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Samuel Claiborne - Love Lust and Genocide

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Samuel Claiborne is a poet, as well as a musical artist (among many other talents), and his poetic skills are best on display during "Succulence (Blasphemy)," which finds the performer speak-singing over Steve Gorn's bamboo flute. It's an eerie piece of literary music.

Perhaps the most striking track on this album is "Lion and the Lamb." This lyric tells the story about the struggles of a gay man. His homosexuality never sits right with his religious parents. One is left with the impression this poor young man eventually takes his own life.

Claiborne is as political as he is socially conscious. This side of his artistic personality is revealed during "Say Goodbye to America," a rant against our corrupted society. Claiborne also chooses his cover song well. He covers Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." Claiborne's version falls somewhere between Trent Reznor's harsh original, and Johnny Cash's pained, stripped down take.

The picture Claiborne paints is not a pretty one. He tends to focus on the shady side of the street, more so than the sunny side. However, he comes across as both intelligent and pained. And that's a scarily accurate combination. He's smart enough to see how messed up our world is. He's also talented enough to describe this broken world artistically.

Samuel Claiborne - Love Lust and Genocide
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