dragondayz said:[quote]

Harlepolis said:

She has firm breasts, you know. But they won't always be firm.

Supernova said:

Oh! To be honest, I would have never caught onto that lol.

In Tears for Water singer-songwriter Alicia Keys writes verse that's not as hilariously bad as that of fellow VH1 chanteuse Jewel; still, her work would not pass muster in an introductory writing course at a four-year college. She's roughly on the level of Maya Angelou. Thus, the patient reader winces mildly at flat laments about alienation (''Sometimes I feel/like I don't belong anywhere'') and emotional reticence (''I'm a prisoner/Of words unsaid/Just lonely feelings/Locked away in my head'' ) — poems sometimes followed by Keys' own explanations of their ''meanings.'' Serviceable metric patterns are as scarce as vivid images, or signs of shame.

EW GRADE: C

BTW, she's supposed to sign her book here in Chicago next Thursday, 6:00 pm at Borders Books (on State Street and Randolph if anyone is in the area).

Anyway, would anyone here be offended if one of our beloved pop divas (like Beyonce) decided to write a murder mystery instead of a book of poetry?

sosgemini said:

Whoa it got a C? That's not too good. Still waht was so bad about Jewels book? I need to go and find it somewhere so I can see. It couldn't have been that bad!

728huey said:

Yeah she's doing book signings in a few areas. Are you going?

Supernova said:

Gosh you are so right.The mere thought of that evil woman makes me want to hurl violently. That insipid crap song ,too.

Supernova said:

honestly, that's probably my favorite song by her. totally sell-out, but still.... better than all that yodeling of her early career

GrayKing said:

I happened to like "Intuition" too. I don't see what was wrong with that song at all. One of my favorites by Jewel also.

GrayKing said:

sosgemini said:

I know this is a condemnation of her work but I'd take Maya Angelou over some 4-year college academic hack any day. I'm a college graduate myself and an artist, but I can assure you they are mutually exclusive things.

I finally recieved my copy of the book. I haven't read all of the poems yet, but you can tell that she was really young when she wrote a few of them and it's very interesting to read what goes inside of her mind and how she deals with certain emotions. I won't say that Alicia is a extremely deep person, but she's an interesting and surprisingly very emotional girl. It's a good read and I may post one of her poems later.

dragondayz said:

Supernova said:

well, come on, it's Jewel. i absolutely hated her when she first came along.

sosgemini said:

I'll try to make sure that it's one of her best ones lol.

I give props to Jewel for sharing her poetry with the world as it is a scary, vulnerable thing to do. That said, I thought her book was utter shite.

Now, I'm not going to judge Alicia's material as I haven't read it.

I would, however, like to suggest reading Mary Oliver, Sharon Olds, and Jane Kenyon (three of my favorite female poets).

This just in. It's from the NY book signing that's going on now. Everyone pick up the book!!!

dragondayz said:

wow..she should keep this look, all the time.....

sosgemini said:

For sure. She looks more beautiful than ever.

sosgemini said:

I agree. Alicia looks really pretty in that pic.

whats wrong with her upper lip?

Those pictures are nice.
[Edited 11/9/04 17:33pm]

As I promised before, here's one of her poems from the book. I was a little hesitant to post it because I didn't want to get into any kind of trouble but she read it this morning on Regis and Kelly so it should be all good. I think that she wrote this one when she was a bit younger and was going through her switch-ups with different record labels. Its called Golden Child and here it is:

Hello morning
Now I see you
Cause I am awake
What once was so sweet and secure
Has now turned out to be fake
Girl, you can’t be scared
Gotta stand up tall and let’em see what shines in you
Push aside the part
Lying in your heart
Like the ocean is deep, dark and blue

Golden sunshine’s
Peeking through the grayness of the sky
Soon it will be in full view
And rain won’t stain your eye
Girl, you be smart
Look in your heart and see what shines in you
Push aside the part
Lying in your heart
Like the ocean is deep, dark and blue

You are a golden child

You don’t have to be afraid cause time is on your side
And they don’t know the power you possess
Or the beauty that’s inside

Hello morning
Now I see you
Cause the lessons learned
These cards are the ones dealt to play
And the tables will be turned

You are the golden child




.

dragondayz said:

This proves my earlier point. This would be so much better as a song. Alicia is a pretty good songwriter, but this is not a great poem.

FunkMistress said:

she has that poet upper-lip thingie working for her.....

sosgemini said:

And I forgot the oh-so-intellectual glasses....

Okay, let me stop, 'cause I'm not an Alicia hater! I think she's adorable, talented, and I love her for being a strong female who keeps her clothes on and is an actual musician.

dragondayz said:

I wonder who the teacher's gonna be this year, man?

What, nobody caught my snappy Van Halen reference?

OdysseyMiles said:

Yss, I too am hot for teacher.