Monday, December 29, 2008

Madness

"Way-oy,
too much madness upon the land,
I've got to wonder,
if it's because the times so hard,
yes I've got to wonder
if it 'cause of too much drinking
or it 'cause of too much smoking,
I don't know
I want to know ...

Most of this madness
comes from the wickedness
of our own people ..."
In 1976 the Mighty Maytones were singing this about Jamaica. Admittedly there's a fair amount of wickedness about today that doesn't come from 'our own people', but the natives are doing their bit to make the song a lot more applicable to the UK than it was in those days ...

(if you liked that, try Owen Gray's 'Bongo Natty', of similar vintage. Unfortunately the youtube poster, a chap called wikidub, has seen fit to improve it with random gunshots and other effects - can't be helped).

Youtube and the internet are wonderful things. I love Bulgarian singing, I love pipe music (be it Highland, Border or Irish) . But I had no idea what absolutely wonderful, haunting pipe music they had over there. Try this. Suddenly you realise where a lot of the little trills and inflections in Bulgarian singing come from. Gorgeous.

Can't work out if this is corny or beautiful - perhaps it's both. Inga and Anush Arshakyan are surely the Clannad of the South Caucasus. But where else other then the web would you get an Armenian lullaby - with dancing - at short notice ?

And for anyone who liked the medieval Sinfonye music, here's head honchette Stevie Wishart producing some more modern sounds - in her electronic bondage outfit.



(Apologies for the lack of serious posting when there's so much serious/unpleasant stuff happening- apart from the usual Christmas shenanigans, I've been decorating a room. "Just" got the flooring to do tomorrow.)

8 comments:

Martin said...

Rather you than me.

Laban said...

The decorating, or the music ?

Anonymous said...

Happy new Year LT!

'A regular'

Martin said...

the decorating

Unknown said...

The Stevie Wishart was fabulous. You might also like Ed Alleyne-Johnson's albums "Purple Electric Violin Concerto" and "Ultraviolet". I presume you are also a fan of the band "Curved Air" as well.

And on the (Uillean) pipes front may I recommend "The Brendan Voyage" composed by Shaun Davey if you don't already know it?

Squander Two said...

I once saw Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares live. Absolutely superb. And they had a piper too.

I can never work out why they're named in French, though.

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