poetry in motion

Music Video

Confrontation > Michael Franti/Spencer Love/Penny Shaw

“Confrontation”
poem spoken by Michael Franti
from 1 Giant Leap
http://www.whataboutme.tv/

(musicians)
michael franti
jiggs
spencer love
tehamua nikora
penny shaw
kirsten olivier
soweto string quartet
kishore kumar mishra
paco
carol robinson
frank byng
smart and friends
bahman mobayen
robin jeffrey
duncan bridgeman

(interviews)
fred reid
david oldfield
george naku

Advertisement

HEART REMAINS > JOELISTICS

Heart Remains > Joelistics from Verb Studios on Vimeo.

The HEART REMAINS OPEN PROJECT invited people from across Australia to contribute video content in response to the track HEART REMAINS by the hip hop artists Joelistics (ELEFANT TRAKS). The final video is a tapestry of place, culture, people and landscape that paints a portrait of Australia in the 21st Century.

Words and music: Joel Ma (Joelistics)
Produced, Directed and Edited by Timothy Parish – Verb Studios

Footage Contributors:

Cris Broadhurst
Jasper Smith
Grant VK58GR
Gini Lee
Sundry Productions
San-A
Jenny Grinlington
Michael Fletcher
Kym Fielke
Aime Lou

ABC Open Wide Bay
Darcy Travers
Doecke
Barry Schrapel
Norm Ofstead
Injected Ideas
James Russell
Geoff Oliver
Dave Dwyer
Tracey Lundgren
Pierpaolo Baricchio
Sharon Greenaway
Nicky Forster
Stephanie Riddel
Ty Swanson
Bjorn Rust
Mike Riley
Pasramos
Paul Sellen
Alasdair Shurman
AP_OZ
Ashley Perry
Martin Whipp
Documentary Shop
Will Horne
Liam Monkhouse
Tim Parish

Many thanks to:
Will Tinapple
Sam Hussey
Miles Merrill
Anthea Varigos
Bill Wade
Hamish McDonald
Eric Fassbender
Richard Tamplenizza

Creative Commons


Cats and Dogs > Boonaa Mohammed

Directed and Edited by Syd Woodward, Sound Design by Ray Muloin http://getgrounded.tv

Cats and Dogs
It’s kind of dumb… but ummm,
I used to think that every time it rained an angel began to cry,
And it made me sad to see emotions drip from the sky
Ask me why and I’d tell you that I could see it coming from a mile
But denial ain’t just a river, it attacks you inner child.
But he had everything a boy could every want,
Money, power, respect and fancy toys to flaunt,
Guys wanted to be him,
Girls wanted to meet him,
He was a smooth criminal, lingo was never corny,
The star of countless, classic ghetto stories
Legendary general, controlled armies of lost souls
Gangster and a gentleman locked in one soul,
Survival was the only thing that he would ever know
A product of society so where did we go… wrong
Cause an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,
You pick at karma enough and she’ll stop by to say hi,
I never knew which one came first, thunder or lighting,
But as life takes you on a ride, the resemblance can be striking,
Evil deeds resulting from a dysfunctional seed,
Grew from poverty the streets is all he needs,
Found comfort around pimps pushers and thugs,
The only family that he ever showed true love,
But could you blame him?
I mean, idea plus conviction becomes reality,
Oppressive systems creating another ghetto causality
Just singing that same old song,
The one that begins in the womb and ends in a tomb,
Plenty of brothers have taken the exact same path,
Did dirt but always searched for a nice clean bath,
His name rang bells from high schools to prison cells,
The word on the street was about his latest confrontation,
Rolling through projects armed with nothing but a reputation,
Lived life to the fullest, but when it rains it pours
And Good deeds can’t necessarily feed the poor
So he stole from the rich and he stole from the poor,
People tried to help him but he just wanted more,
He had angles and demons perched on both shoulder engaging in immortal combat
Fighting to control his mind and use his tongue as a door mat,
He would say things, than contradict with his actions,
Leaning towards the devils satisfaction, he was living life too fast.
Locked in a cage practically every summer,
Collect three-ways connecting the dumb to the dumber,
Friends were not friends, simply there for the moment,
Praying for his downfall, but he would never know it,
Karma eventually caught up and it wasn’t safe for him or his family,
Could have stayed underground but he was way too manly,
Because you can take the boy out of the jungle
But you can’t take the jungle out of the boy,
The stress in his voice meant that he knew it was coming,
I think he let it happen because he was sick of running
And as you probably guessed, past tenses indicate that he is no longer present,
Just another statistic to be brought up during the next stinkin elections,
Nothing special, despite the impact he had on so many lives,
When he died I couldn’t even force myself to cry,
Because I said goodbye a lot sooner than most,
I remember when he was a king but now he’s just a ghost,
He taught me so many things; he was skilled in so many ways,
He could have been so many things but he was killed in broad day,
He really let me down, he said that everything would be okay… but he lied
Because I’m looking out my window…
And it’ still raining outside.

WWW.BOONAA.COM


When The Smoke Clearz > Taalam Acey

Guerilla News Network’s award-winning video scratch of Talaam Acey’s slam epic

Slam Poet: Taalam Acey

Score: Dead Prez

Producer: Ian Inaba

Designer/Editor: Stephen Marshall

~

RIP – Guerilla News Network…


FIAT LUX > Hugo

Epic conscious rap and video which follows the beginning of the universe from big bang to evolution of life and the creative instinct that sparks eternal.

FIAT LUX is an ode to the creative muses and the evolution of consciousness performed by HUGO (lyricist behind the RAP NEWS), with beat by TREATS (musicfromspeakers.com) and video collage by filmmaker TIM PARISH aka VERB STUDIOS as an Undergrowth Magazine collaborative project in samplology.

FIAT LUX is from the album ‘The Enlightenment Age’ available online through Reverb Nation here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/hugo1

This video is dedicated to the brilliant artists and creative minds that have inspired and evolved the human experience into manifesting a visionary society.

We want to also respectfully acknowledge the work of the filmmakers and painters whose work has been sampled in this video essay of evolution.

FILMMAKERS:
Stanley Kubrick (2001:Space Odyssey)
Jan Kounen (Blueberry/Renegade)
Frank Reggio (Naqoyqaatsi)
Ron Fricke (Baraka)
David Attenborough (LIFE)
Darren Oronofsky (The Fountain)
Alex Grey (TOOL: Lateralus)

Flight 404

MUSIC MAKERS:
Electric Light Orchestra – Tightrope
Telephon Tel Aviv – Sound In A Dark Room
Sebastian – H.A.L.
The Black Ghosts – Any Way You Choose To Give It (Boy 8-Bit Dub)
2562 – Kameleon
Rhianna ft. Jay-Z – Umbrella
Rage Against The Machine – Township Rebellion

VISIONARY PAINTERS:
Aboriginal Australian, Mayan, Huichol, Native American and Egyptian Artists, Michaelangelo, Botticelli, Brueghel, Pablo Picasso, Vassily Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, MC Escher, Amanda Sage, Alex Grey, Martina Hoffmann, Robert Venosa, Pablo Amaringo and many more…

{ ART IS MAGIC }

Here is another version of the same poem, recited by Hugo live to fellow poet Si in an anonymous cafe. The riddle of life immersed in the mundane…


CODED LANGUAGE > Saul Williams

 

Saul Williams performs his epic ode to the genius of language and the indictment of the mindless violence of gangster hip hop culture to raise the consciousness of the entire. fucking. world.

From the album ‘Amethyst Rock Star’ with music by DJ Krust

Below, the same poetry performed live at Def Jam Poetry show on HBO.

 

www.saulwilliams.com/


“The Best Of Times” Sage Francis

Video for “The Best Of Times” by Sage Francis from the new album ‘Li(f)e’

http://www.sagefrancis.net/