Os Mutantes - Panis Et Circenses

It summer time which means listening to lots of Afro-Cuban jazz, Afro-funk, Cuban, and Brazilian music as well as old acoustic blues and country for those less pounding get up, get up, and get out moments. Os Mutantes are one of those bands that no one was aware of, then everyone seemed to be aware of, and now.. I don't know anymore, but they have some staying power for me as summer after summer I return to their music. In that spirit, here is a 1969 video for "Panis Et Circus" (english: bread and circuses). Below is a translation of the lyrics. Don't really know who did the translation but the topic is poignant for todays political climate even if the language seems a bit garbled. The translation could well be babblefish:

I'd like to sing
The music lighted with the heat of the sun
I drew the flags high on the slip of the wind
I sent the lions to my neighbours' backyard

But all the people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die

I told the man
To make of stainless steel a very sharp sword
To kill my girlfriend on the heart and I did
At five o'clock at that central liebe stop

But all the people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die

I told the man
To sew the seeds of dream in my bedroom floor
The leaves will know their way to reach out the sun
And their roots keep just going down, going down

But all the people having dinner inside
That same old people having dinner inside
But all the people having dinner inside
That same old people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die

"The more one studies the harmony of music, and then studies human nature,how people agree and how they disagree, how there is attraction and repulsion, the more one will see that it is all music."

- Hazrat Inayat Khan

For Your Surreal Amusement....

Salvador Dali on the 1950's game show "What's My Line?"

R.I.P.

Bert Jansch- One for Jo

Bert Jansch's music has been accompanying me on recent long walks through the city. Usually, I'm not quite high enough to deal with Pentangle but Jansch's finger style guitar playing and creative amalgamation of various genres is very welcoming to me.

Fela Kuti- Black President

Here is a six part documentary on brilliant and sometimes problematic Nigerian activist/musician Fela Kuti. The documentary traces in broad strokes the events in Kuti's life that led up to his 1983 bid for Nigerian presidency. There is lots of great live footage of Kuti with the Nigeria 70 and overall, the film does a good job at rendering the music and the political vision as inseparable. The film is not segmented in the best way possible and there is a little material missing from part to part. Still, it is a great introduction to one of Africa's most famous musicians whose life will continue to inspire others for some time to come.



part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6

Kraken

The museum of New Zealand Te Papa has been thawing and preparing the dissection of a colossal squid. And they are kind enough to share it with the world through live and retransmitted web casts and a most excellent blog with brief and fascinating synopses of their work. Reading and watching this really puts the imagination to work and gives a bit of new perspective on that time they made us read "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" in high school. This is my favorite way to kill time right now.

odd things to make sounds

Stephanie, my friend from GA, sent me this link to an online gallery of odd, ethnic (what exactly is that word supposed to imply when it comes to musical implements?), and outrageous custom built instruments from tinkerers, artisans, and sound obsessed folk from around the world. These instruments range from the creative alteration of traditional instruments to completely new creations inspired by the sonic potential of chance, math, physics, and the elements. There seems to be an even spread between electronic instruments and acoustic instruments. Each article has pictures, a brief description, and most contain sound or video samples. Some of the instruments I've heard of before but many are new to me. Its odd that I haven't been aware of this site before. I have a great deal left to explore here but so far favorites include the sea organ, the symphonic house, and the celestial harp (which incidentally sounds very similar to a processed auto harp I used in a composition a year or so ago). A quick note on this page's structure: clicking on the gallery button in the upper right hand corner reveals a much larger list than on the front page which is simply a recently added list. Something about the page design made me overlook this at first.

Odd Music

30th Century Man

I was hanging out with friends the other night and discussing Scott Walker and the sadly non-US released documentary "30th Century Man" that many of us have been eagerly awaiting. I should say, if it has been released or screened in the US, I'm unaware of it. The film was completed over a year ago now and has been screened in the UK and Germany. I'm not sure if there is a licensing issue, a lack of a market, or some other complication but I know many people who are urning to see this. If you don't know, Scott Walker was a 60's teen idol and member of The Walker Brothers whose most prominent hit "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" topped the UK charts. Its reported that at this point in 1966, their popularity exceeded The Beatles in the UK and Europe. The Walker Brothers quickly disbanded and Scott went on to make a number of solo albums drawing material and influence from composer Jacques Brel, a French Kurt Weill type figure who wrote show tune type songs on similarly Brechtian themes. This lip synced video for Walker's version of the Brel song "Jackie" is one of my favorites. As his success as a solo musician began to grow, Walker suddenly bowed out of the public spotlight, opting for a more normal existence away from entertainment industry.

Since then, he has sporadically released albums of an increasingly experimental nature including the highly acclaimed 2006 release "The Drift." Low on standard song structure and high on compositional and sonic variance, "The Drift" employs all manner of creating sound: from microphones placed in giant pine boxes which are then struck with various objects to the punching of sides of beef. The first video below is the official UK trail for "30th Century Man" and the video after it contains scenes including interviews and in the studio footage from the recording of "The Drift." If anyone has any info on the availability of the film please let me know.

David Byrne- perspective on the record industry

This article comes to us from Wire.com by way of electronic musician RJ Valeo's most excellent transelectronic blog. David Byrne should need no introduction so I'll skip the long version of the bio. What might not be general knowledge is that Mr. Byrne once ran a record label called Luaka Bop that has released and re-released many pleasurable albums including works by Brazilian artists Os Mutantes and Tom Ze. His combined experience as label owner, professional musician, and artistic Renaissance man gives him a valuable perspective on the present and future state of the recording arts. The article is from a while ago (well, December of last year anyways) but it does an excellent job of discussing the record industry from and artists perspective including the advantages and disadvantages of operating in different ways. A completely worthwhile read!