Inspired by the viscerally provocative poem, "Here, Bullet" by Brian Turner, the art song of the same name by composer Kurt Erickson is, among many things, a plea for western classical arts spaces to directly address gun violence. This composition inspired multi-disciplinary artist Will Chase to write a screenplay, which will be the foundation for an upcoming short film. Both Kurt and Will join Garrett (1:02:00) to unpack the inspirations and challenges of this work, along with its context within the framework of "classical" music. Scott highlights a work by Phillip Glass and cites excerpts from "Stuff White People Like", Garrett addresses opera's latest use of blackface, and the guys talk "big steps" in the finale.

Playlist:

Jackson 5 - "Never Can Say Goodbye"

Gil Scott-Heron - "Whitey On the Moon"

The Church - "Under The Milky Way"

Abel Selaocoe - "Qhawe" (Performance Excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhFgeNW6D1g)

perf. Angel Blue - "Peculiar Grace" (from "Fire Shut Up In My Bones": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsmXYt9C4UA)

Phillip Glass - "Sons Of The Silent Age"

Supaman - Improv Freestyle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTuf2E8hl8)

Kurt Erickson - "Here, Bullet"

John Coltrane - "Giant Steps"

More:

Kurt Erickson/"Here, Bullet": https://www.kurterickson.com/catalogue/here-bullet

"Here, Bullet", by Brian Turner: https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/poems/poem/103-14245_HERE-BULLET

"How the murder of George Floyd impacted music-making in Minneapolis and across the globe": https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/george-floyd-murder-music-making-minneapolis/

"Soprano Withdraws From Opera, Citing ‘Blackface’ in Netrebko’s ‘Aida’": https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/arts/music/angel-blue-anna-netrebko-blackface.html

"Stuff White People Like": https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com