Fantastic project from Oakland singer-songwriter Michael Zapruder, featuring 23 poets and 30+ musicians. Inspired by a week Zapruder spent riding the Wave Books Poetry Bus around the American South. Takes “spoken-word” poetry to new heights with careful craft and amazing musicianship. Originally released accompanying Zapruder’s highly-acclaimed book of poems and drawings.

FCC: 1, 4, 5

1. FCC Smooth blurred-out singing and bluesy instrumentation accompanying a poem called “Boobs are Real.”
*2. Midtempo acoustic guitar and D.A. Powell crooning. RIYL Elliott Smith.
*3. Midtempo, sparse guitarwork with great percussion. Mechanical sounding.
4. FCC Dreamy, with lutes, ukulele.
5. FCC Strummy Wilco-rock.
6. Gentle piano ballad.
7. Lush acoustic number. Reminds me a lot of Elliott Smith.
8. Bright and sunny, almost poppy, with electric guitar and a nice full sound.
*9. Somber flutes, smooth pleasant vocals. Great melodies.
10. A bit more “traditionally-sounding” spoken word. Slow and deliberate with a bit of xylophone and some electric guitar.
*11. Great orchestral intro leads into a cheerful reading of a Mary Ruefile poem.
12. Slow, brooding.
*13. Far-out poem with a really interesting xylophone accompaniment. Explodes into a traditional rock number at the end.
14. Shimmery, slow and deliberate. Lots of moody backing vocals.
15. Slow ballad with gentle strings.
16. Slow, layered opera vocals.
*17. Leisurely spoken word with a subdued brass section. Great vocals.
*18. Mashup of acapella singing, xylophone, and snippits of a fierce drum breakbeat. Switches back and forth between each different style—definitely a standout track.
19. Lighthearted. Vocal harmonies, a bit of a barbershop quartet thing, airy keyboard, and a laughtrack.
20. Deep cello, guitar strumming, slow pained vocals.
21. Bright eyes fans rejoice. Deep and soul-churning. With a great strings part.
22. Midtempo rock with innumerable instrumental layers and a full sound.