Using poetry to laugh at the President’s playlist

PROFILE. As Dubya heads into the sunset, the “No More Bush” tour is something of a celebration, says organizer Byron Coley. It’s a more lighthearted  sequel to  the “More Hair Less Bush” bash of ’05,  but still a similarly brazen mix of liberal politics and underground art.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, ya know, Bush will be gone soon.’ In a way it’s getting in our last licks,” admits Coley, a veteran music writer who lives in Western Mass.

In the early ’80s through the mid ’90s, Coley spearheaded the alternative music scene, editing the lauded fanzine “Forced Exposure,” which was known for being highly opinionated and confrontational.

It’s no wonder that Coley has gathered some notable and talented liberal friends for an evening that mixes readings with music. The centerpiece, however,   is a collaborative tanka  — a precursor to haiku — reading, riffing on George W.

“We wrote a series of those based on George Bush’s iPod playlist. It’s allowed us to make some brutal fun of him,” the affable 51-year-old says with a chuckle. Coley is speaking from New York, while on a promotional book tour for “No Wave,” a dissection of the New York No Wave scene, which he co-wrote with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore.

Though Moore is on the bill for some “No More Bush” shows and he wrote parts of the tanka, he won’t be in Somerville.

We wonder if, as a new political era  dawns,  public opinion will soften as Bush exits? Coley laughs.
“This is a presidency that I think will be difficult for anyone to foster any nostalgia for on any level. This tour is also a reminder of how bad things have been and that there is a brighter tomorrow on the horizon.”

Seems Coley is still highly opinionated.

No More Bush Tour
With Sunburned Hand of the Man, Jack Rose, Valerie Webber, 50 Foot Woman, Axoloti, Byron Coley, Damon Krukowksi  and Bobb Trimble
Tonight, 8
PA’s Lounge
345 Somerville Ave., Somerville
MBTA: Red Line to Porter
$8-$11, 18+ 617-776-1557
www.paslounge.com