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history - jesus was way cool - links - bar napkins - interviews - discography - king missile - soft skull press
I want to be a floating, shifting, ever changing persona:
Invisibility and obscurity,
detachment from the ego and all of it's pursuits.
Unity is useless
Conformity is competitive and divisive and leads only to
stagnation and death.
If what I'm saying doesn't make any sense,
that's because sense cannot be made
It's something that must be sensed
And I, for one, am incensed by all of this complacency
Why oppose war only when there's a war?
Why defend the clinics only when they're attacked?
Why are we always reactive?
Let's activate something
Let's fuck shit up
Whatever happened to revolution for the hell of it?
Whatever happened to protesting nothing in particular, just protesting
cause it's Saturday and there's nothing else to do?
- John S. Hall, It's Saturday
John S. Hall has perfomed and/or read his work all over the United States, as well as London, Germany, and The Netherlands. He has recorded over fifty spoken word pieces with music, mostly as vocalist and lyricist for the band, KING MISSILE, and KING MISSILE (DOG FLY RELIGION). John appeared in the PBS special, THE UNITED STATES OF POETRY, which aired in February, as well as an MTV "Spoken Word Unplugged" segment. A collection of his work, entitiled "JESUS WAS WAY COOL," has just been published by Soft Skull press, and a
selection of his work will be featured in a poetry anthology to be published
by St. Martin's Press next spring.
After a couple of years of pounding away in the lower east side poetry scene, Mr. Hall formed KING MISSILE (DOG FLY RELIGION) in 1986 to liven up his spoken word performances. From 1987-1991 he recorded 3 albums with that band, as well as a solo album, for the Shimmy Disc label, making a mark on the College radio charts with a number of spoken-word-with-music hits, including "Wuss," "Take Stuff From Work,""The Sandbox," "Rock and Roll Will Never Die," and "Jesus Was Way Cool." Although none of this went unnoticed by the major labels, John is fond of saying, "'Jesus' got me signed to Atlantic Records."
John recorded three more albums with KING MISSILE for Atlantic, including 1992's "Happy Hour," which spawned the Beavis and Butthead faves "Detachable Penis," and "Martin Scorsese." A new album, entitled THE BODY HAS A HEAD, was released in September.
j e s u s w a s w a y c o o l
"As vocalist for alternative pioneers King Missile, John S. Hall has tickled the ears of radio listeners for the last seven years with such tales as "Detachable Penis," "Take Stuff From Work," and our title track, "Jesus Was Way Cool." He has recorded seven CDs and with this, his first book, Soft Skull puts in print material that established spoken word as a genre."
Soft Skull Press Nominee
1996 National Book Award
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Released by Soft Skull Press in October 1996, Jesus Was Way Cool releases the power of Hall's words without the need of a witty musical underscore. His cruel honesty towards himself and those surrounding him give others a keen insight into both the writer and the general population of our hopeless America. The title poem, "Jesus Was Way Cool," shows Hall's determination to work against the popular alternative by upholding icons (in his usual sarcasm) that are more popularly 'deconstructed' by America's youth.
Fourthly
Firstly, you begin.
Secondly, you continue.
Thirdly, you end.
Fourthly,
John S. Hall
Jesus Was Way Cool
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j e s u s w a s w a y c o o l
Detachable Hall Pages
Bar Napkins
writings by john s. hall
Interviews
Discography
King Missile / Dog Fly Religion
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