Author: ConfundableWillows

A piece written by one of our listeners who was inspired after listening to iLL-Literacy on last week’s Confundable Willows Radio Show. Shout out to you Mackey for a piece well done and very inspiring as well!

Thursday, October 06, 2005- www.myspace.com/macksismo

Inspired by Ill-Literacy on SideWok Radio last night. Much props to their skills in spoken word.

Another night to stay inside in the warmth sheltered from winter’s breath descending upon us. It is a welcome time but I prefer health over sickness… and therefore I stay inside sheltered from winter’s breath. I turn on the radio to let acoustic vibration soothe a soul wound up and exhausted from the monotony of conformity and routine. This is routine. Music is routine. Do my ears deceive me when instrumental emotion does not pour through my speakers but a single voice does?

The articulation and organization of the words spilling forth, the soothing flow of a thought rehearsed yet genuine to the voice. The voice of a man, then a woman, then a man, then a woman. Anger, Love, Heartache, Pride. Any and every emotion and thought is fair game on the never-ending verbal assault.

The poetic phonetic ammunition stimulates the mind and soul and yes even the body, which slows it’s heartbeat, slows it’s breath, hanging on every word as though it were more important than the last. Because it is. Every word that follows further paints a picture. A unique picture free for all minds to create alone. There are no music videos to create for you. There is no stage to judge on physical looks, appearance, and style. There is no screaming crowd drowning out the words. There is only a voice. A crisp clear well-spoken voice sharing an opinion, an emotion, an idea. Whether softly spoken or an assertive attack, the fluid vocal movement is soothing and welcome. A night without music is welcome. Ill-Literacy is welcome.

It is because of them I slept at night and spoke. And I spoke. And I spoke but of what I cannot remember because it was a dream. But the words rolled onto each other so perfectly that the instant morning’s light swept across my face and woke me, I grabbed a pen and wrote. I wrote this. It may not be as articulate as Ill-Literacy but there is a writer in all of us, a unique mind with a unique thought process. Get inspired and let it flow. I found mine strolling down the SideWok. Where’s yours?

First, sincere apologies to TRACY CRUZ for our mistake. Due to technical difficulties, last week’s superfresh show with her was unfortunately not recorded for rebroadcast. However, have no fear! Tracy Cruz, the Bay Area’s premiere neo-soul/r&b vocalist, will once again be revisiting our show from 8-9pm to promote her Illuminate Love ep and bless us once again with a live in-studio performance!!

Secondly, we are honored to be joined by one of the Bay Area’s premiere spoken word collectives, iLL-Literacy!! Not only pushing the limits of spoken word, iLL-Literacy also invites its audience members to expand their social outlooks by summoning attention to Black and Asian relations in America and throughout the world. Tune in as iLL-Literacy serves up a unique culmination of theater, spoken word poetry, music, and multimedia, live from the Confundable Willows studios.

Lastly, we will be premiering Neckface the Asthmatic…or shall we say Neckface the Reporter, as he shares his recent experience at the Anti-War Demonstration in San Francisco, California. Tune in and stay informed about important issues facing our Asian/Pacific Islander community. Peace to the following participating organizations: League of Filipino Students (SF State), FreakRadio.org, Alliance of Southasians Taking Action, Muslim Student Association (UC Berkeley).

You definitely do not want to miss this show!