Spoken Word: Speaking, Directly. Directly Speaking.

By: Ivy MG 666420

“Tomorrow, you may bring about the destruction of your world. Tomorrow you may sing in paradise above the smoking ruins of your world cities. But tonight, I would think of one man, a lone individual, a man without a name or a country. A man who I respect, because he has absolutely nothing in common with you. The man is myself. Tonight I shall meditate upon that which I am. Henry Miller, 1934.”

[Henry Rollins, quoting Henry Miller, from Tropics of Cancer, from the 1984 live Black Flag DVD.]

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Spoken word is in many forms of writing and speaking. It could be poetry readings in some artsy coffee shop. It could be political prose or protest type activism among punk and hardcore kids in a DIY show. Public discussions have elements of it too. Henry and many others tackled it onstage, both punk and otherwise.

A lot of it is both entertaining and fun to listen to, but also has some weight and substance. Spoken word could also be a moving speech at a some rally against the government, or for a gathering that stands for a particular cause. But it is also the laugh out loud comedy at an intimate bar or amateur stand up night.

The content may be subversive, offensive, funny, stream of consciousness or anything under the sun. People are free to come up with their style and content.

Words unaccompanied in raw form are more direct, and can be as intense as those lyrics listened to or shouted out at gigs. But clearly, spoken word may sometimes have the least connection with music. But the art itself is still somehow closely connected to it. It has had many previous versions over the years.

Spoken Word as an art form has given many writers, and also singers and philosophers a more direct approach to presenting ideas in monologue form. The best could be those from stories, writings, and even a brutally honest person’s point of view.

From the mind, to the world

Is it easier to get your spoken word material today rather than back then? Yes and no. Yes because of the internet and ready devices. No in some aspects because the community is more global and there are more people doing it.

But for self-expression, spoken word is now more prevalent, and can easily be done  with a smartphone or tablet camera. It is digital, and easily more spread by social media to get points across. It is wondrously effective, as long as it reaches large like and exposure levels. That’s usually the public, government, and political style, and gets people going.

The content and the entertainment level also makes it memorable. Classic comedians such as Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Jim Breuer, Katt Williams, David Chapelle, and others come to mind. They’ve made impressions on us because they’re honest and also they have a weird sense of humor.

Others have a peculiar way of making their statements. The tone of the voice and diction are also big factors. Take Bruce Lee’s pace and accent for example. Most of his quotes are legendary. They are being quoted back in many spoken word pieces, and further discussed and expanded on.

A lot of today’s spoken word scene is mostly concentrated in entertainment, and a lot of it tied in/crosses over to music. There are spoken word recordings that can be found in media shops but some of them also end up in places like metal CD and vinyl distros, punk scenes, and independent local stores. The distribution is half and half major companies, and then the DIY underground and specialty shop scenes.

There are shows, gatherings, comedy public appearances done diy style. They also have recordings, which could be something else, because it is a physical medium with many options. It is both of plain spoken word recordings; or music with spoken word forms within records, and are produced in low quantities.

A Charlie Manson spoken word with guitar accompaniment 7” record entitled Horsefly for example, was available from Hells Headbangers Records. The current item they have in stock is CHARLES MANSON – The Hallways Of The Always (12″ LP) for $18.88 bucks. There is some correlation to underground scenes with spoken word artists of all sorts, especially in these types of music distros. A few can be found on other smaller indie / underground sort of sites.

Spoken Word in Music: Live and Recordings

Music-related spoken word: it is across genres, and can be found in blues, hip hop, rap, metal, experimental, etc. Many musicians and spoken word artists have produced collaborative and across-genre releases.

Try drinking a few shots of rum and harder liquor, and crank up some RL Burnside. His records are filled with southern attitude and weird stories about rural blues reality. RL once shot a man back in his youth, and he was later bailed from jail by an employer because he was a damn good cropper in the farm. Things like that made some of these spoken word artists and musicians enigmatic as well.

There are spoken word elements in pop music too. It can be considered another vocal style by some. At a recent Madonna concert in the Philippines, she used it to her advantage to gain some sort of mind control, or not. These videos peppered with  powerful imagery and her spoken word was used to full effect. Her enhanced steroid approach of the spoken word maybe has hidden aural related effects to the brain.

Music yes has, especially, and subconsciously, able to do some Inception level effects on many people. People react to these in different ways, depending on how they are grounded.

And in music and other arts, many use this science to great effect. It sounds like occult knowledge is involved, and this may or may not be true. This is why live shows and spoken word shows spill over to the brain. There is some ritual involved, exchanges of energy, and such as those of concerts or gigs, but in a different, rawer form. It’s direct and personal as well.

This is the same way rallies, election campaigns, speeches, and other spoken word forms have greater power and attraction to listeners in a more public setting. There is a purer form involved with regards to the vibration and use of these words. Rap battles in the same way as evangelical sermons, as well as sports commentaries, and public hosting, these all involve the art form with added elements to make them powerful and effective. It is also effectively applied to art / wordplay, commercial use, and public addressing.

Weird spoken word worlds

Black metal and experimental doom have also used it to great effect from the late 90’s and over the course onward. This was also the start of the era when it became increasingly and creatively used in the murky depths of music and sound art. In this art form, the spoken word may have more than the creative use.

Drone doom experimental merchants SUNN0)))’s White One, Black One, and Monoliths and Dimensions records invited netherworlds into your brain with help from vocal entities Attila, Julian Cope, and Norwegian vocalist Runhild Gammelsæter, a PHd degree holder in cell physiology who also used to sing for death doom merchants Thorr’s Hammer.

Xasthur’s Malefic, who was literally buried in a coffin to record his vocals for the Black One album, also has some choice elements filtered through his otherworldy screaming.

Filipino Black Metal deitrio Deiphago has Satanik spoken word elements scattered in their records so you don’t have to be reminded. They also have serpent tongue hiss and whisper vocals, and may have actually been incantations and invocations to call forth and invoke beings from other planes of existence.

Mayhem’s Attila already was mentioned, we may as well Mayhem’s previous vocalist Maniac (first and mid era) who dealt with spoken word style black metal madness, particularly in the Wolf’s Lair Abyss EP and the Grand Declaration of War album (live as well, along with self-cutting); and of course, the legendary dead Dead, famous for his crowd interactions, most especially on the Live in Leipzig live recording, with his unmatchable necro vocals.

The range of spoken word samples are as wide as they are amazingly brutal and unique. Whether they are plain and focused serious pieces, or even spoken word parts from other types of media (such as Arnold Schwarzenegger prank call dialogues). It is a super wide and diverse artform that focuses on the power of words and their hidden (occult) vibrations. The term today is quite wide reaching and intertwined with other art forms.

Do you like Spoken Word? Or do you do it as well? Pay careful attention on the second question and meditate on that before answering it, as it will reveal it directly to you. Sometimes when we “speak” with ourselves either by speaking or thinking, others may be interested to listen.