Podcast in A minor

Say, are you aware of the credo that, when it’s your birthday, you can do whatever you want? Like watch horror movies all day and eat Elvis Poke Cake for breakfast? I’m cool with that—cause it’s my birthday! HALF A CENTURY under the bridge! Come celebrate—let’s talk 1974—Artemis cakes—poke cakes—and have a little music, both American AND Romanian! To another year and many more! 1974 events https:/...

Dump Cake! Watergate Pie! Two glistening and eccentric 20th-century desserts attempt to sweeten the bitter pills of life as I share one of my sad little stories! We all have them. That is why we love our pastries, right? Bake along! Watergate Salad https://www.food.com/recipe/authentic-watergate-salad-120800 Dump Cake https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a20164016/cherry-dump-cake-recipe/

CRYPTID CAMPFIRE ‘24! El Chupacabra — finally! What hidden creature is draining the blood from our goats? Our chickens, geese and cows? Is it a bald, leathery wolf? Is it a monster with feathers? A vampire lizard? Whatever she is. she gonna have fangs! And what could be more spooky fun than a chupacabra song? Two of ‘em! It’s Dueling Chupacabras with Mr. & Mrs. McAnally to ward off the bloodthirst...

Did you ever want to just slap somebody for their impertinent beauty or outrageous charisma? Leave it to Louise Belcher, 9-year-old heroine of “Bob’s Burgers,” to provide an exquisite string of words to apply to those who would upset our apple carts and knock the wind out of us. Plus—a terribly cursory look at the boy band thing (or more like how disappointed I was by all the haircuts in 7th grade...

“Everything I touch turns to graveyards,” Patty Duke lamented in a 1971 episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery! And for ten years, I KNEW it would become a song. And here it is! In your hot little hands! Let’s plunge into an eerie tale of a cursed diary—followed by a short list of other cursed objects, and gratitude to Patty Duke for advocating for mental health awareness and funding. The Diary (N...

Time to consider the spleen! That magnificent purple organ that cleans your blood and does you all kinds of good! And didn’t Keanu Reeves and Christian Bale both rupture theirs in motorcycle accidents back in the ‘90s? A vague memory, unconfirmed. Anyway! Here is your formal intro to POETRY FREAKS The Podcast—and Three Poems Called Spleen! Talk about summer fun!! POETRY FREAKS The Podcast https://...

Whoa—Count Dracula in Swinging London?? I’m a little breathless again! It’s “Dracula A.D. 1972”! What more could we want? The kaleidoscopic colors—the misty churchyard—the bloodbath! My goodness, what are you waiting for? A spurt of go-go music for a vampire chase in the fog? Well, you’ll get it! Freak out!!!

Was the poet John Keats a graverobber? Who wants to know? And why shouldn’t he be? He was the whole gothic package—-tubercular, pale, preoccupied with death, poetic… Here is your sleek transition from poetry hangover to summer sleepovers with their ghostly thrills. And OHHH catch a brand new urban legend starring your dauntless host—wowie!! Keats A-Go-Go: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/201907...

Poets and Poetry Freaks alike–gather, gather! For a song of accursed poets and a nice long swim in their wake. Hey, there’s a French term for those folks: Poétes maudits! And you know how a very specific phrase in another language just grips me by the soul and sets me to shivering with joy! Cursed poets, symbolists, decadents! With a trifecta like that, how can we not emerge more poetic? This is t...

Why yes, poetry on gum wrappers—you should try it sometime. National Poetry Month toodles along, leaving starry trails behind it — and things get groovy with poetry glowed up with ambient musical coolness—thanks to Scott Chaffin! This one’s a love letter to poetry practice with a whole load of poems written on gum wrappers—plus a list of books that have inspired me the most! Steal Like an Artist b...

The best chair in the room is all yours for the next leg of our party for National Poetry Month! This one’s a poem-to-song—utilizing a poem written last National Poetry Month (2023) when randomly-drawn Beautiful Words provided the prompts (the word was PICTURESQUE). Then snuggle in for a reading of 3 poems (two of them rare), a little Dorothy Parker, and an impromptu string-of-pearls poetry exerci...

Our second episode of National Poetry Month ‘24 dives into POETRY … in The Twilight Zone, that mid-20th-century television chocolate box of the weird! How much poetry can The Twilight Zone hold? Does poetry make a difference in the lives of the young? Well, it sure did for me! Get some poetry in ya—with a dash of the bizarre! Time Enough at Last https://frankhudson.org/2019/04/06/poetry-in-gray-pa...

Currently in bloom: dogwood tree, strawberries, wild violets! Inspiring the unearthing of the lost first half of this classic tune from episode 8! EIGHT! Full-Hippie Thursday! Shazam.

Nursery Rhymes! Our first poems, the lyrics of our infanthood— tuning our little ears to the rhyme … the rhythm … the horror… And when the horror is done, have some pie. Pie Bakers galore—whether simple or delirious, it’s National Poetry Month. Get a faceful of the goods! Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary: A Guide To The Language Of Jive (1938) - Flashbak flashbak.com/cab-calloways-hepsters-dict...

Overkill? Perhaps. But you don’t wanna miss those very-human outtakes. And at the end of the day, isn’t that right at the heart of gospel—imperfect but adored? Anyway! Just a handful of extra thoughts — esprit d’escalier! And more Good News: our new “Pie Baker” EP is now available for free on Bandcamp under the Minutewax label—treat yourself to some gospel and gospel-oid anthems from your new favo...

Another 3-fer! Your new favorite trio of songwriting freaks can’t be stopped, don’t even try—this time tackling GOSPEL and gospel-like musical party favors. —> devotion —> pie bakers! plural!! —> and….forbidden realms. Tread lightly, do. Amy Zoellers, Scott Chaffin and Seann McAnally are in it up to their necks again. Musical gluttony! Of course. salvation is always an option… Scott: www.instagram...

Oops I hit a weird button! Well, someone did. Of course it was me. And a musical collaboration was born. Three songwriters, three days, one kooky phrase! Hear all three versions of “Oops I Hit a Weird Button” right here – it’s a totally rad musical grab-bag–each song astonishingly distinct from the others! You’ll want to dive in and waller. With the two irrepressibles: Scott Chaffin and Seann McAn...

Games! You said it, Amanda. Who’s Amanda? Don’t overthink it—all will become apparent as we move around the board, zoom through the levels, roll the D20 — what have you. I’m no game expert, so I recruit others to share their wisdom on the subject—get sidetracked by earrings and apricot brandy (again)---and did you know there’s a game called POETRY FREAKS, invented right here in town? Let’s bounce...

OK, cookie time! Take a break from your dance moves and have a cookie—that splodge of dough baked into a disk of pure love. And twice the wholesome goodness: TWO versions of the opening song! What a score! This episode’s cookie jar also brims with frantic encouragement from mid-20th-century cookbooks, a couple of urban legends, a heroine who loses her poise over a bag of chocolate chips, and SO MU...

Oh, cripes, it came out another love song! Get thee behind me, February! Anyhow, let’s talk puzzle boxes and dark circles under the eyes! History of Puzzle Boxes https://heartwood.com/blogs/history/history-of-puzzle-boxes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzle_box https://youtu.be/_NreYBwzRQk?si=as89wPmja-w_Af_u https://scariesthings.com/2023/08/15/mikes-review-puzzle-box-2023-popcord-frights-film...

February? Again?? Well, you asked for it. In the vote to select the tone of our latest Valentine’s-Day-Cometh episode, “DRIPPY ROMANTIC” soundly whomped “CYNICAL.” And so two insufferable lovebirds (-slash-songbirds) track the origin and soaring arc of their honey-bloated companionship across SIX SONGS written for each other and passed like notes in a junior high math class. This episode is STUFFE...

Try and guess the color of Warren G. Harding’s pajamas! I dare you! Jump right in for the story behind an ode to the 29th U.S. President, his sleepwear, possible poisoning, and tragic eyebrows! Plus, a delightful conversation with a local archivist and lifelong friend of mine, wherein we discuss Warren’s pj’s, Presidential baking, and cast our votes for the sexiest Prez. Be there! Or be grievously...

AI art! I didn’t think much about it. Until I did. Snuggle up for a new weird song and one chick’s blatherings! * No artificial intelligence was involved in the making of this episode. Strictly human souls, maybe some ghosts. Human art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/hipnessandoutrage/?etsrc=sdt&load_webview=1&bid=dz7rro3kVTfQIwjRnwSrhmUcWg_P

Snow Days! Magical gifts of winter bestowed on the school-bound and those with schooly jobs—will they or won’t they … cancel school? A tense scene, but richly rewarding when closings are announced. The possibilities! The memories! A day suspended in a snow globe, throwing pixie dust on the everyday. How many marshmallows in your cocoa? Backbeat Band. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backbeat_(sound...

Happy New Year—with a pair of blues songs to springboard us into such topics as songwriting ghosts — Being and Nothingness (again) — and two quick tricks to make a blues song sound like blues song! Vengeful bathtub ghost! And Bob Dylan, too!