posted
Maybe this won't be "du jour," but it will be "du frequent interval." I'd like to do a brief reccommendation and review of an eclectic musical favorite of mine. My taste ranges all over the place, so if something isn't quite your bag, just wait and the next one will probably be totally different.
I also welcome commentary on and discussions of the music because, hey, that's what makes it fun.
The Songs of West Side Story. Various Artists (available here)
I originally bought this album on tape from the BMG music club when I was in high school. It had a title of "Hearts and Hands" or something similar, but that seems to have disappeared on my new CD version.
For people who like showtunes, it's a bit of a hit and miss. For people who like pop, it's a bit of a hit and miss. For people who like showtunes and pop, it's gold. There are a couple moments too sappy for even me: Kenny Loggins and Wynonna Judd doing Tonight* ranks right up there with novocaine as a form of entertainment, but the majority of the tracks outshine the few lulls of early90spopballad banality.
My favorites:
Selena doing a Latin-Jack version of A Boy Like That. It's also, sadly, the last recording she ever made
And a pretty badass (as badass as 1996 got) version of Officer Krupke by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez of TLC, Salt 'N Pepa, the Jerky Boys, and a few others that I secretly crank up in my whitegirl apartment when no one else is home.
Overall, the album is a little on the cheese side of the spectrum, but has some great jazzy moments (Patti Austin, Natalie Cole) and some neat interpretations of old stuff. A recommended buy for the artsier part of the shameless pop demographic.
. . .
*all links provided are for the Amazon.com Windows Media Player song clips. RealPlayer versions are also available on the amazon.com page
This 1996 album, Shakira's first international release, was the last one I bought. I assumed it would be young, naïve, and not as polished as her later work. Well, you know what happens when we assume!
Those who have only heard Shakira in English on American pop radio might be reluctant to pursue music by someone who apparently ranks with Jessica Simpson in the making of serious music. Shakira, though, writes all her own tunes and, in Spanish especially, is an unusually original lyricist. It's "chick music" to be sure, but smart and enjoyable. I've referred to her before as the Latin Alanis.
Many of the songs on her 1998 ¿Donde Estan los Ladrones? album rely on super-fast bridge sections to act as the song's climax, and this began on Pies with the first track Estoy Aquí, which is addictively danceable.
The other singles from this album had a dance groove that would be capitalized on in a later album release called The Remixes, which draws exclusively from the songs of Pies Descalzos. Among the peppier tracks is the reggae-inspired international anthem Poco de Amor (no sample available) and the lite Latin pop ¿Donde Estas Corazón?.
The highlights of this young album, recorded when Shakira was only 18, are the tracks that allow a little genre experimentation, providing a fun foray into styles that would later be set aside for the guitar-rock driven Ladrones album. The two funkiest tracks are the ballad Quiero, which breaks into techno rhythms a minute into the song, and the brilliant Te Espero Sentada, a jazzy track that evades classification, but breaks out the best of Tito Puente and Peggy Lee in a fresh, funky, latin jazz diva piece.
There's not a word of English to be found on Pies Descalzos, but don't let that discourage you from giving this eclectic freshman album a shot. It's not ranchero, it's not mariachi, and it's not mind-numbing Latin pop translated by a record-company executive with his eyes on a hispanic market. It's the world's first taste of a shockingly talented Latina bombshell of whom Gabriel Garcíá Marquez said "Shakira's music has a personal stamp that doesn't look like anyone else's and no-one can sing like her, at whatever age, with such an innocent sensuality, one that seems to be of her own invention."
Nordic Roots 2 Various Artists Buy it here - Cheap!
A sticker on this album says "Cheaper than food." For some reason (having to do with its promotional nature, probably), this album retails for 3 - 5 dollars. What it is is a sampler of music produced on the NorthSide label (Scandinavian), one of three such sampler albums.
It is also fabulous.
The tracks range from totally traditional Scandinavian music to modern experiments on the rich musical traditions of the region. This is where I was first exposed to my third-favorite Swedish band of all time, Garmarna. They re-make medieval tunes with electronic beats and effects. (wicked cool, jah.)
This album, though, is $4.95 of pure gold. It ranges from traditional instrumental tunes, like this one from a group called Boot, to traditional vocal arrangements like those of Rosenberg 7 to funky modern experimental tracks like 2 Søstre.
My personal favorite highlights are a vocal track in Finnish called Polska Release (Finnish is one of the Three Weirdest Languages in Europe and resultantly very cool), a re-visited medieval tune called Vengeance by the aforementioned Garmarna, and Annbjørg Lien's edgy tribute to the mischeivous Norse god Loki.
Overall, this is one of my most favorite of my most eclectic albums, and who can argue with cheaper than food?
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I just checked out the track listing for that last disc and noticed that it includes Loki by Annbjorg Lien. I've got the original album that's off, and it's wonderful. If this sampler is full of songs of that quality, I may just have to invest the $5 and pick it up.
Anyway, it's been nearly 6 days and no more "du jour". I hope you keep writing. It's a great idea. I may have to steal it from you someday, but I think I'll wait until you tire of the idea. You're a tough act to follow. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Would you argue that those languages are weirder than Albanian? Why? Just curious what criteria you're using to define "weird".
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Whatever happened to this thread? I was so digging it, then it was gone. Is it ever to return? If not, can I have it? Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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I totally and entirely cannot stop myself from asking if we could rename this thread, "Annie's Songs" in tribute to John Denver. I apologize to anyone who groans.
As to eclectic, I got into a discussion with a Jimmy Buffett mega fan who was currently listening to Enya on his car CD player. Sounded just about right to me. 2000 miles from my favorite ocean, and I'm missing beach music...
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I got a little swamped at school is what happened. Now that my computer time is lessened, I don't know how regular I could be. So have at it Speed, and I'll add in my two cents when I can
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I don't know about Norwegian Fiddle Music, but I own Baba Yaga by Annbjorg Lien, and it's really good. Well worth its cost, and good enough that I've always meant to pick up some more of her stuff (although I haven't got around to it yet.) So if you really are tempted, give in. From what I've heard of her, it's not just a gimmick. It really is as cool as it sounds.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Oh, by the way, as long as I'm here I may as well post a link. I'm going to take Annie up on her offer to plagarize her idea, at least once, but I won't contaminate her thread directly. So I took my business elsewhere. If you want to see my music du jour, it's HERE.
posted
Speed's efforts on his own version of Eclectic Music DuJour have guilted me and inspired me into doing a review I've wanted to do for quite a while now. So, without endeavoring to steal any of his luster (I doubt our material overlaps much anyway), here it is:
Bollywood For Beginners
Many of us are familiar with the term Bollywood, as in, Indian cinema. Very few of us (and I presume to speak only for the Americans here) have actually seen a Bollywood film. And no, Bend it Like Beckham doesn't count. Not that Bend it Like Beckham wasn't a great film, with a great subcontinental soundtrack, but the presense of disco tips us off: this is a quirky BritFlik, not Bollywood at all. But that's OK, because we're equal opportunity foreign film snobs. (Aren't we?) If you liked the sountrack to Beckham, though, and even more; if you liked the dancing at the wedding, you are a Hindophile in the rough. Before long, we'll have you posting fangirl posters of Aamir Kahn and raving to your friends about that 70s classic Apna Desh. Your friends will hate me.
The following two albums are what I consider the necessary introduction to all things Bolly. They are, of course, soundtracks, because what Bollywood was born on was the great American Musical. The American Musical is now dead (with Richard Gere tap dancing and smoking a long-stemmed cigarette on its grave), but Bollywood has shown that the cycle of rebirth is a reality, and the ghost of Gene Kelly has been reborn in Madras as a sacred dancing bull. The first film I discuss, though, isn't a musical at all, but that's because I've got to ease you into this so you don't bolt when the lead characters pull a Tony&Maria on you. Trust me - it'll be great.
Monsoon Wedding was the second notable film from Indian SheDirector Mira Nair. (I never saw the first, Kama Sutra.) More recently, she moved entirely to England with Vanity Fair, but don't hold that against her. Monsoon Wedding is beautiful. And the score/soundtrack is a key element of that. It is mostly a score, and this is a necessary Western Artsy evil because the aesthetic of the film is a bit Western Artsy and necessitates it. But it's done with class, and Indian composer Mychael Danna weaves a beautiful modern Delhi textile with his subtle themes and quirky electronic innovations. Fuse Box is the haunting recurrent melody that will remind you most of the film. But none of that has to do with why I'm recommending this to you, because none of that is Bollywood. The opening track, however, is.
Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa (Today My Heart Desires), sung and composed by a Bollywood name you'll need to remember, Sukhwinder Singh, is glorious and dramatic and everything the MGM Lion evoked. But it's an MGM Tiger now, and that's why we love it.
The other collected tracks on this album, which don't really blend with Danna's score but that doesn't bother us too much, range from traditional folk music, like the theme to the Mendhi (Henna) party, Madhorama Pencha, to poppy dance tunes that characterize Bollywood smash hits like Abhijeet's Chunari Chunari to the westernized dance mix that closes the movie, Hans Raj Hans's Aaja Nachle. It's just Western enough that you can listen to it in mixed company, and just Bolly enough to get you hooked and slightly curious for more.
That is when you rent a copy of Lagaan. Lagaan is pretty unequivocably the best Bollywood film to date. Also, it stars producer Aamir Kahn, the Gérard Depardieu of India. You gotta see Aamir to know what you're talking about in all the snobby Bolly circles. And you've got to watch it before you get the soundtrack, so you can get the story and get the vibe and learn a couple dance moves like that cute little step Bhuvan does with his hands behind his head and that sexy little twisty thing Gauri sneaks in during the stick dance to show how jealous of the white memsahib she is. I won't tell you that the film is 3 1/2 hours long, is a romance, a musical, ultimately about cricket and pointedly anti-British, because then you might not take it seriously. No - you better just go watch it.
When you've done so, you'll want the soundtrack, and then I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is - it's not been published in the states. The good news is - that makes it even cheaper if you know what you're doing. Amazon has it listed as a two-CD set, and available "used or new" (it's new) from a couple really cheap IndianMedia importers for as low as $2.87. You might not get both CDs (mine came as a single disc version), but the main themes are all on disc one and disc two is mainly score. And the score gets a little hokey in the places where they're trying to evoke sandlot baseball. But composer A.R. Rahman (who apparently started out composing Tamil scores in the 90s) is a masterful man. It's fully orchestrated, and he understands western orchestral composition (as we can see in his purposely British piece Waltz for a Romance), but transcends it.
The opening musical number sets the tone for the film. It's a joyous welcoming of looming rainclouds by villagers of a drought-ravaged region, and is rhythmically addictive. "Ghanan ghanan ghir ghir aaye badra / Ghane ghan ghor kaaere chhaye badra..." rumbles the onomatopœic ominous thunderhead, and the percussion here is what catches the western ear and keeps you in for the rest of the album.
I had to find the lyrics to Mitwa right after watching the film, because its melody had become irascibly stuck in my head. And that's OK, because all the cool kids have Hindi lyrics stuck in their heads, Really.
One of the most beautiful love scenes I've seen is highlighted by the track O Rey Chhori (Oh, My Beloved), but may take a little getting used to. The female vocal stylings in Hindi music are in a much higher register than we're used to, as you'll observe in the lead actress's song Radha Kaise Na Jale (Why Shouldn't Radha Be Jealous?), and not what our ears are used to at all. But they're lovely, and very well done.
If you've seen the theatrical trailer for the film, you've heard bits of the fight song-esque Chale Chalo, but it's spliced into the trailer at a very weird moment (they've just finished showing you 3 or 4 minutes of moving human drama, and this is the first indication they give that it's a musical) that makes it quite comical. Luckily, in its entirety, it preserves a sense of dignity and makes a good climax for the film and the album. (though I still giggle when Bhuvan turns around wearing that mean face. Sorry Aamir... you can't do cute and endearing and then try to do mean.)
If you like what you've sampled, if you've totally transcended Ravi Shankar, and you want to delve further into Bolly, some other good films to check out are Dil Chahta Hai, Swades, and of course Apna Desh. But you don't have to take my word for it. (cue drums)
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I love Bollywood. Like Khabi Kushi Khabi Gham. Great movie. Dreamy people, especially this GUY who has these gorgeous hazel eyes. I have no idea what his name is, but he has a nice body. And the music in that movie is awesome too. I also like a lot of old bolly wood stuff like Asha Bhosle.
Do you have the whole versions of some of those? Because my life will not be complete without them.
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Dude, Annie, I completely forgot that I used to listen to Shakira's first album nonstop. Thanks for the reminder, I'ma dig her out of my pile of long-neglected CDs. Posts: 1595 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sorry it took me so long to respond. I just got off a 13 hour shift. And, unlike many of you slackers, I don't get to read or post at work.
Sold out, eh? Okay, I haven't been paying much attention to him lately. Maybe he has. I'd like to hear some names and dates, though.
Let's just say he has sold out. Sting sold out in a big way, but I'll never transcend Ghost In the Machine or Nothing Like the Sun. Even if Ravi has made a couple cheesy albums in his old age, you can't deny that he's one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Listen to Sounds of India, Live at Monterey 1967 or The Sound of the Sitar. Or if you're not into that, just consider how many other musicians owe much of their sound to him. John McLaughlin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Crosby... even Philip Glass, of whom I know you and Hobbes are especially fond, attributes a large portion of his style and success to the immense influence Ravi had on his early studies. He had a massive influence on people who had a massive influence on others, to such an extent that it's almost impossible to imagine what music would sound like today without his fingerprint on it.
So tell me again how you've managed to transcend him. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Right on. Even with the Speed-baiting, though, it was a good update. I'm glad I've goaded you into continuing the thread. I may have to add some of this Bollywood junk to my "shiz-nit to check out" list.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Hey, Elizabeth. I've been lurking, but things got really crazy there for a while. Nice to see you again, too. How's things?
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Now I have a full time job with no internet tomfoolery allowed, so I'll have to see if I can do some of this on weekends. I do have the next three days off, however, so we'll see what I can do.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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