by Craig Stark #123, 23 June 2008

So - how do you get your art, poetry, etc., noticed, let alone sold, if you're just a punk kid? Why, you form an alternative rock band, name it after a male demon who rapes sleeping women, crank out some music that achieves both commercial and critical success, get nominated for a Grammy, and otherwise become famous. Then - only at this point - your fans will at least give the other stuff you do a shot, whether it's good or not (and it's usually not). And this is exactly what we're seeing happen to White Fluffy Clouds, a collection of drawings, poetry and short fiction produced by Incubus front man Brandon Boyd. Prices typically realized for this book are presently north of $50, and, given Boyd's slightly elevated sapience, perhaps will remain here for some time, but don't hold your breath past, let's say, three to five years. Note also that the sequel to White Fluffy Clouds, Boyd's From the Murks of the Sultry Abyss, commands even more robust prices.

Needless to say, this formula has worked more than once for singers - well, it works until they're no longer hot, and then the forgettable poetry becomes famously forgotten. By the way, how many Jewel poems can you recite? From an Amazon review of her first book of poetry, A Night Without Armor: Poems:

"Jewel Kilcher was the first to admit that this book of 100 or so of her poems would not have been published if her dazzling debut album, Pieces of You, hadn't sold 10 million copies."

Well, yeah.

Listen!

Do you hear it?
I do.

I can feel it. I expect a miracle is coming.
It has set loose this restlessness
inside of me.

Expect it.
Dream about it.
Give birth to it in your being.
Know! Something good
is coming down the line.
Finding its way to you
like all things find their way
to god's children.


Listen!

Ok, I'll stop.

You'll see 100 profit-producing books like this every 3 months in BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books, each one presented in a clear format with bibliographic essentials and links to photos. Here is the actual entry for White Fluffy Clouds, #2 in QMR, issue #5 (soon to be published):

TITLE: WHITE FLUFFY CLOUDS: FOUND INSPIRATION MOVING FORWARD
AUTHOR: Brandon Boyd
ILLUSTRATOR: n/a
EDITOR: n/a
IMPRINT: Endophasia Publications
COPYRIGHT DATE: 2003
ISBN OR LCCN: 0974512001
ISBN-13: 978-0974512006
BINDING: Hardcover
COMMENTARY: So - how do you get your art, poetry, etc., noticed if you're just a punk kid? Why, you form an alternative rock band, get nominated for a Grammy, become famous and so on. Then, at least, your fans will give the other stuff you do a shot, whether it's good or not, and this is exactly what we're seeing with Incubus' front man Brandon Boyd's WHITE FLUFFY CLOUDS. Needless to say, this formula has worked more than once for singers - well, it works until they're no longer hot, and then the forgettable poetry becomes forgotten. What was the name of that Jewel poem?
LINK:

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