JOEL PLASKETT RELEASES FIRST RECORDED SPOKEN-WORD POEM “THE NEW JOYS”
Given he’s spent a lifetime setting words to music, it’s maybe a surprise—but maybe not—that Joel Plaskett’s first recorded spoken-word poem is only arriving this year. Today, he shares his poem, “The New Joys,” to coincide with National Poetry Month. With much attention to tones, timbres, rhymes & rhythms, Plaskett’s songwriting has always been as much about words as it is his unshakeable melodies.
“The New Joys is a poem I wrote a while back that we recorded in 2023 at the Carleton in Halifax with Bill Stevenson improvising gracefully on the Wurlitzer keyboard,” shares Plaskett. “Trying to pin down what it is about is a bit like trying to tell a teenager what to wear, but as a visual, imagine a seesaw with ‘the past’ sitting on one side and ‘the future’ on the other. In the middle is someone trying to get the attention of their better half without completely losing their balance.”
Over more than three decades on stage and on record, Plaskett’s work has included epic romance via concept album (2007’s Ashtray Rock), a months-long songwriting challenge (2012’s Scrappy Happiness), and sprawling numbers games exploring love, loss, and existential investigations (2009’s Three and 2020’s 44).
“The New Joys” was recorded live on stage at The Carleton in Halifax, and backed by the responsive, improvisational playing of Halifax piano legend Bill Stevenson. The final track was lovingly produced with extra vocal & guitar flourishes added on 4-track cassette tape at Plaskett’s Fang Recording studio.
The poem continues Joel’s exploration of being, time, and memory that has been front of mind since he embarked on 44; a pursuit that finds him uncovering the interrelatedness of things everywhere amidst an ever faster-spinning world in need of repair.
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