response 150 of 206:

Dec 9 08:18 UTC 1997

Well, after much doubt about the possibility of making the show, I finally
caught Beausoleil this week at the Ark.  Wow!  What a blast!  Fiddle, guitar,
accordion, drums, bass and percussion -- six guys, altogether -- blasting out
the spicy cajun tunes and a little good humor.  They cleared the aisles for
dancing, and people were out on the floor for most of the show.  Warm fun on
a cold winter night...

response 152 of 206:

Dec 10 06:20 UTC 1997

  Dub, ska, surf, just to name three things I listen to regularly..
  I can't swear that they don't have items (there *might* be a ska item)
  but you get the point..  Lately I've also been starting to listen to
  more "alternative" and "insurgent" country, though I don't have much
  of either..

response 154 of 206:

Dec 10 18:43 UTC 1997

What's insurgent country?

response 156 of 206:

Dec 10 22:38 UTC 1997

Surf music?  Hm...I've not heard much of that beyond the usual oldies-station
fare, but knowing the denizens here, I'm sure there's something more
interesting afoot...

response 158 of 206:

Dec 11 08:17 UTC 1997

  Yep, there seems to have been something of a surf revival lately.
  It had a small followingalready going when "Pulp Fiction" was released
  and suddenly surf music was cool for fifteen minutes -- I can only guess
  that during those fifteen minutes a number of bands were successful in
  signing with labels because there're a bunch who're still operating and
  getting quite wide distribution.

  I recommend the excellent collection "Beyond the Beach" (if you can still
  find it, it's been a copule of years..) for a good sampling of bands..
  When I've got time to listen to it, I plan to pick up the new Aqua Velvets
  record..  Took a listen in the store and it sounded pretty cool..

response 160 of 206:

Feb 23 19:54 UTC 1998

This week's whim from Schoolkids Records was LA BANDA, a two-CD set 
from the Enja label.  The banda is the village brass band in Italy -- 
I think the term also pops up in Mexico.  Volume I of the set is 
brass band arrangements of popular opera themes from the 1800's and 
early 1900's; the notes talk about how such arrangements spread the 
music into towns and villages where people were too poor to afford 
to be able to attend the opera themselves.  
 
Volume II, which I hope to get to in a couple of days, is the same 
musicians taking on contemporary jazz themes.

I'm eating this up like candy, but then I was raised on Herb Alpert 
& The Tijuana Brass, and played for years in a junior high school band.
(I was willing to take a flyer on it because I recognized almost all the 
opera tune titles; and because Enja is generally a pretty good label 
for me.)

response 162 of 206:

Jun 28 13:57 UTC 1998

The legendary Malian singer Salif Keita, among others, will be appearing on
July 2 in Detroit.  I'll have to check the venue, but it's part of an African
festival.  Highly recommended!

response 164 of 206:

Jul 3 12:15 UTC 1998

Yes, Baaba Maal is at the Ark on Wednesday, July 22, at 8P.

response 166 of 206:

Sep 13 17:05 UTC 1998

<krj prods orinoco for the review mentioned in item #165.  :)  >
 
np: "Africa Never Stand Still," an anthology box.  This was one of the 
first of the compilations from Ellipsis Arts; I bought it years ago 
but then I gave up on African music for a while, so it has been gathering
dust until I opened it up today.  I suspect I should just stick to 
compilation CDs for a while in this field; I have found that I really
like African radio programs, with a mix of performers, but single 
artist CDs tend to drag for me.

response 168 of 206:

Sep 19 12:16 UTC 1998

Well, I'm finally enjoying the Buena Vista Social Club, with Ry Cooder and
friends.  Good stuff!

response 170 of 206:

Jan 13 18:25 UTC 1999

...and you can catch them *live*, April 16, 1999, courtesy of University
Musical Society...

response 172 of 206:

Feb 23 04:14 UTC 1999

I got some mail from the former M-net user sky today.  She wrote:

> A friend of mine is being haunted by some music in an Audi commercial and
> I thought I'd see if you or Leslie might be able to "name that tune." She
> says the commercial takes place in a foreign country and the car drives
> along in front of old Roman ruins or buildings in slow motion and the
> background music is a choral piece that sounds like medieval church music.
> Have you seen that commercial? Know the music? She's hoping to be able to
> get a recording of the piece somewhere.

And I wrote back:

If it's the commercial where the car splashes through a puddle, then 
I know the music very well.  The song title is "Polegnala e Todora,"
and it is the last track on the first album titled 
LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES.  CD Now shows 4 other CDs which 
contain this song.

A French guy named Marcel Cellier went to Bulgaria in the late 60's(?)
and recorded The Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir, under 
the direction of Philip Khoutev.   Cellier released the album 
in France with the title LE MYSTERE etc. etc.  and the album 
became a bit of a cult classic for years.  In 1986 it resurfaced when 
the trendy British label 4AD, which specialized in ethereal women singers 
such as the Cocteau Twins, re-released it, and since then it's been
recognized as one of the landmark albums of "world music," whatever
the heck that is.

The Bulgarian State Radio & TV Female Vocal Choir started touring the world
after the 4AD release.  They decided they needed a catchier name, so 
they grabbed the French phrase "Le Mystere etc." even though they 
are Bulgarians.  They have released maybe eight albums by now.
"Polegnala e Todora" is their big pop hit; it's even been 
arranged for a brass ensemble by David Byrne.  The Byrne connection
is how I first learned about the Bulgarian singers. 

The downside:  The original LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES album, even 
though is a classic and a gem, is hissy.  Audi is using a more recent
recording of the same arrangement.  CD Now shows that one of the 
places which the track has appeared is on a New Age compilation
called "Invocation," and there is a RealAudio sample of 
"Polegnala e Todora" on there, if any of this does your friend any 
good.

So, your friend's choices are probably:

1) buy the original classic, if she wants to hear 35 minutes of music
   in this wonderful formal Bulgarian style and can put up with the 
   hiss.  (This would be my choice, and you know how fussy I am about
   sound quality.)

2) buy the INVOCATION compilation, if she wants to hear a more 
   "New Age-y" mix of styles, and PROBABLY a more modern recording.

----------

And, since I haven't written much else for the conference lately, I 
thought I would stick this in.

response 174 of 206:

Feb 24 06:22 UTC 1999

  Depends on your definition of Latin America, I guess..

  Well, Marc mentioned a Cuban recording within the last five responses
  We don't really hear much music here from Central America, most of
  the music we get that comes from this hemisphere (excluding Canadian
  and American music) comes from the Caribbean, South America, or Mexico.
  There seems to be a big geographical music gap from Guatemala to Panama.

  Mexican pop doesn't do much for me, I'm afraid, but I like a lot of the
  music that comes out of Cuba and Brazil.  And there was a very nice
  (and very accessible to American tastes) album released a few years ago
  called "The Soul of Black Peru" that I can recommend very highly..