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On The Shuffled! Side Of The Ear: Bryan Thao Worra

Shuffled! is a weekly column appearing every Thursday here on BPRLive. Each week, we welcome someone from the APA community to share some thoughts about the music they listen to. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past articles.

[Editor's Note: This week's Shuffled! is a little bit different. Bryan Thao Worra submitted it like this and I'm staying true to what he submitted.]

Today’s Shuffler: Bryan Thao Worra

bryan cropped 2Bryan Thao Worra is a Twin Cities-based Laotian American writer and the author of the first full-length book of Laotian American poetry, On The Other Side Of The Eye, as well as the forthcoming Barrow (Sam’s Dot Publishing, 2009) and Winter Ink (MN Center For Book Arts, 2008). Blending pop culture, science fiction, horror and the Laotian American refugee experience, he recently shuffled his mp3 library and got the following funky results.


1. Siouxsie and the Banshees: Ornaments of Gold

Siouxise claims a spot:
Dark cities, bright lights and dreams.
What’s not to love?

2. Anthem Salgado: Time and Money

Cosmic man on Earth
Shows a true AsIAM journey:
Stuck, but not for long.

3. The Seatbelts: Tank

From Cowboy Bebop:
Jazz, space, seeking a story.
Let’s jam, and start!

4. Tom Waits: I’ll Be Gone

The man I keep close
To see the true roads of strange
Outside and within.

5. Flock of Seagulls: I Ran

Bad hair but great song.
Not quite blade runner, still fun,
Still so far away.

You can see more of Bryan’s favorite songs at his website at http://www.myspace.com/thaoworra. And he likes making new friends. Say hi sometime. You can also see his poetic work on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/thaoworra. [And if you like blogs, check out Bryan's blog at http://thaoworra.blogspot.com/.]

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19 Comments so far

  1. giles November 20th, 2008 11:20 am

    Awesome

  2. theresa November 20th, 2008 3:12 pm

    totally awesome.

  3. anthem November 20th, 2008 8:17 pm

    cool!

  4. Emily L November 21st, 2008 12:06 pm

    VERY COOL!!!!! He Shuffled using haiku!!!!!! go on wit yo bad self!

    “Now he, he is a
    REAL poet. You, anak,
    you’re just a ‘puwit’ ” *
    -by my Mom, Emma F. Lawsin (1927-2008)

    (*anak = child, puwit=butthole :-)

  5. hammerkop lady November 21st, 2008 8:31 pm

    Wow, Bryan is absolutely brilliant. A true poet (he couldn’t even pick music without writing little poems about each choice! Ha ha) with a unique taste in music. I enjoyed each haiku for different reasons.

  6. Carolina November 23rd, 2008 11:53 am

    Interesting and great. Love the comments added under all of them

  7. Jeff Skrenes November 23rd, 2008 1:01 pm

    The songs listed are quite good, but initially I thought, “Not as superb as my own taste in music.” Then I saw the haikus and had to tip my hat to Bryan. Bravo!

  8. Maya Cameron November 23rd, 2008 3:42 pm

    Especially loving the shout-out for Siouxsie and the Banshees!

  9. Tracy Shelton Colson November 23rd, 2008 5:07 pm

    I agree…Bravo Bryan!

  10. Jason Modrey November 23rd, 2008 5:13 pm

    Anyone who has Siouxsie and the Banshees on their playlist is a genius. :) Bryan rules all media!

  11. Casey November 23rd, 2008 7:32 pm

    Very interesting. Brian always finds a way to leave me thinking outside the box! =)

  12. Jenny November 23rd, 2008 8:59 pm

    I really enjoyed these!! I wish I was that creative!!

  13. Kanya Lai November 24th, 2008 6:05 am

    Bryan is strangely incredible and incredibly strange. When you have to look up certain terms to comprehend the whole cohesion of his poems, you know that you are reading materials that will last throughout the duration of the Earth. What’s not to WOW about?! YAY.

  14. Karen Lyu November 24th, 2008 8:24 am

    Hey Bryan -

    Haiku music reviews - why am I not surprised?!

    Siouxsie and the Banshees: Ornaments of Gold - Cool song:)

    Anthem Salgado: Time and Money - Where is this song? I want to hear it!

    The Seatbelts: Tank - What a fantastic jam! I love this!

    Tom Waits: I’ll Be Gone - The man is a musical genius. My ears just hurt when I hear his voice!

    Flock of Seagulls: I Ran - Always loved this song back in the day:)

  15. Lasoy November 24th, 2008 11:10 am

    I loved the haikus for the different songs. Only Bryan would do something like this.

  16. Ntxhais November 25th, 2008 8:37 pm

    Intriguing mix of music Bryan. I wanted more..

  17. Stacey November 27th, 2008 11:40 am

    You never cease to amaze!

  18. catzie December 7th, 2008 2:49 am

    goddammit i kept looking for your shuffled post bryan, and now im all late… whatever laos in the house!

  19. Marcus December 14th, 2008 1:19 pm

    Bryan’s definitely got talent, man. And the professionalism most people wish they had. =) Keep it up!

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