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1. |
Muscles of Mine
04:56
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in memory of Grandma Yetta
I have one
I have one
I have one memory
22, just married
Center of a room, kneeling
Grandmother on a chair above me
Her purple calves caressed in my hands
I have one
I have one
I have one memory
I press into her veins
Sliding with agile fingers
Moving through life-rings with violent circles
I push up and out these buried words:
"This is where the stories lie, in these muscles of mine
This is where the stories lie, in these muscles of mine"
Easily, she closes her eyes, and remembers
Oh, to remember Oh, to remember
88, now widowed
Underneath an old tree, feeling
chilled legs molding to my hands' shape
My statue hands, my hollow calves
I press into my veins
Sliding with crooked fingers
Moving through life-rings with violent circles
I push
I push
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2. |
In Between
02:12
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I am here
in between
what you say
and what you mean
I know it's you
I can hear you voice
telling me
I know it's you
I can hear you voice
telling me
nothing
If I could see your eyes
I'd know
Which way I'd let myself go
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3. |
Baby
02:42
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She's a fifth grader
Somebody made her
lose virginity
Only eleven
her Daughter's in Heaven
Nobody knows but she
Oh
Sitting in class
she adds and subtracts
Pretends nothing happened at all
But in the afternoon
she runs to her room
and rubs the forehead of her doll
Oh
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4. |
Lion Riding
03:00
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The subway roars
In blazer and hose
I ride a lion
We move forward
but looking out the right way:
backward
Forward backward forward backward
I look at you
Eyes too deep to read
Exterior, shifting
We move forward
but looking out the right way:
backward
Forward backward forward backward
Your bag unzips
and the air is sucked
up by the people
We move forward
but looking out the right way:
backward
Forward backward forward backward
Hand digs inside
and pulls out a gun
No, an umbrella
No, an umbrella
It's raining outside
It's raining outside
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5. |
Red City
04:03
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I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
Sky becoming red
as I walk through the clouds that I make with my mouth.
Steps becoming sure
as the water brings me to a painted night.
I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
I am looking down
and blue pushes blue.
I am looking up.
A red-tipped brush is coloring in the straight city lines.
I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
I can imagine walking down the Hudson right now.
I am looking down
and blue pushes blue.
I am looking up.
The city is gone. Red City.
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6. |
In The Skyscraper
02:29
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in the skyscraper across the street
you are going through papers.
I see you reading them,
one by one,
as if they are important.
And the minutes circle my head like birds,
and hum of the outside chills me like a draft.
But then I look down at myself and see:
it is I who is going through papers.
I am reading them,
one by one,
as if they are important.
And the minutes circle my head like birds,
and hum of the outside chills me like a draft.
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7. |
Transplant
04:33
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My small rose heart
barely beating,
My small rose heart
barely blooming,
will not be mine much more
First breath: last
First bliss: last
First blink: last
First twist: last
First touch: last
First kiss: last
"Oh my little life,
I'm sorry that I made you this way,
so sorry that I made you.."
But Mother, look what I can give
Mother, feel what I can give
Mother, feel what we can
And she touches my tender chest
Heart: last
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8. |
The Glass Laughs Back
01:38
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Her desk, reflected in the pane of glass
about to blow in from the wind,
is covered with enough
She mouths a no in response to me
denying my humble query
and the glass laughs back
Ha Ha as it expands and contracts her
and I smile in an attempt to relax her
but as soon as my levity cracks her
the window flies in and attacks her
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9. |
Love
01:29
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I love you.
Did you know that?
Bare
open
scared:
I'm a tree before spring,
shivering as the winter melts from my tough skin.
Breathing as traces of heat fill my veins.
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10. |
Noon
04:27
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I'm walking on 14th Street
Too much sun in my eyes
I'm thinking about
I'm thinking about
you
The minutes blend together
Lost on a track of time
I look at my watch
I look at my watch
noon
Ah, what love I feel
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11. |
Dusk
02:10
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I stand in my bedroom.
Crickets clicking legs outside
bringing me far away from the city.
But I curl the blinds aside:
Souls of trees
suffocated in cement,
tearing the sidewalk for air.
Then I pull myself inside:
my TV's
fabricating cricket legs,
and I'm
tearing its warm glare for air.
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12. |
Lumberjack
04:10
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Lumberjack
How I want to grow
up to be
as tall as a tree
Every night
I'll mark my new height
on the wall
A ladder of ink
Purchasing
new flannels each week
Yellow plaid
In moments they shrink
Ax in hand
I'm tough as an oak
Redwood wide
I've got maple blood
Lumberjack
How I want to grow
up to be
as tall as a tree
Lumberjack
Holed up in my room
Won't come out
Lumberjack
I'm stuck in my room
Can't come out
Too tall for the door!
Cut myself down
Cut myself down
Cut myself down
Cut myself down
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13. |
Today
01:58
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Today the sun shines beautifully in
And I am ready for everything
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Amy Kohn Padua, Italy
Amy Kohn is applauded by some of the top composer/producers in modern song: Van Dyke Parks says she’s “Brimming with such talent!” and legendary Producer Arif Mardin dubbed her a “Musical Devil in a Red Dress." Amy always seeks sounds she’s never heard, and it comes through in the “oddly structured beauty” of her highly arranged, effervescent music. ... more
Amy Kohn recommends:
Fagra Veröld
by Sunna Gunnlaugs
Joyous songs in Icelandic that always put me in a good mood. The drummer, Scott Mclemore, is the drummer and designer on I'm in Crinoline too!
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Akiko is one of my favorite songwriters. We first met because our CDs were sitting next to each other at a Brooklyn music shop, and since then I've been inspired by every one of her releases.
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We met on Myspace (loved her music) and on her trip to NY she practiced on my piano then invited me to do a co-bill in Italy with her. Thanks to that I now call Padova my home. Fiery, gorgeous music.
go to albumIf you like Amy Kohn, you may also like:
The debut album from Maria Basel is electronic-tinged chamber pop centered around the artist's gorgeous piano playing.
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Spunky songwriting wrapped up in luscious vocals and beautifully baroque-pop arrangements.
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The new album on Z Tapes is the perfect blend of wry, witty lyrics and warm bedroom pop.
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