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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 206 responses total. |
mcnally
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response 100 of 206:
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Jul 26 03:41 UTC 1997 |
Out of curiosity did they have more than one? I used to listen to that when
a former housemate owned it but when he moved out I never acquired it for
myself..
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mziemba
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response 101 of 206:
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Jul 26 08:30 UTC 1997 |
Ken- the last _Folk Roots_ I was able to get from Tower was the April issue.
But the Ann Arbor store seemed to get it rather sporadically, anyway. Oh,
well. Subscription time, then...
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mziemba
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response 102 of 206:
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Jul 26 08:33 UTC 1997 |
Ken- Wonderful! I'm delighted to hear that you found it. I'll transfer the
offer to Mike, then, if he thinks he might have trouble locating it.
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mziemba
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response 103 of 206:
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Aug 5 08:07 UTC 1997 |
Well, talked to the wonderful woman I see there all the time at Main Street
News about _Folk Roots_. She seemed pretty interested, took down some contact
info from my last, lonely, dog-eared April issue. Perhaps we'll see it here
in Ann Arbor, yet!
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mziemba
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response 104 of 206:
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Aug 5 09:52 UTC 1997 |
I don't really have my notes together, at the moment, but here's a quick memo
about Madredeus...
Madredeus is a modern Portuguese champion of the "new fado".
Fado, itself, is not new -- it's comprised of traditional Portuguese songs
of sadness. The term was apparently coined in the early 1900s, but the
music was germinating in the early 1800s, as a result of the growing
integration of African and South American people in Lisbon from Portugal's
imperialist era.
It's not surprising, then, that it bears some resemblance to Cape Verdean
morna, currently exemplified by Cesaria Evora, or maintains some
similarity to the tango of Argentina which can be heard recently in Astor
Piazzolla's works, or the Algerian rai of Cheikha Remitti, or even the
Gypsy flamenco, or American blues. All of these styles share dark,
earthy, emotional roots, and all have arisen from what imperialism
uprooted and the advance of industrialization forced: culture was
threatened, people were moved, and urbanization occurred. The result? A
deep, sad longing.
Madredeus has updated fado by tasteful instrumental complementation.
Synthesizer keyboards are ever-so-gently worked occasionally into the
music.
Perhaps the most amazing feature of the Madredeus, however, is the
crystalline voice of lead singer Teresa Salguero. An apt comparison would
be the soprano of Emma Kirkby. Pure, powerful, and heavenly... You may
not understand Portuguese, but Salguero will make you cry.
Two recordings to check into: their first international release -- _o
espirito da paz_ (1994) and the soundtrack to Wim Wender's _Lisbon Story_
(1996) (a no-doubt somewhat autiobiographical story of a filmmaker's
infatuation with a female fadista). Both are absolutely amazing, by the
way.
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mziemba
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response 105 of 206:
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Aug 10 17:01 UTC 1997 |
I realized that I may not have mentioned another favorite band from a far
corner of the earth...
For years, I've been listening to a great German rock band called BAP. I
first learned about them from hearing an album in German class that
someone had brought back from a trip. Of course, I don't understand all
of it, since it's in German, and, to make matters even more complex, in a
dialect (Baeyern, if I recall). I was able to secure two of their albums
from an American music importing mail order business, several years ago.
It's great stuff, too. And they're not only good, but intelligent. One
of their songs, "Kristallnaach" deals with the infamous night of
brutality. They've also been involved in some anti-racist concerts.
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orinoco
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response 106 of 206:
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Aug 12 15:47 UTC 1997 |
Speaking of language classes...
my first introduction to that damn Macarena song was a little while before
it became deathly popular, when someone brought the original version from
Spain or wherever into a Spanish class that I was in. At the time, I somewhat
liked it. Since, I've changed my mind. :)
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lumen
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response 107 of 206:
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Aug 15 02:34 UTC 1997 |
I actually heard the original song on a Spanish radio station while I was
driving in my car. The static was really bad, so it was hard to understand.
Then I bought an album titled _club cutz_ for John Scatman's "Scatman" track
on it. The Bayside Boys mix of the Macarena was also on it.
Now at the time, the Macarena wasn't wildly popular yet. But I figured it
was a really good song, and that it would be popular because English lyrics
had been put to it.
Ironically, when the song did become popular in the Anglo part of the U.S.,
I was told it had been sweeping Latin America for quite some time before.
Indeed, it had been almost a year since I had heard the original Fe-mix, until
the time I heard the Bayside Boys one. My high school Spanish teacher said
that the grade school kids in Mexico had been dancing it all over the place.
By the time the craze had crested, Hispanic Americans had already gone on to
a new dance step fever.
I wouldn't doubt the song is from Spain. I was at a music store today and
found a copy of the sheet music with full Spanish lyrics (which I then finally
understood reading them, because Hispanics run vowels of adjoining words
together). The song is all about Macarena, who has a bf by the last name of
Vitorino, how she moved to New York, etc.
But believe me, Anglos aren't the only ones who can run a song into the
ground. My sister Kris (marsha) almost got sick of The President's "Coco
Jambo" because one of the members of her host family played it off the wall
when she was in Mexico.
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mcnally
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response 108 of 206:
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Aug 15 05:11 UTC 1997 |
I remember hearing it several places in Puerto Vallarta when I visited.
That was about a year before it really became a monster hit here..
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mziemba
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response 109 of 206:
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Aug 15 09:15 UTC 1997 |
If I had a dime for every time the Macarena was played...
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orinoco
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response 110 of 206:
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Aug 15 15:32 UTC 1997 |
...you'd be drowning.
The one thing I recall about the lyrics...which we did translate in that
Spanish class...is that the boyfriend's name, Vitorino, means 'cuckold'.
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jiffer
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response 111 of 206:
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Aug 15 22:54 UTC 1997 |
make yourself rich, make it a dollar!
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lumen
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response 112 of 206:
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Aug 16 08:21 UTC 1997 |
Interesting-- Vitorino means 'cuckold'? Ah, the lyrics make total sense now!
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mziemba
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response 113 of 206:
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Aug 16 10:39 UTC 1997 |
I'm really wary of any song that has its own dance. I mean, just look at
the examples: the hokey-pokey, the chicken dance, the macarena...
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jiffer
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response 114 of 206:
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Aug 17 01:39 UTC 1997 |
but for young children these songs help them learn to corrdinate themselves
and learn that isn't okay at times to look like a complete idiot! =) I
personally think the hokey-pokey rocks, but there are also some songs
(traditional ones) that have their own dances that are much more dignifying.
.
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orinoco
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response 115 of 206:
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Aug 17 02:07 UTC 1997 |
The twist, perhaps?
lumen - cuckold means a man with an unfaithful girlfriend/wife.
When my translations need translation I know I'm in trouble...
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lumen
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response 116 of 206:
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Aug 17 03:48 UTC 1997 |
Orinoco - yes, I know. That's why I said it made total sense!
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orinoco
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response 117 of 206:
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Aug 17 17:12 UTC 1997 |
Okay, I figured you were being sarcastic.
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lumen
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response 118 of 206:
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Aug 18 21:26 UTC 1997 |
*lumen chuckles*
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mziemba
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response 119 of 206:
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Aug 19 07:50 UTC 1997 |
Well, if you haven't heard, already, noted Pakistani qwaali singer Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan passed away, the other day. The past decade saw Khan's
talents begin to gain recognition in the United States after work with
Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to _The Last Temptation of Christ_ (the album
officially titled _Passion_) and with Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam on the
_Dead Man Walking_ soundtrack. Although it's disappointing to lose him on
the cusp of such recent discovery, here, I'm sure that mourners can take
comfort in how much his music brought people of different ages, beliefs,
and places just a little closer together.
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mziemba
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response 120 of 206:
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Sep 15 09:47 UTC 1997 |
I mentioned Cesaria Evora in passing in my response relating the Portuguese
"fado" to other styles of music. If you`re interested in catching a
performance of the well-received Cape Verdean, for yourself, look no further
than the Michigan Theater, Friday, October 17, 1997. Should be a nice show.
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mziemba
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response 121 of 206:
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Sep 19 07:48 UTC 1997 |
Just picked up Rounder's _The Alan Lomax Collection Sampler_. A handy
introduction to a fairly extensive series. The sizeable included booklet
describes each cycle of recordings, represented on disc usually with about
four pieces. A nice overview of Lomax's career and vision is provided, as
well.
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mziemba
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response 122 of 206:
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Oct 26 09:41 UTC 1997 |
Just a reminder that Hungarian ethnic music group Muzsikas, featuring
Marta Sebestyen, will be performing at the Ark tomorrow, Monday the 27th
of October, 8P.
Highly recommended...
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bruin
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response 123 of 206:
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Oct 26 14:51 UTC 1997 |
RE #122 I believe that Muzsikas appeared with Garrison Keillor on last
night's broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion."
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krj
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response 124 of 206:
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Oct 26 16:02 UTC 1997 |
Really? I'll have to set up to tape the repeat on WUOM -- at 1 pm
Sunday, if anyone cares, and sees this in time.
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