No collaborative meeting (cancelled for Chanukah), but a few weird ideas.

Jazz records used to always, and sometimes still do, come with critical essays for their liner notes. That, along with a few black and white shots from the studio (if it wasn't a live recording) constituted the entire packaging. Fast forward today, in the post-rock world, and liner notes are replaced by "packaging" a weird hybrid of lyrics, shout-outs and designy stuff created by either artist, the marketing department, or some unholy marriage of the two. I was thinking a minute ago, whill practicing drums in my office closet surrounded by all my old cassettes, that liner notes, or album packaging, or whatever you call it, is still something people read. Why don't we use this as a space for texts more interesting than thank-you lists and song lyrics. WHy don't poets start writing liner notes? Specifically, how 'bout we poets team up with any musicians we know who has a record coming out and offer to write, as a kind of miniature chapbook, the liner text. Like the professioinal critics who were brought in to contextualize the album and give listeners more to relate to, professional poets could add new dimensions to the experience of sitting down with liner notes.

Other than that, a few scattered notes on chapbook poems, and, oh yeah, placed a few 3-ton boulders in someone's backyard. When I have the energy, I'll solve the tech issues for getting a few shots of stone work up and maybe a brief discussion on whether it's art or not. Curious form Jenn, or anyone else, is making book number 17 making art, or is it only type-settingl and designing the first one that's art. Also, anyone else- can you satisfy yourself as a creative person even if you don't do "you art"? Maybe I should have given this subject more thought when I started the crazy blog.