Sleepdriver consists of eleven 1991 poems by artist-songwriter Ithaka Darin Pappas written in a car during a road trip from Los Angeles to Phoenix with his older brother to visit the grave of their recently deceased father. The highly personal poems in the Sleepdriver collection delve into the world of the Southwestern United States and Pappas' interaction with the region throughout his young adulthood. The works include themes such as; life and death, love, loneliness, freedom and ambition.
In 1995, Ithaka utilized three poems from this early collection as lyrics for songs on his debut alternative hip hop album, Flowers and the Color of Paint (Sleepdriver, She Makes Good Cookies, Flowers and the Color of Paint). In 1996, renowned Portuguese vocalist, Marta Dias, used the poem Look To The Blue as lyrics for a song of the same title for her album, Yué (the song also featured Ithaka as a guest vocalist). Dias also recorded a song using the poem Look To The Blue, but this song was not included on her album. In 1997, Ithaka used The Plot as the lyrical base for a song featuring artist-vocalist Mimi Tavares that appeared on his album, Stellafly. In 2004, a musical version of Brother Barstow was released on Ithaka’s album, Recorded in Rio. In 2017, a remastered 1992 a cappella version of Who? (entitled Who Made The Grass Green?) was included on Ithaka’s album, So Get Up & The Lost Acapellas. When first released independently in 1991, this series of poems was original entitled Brother Barstow.
1. Brother Barstow
2. Tonapah Joe’s
3. Sleepdriver
4. The Plot
5. Who?
6. Look For The Blue
7. Learn To Fly
8. She Makes Good Cookies
9. Santa Fe Roulette
10. Oasis Of Love
11.
Flowers And The Color Of Paint
written while driving from
Los Angeles to Phoenix in a rented Dodge Caravan with my brother Stuart, April 27th 1991
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_and_the_Color_of_Paint
