Soundplay

[TeamEsteem42]

Thanks for the congrats! But don't be so modest; you can also see! GLORY!!!

[ihopeyouredone]

A lot of interesting ideas. You'd make a great lecturer!

[san0afk]

<3ed the poem~ i miss english classes

[MCPottenshire]

i agree with the things you said about peotry for the sake of sound. Much like the aestheticism movent in art. Art for arts sake just isnt the same to me

[KATTANATEMA]

the whole debate on art is pointless. you cannot say that one thing is better, you can only say what you enjoy.but the fact remains that any form of expression is automatically art, and this applies to poetry also. hierarchy is totally opposite to the poetic nature of things.

[detore]

sorry if that comment comes off kind of dim-witted.

also my favourite part of your poem was "defend and define"

:)

[detore]

holy shit at the rhyming at beginning of words, i had a rather long winded argument with all of my friends at school who didn't agree with me about it being just as valid as end of word rhyming.

It came up about that blink 182 song all the small things with the line "say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home" he said how it was weird because it didn't rhyme the "go" and "home" and i said it did, anyway we ended up asking a teach and she said it was called female rhyming.

[sonata1992]

Shave everything off, just so we can see what it's like once :P

[MrCropper]

Poem begins at 18:25

: )

[RationalEmotive]

I think dadaist poetry comes closest to a form of poetry that is mainly or exclusively concerned with sound as opposed to semantics.

[MrCropper]

Your poem at the end makes sense compared to cummings, and moreover plays with sounds in more ways than cummings ever would have. So you score on intelligibility and sound play.

Was it a reworked version, or a first/early draft?

I liked the poem more than the title.

[MrCropper]

2:54 "I could imagine a poem that is written purely for sounds' sake, where the sentences don't make sense..."

Such a poem was "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll

"Twas brilly and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the mome raths outgrabe."

[DKfansown]

nice neck beard.

[Mustahukkak]

I'd say that poetry is playing with visuals rather than with sounds. There can be rythm or mirroring or whatever on the words and sounds themselves, but they can also exist on level of ideas of images conjured by the words. ie. "I touch the painting/ the painting touches me" (just made that up, forgive the quality) doesn't really have an actual rythm but the visuals mirror each other which makes it work.

[Kierketaard]

I really wish you would give up smoking because if you live to be in your 70's, your unfuckingbelievable hairyness will result in a magnificent white beard reminiscent of the God of the old testament.

I won't be around to see it, but it could be an inspiration to others.

[AnubisAnpuSG1]

hi there man

[DrFeelgood38]

That poem was magnificent.... *tear*

[turboskanker]

p.s. i love underground rap and hip-hop a lot. i can email you an assortment of various artists if you'd like. i feel that rap/hip-hop has become unfortunately rather diluted and dumbed down in its mainstream incarnations as of late.

[turboskanker]

i think the chin strap looks just fine. and i'd imagine you do too, so there's that. so far as everything else, you made a lot of valid points. and i love soundplay - particularly when it manages to convey emotions or ideas while remaining completely abstract from a language perspective. this is one of the reasons i love the band underworld so much. so far as rap and hip-hop, rap actually originated as an acronym for 'rhythm and poetry' - something i don't think too many rappers even know.

[ELStalky]

This looks totally wrong...

On a completely unrelated note, if you care about the viewers who are not able to turn up the volume without limit you might want to get the volume of the video itself to a default level; even if i turn every slider up i can barely hear you.

[ArtMusicRepeat]

btw Cellar Door was JRR Tolkien I believe...

[ArtMusicRepeat]

YOU LOOK LIKE A BRO NOW! HAHAHAH

i still love you X)

[sylvestermeow]

You spoke of "prosodists" -and you changed your mind. Prosody = the actual art of putting words into verse, using some sort of structure. So a prosodist would be one who writes in verse. A poet.

"Poetics" of course, is something else, altogether! Abot 80% of the Great Poetry (in anthologies) in English Literature has been written in Blank Verse. Meter and rhythm do still matter, deeply so. There's more to say, but space prohibits.

[TheGrammarian]

I miss hanging out with you, Az.

[noodleguru]

Woah.

Not a fan of the facial hair. Yikes. Good video as always though.

[TheMariborchan]

Who are you and what did you do to Az?

[fattychunksings]

probably being redundant cuz i'm sure lots of other people have said it already but dude you look tons better without the stach. =P

[kraymes]

Youre a Gassian what a hoot. Good insight and well done. Buffering my suffering, still loving Picasso and whats the number of that whore? Later.

[riversonthemoon]

At about 14 minutes, you said 'phenome' when I think you meant to say 'phoneme'.

Don't mean to be so anal. Just saying.

Nice video, though.

[azrienoch]

Yeah, uh, that was, uh, my clever soundplay. Did you like it?

[riversonthemoon]

Sure did. It showed that the author isn't in control, which made the point of your poem nicely.

[vclamp]

Can pros toss prose in the can? Irregardless of the inflamingly poor language selection used, even Vogan poets have something to emote.

I find now more than in days of college that an overly refined sound to a poem ends up distracting me from the intended imagery. Sometimes Shakespeare is just better in the original Klingon.

G'nite,

Scott

[azrienoch]

Scott, I don't know if you know how much I enjoy you.  It's a lot.

[RayAtheist]

you look like veritas48 or something

[sy1234]

You look great without the 'stache.

[ChristopherMast]

Volume too low! ARGH! I had to strain to hear, which required my getting really close to my MacBook and it was like you were blowing in my ear!!!

[sy1234]

> ...it was like you were blowing in my ear!!!

sexy.

[azrienoch]

Guess what? The sound is just perfect. It's at that point where every PC can play it just fine, yet no Mac can manage to get loud enough. This is of course because Macs suck.

[ChristopherMast]

"Macs suck"

You're such a child.

[azrienoch]

I'm not the one using a Mac.

[bfrosty83]

your face is weird, man

But I agree. I would definitely like to hear someone write a poem of nonsense that just sounds beautiful.

[5thWatcher]

Azrinoch, you look like one of the dudes from Linkin Park now.

This is neither a dis nor compliment. But you do.

[bubonicnate]

Come live with me and be my love,

And we will all the pleasures prove,

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,

Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

[funkwurm]

I agree with you on almost everything you say, but let me propose the following to you: You say a poem can be just words that sound great without meaning or context, the cellar door idea. You also say (the point you're making) that there's more than traditional rhyme to focus on in poetry.

OK, now do you think you can have an interesting poet that does not have a story/context, nor the traditional rhyme?

[funkwurm]

Shucks, I meant *poem* in that last phrase.

I really like your poem at the end, but to me the variation of traditional rhyme, alliteration and in-phrase rhyme (more clever than I ever) contributes to the context of a poem in the first place, and therefore works.

[funkwurm]

Btw you say "how much of a word needs to rhyme before we call it a rhyme". Now what I thought to be the generally accepted definition of a rhyme is when the pronunciation of two words is the same from the vowel in the emphasized syllable to the end. So suffering would rhyme with buffering, but not with differing. So I guess that would be my definition of a traditional rhyme.

[azrienoch]

Yes, fw, I think a poem can work just fine without context or rhyme, let alone traditional rhyme. And I'd roughly agree with your definition of a traditional rhyme, though fudging a rhyme--rhyming suffering with differing--is perfectly acceptable, even traditionally.

[rekeltje]

holy jesus who is that young boy? :P

[Mjhavok]

I liked "My Words are Weapons" about 8 years ago.

[SomeBSUTubeName]

Hibbidee dibbidee awbidee bay

Oggidee woggideee doggidee day

Monkeydee dunkeydee wonkeydee say

[azrienoch]

spankamee slapaknee onetwothree 'kay?

[leporidus]

Just felt that this thread should have a reference to the 9-minute beat poem "Storm" by Tim Minchin in it:

v=ujUQn0HhGEk

So there.

[StevenErnest]

Omg, Az (nee Jeff) ...doing a response vid to Mr. Cropper...! Yes, yes... I KNEW if Obama became President things would start improving! :D

[CelphaFiael]

Now that I've gotten over the change, I've actually listened to the video; I love it. By the way, did I tell you that I'm writing rap songs now? Haha yeah. Already got 2 done, that's what style the next release of mine will be. Hopefully you'll like my rhymes.

[BabiiMom]

awesome vid az  great points

(wtf is with the lightbulb above your vid!! haha cool it darkens everything but the vid

[StevenErnest]

-- but it doesn't darken the "ads by Google."

[vclamp]

I suspect that might be an aid to make it easier to watch movies and longer form entertainment which may become more prevalent on the tube$.

[lollygager3664]

You're like a different person. It was the same when my Dad shaved his.

[awerner2007]

not hemmingway. tolkien I believe

[NoirShadowFall]

Minus the mustache, you look much more skater-ish, it does however show the need for abit more "detailing" and defination on your beard

[CelphaFiael]

Dude! You look freakin awesome!!! =D

[snownet]

You look completely different without the stach

[richieneels117]

"the ideal 'must' be found in reality. Meanwhile we do not as yet see how it occurs there, nor do we understand the nature of this 'must'. We think it must be in reality; for we think we already see it there." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

[davidproper]

On the topic of poetry.. Something has always bothered me. The longtime intro:

"Roses are red, violets are blue..."

Violets aren't blue. They're violet.

[StevenErnest]

Lol, good point! "A rose is a rose is a rose."

[zakkmiester]

OH MY SHAVE!

I agree with elysiatheamazing.

[ninapoetry]

Omg, a whole video on poetry. This makes me very excited. Very, very excited.

I just wanted to say that before really watching. Okies.

[ninapoetry]

So, some things you talk about and what I think:

- I agree that poetry doesn't have to mean anything, and that it can be just sounds. There really aren't any rules in poetry to follow unless you're trying to write one of a specific form.

- The meter thing, I'm not so sure about. It might occur roughly because it does correspond to paying attention to sound, but I don't agree entirely.

- Perfect rhyme only exists when it's written, but never spoken

[ninapoetry]

I love your fluidity of thought, and how you slowly bring Mr. Cropper the poet nazi over to the zomglackofrhymecanbebeautiful way of thinking.

There is no such thing as perfect poetry. I think poetry can be crafted in so many different ways, and make us experience so many different things.. and that's what makes it powerful.

[elysiatheamazing]

the poem at the end, who wrote that?

[azrienoch]

I did. :)

[elysiatheamazing]

ah, because i googled it with hopes of putting it on myspace or some such.

you should post it on your website, i really liked it, as one aspiring writer to one more accomplished :]

[elysiatheamazing]

the facial hair!!

where did it go!

you actually look like a 20 something now.

weirddd

[maksiiiskam2]

"The main thrust of poetry of poetry... is the rhyming part... i think we don't call things poetic without... rhyming"

I disagree, although it is the norm nowadays, it is not necessary in poetry: Latin and Greek poetry were based on the rhythm of short and long syllables; Old English poetry was based on the sequence of accented syllable (in other words, it was rap).

Really, rhyme is just a fashion that dominated post-medieval Europe, not a definition of poetry.

[maksiiiskam2]

Poetry, as conceptualise since the Greeks (and obviously I can understand someone giving it another signification), is any worked language, language carved in some unnatural way.

[maksiiiskam2]

Oh sorry, I wrote this before watching the end, you seem to agree with that!

[azrienoch]

Yes. I'm just expanding the possible applications of the word "rhyme" in order to hopefully show those that only appreciate traditional rhyme that there's a big beautiful world out there.

[Arosukir6]

Holy crap it's the lead singer from Hoobastank in the "The Reason" video! Or Mike Shinoda!

[Dadalama]

but in the video itself accent should play a part in rhyming too. How many people really say twenty as twenty? most people pronounce it something closer to twuny or tweny. the T is usually silent.

So "In your couch, when you find money, why is it change, and never a twenty". Actually DOES rhyme when you say it. But not when it's written.

[Dadalama]

without the stash you look related to Armake21

[doford]

lol nice sound play

[acies37]

holy shit man, you look so much younger.

[LilRonin01]

so..what inspired the new look?

[mjd9208]

Is that azrienoch's son?

[billybobhobnob101]

E.E. Cummings

Yea!!!

(i do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody,not even the rain, has such small hands.

[NapalmXD]

I can't hear you again XD

Oh and you look different. I don't know if that is good or bad.

[billybobhobnob101]

I'm suffering - because I'm not eating enoughering- or is it too muchering

[Terracidal]

You look all nu-metal without the stache, mang.

[TheScrewOnHead]

Cropper's too dogmatic to get art.

[MrsScarletScolex]

I think he looked better with the mustache.

[nicanicabad]

Ah to see your face! It's wonderful!

Damnnnn fine!

I'm afraid of Mr. Cropper.

He makes me shake in my shoes.

[ifwere1021]

The greatness (some very interesting things you bring up) of the actual content of this video aside, here comes the obligatory comment on your newfound look.

You look like a badass. Seriously, you look a lot "tougher" without the 'stache. Like maybe you could stab someone, and then write a brilliantly constructed poem about it.

[reflectionist]

:-) Great vid, man. I've always loved "A Poem Approximately..." And the discussion of poetry sets the stage for an unprecedented civil, even friendly discourse between the two of you that I, for one, appreciate. Really, the only thing I could identify with (sadly not having taken any education in poetry, aside from music), was the ability in rap music to carry a 'rhyme' into the middle of words and in the off beats.

[reflectionist]

It's the rhythmic syncopation juxtaposed against the consistent meter that makes those offbeats and off syllables in the middle of words pop out that much more and make it interesting.

but... you knew that. I just wanted to sound smart because I'm a percussionist and syncopation is my thing.

Cheers, Jeff!

[iamcoolalot]

shit.

you're too amazing. really.

[testing4echo]

I heart you either way but you look your age sans the mustache

[azrienoch]

25?

[testing4echo]

Yes. Maybe you can't see it, but if you look at your older vids, you seem have pulled a Benjamin Button on us.

[defectiveillusions]

Ahh. I miss the mustache! XD

[buterscotchpudd]

shaving off ur mustache has taken years of you :P

[musicisthegateway]

you look adorable

[azrienoch]

Yes, but what about what I'm saying?

[musicisthegateway]

I like their sounds haha.

Naw, I agree with ya for the most part. Of course I tend to follow the rule there is no rules. Granted you have to know the rules to break the rules so.. I would agree rhyme scheme is an important characteristic feature of poetry. Meter or beat is important.

I am coming from a different angle with poetry.. more of a lyrical approach in my writing. But they follow the same rules only more restrictive in meter and or phrasing.

[MassZombicide]

Like ZOMG where's your mustache?

[Laartu]

:{0

[FreePrometheus]

You look a lot younger.

[CousinoMacul]

WTF?  Are you trying to look like bubonicnate?? What's next? An egg obsession?

[Mjhavok]

Yep .His goal is to become the Don Quixote of eggs.

Tilt whose egg holders Az

[gratex]

this will burst some bubbles, but it was tolkien who came up with "cellar door".

[themadnice]

I was wondering what looked different about you!

[Shrimp4074]

great vid