The New Now Sounds of Today! / Songpoems by 21 Contemporary Artists
Hand-letterpressed and numbered CD with a pull-out lyric sheet, 61 minutes
The New Now Sounds of Today! is a CD compilation of songpoems written by visual artists and set to music by Magic Key Productions. The artists composed the lyrics and specified the musical genre and vocal style in which they wanted to hear them performed. The professional songwriting company then composed the songs, thereby allowing visual artists to test the unfamiliar waters of consensual ersatz glamour. In giving up creative control in order to become a star, the song-poet enters into a collusion with the musician/producer to construct an alternate, democratic version of celebrity culture. Highlights include John Baldessari's new-age "Learn to Draw" and Mike Kelley's pop-folk tune "Anal Sadistic." Lyrics also provided by Alexis Smith, Jim Shaw, Rev. & Mrs. Ethan Acres, Stephen Prina, Pae White, Rubén Ortiz Torres, Martin Kersels, Tamara Fites, Sharon Ellis, Judy Fiskin, Steven Hull, Doug Harvey, Jeffrey Vallance, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Joe Scanlan, Dave Muller, Eleanor Antin, Gary Simmons, and Robert Heinecken.
Published in 2001
Hand-letterpressed by Bruce Licher at Independent Project Press in Sedona, Arizona