

3:54

Here's a playful and mysterious Emily Dickinson poem for World Poetry Day. The Parlando Project enlists The LYL Band in this one to create a full-band folk-rock song out of Dickinson's poem. The Parlando Project has done that sort of thing for several years, taking words (usually literary poetry) and combining them with music in different styles. W…

1
E173: Ira Robbins on Trouser Press + Anglophilia + Nick Lowe audio 57:28

4M ago57:28

57:28

In this episode we welcome long-time RBP contributor Ira Robbins as he celebrates the 50th anniversary of the launch of his beloved Trouser Press. Ira tells us about the musical Anglophilia that began for him with the Beatles but surged with the 1968 release of The Who Sell Out. He then recounts the beginning of his friendship with schoolmate Dave …

1
#88: Deep Dive Into Vegan Meal Prep 46:23

4M ago46:23

46:23

One of our most popular episodes of all time was an interview with Vegan Chef / Nutritionist Amy Longard a few years back! So naturally, we thought it was time to bring her back for an even more in-depth conversation about all things meal prep. And we're letting Sarah ask all the questions on this one as she claims to be “completely clueless” and “…

1
The Drunken Singer 4:11

4M ago4:11

4:11

I remind myself today that I sometimes write lyrics, so here's a piece that features my own words and music. What the Parlando Project usually does is combine other people's words (usually literary poetry) with the variety of original music we compose and make. You can hear over 700 examples of that at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.o…

1
The Late Singer 2:06

4M ago2:06

2:06

William Carlos Williams' Spring poem reminds us that it's never too late to sing. I had to cancel a more pristine time in a recording space this week but produced this quick & dirty version of this song using Williams' words instead. Spring itself, has a way of being quick & dirty -- and I'll remind you of the musicians' and composers' prayer: "May…

1
The Last Antelope 4:23

4M ago4:23

4:23

Edwin Ford Piper is an early 20th century Midwestern American poet who's largely been forgotten. I've only started to read him this week, but this poem captured me immediately and I had to perform it with music, Parlando style. The Parlando Project combines various words (usually literary poetry) with original music in different styles. We've done …

1
E172: Alan Light on Vibe + Prince + Taylor Swift + Townes Van Zandt 1:31:07

4M ago1:31:07

1:31:07

In this episode we welcome esteemed writer and editor Alan Light and ask him about the years he spent at Rolling Stone, Vibe and Spin — plus his close encounters with Prince, Taylor Swift and Townes Van Zandt. Vibe is the particular focus of interest for Alan's hosts, hence we hear about the magazine's inception, its co-founder Quincy Jones, our gu…

1
When the Dream Outruns the Real 4:09

5M ago4:09

4:09

Poet Dave Moore's song about when "Follow your dream" or "Do what you love..." meets up with reality. Here's the cool thing about this piece: it's not a put-down. I play on it with The LYL Band, and I think the song applies to me. One of the Parlando Project's mottos is "All Artists Fail." You have to accept that and do what you choose to do anyway…

1
Two Aunties by Fenton Johnson 3:37

5M ago3:37

3:37

Black Chicago poet Fenton Johnson published these two free-verse poetic portraits in Others magazine in 1919, gaining him some notice as an Afro-American who was working in the avant-garde forms of Modernism. I performed his two poems with a rock band accompaniment for today's example of what the Parlando Project does: combining various words (most…

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