You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Music' category.
I was really annoyed this morning when the Today program did a piece on ‘ex punk rocker turned artist’ Paul Simonon. I really like the Today program, but this was a really shallow piece, which portrayed Simonon as some kind of johnny come lately painter, moving from music to art.
The truth is, (and its not hard to find) that Simonon, who is a really great painter, has been painting for a long long time, and was an artist before he was ever a musician.
I dont suppose he is bothered, as it just means more people will come to the exhibition, but it annoyed me - poor research, very poor.
I know I’m a bit of a Clash fan-boy, but all the same, I think I would have been annoyed anyhow. Grumble grumble.
There was a decent interview with Simonon in the Guardian the other week. Here’s a link.
And their so called ‘free’ album.
I’m sick of it.
I’m sick of their whining vocals for a start.
And their overhyped music.
But even more than that.
I’m sick of all the crap that’s been talked about this wretched album.
Even that burk of a toff who leads the CONservative party has bumptiously jumped on their bandwagon.
Why cant people see its a con?
Except, I’m glad to say for my old friend, turned superstar musician Steve Lawson who points out succintly:
“Radiohead didn’t ‘give away their album for free’: no, what they did was use a low-ish resolution copy of most of the tracks from the album as a way of generating MASSIVE publicity for a normal CD release, but also monetized their obsessional fan-base by selling vinyl to people who don’t even own record players. They used the leverage they had from already being one of the world’s most successful bands to create MILLIONS of pounds worth of column inches and airtime in every conceivable media channel. The amount of money they ‘made’ from their venture HAS to have factored in the amount of money they SAVED that they would normally have spent on advertising, and the amount over and above any ad campaign they could ever afford that they got from the stunt.”
Yes! That’s the point. IT WAS A STUNT.
I expect that Steve, being the old muso that he is, probably likes Radiohead, and he has every right to.
But I don’t, I dont like their music, I dont like their style, and most of all I really object to their quasi anti establisment bull shit.
GUESS WHAT GUYS - YOU’RE PART OF THE SYSTEM - STOP TRYING TO SCAM US INTO THINKING YOU’RE GIVING AWAY YOUR STUFF.
Nice to get that off my chest.
I’ve been enjoying my purchase of Greenjade’s new album, Life As We Know It. It reminds me very much in terms of concept, of its predecessor, Chronicles. But vastly updated in musical style.
The Jade manage to combine the old school hip hop feel with a genuinely contemporary combination of sounds, helped in this case by a selection of collaborators. There’s a lot of gospel and jazz references hanging around, and one track (featuring Chenoa) that has a real noughties girl band feel. There’s also the usual collection of skits knocking about between the tracks, some of which are really very funny, personally though I prefer the music, which throughout the album is top quality.
My one gripe if I were to have one, is that I would have wished for more of a heavy sound across the album, something perhaps I’ve experienced more from the zionnoiz collective which the Jade are part of. On the other hand though, I guess this record has to be about getting heard, and my tastes arent universal 
(This comment might not even be fair, as I listen again there seems like lots of heavy stuff on there, it was just the impression I have in my mind.)
There is some heavy stuff on there though, and I also really like the way these guys manage to combine a gospel approach with a very credible hip hop presence. Wei’s stand out bass voice comes over really well on this record, and the rhymes are consistently tight throughout.
I really like the Pressing Forward track, That’s my stand out track, and it does have a pretty heavy beat, and lovely spanish guitar type sample. These guys can really make music, and I know for sure that this album has been long in the gestation, so each track has had a lot of attention!
The remixed version of Gunz Down is on there, as is the original, still a great track.
I fully reccomend you rush out and buy one today.
Well done Wiz and gang, great record.
On the whole music tip, can I point you towards a really good album, which may have somehow slipped past you…
Hydromajestik by Wicked Beat Sound System, is just a gorgeous album. Really soulful stuff, a very laid back deep groove with great vocals.
I only found it because I was surfing the world music collection in an aeroplane’s inflight entertainment, I loved it immediately, and bought it for Kelly at Christmas. She loves it too, which is a sign that its a real class album.
Its not classic ‘World Music’ no hint of a nose flute or a didgeridoo, it has a rich mixture of jazzy, soulful, funky dance music - with vox that are a bit like early morning sunshine, clear, fresh, relaxing, uplifiting…
Seriously worth getting hold of if you stump up the cash, should be able to get it cheaper than the Amazon price if you try!! If you happen to be Australian, then you should get it easy… unless of course you dont live in Australia… shut up Simon.
My good friends from the band Greenjade tell me that they are going to give away mp3s from their new album ‘Life as we know it’ on their website every thursday, beginning tomorrow (Jan 31st).
It’s been my great privelige to work with these guys a bit, helping them push the non violence message in schools throughout London and beyond. My involvement was very small, just giving some input into a video, but I am really chuffed to have played even as small a part as that in an initiative which has the real potential to change and save lives.
And as well as that, the boys know how to hold a good tune - so I recommend that you get over there for some free tunes. While you’re looking, check out zionnoiz - those guys blow me away! And if you ever come across a youtube video made by Asah Shabazz, watch it - he’s a seriously talented guy.
Peace to all the Greenjade and Zionnoiz crew!
a good hour or two can be happily wasted at this site - which my good friend Joel put me on to - for what its worth, I like number four best, but they are all good for a laugh - and bit of the heavy heavy style…
in 1978, when I was just one year old, a hairy young groovester by the name of Brian McLaren was making records… I think after all the names he’s been called by people over the last few years, he’s extraordinarily brave publicising the fact that one of his old albums has recently been put up for a free download here, let’s just say that despite it’s vintage… well it aint quite punk.
Groovy! Nice jumper Brian.
I am not a real student of Australian politics, and I suspect most people who read this stuff arent either.
But one thing (or rather one person) made me particularly interested in the outcome of the recent Aussie poll - and that was baldie old Pete Garrett.
I’m on record as being a fan of Midnight Oil, who I rate not just because of their guitar riffs and catchy lyrics, but because of the passionate social comment that lay behind much of their output. A few years ago when the Oils split up, Pete donned a suit and tie, and went into politics.
Now he’s the Australian minister for the environment. I reckon that can only be good news for the land down under. On the other hand of course, power has a funny habit of changing people, and my sincere hope is that Pete will stay true to his beliefs and principles.
I tried to get hold of him to interview him once, couldnt get through boo-hoo. I did see the Oils in concert though, and I thought they were excellent, even though Pete was wearing a jumper… not very rock and roll.
So I’m expecting a lot from the guy who said: “it belongs to them, lets give it back” and “don’t turn back the ships of freedom” amongst a myriad of other progressive, and environmental statements.
Come on Pete, I’m rooting for you.
music is often about loops anyway, so it makes poetic sense to have a guitar that is made of recycled stuff right?
This guy seems to be doing something very cool, although the prices are somewhat out of my range, plus of course there is the fact that I dont play the guitar to take into account…
He’s making guitars out of recycled polymers, often post consumer waste, saving stuff from landfill which is always a bonus in my book. Also not chopping down rainforest trees to make guitars has got to be regarded as a good idea… surely.
He’s even sourcing his pick ups etc from a british firm which manufactures in Devon, local sourcing see…
Well done Simon Lee, long may your expensive guitars be produced.
as I sit at my computer of an evening, working away at whatever project is at hand (currently the conference… eeek) I do like listening to the vocal stylings of Manu Chao, which are freely available on Mr Chao’s jolly nice website - ah go on.
Surely its only a matter of time before the UK ‘gets’ Manu, the rest of the world is there - we’re the only ones left!
Oh and while I’m on the subject of music, Kelly pointed out that Jack Johnson has a new album out in 2008, produced by the guy who produced brush fire fairy tales, (I thought he’d gone back to surfing!?!) and consequently Jack is gigging in hyde park in the summer, the prices are like a million quid a ticket or something, so we wont be there Jack, sorry, but interestingly it also seems to have had an impact on the prices of the other Jack Johnson CD’s which adorn the virtual shelves of online bookstores around the world. Good thing I’m adequately provided for already.
I am a big fan of the kind of gypsy punk which shows its face in ‘world music’ circles from time to time. Not sure what I mean? I’m talking a kind of spectrum of music which includes Manu Chao, Les Negresses Vertes, Gogol Bordello, and others.
I find that there is a certain amount of passion, creativity, wildness in this music which goes beyond what we tend to hear in much of our music - especially in the God botherin’ circles in which I sometimes move.
My love for this kind of music takes in my love for punk, especially the Clash, who remain my all time favourite group, and who dabbled in different styles long before it was cool. It is notable that artists like Manu Chao and Rashid Taha cite the Clash as a big influence, formative even.
Strummer of course guested with the Pogues for quite a while, and his latter work, which included Tymon Dogg on fiddle, certainly stepped over genre boundaries with a large stride.
I also love some of the old country artists, Johnny Cash (who everyone loves now apparently), Willie Nelson, and others - who sing/sang songs of pain and love with the gusto of the outlaw, and the loneliness of the travelling cowboy.
And in terms of spiritual music, almost the only music which ever seemed to hold a huge amount of integrity to me was music which was rooted in either reggae or negro spirituals. I never really dug the whole thing of spiritual music dressed up as commercial pop - what’s that all about? I thought you couldnt serve God and mammon?
That’s not to say that there isnt any good stuff around, I like the chill out stuff that’s knocking around, which ties in to the meditative thang - it’s more the sing-a-longa stuff I have trouble with. But I always have, so I’m a bit biased.
Anyway - to get on to the subject in hand… I came across the band called The Psalters yesterday, and man I love them.
Imagine a combination of gypsy punk, negro spirituals, crazy world music, religious chants… oh I tell you what dont bother, listen to this as an example…
and then listen to this…
now you’re getting the picture!
So the story gets better - these guys are nomadic, they live a truly radical life, that seems worthy of their music, and if you want a CD, you write to them, they send you one, and then you give them a donation if you like it, or want to support them! Excellent!
They say about themselves:
“we are the cry of the exodus.
there is no home for us here.
we are a nomadic tribe of psalters,
walking in the footsteps of ancients past
to the far corners of the present,
united as one voice against the
oppression within and without.
one more echo in the eternal song of our
First Love, our Hope, our Pillar of Fire.”
This is the cry of the exile, the leper, the howl of hurt and the shout of war… and it rings true.
Want to learn more about the Psalters? Visit their site, or their myspace, from which you can download the tracks - quite right too!
The Rainin in Paradize single from Manu Chao is getting a lot of play on 6music - and so it should, it’s a great track. I know Manu is a controversial figure - shouting about the system and living off it so they say - I can’t deny that he makes brilliant music though.
You can see the track on this video - it’s belting. Apologies to those who dont like youtube videos on blogs, or who havent got lots of bandwidth… I’m posting it anyhow.
And here’s the lyric:
Welcome to paradise (2x)
Today it's raining (4x) (Welcome to paradise)
Today It's raining (Welcome to paradise) (4x)
In Zaire, Was no good place to be
Free world go crazy, it’s an atrocity
In Congo, Still no good place to be
They killed Mibali, it’s a calamity
Go Maasai go Maasai be mellow, Go Maasai go Maasai be sharp (2x)
In Monrovia, this no good place to be
Weapon go crazy, it’s an atrocity
In Palestina, too much hypocricy
This world go crazy, it’s no fatality
Go Maasai go Maasai be mellow, Go Maasai go Maasai be sharp (2x)
Today it’s raining (4x), in paradise
Today it’s raining (4x)
In Baghdad, it’s no democracy
That’s just because, it’s a US Country
In Fallujah, too much calamity
This world go crazy, it’s no fatality
Go Maasai go Maasai be mellow, Go Maasai go Maasai be sharp (2x)
Today it’s raining (4x)
In Jerusalem, in Monrovia, Guinea-Bissau, today it’s raining (3x)
Welcome to paradise, Come to the fairy lies
Welcome to paradise
Today it’s raining (4x) fade out
For her thirtieth birthday this year - Kelly got an electric drum set. Its a good one, full size, proper kick pedals, multiple voices, all that stuff.
We got it because she had practically given up playing the drums because of where we live - in the middle of a terrace of houses. She’s not naturally a noisy person, and doesnt like the idea of bashing away disturbing our neighbours at random hours of the day. After all, lots of people where we live work nights… plus its a bit intimidating making very loud mistakes!
So when we got the digital drums - what a difference! All one can hear is a rhythmic tapping as the sticks hit the pads - which feed the sounds directly to her headphones. Add to that the fact that you can play your mp3 player or whatever through the same system - allowing you to balance music and drums - and even output to midi or other recording devices…
It’s flippin brilliant!
It does absorb more energy than an acoustic kit, but it isnt too hungry, and it does unleash creativity - bring on the digital drummers.
tonight we tried a little something with Google Earth,
as a way of reminding us of God’s awesome majesty…
we set a google earth tour running projected on a white wall…
having first marked about 30 countries and cities in different parts of the world.
You can set the tour to loop infinitely, and set the amount of time the tour stops at each place - maximum one minute.
We did the tour for an hour, having first done a kind of text based slide show with a few reminders of God’s awesomeness - phrases like ‘Oh God, we are so small’ and other bits and pieces.
Behind the whole thing we ran a soundtrack of different pieces of music - chosen to invoke certain themes.
Playlist included tracks from Abbess, Terl Bryant’s Psalm, LLS, etc.
Now that its dark at night again, we got a great atmosphere with some candles and incense - I think it worked pretty well - needs a few tweaks of course. If anybody else has been doing this, and has suggestions, I’d like to hear them.
I’d like to say a few words, well lots of words actually, but I’ll try and say them one at a time. There are many many things I’d like to write about, so I’ll begin by telling you about a subject very close to my heart…
Music
despite my mp3 players preference of Jack Johnson, I do have somewhat wider tastes - in fact I have very broad tastes. I tend to listen to what’s sometimes described as World Music, although I read recently that the term ‘World Music’ is patronising… so we should call the same stuff - ‘global beat’… hmmm.
Anyway, one of the stops of our trip around South East Asia was an overnight in Singapore, where I am sorry to say I wasnt able to go to ANY of the WOMAD concerts that were on. I only just missed a gig by Scots band Shooglenifty who I have only heard a little, but are probably a great live band. They remind me a bit of the , who I saw years ago, and enjoyed immensley.
Shooglenifty dont have any pipes though….
So I have been listening to a fair bit of Jack on my travels, I think I have all the albums apart from the one with lullabies and stuff on, not lovin the lullabies Jack.
I’d be hard pushed to choose a favourite Jack album, I really like all of them, and I hear a lot of political comment in may of the songs which I find uplifting. Talking of that, my dad played me Norah Jones’ latest album, which I hadnt bothered with previously, I liked her first release, and found the second a bit too country gal, this one seems to have a really cool jazz vibe to it, puts me in mind of New Orleans somehow, as does her criticism of the American regime…
“God save the President, the evil fascist resident, he sure is a moron, potential h-bomb” (mine not hers, just playing the pistols riff through my head).
Listen to a couple of tracks at Norah’s website, look under the media section, and click on the record player for a list of tracks. Less well known is Norah’s half sister, Anoushka Shankhar, daughter of Ravi of course, who is an excellent musician in her own right, she plays some beautiful Sitar, some mp3 samples are available on her site… I would reccomend a listen to some of the Rise remixes for an easily accessible sitar vibe.
If you like your sitar hardcore, check this video out.
shame she’s so pug ugly of course… sure it really holds her back in the music industry.
Before we came home I had the pleasure of winessing an Andy Hunter gig, last time I saw Andy DJ he was in an outfir called Hydro, many moons ago. In a magazine review at the time, I rated Hydro’s Aborigination as one of the albums of the year. I since lost my copy, and have been reduced to downloading tracks from iTunes.
Anyway, Andy was of course excellent, he cuts an unlikely figure in some ways, he’s tall for a start, and all the musicians and personalities I’ve met (their name is legion, for they are many) have been right little squirts, the smallest was Victoria Beckham, who was still Posh Spice back then. She’s no bigger than your thumb!
Back to the point, Hunter’s gig was excellent, even if I was a bit of a cardigan clubbing grandad in comparison to the rest of the crowd, I managed to have a brief chart with him before the gig, and he tells me the new album is finished, so thats something to look forward to.
Want to hear some of his tunes? Visit his site.
I didnt buy any decent music while abroad, but I did hear some very nice bossa nova music published by the Putumayo label, a very fine label indeed.
On that note, which is a good one, I’m off to get my hair cut, I dont have far to go, just to the dining room. Those hair clippings make good compost!
all details here, if you can go, then I reccomend it!
dont forget the celebration!!
It starts this weekend - and they tell me it wont be raining! For those interested in names, I can tell you that Godfrey Birtill will be there on Sunday night, but I can also tell you that whatever day you go - it will be a riot.
I skived off work for half an hour last night, and another half an hour tonight - to watch the dvd of Lets Rock Again, which charts the way the late great Joe Strummer plugged that fantastic album Global A Go-go, which by the way you’ve got to listen to if you havent heard it.
The film cuts footage of Joe and the Mescaleros, with coverage of Joe chatting with people, it reminded me of the staged chats he has in the movie Rude Boy - this time its for real though.
I’ve admired Joe since I was a young teenager, he had something about him - the Clash were a group which was greater than the sum of its parts - but each of the individuals were wonderful too, and in my book Joe was particularly brilliant.
Joe Strummer, aka John Mellor 1952 - 2002
To see him in this film, I got a real impression again of what a genuine, amazingly humble, yet real ballsy guy he was.
You see him taking his cap in his hand, going to little radio stations to plug his album, talking about how he just wants to make the album break even, there’s a heartbreaking scene as he tried to talk his way into one radio station which goes something like this:
“Hi, it’s Joe Strummer, can I come in?
…. (someone speaks on the other end of the phone)
“My name is Joe Strummer, I’m a singer, could I come in to talk about the show we’re doing in town tonight?
….
“Well, I used to be in the Clash, so I guess its rock music…”
With each step he seemed to become smaller, eventually having to play the Clash card, which he was so obviously desperate not to. Its as if he’s saying, ‘please just recognise me for who I am now, not what band I used to be in!’
Another scene shows him writing out flyers to hand out to pedestrians in an American city. He then goes out to the street, and we see people ignoring him, refusing the flyers, and failing to recognise who he is… what a humiliating experience for one of the greatest rock and roll writers and performers of all time.
The film did nothing but strengthen my admiration for Joe, and its particularly poignant to note that he died later in the same year the film was shot, 2002.
Joe was a prophet, and a psalmist, a spiritual and spirited man, a tragic figure, a heroic figure, a fan of world music, flawed, a runner, an icon, and perhaps above all a very human man.
What lessons do we take away from this film? 1) To recognise that those you think are strong and succesful are often struggling to keep their heads above water too.
2) To persist, if even Joe Strummer, rock legend, has to work his backside off to promote a great album, then how much more do we have to put effort into raising awareness of what we do.
3) That Joe Strummer was the man people said he was - and its nothing short of a tragedy that he’s not here now.
Joe died the year before my other main musical hero, Johnny Cash, gutted - both of them were in their musical prime.
and you like a little hip hop,
and want to make some noise about the issue of gun and knife crime, which blights our cities…
then you might be interested in this.
Wizdom of Greenjade and the Gunzdown initiative writes:
Hey peeps,
GREENJADE will be doing a FREE anti Gun/Knife crime event called Stop Da Violence being held in memory of both Charlotte Polius and Adam Regis who were both born on the 1st July and whose lives were taken as a result of being stabbed in an act of violence.
The event will be held at the ARC, 66a Sebert Road, Forest Gate, London, E7 0NJ on Sunday from 6pm and would love to invite you all down to make a stand against Gun/Knife Crime.
Stay Safe,
Wizdom
oh just so good!
Music is very important in my life - I listen to it a lot. I grew up without a tv, and hardly watch any now, which is probably one reason I’ve always listened to a lot of music.
For a long time, I have liked music that is known as Ambient music - a variety of stuff, from the Orb to Clannad, to chilled out country rock, to surf music. I like it as a genre, because it manages to encompass many different genres. You might call it the church ofengland of musical genres, if you felt like it. Ironically of course, broad tastes are catholic tastes.
Brian Eno apparently coined the term ‘ambient’ in the early 1970s, saying that ambient music is: “designed to induce calm and space to think”. Some people sayEno is the father of Ambient, but I would say it was around long before him, it just didnt have a name.
A rguably one of the most important figures in the development of Ambient music was John Cage. And it is Cage’s famous/infamous ‘4.33′ that leads me to my point.
Silence.
I heard Eno talk recently about how we are all hyper stimulated. We’re subjected to a continuous barrage of digital and video imagery, constant noise, advertising flashes up all around us, and the most ubiquitous gadgets are all to do with the delivery of sound and image.
The Christian tradition places a huge value on silence. Many of us, I am sure, have been on retreats where we have been simply asked to stay silent for a long period of time. And found that experience generally hard, refreshing and exhilharating simultaneously. (Don’t try to look after kids at the same time - its a nightmare!)
Within the confines of an alternative worship environment silence can be very moving too. We used silence in some meetings we had in January, everybody sat, knelt, lay, walked around, silently in a darkened room - we used images too, and interspersed periods of silence with selected pieces of music. I’m sure that this has been done immeasurably better elsewhere many times, but it was the first time for me.
On reflection the times when the room was just very quiet for a long period were perhaps the most invigorating.
I love ambient music, but I love silence too.
Some people judge the quality of music by its complexity of form, or layers of harmony, in many cases it is the simplicity which makes music so wonderful. Like the power of ‘I’m so bored with the USA’ or ‘Pretty Vacant’, or the simple repetition of a Late Late Service meditation track.
One of the greatest albums of all time, is Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue - its a beautiful album. I recall listening to another of his album ‘Sketches Of Spain’ and being really disappointed because it just didnt have the same wonderful simplicty that Kind Of Blue did. I got over it.
So lets continue to embrace simplicity, it has long been a Christian virtue after all.
And while we’re at it, lets increase our embrace of silence.
It really does induce calm, and provide space to think.
its monday - I’ve been back at work today!
and to round the day off, a cftn meeting which tonight was in a nice old church - funny there’s loads of cool old churches round here, but I’ve hardly been inside any of them.
anyhow, I found this evening’s meeting encouraging.
a lot of people talk about revival, and in general I tend to be a little shy of joining in, cos I find that often there is a measure of self indulgence in it all. Tonight though I was reminded of how the Welsh revival brought great good to many nations around the world, bringing peace, and justice to hundreds of thousands of people.
then war broke out, in Europe we all started killing each other, and many of the young men saved in the 1904 revival never returned from the trenches.
in Korea, where revival had hit in 1907, the Japanese invasion had more new believers killing each other.
this celebration comes from a pure desire to see God remove the blockages which saw the dying off of the movement of his spirit 100 years ago.
I’m pleased to be part of it, as I believe the intent to be pure, and the plan to be simple.
so if you want to sing to God, and to join with others from all around the world doing so in Llanelli’s wonderful surroundings, then check out the site.
there was a good video shown tonight which explains the vision very clearly, I’ll see if we can youtube it, and then you can see it too!
to continue in offering some tracks made by Christians of other cultures, here’s an Dari/Afghan track which is part of a whole CD’s worth of music, to be found at watandar.com.
This one is called ‘You are my advocate Oh Jesus’ in English, or something incomprehensible in Afghan. Check it out.
can I reccomend as a good listen Sally Rodgers’ programmes on Different Noise, ecelctic and surprising each time.
Sally is one half of A Man Called Adam - brilliant band.
On a musical note… hahaha, its only a matter of weeks now until celebration for the nations, which I have blogged about here before.
So far there are guest musicians and bands coming from countries including Korea, India, various parts of Europe, and the Americas. Also various visitors from around the globe coming to South Wales, to be part of a week of sung worship.
Should be quite a sight, afraid I wont be there to see it, but I can reccomend Llanelli as a good place to visit this July…
I’ll update with more info as things progress.
my mp3 player seems to share my fondness for white boy music, in particular it has a particular feeling for Jack Johnson, which is a bit odd to be honest. Recently it has taken to playing a Jack track every second song, which gets a bit irritating.
Perhaps I just need to put on a few more Public enemy tracks, just to even the odds a bit more…
For the second of my selection of world music offerings, here’s a bit of Reggaeton by the Puerto Rican artist Valette “El Patriarca”, from the album Mi Calle on Rejoice Music.
This track is called Si Perezco, which means ‘If I die’.
Just been putting some nicer links in on the music section, and noticed this interview with Ben Okafor, who just happens to be one of the best musicians around at the moment.
As the interview points out, he isnt just a musician, but a talented and passionate man in many areas of life. It is in Cross Rhythms of course, which means it is a nicey nicey interview, because thats what they do. But I think that anyone who hasnt checked Ben’s work out, should have a read.
He has quite a tale to tell, and I cant think of anything I dont like about him. He’s a good guy. And a genius. Now I’m being nicey nicey too… must be catching.
in the first of my offerings to those interested in listening into music created by Christians of other cultures - here’s a little number recorded by the people at 3rd street music. It’s an Ethiopian song, and has a gently uplifting feel to it.
a very good place to visit today is Calabash Music’s Tune Your World site.
Not only do you get some excellent free downloads, and lots of interesting news about world music, including two k’naan tracks for free and nothing… (hip hip hoorah) but they also have a good idea! Well thats a start aint it.
The tune your world thing is quite intriguing, I’ve pasted below their description of the concept.
” Do you believe we can change in the world through music?
At Calabash Music we’ve just launched a new campaign that we’re calling‘Tune Your World’ as a creative approach to economic development in Africa.
In the United States our foreign-aid programs do not support our belief that we are a nation known for its good works around the world. The public believes we spend a great deal more money helping other countries than we actually do. Polls suggest that most Americans think the federal government spends about 10 to 15 percent of its budget on foreign aid.
The truth is that we spend less than 1 percent, the lowest of any industrialized nation.
All of sub-Saharan Africa receives just over $1 billion in economic aid. If everyone in the United States gave up one movie a year we could double our current aid to Africa.
We have an even better idea. Tune Your World.
If every American would buy 10 downloads by African Artists — We would DOUBLE the amount of money the US is currently sending to Africa. This is what we mean by ‘Tune Your World’
Where does the money go?
At least 50% (in some cases 100%) of your purchase will go to African Artists, or an African relief NGO and stay in Africa. With this money, musicians will be able to buy new instruments, recording or performing equipment, complete their education, or put a new roof on their house.
Together we can create a thriving music economy in places where the music industry has never worked very well.
How can you make this change happen?
1. Buy 10 songs by African Artists.
2. Forward this URL www.tuneyourworld.com to your friends and family.
It’s that simple.”
So this has put me in mind of a little project which I might undertake, to link you… gentle reader… to some of the sites which host some excellent music by Christians of other cultures. I understand that the excellent George Luke does a radio show called World Beat on UCB which covers this sort of thing, and that will doubtless be worth a listen - its on at a difficult time of the week for me to listen to sadly.
I had an interview just now with a girl at Trans World Radio largely about our involvement in the Gunz Down campaign.
I was expecting their slant to be about the Virginia Tech shootings, but it was a much more general interview, looking at the issue of gun and knife crime which is on the increase as ever.
I managed to use the cliche ‘the right to bear arms is slightly less sensible than the right to arm bears’.
They will probably edit it out, along with the various bits I messed up, but it will be interesting to see what they do with it. I’ll let you know.
On another note, the gunz down campaign is one of the things I’m particularly pleased that Undercurrent comics got involved with. We (mainly Steve) spent a huge amount of time on it, for no financial gain. Obviously it was great having the video showing on MTV etc, but it didnt do us a lot of good in terms of sales.
But the campaign has certainly acheived a lot of good outside of us! I have stories of young people whose lives have been changed, and probably saved by the timely intervention of the Gunz down roadshow. Its great to be part of something like that.
For your immense viewing pleasure, here’s the video. Brakaka!
I like to walk by the sea, and there’s plenty of sea around here.
along one stretch there is a lot of rough grassland very close to the shore, and you get a great variety of bird song.
I often wear headphones when out walking, but down there… nah.
So I wrote this ode:
“I dont need my mp3
when I walk down by the sea
because the birds are set on shuffle
and they sound just great to me.”
Not one of my prize winning efforts.
Lovely weather here in sunny south wales, just perfect for a Good friday stroll down to the sea and a quiet sip looking out over the sea.
And then a slow walk back home, where the sun is equally shiny, but then the rubber hits the road, what CD to play?
I like CD’s, I like records too, but my record player died. On a sunny day like this, it has to be something a bit laid back, so a bit of Jack Johnson seems appropriate. But then again, he’s a bit predictable isnt he? Not him, just the thing of listening to him on a sunny day.
So perhaps a little something from the Gotan project? Ooooh, yeah.
But then again, a drop of Marvin wouldnt go amiss, and I am enjoying Michael Franti at the moment… Oh, and Rivertribe.
I think that music is so important. It is wonderfully life affirming, and that is perhaps why I love hearing tunes from around the world (I dont even have a beard, but I often wear sandals), any way, I enjoyed Sahel Steve’s little recording of an anarchic worship song from Burkina, and I also liked the pounding song he uploaded.
I’ve been boring my friend Brandon recently with endless tales of music from other cultures, trying to make out like I’m some kind of ethnomusicologist, which I sure arent.
Reality is though, we’ve a great luxury here, to be able to enrich ourselves with music of all kinds of styles, and from all different places. It’s sad when we restrict ourselves to a genre or a handful of artists. People in other places dont have that same luxury.
It’s sadder still when we fall into the Christian ghetto, only listening to music that reflects a limited worldview, forgetting that we see but through a glass darkly.
So perhaps I’ll put away Jack, and forget the Gotans for now, Kimmo Pohjonen’s Kluster is worth a revisit, and I really must get on ebay and get hold of some Rachid Taha (he’s playing in London tonight, wish I could go).
Then again, Johnny Cash is always worth a listen….
Christians dont sing the blues enough. There’s too much pretence at happiness, and excitement. In itself this probably discourages more people than it encourages, because they think that if they arent having a good time, they are doing something wrong.
What a load of cobblers.
Here’s my blues song for the day:
Desert blues.
Why am I here in this desert place?
Why am I here in this barren space?
Because I walked the narrow path, and its not an easy way.
Why is there no fresh water surrounding me?
Why is there no fresh water, or shady tree?
Because the desert is a dry place, and the ground is hard.
If I was in a nice place, I would give thanks to God.
If I was in an easy place, I would be grateful to him.
But can I praise him in the desert? When the sun is beating down?
If I was in a pool of cool water, I could swim to him.
If I was in a meadow of flowers and grass, I could run to him.
But here in this desert, I will crawl to him.
Till my breath hits death I will keep going,
Till my heart fails to start, I will keep crawling.
Here in this hard place, I will keep on til I see his face.
The psalms are often blues numbers, although not written in a classic 12 - bar mode, which is what I favour, mainly because its such an easy way to write.
Its good to write and sing the blues sometimes. It actually makes you feel better.
Working on our next month of daily meditations this morning, I was looking up sayings of the desert fathers.
I found this little gem on a website put up by Father Pius Edwin Sammut :
Forgiveness
A brother who was insulted by another brother came to Abba Sisoes, and said to him: “I was hurt by my brother, and I want to avenge myself”. Abba tried to console him and said: “Don’t do that, my child. Rather leave vengeance to God”. But he said: “I will not quit until I avenge myself”. Then Abba said: “Let us pray, brother; and standing up, he said: “Our Father… forgive us our trespasses as we forgive NOT those who trespass against us…” Hearing these words, the brother fell at the feet of the Abba and said: “I am not going to fight with my brother any more. Forgive me, Abba.”
Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Yesterday, listening to John Lee Hooker singing Mister Lucky, I was struck by the spartan structure of the song, a pure 12-bar blues job, with no messing around. Its all the more beautiful for that.
I got the same feeling listening to Tim Van Eyken’s version of John Barleycorn, the beauty was in the artful simplicity.
Very often it is the same with spirituality.
Recent Comments