(Photo By The Writer’s Poet)
“Taking Notes” (preview)
Bronx native Martin (The Writer’s Poet) Pounds doesn’t just expressive himself in written prose. He also dabbles in the spoken word art form. As mentioned in his debut on the site, he has a couple of spoken word albums under his belt. His latest is titled The Rock Chronicles and he shared a selection from the project called “Taking Notes.” The piece is set to background music with a heavy foundation, intense musical components, a gradual pace, and a serious vibe. It sounds great. The only critique is that it is a little loud which makes it slightly hard to hear Martin’s words.
This spoken word piece focuses on the struggles, corruption, and brain washing that are present in the world. Martin discusses these ills through the utilization of graphic words that paint strong pictures in the listener’s mind. For example he talks of: hanging, a morphine rush, genocide, bleeding from being stoned, etc. It’s definitely a smart tactic to retain attention. The first portion of the work is well put together but it is the second portion that cleverly embodies the earlier mentioned themes. The innovation comes from the references that are in place. They are nods to popular television shows, both old & new. A few excerpts include: “Big Brother views were never the same. There was never a plan to change. Criminal minded. We never thought that the White House was Communist. To hear them talk blasphemy. Buried by this insanity. Our country went from made men to Mad Men. Breaking Bad that’s all they had. Still no structure in this ghost land.” Those are some quality highbrow lines of expression right there. Overall, this was an intriguing effort.
**My Two Cents: Spoken word always provides a nice change of pace from written poems, so I was excited to share this on the site. I like the music that Martin chose for the piece. It was a good compliment just a tad over powering. The content itself was decent too. Martin provided an abstract yet fresh perspective on some commonly examined subjects. I think readers will find it appealing as well. Stay tuned for more from The Writer’s Poet. His collaboration with Tiki Da Poet is on the horizon. -MinM
