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Parlando - Where Music and Words Meet

Poetry has been defined as “words that want to break into song.” Musicians who make music seek to “say something”. Parlando will put spoken words (often, but not always, poetry) and music (different kinds, limited only by the abilities of the performing participants) together. The resulting performances will be short, 2 to 10 minutes in length. The podcast will present them un-adorned. How much variety can we find in this combination? Listen to a few episodes and see. Hear the sound and sense convey other people's stories here at Parlando - Where Music and Words Meet At least at first, the two readers will be a pair of Minnesota poets and musicians: Frank Hudson and Dave Moore who have performed as The LYL Band since the late 70s. Influences include: Patti Smith, Jack Kerouac (and many other “beat poets”), Frank Zappa, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), William Blake, Alan Moore, The Fugs (Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg), Leo Kottke, Ken Nordine (Word Jazz), Bob Dylan, Steve Reich, and most of the Velvet Underground (Lou Reed, John Cale, Nico).
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Parlando - Where Music and Words Meet
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Now displaying: December, 2024
Dec 30, 2024

Kenneth Patchen wrote this poem sometime before the middle of the 20th century, but it seemed so apt today that I felt that I had to sing it as a statement for the end of our year.

The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations, and you can hear all of them and read about our experiences with the words at the Project's archives and blog located at frankhudson.org

 

Dec 20, 2024

Once more we put an Emily Dickinson poem into a song setting. Today's piece weighs fears: haunted houses, ghosts, graveyards, assassins, but says the greatest fear is, or should be, ourselves.

A full rock ensemble for this one: bass, drums, piano, two electric guitars and a 12-string acoustic. 

The Parlando Project takes various words, mostly literary poetry, and combines them with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations over the years, and you can hear them all at our blog and archives at frankhudson.org

Dec 17, 2024

As a young woman, Mina Loy adventured through many avant-garde artistic scenes in early 20th century, and her series of poems of desire, its attractions and disaffections, "Songs to Joannes," still stands out for its exciting use of language. Here are two small excerpts from that series turned into a song.

The Parlando Project has combined over 800 sets of works (mostly literary poetry not intended to be sung) with original music in differing styles. You can hear all of the released pieces and read short reports on our experiences with the word and the music we combine with them at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org

Dec 10, 2024

Emily Dickinson wrote a short poem about looking at the face of someone that disgusted her. It's now a song here, because that's what the Parlando Project does: we take words (mostly literary poetry not intended to be sung) and combine it with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations, and you can hear them all at our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org

Dec 4, 2024

For our 800th official release I've chosen this, with words and music by the Parlando Projects alternative voice, Dave Moore. Dave sings this and plays keys, just as he did in the earliest days of this project, and its predecessor the LYL Band. 

"The Fade" is an unusual rock song, even if you file it under "Indie" or "Alt Rock," because it talks about something a genre associated with younger people doesn't: aging, its infirmities, particularly memory loss. I think of Dave's lyric here as being in the tradition of the Velvet Underground: like the songs on their famous 1st LP, Dave's song describes something not often sung about while making no judgement or framing it in any sentimentality. 

The Parlando Project takes various words (usually literary poetry) and combines them with original music in differing styles. We've done this for over 8 years, and you can hear all the released pieces and read what I wrote about our experience with the words at our blog and archives, which is located at frankhudson.org

Dec 1, 2024

A sonnet about the small number of records I can recall from my childhood household. performed with an acoustic duo. Yes, thinking back, this odd combination of disks might have given me part of the inspiration for the Parlando Project.

That Parlando Project takes various words (mostly literary poetry not intended by its writers to be sung) and combines them with music in differing styles. We've presented nearly 800 of them over the years. and you can hear any of them and read about our encounters with the words at our blog and archives, located at frankhudson.org

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