Each year, USOUNDS selects a poet laureate in order to recount the tales of bravery, debauchery, and delusions of grandeur that are so common to our fleet of Journalists. In the past our laureates have been pale young gentlemen with faux-meek demeanors that belie a core of pretension and rage. This year’s selection, Karim Oates, is no exception.

Karim’s latest assignment was to cover the Walkmen show in Los Angeles at Spaceland this past weekend.


photo credit: underexposed.org.uk

I
choked with smoke
slick hair smiles seen through hazy
los angeles days, drifting into
nights lit by stadiums and hotels
palm trees silent and above
our heads, bobbing
ready to bolt
it’s time for the show but don’t
get too excited

II
it’s rock and roll again live
on stage
NWA’s still in a rage
and Mississippi beat lives on
passed through generations of
con artists
flimflam men and women
with loose change, free
for the asking
expensive the next day, though.

liquor rides through my veins
firewalking at a weekend retreat
jovial managers and the
harassed

love on stage
it’s evident in the way you move
head full of noise
alcohol brought directly to my table.
Order another night and
make it happen again

III
Sloppy virtue and out-of-tune panache
it’s a small stage but it’s a big sound
time to break down
here’s the hit, the one from the
car commercial
let’s pretend it’s not though
let’s pretend it’s just another tune
try to erase images of Saturn
Mars attacks and we’re back
live on the scene, mind wandering dreams

a taste of what’s to come
mostly the new
but a few faves for the crowd in the front
hot chicks and digital cameras mix
fanboys and cameltoe joys
together again for the first time forever

wait, that’s your good side
the sound’s hit a sweet spot
hold it just for a second
just a little more…
time for the encore