In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
The poems in Nicholas Goodly’s collection Star Power take many forms, but all are imbued with brilliant takes on life and art.
LitHub wrote of the book:
“Tumbling with a momentum that is equal parts fury and joy, these deep, often hilarious, and always interesting meditations on politics, gender, anger, and love argue, finally, that it’s our capacity for change, our passion for it, really, that will save us, if anything will.”
In his own words, here is Nicholas Goodly’s Book Notes music playlist for his poetry collection Star Power:
Baby I’m a Star – Prince
Prince had a significant influence on my early life. He is a shared favorite among my family. His gender-bending sex machine persona made Prince a role model of coolness and confidence. This song is about believing in one’s value even if no one else can see that. There’s so much fun to be had in this projection of a larger-than-life self. It is in this spirit of play that a lot of the persona poems in Star Power was written.
Really Love – D’Angelo
D’angelo is a master of the performance of intimacy. He yields sensuality with undeniable ease. In this song, the “really” implies that every other version of love offered before this moment pales in comparison to the real love being declared now. Star Power is concerned with this level of closeness, interested in language that represents relationships that feel too big for the traditional use of words like “love’, “touch”, “easy” or “patient”.
Wesley’s Theory – Kendrick Lamar, George Clinton, Thundercat
This song embodies so much of Star Power’s themes. First, the song is a collaboration between the titans of soul, assembled from different generations. The song is cinematic, the voices weave in and out of each other. One voice sounds old and cosmic. Another eggs on Kendrick’s more hedonistic side without fear of consequence. Even the women’s voices play a role similar to the Fates in Greek mythology. This willingness to mix sounds and stack them into a fully embodied experience parallels how the voices of Star Power layer into a complete polyphonic blend which is dark, soulful, dangerous, and seductive.
Dragonball Durag – Thundercat
In this song, Thundercat’s ease of voice between machismo and vulnerability is fascinating to listen to. This song is referenced in the poem, “Happy Black Genius” where I marvel at Thundercat’s technical ability, honesty, and sense of humor, all on display in a funky bass-driven groove.
HNIC – Leikeli47
Like Star Power, this song remixes a bit of language into new context that empowers the speaker. I also greatly admire Leikeli47’s flow and smoothness. She is dedicated to uplifting black culture and black women through superb lyricism and craft on a level that puts her on the level with the greats of her genre.
Standing at the Edge of Fire – TOPS
I love the way this song explores an emptiness that can never be satisfied. The way this emptiness goes unnamed is reminiscent of the feeling behind some of the poems in Star Power. I have been a fan of TOPS for years, they have been the dreamlike soundtrack behind so many major events in my life, so it makes sense to include them in the soundtrack of this book. And as I watch them evolve from one album to the next, I appreciate the integrity of honoring their unique sound while still taking risks and exploring new themes in the music.
Feels Like – MikeQ, Kevin Jz Prodigy
This song, like some moments in Star Power, is for a very specific audience. Not everyone will connect with this one, but for those that do, I want it to mean a lot to them. This song puts us on the front row of ballroom culture. It is using a language decipherable only by those in the know. It is unapologetically queer, loud, and fierce. It’s queer voices not flinching in the face of their haters. Finally, in the midst of all this intensity, Kevin Jz Prodigy performs this struggle to describe a feeling. It reveals a soft spot in this compelling way that feels real and palpable.
BALENCIES – CHIKA
There are poems in the book that feel like, if no one else is in my corner, I’m going to be in my own corner. I’m going to push for my own survival, push for my own agency in new spaces, and refuse to give up. This song reminds me of that. On days where I needed to hear someone else in the fight, this was the song to do it.
Boys with the Characteristics of Wolves – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Unkown Mortal Orchestra constantly reinvent themselves every album. I can sense the investment in artistry, the push in creativity in each project. Many of their songs read like poems. This song in particular is resonant of Star Power’s theme of the yearning for safety and redemption.
Heavy Metal and Reflective – Azealia Banks
This song is akin to the poems in the book that feel the most boisterous and combative. This song is like a battle armor, it’s a part the poems that feel like I’m making myself larger than I am, that defense mode where no one can touch you. Like good poetry, this song is slick, shimmering, heavy, metal, and reflective.
Cowboy Dan – Modest Mouse
This song captures a kind of greediness to some of the poems in this book. There’s this insatiable hunger in Cowboy Dan that I was immediately captivated by the first time I heard this song. There’s a struggle for him to accept his place in the world, his refusal to be subservient even to his creators. Cowboy Dan has this hole in his being that he can’t name and can’t articulate but continues to drive him. I keep returning to these lyrics to get perspective on that feeling for myself. Cowboy Dan may be the example of it, but I believe we all have some version of this darkness inside of us.
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free – Nina Simone
A great deal of this book is concerned with performance, the feeling of being on stage, looking at why I am drawn to dance and theater. What am I searching for in these moments? When I see Nina Simone in her element, on stage, letting the spirit take over, it all makes perfect sense. How she moves in this video, her voice, the way she commands the audience and sets them off into a religious frenzy is the expression of the soul. This is pure duende. “I’ll tell you what freedom is, no fear.”
3 Channels – Micah Stansell
I referenced this video in my poem “Search for the Exceptional,” named in reference to a movement installation by GloATL, an artist–led platform based in Atlanta. This video requires patience and an open mind. It becomes a meditation, a dream brought to life It’s one of the most beautiful combinations of sound color dance feminine power and creativity that I’ve ever had the pleasure of observing. I suggest watching the whole thing to understand the collection more deeply, but feel free to hop around to see some of the most surreal compositions pet to film.
Nicholas Goodly is the author of Black Swim. Goodly is the recipient of the 2017 Chapbook Fellowship from the Poetry Society of America and was a finalist for the 2020 Jake Adam York Prize and the runner-up for the 2019 Cave Canem Poetry Prize.