Growing up in Kansas, from about 9 to 12 years old, I went to Christian summer camp down the highway in rural Missouri. I loved it there. We swam in creeks and caught crawfish. I played soccer and made friends. There was a zipline that ran through the … [Read more...]
Poem for a Lady Boy
First, I must clarify I know nothing about you How could I understand How the German man’s lips taste between cigarettes Second, I would like to sing you a song I will pay you, colored papers with queens or the like, for your time I want the chance … [Read more...]
Todd Clouser: five poems from the Forest in Hidalgo
DRUNK DREAM It has been 5 years since I quit the drugs that were skinning my heart They, I, still make me dream about them That I was stone tongued and the Cause of laughter and awoke Shadowed in shame, blood open and crying That I had left my … [Read more...]
Bread and Circus – a poem by Todd Clouser
South of the imaginary lines where the uniformed and ironed men and and women that look like boys and girls, skin on the face still soft, wear their gloves and glasses bad men are winning the imaginary wars they’ve begun so they could win … [Read more...]
Forgiving Time
He calls me kid I’m almost 34 now And have forgiven myself for getting older I walked past and hopped down to the crooked street Where the short man with baby dark skin sells balloons And blue telephones hang lonely And lost my balance My … [Read more...]
Detroit, Airport
I am in Detroit and have not slept in a day It is the first snow of their year and I am thinking about the last words my grandfather said to me That I cannot remember Here there is woman with a gentle face and humble watch Reading a book, hard … [Read more...]
What to Wake Up For
It lifts me from sleep, from hot wind dream A mute sun in the never winter morning A thought - someone anywhere, you, may read this … [Read more...]
On Leaving Peru: 5 poems by Todd Clouser
Even the Crows are Colored Here Even the crows are colored here Water in the Sky foots prints to forever rivers While the woman of Betania makes lunch for the hurried thinkers, I am Even the crows are colored here Where every music exists with … [Read more...]
The Insides of Argentina
The Humor is Heroic We have just played a concert in a small town in the flat part of Argentina Desert most of the time, moon up by string, half at full scream, other in dust left by a murder sun I am sitting middle seat in the front of a Sprinter … [Read more...]
Jazz and the Money Jungle
The same thing happens everywhere Money Jungle is perfect, of the skin, maybe the pulse On the night no one talks about A day before New Years, in Panama City Crooked toe cranes light the canal Where the mountains mumble down to Lows talk to the … [Read more...]
Music and Sleep
Sunbreak Shot in the eye Pistol dust This is our city Victor says hello In an undressed Mexican accent As I pass with my guitar All the cement Underneath us Sun fight for Earth Tepid warmth, like snakeblood Scars on their hearts … [Read more...]
The Naked Beat
The Love Electric's new video was filmed in New York City, Lisbon, Berlin, and Woodstock. You can get "The Naked Beat" here. About A Love Electric The Love Electric is a band that does things differently. An art rock trio of three … [Read more...]
Observations on the Cynic
Cut up by it, imagination Strangled by stripes of shame Painted poorly but purposefully by the kind of artist whose arrows are shot before they are aimed It burnt the blood from our dreams Smoke rings in the distant scatter lit city night, flashing … [Read more...]
The Art of the Statement – Be the Mule
I found humanity through music. I lose focus and grow cynical at times, but if I am honest as a listener, and remain receptive, the chance of transcending my emotional disturbances and triumphs through music remains. There's the possibility of unity, and … [Read more...]
The Time that John Lurie Called Me
My artistic, maybe even my personal, aesthetic had me identifying with the music of John Lurie the first time I heard his compositions on record. Close to a bunch of things I cannot, or do not care, to be. The celebration of the idea. The joy in … [Read more...]
Remember When You Have A Son
remember when you have a son nothing is erased words get stamped upon the letters that will fall from his full grown mouth that the window he sits before is curtained by the canvas colored humming of your stare or gentle smile your push or hold, … [Read more...]
Todd Clouser’s A Love Electric “Wake and Shake Your Heart” Video Premiere
News is good, and it is you we owe. Relix Magazine decided to take on our humble handheld operation and premiere our new video to the world. The world premiere of the "Wake and Shake Your Heart" video, filmed in Mexico City, mostly on my block there - … [Read more...]
An Essay on the Arcana Series
I sat down to write this as a commentary on the series of books edited by John Zorn, all of which are entitled Arcana. The series comes in six parts, including hundreds of essays written by musicians, artists, on their creative process, technique, … [Read more...]
