Music, Musique, Musike � � � Saturday, Nov. 01, 2003 * 23:09

This entry is about music. If you don't like music, then you should leave.

In fact, yes, go - and don't ever come back.

Now that it's just us 'audiophiles' I would like to discuss the musical happenings in my life. The origin would be the emergence of iTunes as a tool for downloading music and paying for it too. I've already discussed the "Clocks" debaucle, but from there iTunes has grown into an obsession for me. I have downloaded nearly 20 hours of music, mostly complete albums, and mostly music that I would never have previously considered giving an audience.

My first new favorite is a star of what seems to be called the "Asian Massive" or "Desi" musical movement, Karsh Kale. I'm not going to pretend to be knowledgeable about these movements, I just know that I like this music. Both of his albums, 'Liberation' and 'Realize', are like new-age versions of traditional Indian musical forms, on top of a backdrop of industrial percussion.

Kale's tabla drumming is present on these albums, and showcased on another purchase, Tala Matrix by Tabla Beat Science. This is a group of tabla drummers, DJs, et al. Aside from being an absolutely indescribable whirlwind of tabla drum beats, this album manages to have a personality all its own and it serves as a perfect atmospheric filler for whatever I'm doing, and that includes sitting at the computer, writing, or reading some Jacob Bronowski. I love it.

Moving on to more music that we would classify as 'ethnic,' I have purchased an album titled "Shri Durga" by oneDJ Cheb I Sabbah. It's sort of hard to explain. If you've ever eaten at an Indian restaurant, you will have heard the lovely traditional raga that they play. Imagine a hip, ethereal version of that, blended with natural sounds, and this is Shri Durga.

Thanks to Peter Gabriel's one-man initiative to bring world music to the rest of the world (especially on Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ), I have been privileged enough to learn and appreciate the legendary voices of Youssou N'Dour and Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan. Nusrat'scurrently one of my favorite downloads, and his album "Mustt Mustt," engineered with Peter on the drums, brings his traditional Qawwali singing into a light more easy on Western ears. The strange sounds of Qawwali both awe and inspire me, and if I were a religious person, I would say this is the closest I come to worshipping. Worshipping what? Who knows. The god of beautiful voices?

Other artists I have come to respect are Doudou Ndiaye Rose(see RealWorld), and Jairamji.

World music aside, I still love some weird, electronic, techno / hard house / ambient shit. That is where "For Sleepyheads Only" comes in. The band is Flunk, and while it seems this album is not well-loved among fans of Electronica, I find it to be particularly interesting musically. For instance, the song "Miss World" manages to incorporate Edvard Grieg, Spanish Guitar, and a Norwegian man and woman chanting / singing, and it doesn't come out like crap. Check out the following review, which I think pretty well sums up FSO.

"Euphoria" by Euphoria is another bit of electronica I've purchased. I can't seem to find much out about this band or group or whoever they are. I especially like the tracks 'Watching the Skies,' 'Lost on a River,' and 'The Road'. I find this music unique in that it is the first album I have ever heard that employs the sound of a synthesizer imitating an orchestra and yet does not make me vomit!

Fischerspooner is one fucked-up duo. Their album, #1, is enough to make a wizened war-horse's hands shake if listened to after 11pm in a dark room. I have only downloaded one of their songs so far, "*#!@Y?", because I am afraid that I will like the songs and become a miscreant.

I've heard a little bit by The Orb, Britain's very own acid trip follow-up to Pink Floyd in the 90s, and all I can say is: pass the bong.

Let's end on a melancholy note. Edith Piaf was a Frenchwoman delivered in 1915 under a street lamp in Paris by two gendarmes. Her life is one of the saddest stories I've ever read; you can catch up on it here, where there are pictures of her as well. She has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard, and her songs are so lovely that they make me cry. I particularly adore "Sous le Ciel de Paris," "L'effet que Tu Me Fais," and "T'es Beau, Tu Sais".

If you are interested in hearing any of this music for yourself, or anything else from my extensive library, please email me and I will mail you a CD. Really. Just enclose your address and expect a parcel in the mail within 2 weeks.

Why? Because I want everyone to be able to love all of this as much as I do. If there is one thing I believe, it is that there is nothing as life-affirming and special and joyous as finding new music to love.

Sites to see:

Real World Records

EthnoTechno

Makar Records