Liner Notes (Shuggie Otis Reissue)

Abstract

Liner Notes (Shuggie Otis Reissue):For Fred Moten Brent Hayes Edwards 1. inspiration information breath, a treatiseinside a dreamstorm:bottleneck back- beat,sleigh bell, slack-tonguedorgan stick-back situationdark blue ring breath, a husting an eight o'clock sit downbreath, a form his finger stirs annular smoke he blew electric whirl- pools through his chest then an exhalation distends the known dreaming in and out of style 2. island letter dreaming in and out of townwe talked about your peachesand we laughed we talked about your beachesand how we'd get therein good time and intact [End Page 98] in my mouth you are I am stranded in the light of this voice can you hear me when I call the voice with- drawsin gold tones untucked organ plotting an eternity of how I miss you water lapping shifts the edge of loss in the sand 3. sparkle city the foundation's all slya family of shinesand fuzzy angles at the horizon sorry people, I'm not the oneyou found what you shouted outabout dig underfoot no nachträglich geniusI'm not the buried coalyou burn with hindsight keep your eyes off my asstry calling when you thinkyou found it meanwhile I flicker and fadelight let outthe sibilant dream she took 4. aht uh mi hed ought and might havetouted a sly bedof strum and tread [End Page 99] sought might insteadno matter I hadhush aimed ahead ached and misledan outer breedof tenor mayhem hearts unheardarts misreadan utter sigh away 6. 7. 8. rainy day ode to a roland 77:the falling rainput me to sleep shuggie didn't get to the perfective what's carried to completion (the difference between burned and burnt uptook a hiatus like moncurplayed some backup for etta james and cleanhead I didn't get the chance to tell you what I would want to see you again (spinning like the rain keeps falling down in a drum machinethere are changes too (the shudder when the tongue gets in a grooveand finds that things are different [End Page 100] 5. happy housewho's afraid of the big badand his inscrutable black faces? hmmph his sullen broodcould be scheming anythingas deep as the music santa barbara hospitalidad:shine a smile for mepine bluff on bleeker that good duty free bourbonand the shit we talk about motherfuckers don't know this good hurtthis art is a good hurtwhat fills the space of what's left shuggie's sound a woman's voice receding in a contraction of loss and linger (bereave and abide what's left to take me foranother what's written between the strings [End Page 101] Copyright © 2002 Charles H. Rowell