Tuesday, August 03, 2004
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glisten: Acap' CD 5
Adam - Just when we were building a head of steam, the mix crashes into this one. My mind keeps imagining a horrible interpretive dance routine going on somewhere in hell.
Spencer - This is my introduction to Bulgarian music. Operatic & rollicking & anthemic in a way that kind of makes you want to bob your head or ride your bike downhill. The clicking of heels at the end is smart.
Kevin - Absolutely amazing. Notice how they sing at very loud volumes with no vibrato, and how some of the harmonies imitate droning strings on string instruments.
My love for the BWC is a never ending fountain, as evidenced by my multiple postings of their work. They're beautiful.
Buy "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, Vol. 3" from Amazon.
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Explore Mystere's official site and mine it for DL-able material.
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Read this interview with Timothy Rice, Bulgarian ethnomusicologist.
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Listen to the NPR interview.
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Visit Bulgaria and bring me back some yak butter, whydontcha?
These links are all cribbed from my March 18th Tofu Hut post on the Choir. Newbies are instructed to go back and check it out and wonder at the sheer amount of time I used to have on my hands.
I'll be happy to go back to posts of this size and complexity if somebody wants to bankroll my rent. Any takers?
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Adam - I had a friend once who listened to this kind of stuff almost exclusively. I told her I didn't get it. She told me it was because I never had felt that deeply about anything before. She is no longer my friend.
Spencer - Like the Ladysmith Black Mambazo track, this one is too perfect. Sounds like he's concentrating on hitting those notes instead of telling the story. Does nothing for me except kind of makes me want to kick Casey Neill in the jaw.
Kevin - The precision of this performance is really shocking. I almost wonder if it's too much...whether someone like Alasdair Roberts who fumbles his way into the correct notes would make for a more compelling performance.
Funny that you guys would pick on this for it's QUALITY. I mean, yeah, point taken; occasionally a track is just so polished that you want to see a little grit, just to see if anybody's faking. With this, though? I'm just pleased to have such a simple smooth gem.
What's your take, folks?
Buy "Portland West: Live" from Appleseed Records.
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Learn more about Casey at his official website.
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Listen to another track that I posted from this same album over at M4Robots.
I swear to god this was a total coincidence. I had no idea that this track was due up next in the playlist. Weird. I must be thinking about this guy lately.
I really DID work as his personal trainer for awhile. Small world.
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Download more of Casey's songs.
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Read this interview with the (snicker) "Guitar-Slinging Eco-Warrior Extraordinaire".
Dude. I want the accessories that come with that action figure SO BAD.
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spiffy
We have our first entry in the "Remixcapella" challenge!
Darwin, over at the up and coming musicblog Nuclear Beef, writes us to say that the Ol' Dirty Bastard cut was "a difficult vocal to work with, because ODB is all over the beat. I think it turned out pretty uh.. psycho. For this (and other) reasons, it's called..."
Remix #1: Talking Heads VS. ODB - Psycho Shimmy (Darwin mashup)
I love it! Keep 'em comin!
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I've recently gotten to hang out with a few of my "contemporaries": Steve at Scissorkick (listened to a great downtempo dj set that he spun and had a great convo about tunes and over turkey club sandwiches), Aaron at new(ish) (an astonishingly knowledgeable cat (he speaks so well!) who's kindly choosing to publish some of my ramblings over at YRB, a blessed landmark for this money and attention starved would-be writer... hey, check out Aaron's music label Bastard Jazz... loads of MP3s!) and Katya at Oddio Overplay(I'm developing an unhealthy crush but you would too, if you met her).
All of them are A+ quality type folk and they can all talk a blue streak about music.
These guys are all on my daily checklist; I strongly recommend that you make them part of yours.
And hey, be on the lookout for Oddio Overplay's new redesign and tribute CD, which yours truly contributed a rambling screed of jabber to. Regardless, there's a bunch of SUPER GOOD stuff on there from lots of online musicians that I really respect. It should be out soon and I'll hype it as soon as I see it.
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As long as I'm talking about places I'm contributing to, ya'll should keep one eye glued to The Morning News, where they'll soon be a "Round Table" group discussion on musicblogging published. The participants is me, O-Dub, Sean, David, Andrew and Mystical Beast (who's blogging again! RUN over and check out the new post!). Tho' my commentary is pretty hackneyed, I imagine you'll find lots of interesting viewpoints from these other guys. Again, I'll let you know when I see it.
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And don't forget to peek in occasionally for the "Square Table" at NYLPM. I recently got sent Terror Squad's "Lean Back" from those folks; nice to see NY represent overseas!
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MORE self-promotion? Does this guy ever stop?
Just one more. The rubber hasn't quite met the road on this yet, but I've just written the first in what I hope will be a regular series over at Better Propaganda. The topic? Musicblogs, o' course. I'll review and highlight a blog that I think deserves greater recognition.
If this takes off, I'm pushing for it to be a weekly column.
Ma! Look at me! I'm dancin'! I'm DANCIN'!
C'mon now; doesn't ANYBODY want me for their big media conglomerate? I'm DYING to sell out over here...
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I am SO pissed that I'm still lagging on finishing up the writing for that "How to make your own Musicblog" post, but I DO feel the need to make one suggestion for those of you who are considering doing so but aren't sure where to go for hosting.
I am TREMENDOUSLY satisfied with the customer care and service that I've received from racknine. Their prices are cheap (thirty bucks a month for 50 gigs of bandwidth should hold just about ANY of you guys and if you enjoy doing it after three months you can either upgrade or get a full year for cheaper); their interface is simple and they've been nothing but good to me. Honestly, I'd even accept advertising for them (hint hint). So if you DO need a simple hosting solution for your starter musicblog, you could do worse than to begin with racknine.
This has been an unpaid advertisement. Offer may not be good in Brazil, Paraguay or Arkansas.
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Loads of new musicblogs over there to your right. Here's a select few that have found a need and filled it:
Swung By Seraphim highlights "gothic, darkwave, deathrock, industrial, ebm, post-punk and death disco." No industrial? Or is that a given?
She Moved Through the Fair gives us "folk, wyrdfolk, dark folk, neo-folk, brit-folk, Celtic folk"... but no filking? My kingdom for a filking blog!
Something I Learned Today is chock fulla "yesterday's best punk, garage, hardcore, etc."
Space Age Pop steps up with a primer to "Exotica, Jet Set Pop, Cocktail, Space Age Bachelor Pad and Outsider Music".
On Classical offers literally THOUSANDS of MIDI classical pieces and a handful of MP3's. There's a scroll at the bottom that promises MP3 goodness on the way; once that happens, this might fill a HUGE void.
The Video Game Music Archive offers a MASSIVE selection of MIDI songs from EVERY system. Nostalgia Incorporated.
Everything else over there is equally worth checking out; I'm just happy to see some diversity creeping into our ranks. NOW: what do I have to do to get a devoted TV theme song musicblog? And a country musicblog? And a traditional "old-timey" music? And a polka? And a spoken word? And a stand up comedy? And a JAZZ! Are there no bebop fans among you?
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Thanks for the birthday wishes. Now get me a frickin' JOB, people. Media Industry. Pronto.
