Kofi Annan recalls a lesson from his student days at Mfantsipim (from The New Yorker, March 3, 2003): “Once, I remember, Reverend Brandful took out a large white sheet with a black dot in the middle, draped it over the blackboard and asked us: ‘What do you see?’ We all answered: ‘The black dot.’ ‘Why only the black dot?’ he responded. ‘Why only the negative? What about the vast white spaces around?’ He was reminding us to always look beyond the obvious and beneath the surface, to bear in mind the larger picture, not to focus just on the blemishes. He was teaching us also to remember that there is more than one side to a story, and more than one answer to a question.”

Photo by Craig Konyu

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CREDITS:

Words & music by Craig Konyu
Recorded & produced by Craig Konyu & Peter Buck
Released February 1, 2015

The vocals: Craig Konyu
The backing: Craig Konyu
The acoustic: Craig Konyu & Peter Buck
The electric: Peter Buck
The bass: Peter Buck
The drums: Johann Burkhardt
The shakers: Craig Konyu
The bells: Craig Konyu

LYRICS:

You feel like closing your eyes.
UFOs circle the skies.
Lay down that begotten myth.
What you see lacks what it is.

Brain works by proxy and guess.
Imperial checkers and chess.
Interstate and civil roads are paved.
Earth is a peaceable place.

Now that the webs have been spun.
Spider can build another one.
Suck silt and harbinger night.
Paranoid apple turns ripe.

Cold war becomes comfortable.
Firepower spent and all is well.
Conflict is chewing resolve fat.
Earth spirals down, off the map.

To teardrops are sewn jealous hearts.
A black dot on white equals art.

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