John Paul Davis

My name is John Paul Davis. I write poetry, build things on the web with code, make music and visual art. I love making things. This website is mostly about the things I make and do.

  1. Geese and ducks on Van Cortlandt Lake at sunrise.
    Silhouettes on sunlight
    Posted on in Photography
  2. New yellow buds on a tree on the first morning of spring, 2025, Van Cortlandt Park
    First Day Of Spring, 2025
    Posted on in Photography
  3. Endlessly inventive arrangements, operatic in scope, these songs celebrate the birth of a child & new love with idiosyncratic brainy lyrics.

    Listen to the album on Bandcamp

  4. Rainy, psychedelic, haunted, questioning, questing songs, lushly-arranged, tenderly sung.

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  5. Vibrant arrangements & spectacular melodies support the reflective, pastoral lyrics that meditate on aging, longing & love.

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  6. The band cements their longevity with these finely-crafted, mature tunes that retain all their early-career energy. Searing guitars, spidery bass, thundering drums & a whole lot of heart.

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  7. Hassell defies expectations of what sounds a trumpet can make, gliding, soaring, soothing over polyrhythms, synth pads & stuttering pulsing bass lines. Brian Eno & Michael Brook sit in on some songs.

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  8. His first with a full band, exploring themes central to his 55 year career: spirituality, love, progressive politics. Lush arrangements, tender melodies & his intricate guitar picking abound.

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  9. Adroit & lively lyricism set to compelling, dynamic melodies over mostly solo acoustic guitar played energetically.

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  10. Without deviating from their warm melange of soul, R&B, disco & hip-hop Jungle expand their sonic palette for a richer, more spacious sound.

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  11. Groovy, skittery percussion & funky basslines over string ensembles as Byrne's quirky, metaphoric lyrics capture the paranoias & anxieties of post-9/11 America.

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  12. Washington's spacious, glimmering electric funk never looses its way, thanks in large part to bassist Louis Johnson's nimble grooves & Washington's always-ascending soprano sax.

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  13. Soulful & spare, this album of mostly ballads evokes the almost monastic 3 year period Rollins spent alone, honing his technique by playing on the Williamsburg Bridge.

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  14. 25 years in, the indie band delivers a brooding collection of songs that sound like soundtracks to films that don't exist. Gritty, rapturous, cutting, this quiet music should be played loud.

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  15. Clouds, a treeline, and cattails pushed down by the wind in Van Cortlandt Park
    Winter Textures
    Posted on in Photography
  16. The Dublin rock band expands their sound while staying true to the elements that made their first 2 albums so compelling. Still hard to believe these lads are 25 & under given how well they write & play.

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  17. Breakup songs that celebrate moving away from unhealthy love & find joy in the music itself which ranges from R&B, soul, psychedelia, rock & jazz that comes together as a unified whole guided by Howard's genius.

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  18. Gabriel fronts an all-star cast of musicians from around the world, blending alt-rock & subtle electronica to house his plaintive, incisive, musing explorations of love, grief, reconciliation & healing.

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  19. A Canadian goose standing on the partially-frozen Van Cortlandt Lake, with its reflection showing in a patch of unfrozen lake.
    Posted on in Photography
  20. The band evolves their alt-country Mexo-Americana, focusing here on intimate examinations of love & self-exploration. Fetching melodies & disarming, quietly poetic lyrics, tenderly sung.

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  21. The quartet Redman assembled for his solo debut reunites 25 years later. 4 giants of contemporary jazz deliver a set of lively, masterful interplay, deeply felt.

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  22. Which sets previously-unheard lyrics of Woody Guthrie's to music written by Bragg & Wilco. Vibrant glittering folk-rock with infectious melodies highlighting Guthrie's still-applicable fiery politics.

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  23. a thicket in Van Cortlandt park
    thicket
    Posted on in Photography
  24. Their most recent, full of winding post-prog song structures, big satisfying riffs, soaring vocals, mystical contemplative lyrics, thundering drums. The godfathers of emo made the Platonic ideal of area rock records.

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  25. A majestic, expressive & expansive set that finds the band at its finest. Simultaneously uplifting & daring. Wordless hymns of boundless love & hope. Sunday morning on Saturday night.

    Listen to the album on YouTube