Sunday, February 3, 2013

February Playlist: World Music for Dummies (that be me)


Cusack having trouble finding South African rap music he heard at a coffeehouse?

My knowledge of this genre is woefully deficient, but sometimes you need a broader worldview than BTO's "Takin' Care of Business" can provide.

That is why WYCE is a godsend, you can be listening to folk music from Ukraine then jazz from Ireland. Movies too provide a viewers an opportunity to expand one's musical tastes. 

I've come up with a handful of songs from my limited world music vocabulary, and hope to expand it in the future. Not sure if Peruvian folk chants are in my wheelhouse, but maybe...

Jaan Pehechan Ho, Mohammed Rafi - India - I really dug this opening video from the movie Ghost World, the video itself an excerpt from the Bollywood movie Gumnaam. It resurfaced last year in a beer commercial. Rafi is India's Kenny Loggins, singing more than 4500 film songs in many different languages and Indian dialects. He is considered a legend.

Ça Plane Pour Moi, Plastic Bertrand - France - Another movie soundtrack song, this one from European Vacation. It was used again in 2011 for the movie Jackass 3.5. Plastic Bertrand is a Beligan punk rock artist who has been recording music since 1975, and this song was an international hit in 1977, well before the release of Vacation in 1985 here in the U.S.

Too Sad to Cry, Imelda May - Ireland - One of those moments when you ask "what's that!?" and Shazam the song to get the details. May is a singer with strong rockabilly influences, not exactly as in demand as Beyonce's brand of pop, but one of my favorite musical genres.

I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield, 5.6.7.8s - Japan - Another soundtrack, this from Kill Bill Vol. 1. They are an all-girl rock trio specializing in rockabilly and surf. Yoshiko, the lead guitarist/vocalist, has a "Teenage Queen Delinquent" tattoo on her upper right arm - awesome!

Character, Richard Thompson - England - Folkie that the critics love but doesn't really get too much airplay on mainstream rock. Rolling Stone had two of his albums in their top 500 of all time list. TWO! Of course, he's flown completely under my radar until driving through downtown Chicago when this song came on and Dave and I both scrambled toShazam it to download later. Total fail, so we had to wait for the DJ to blurt it out. I haven't been able to find the song anywhere on iTunes, so this may be one of those fantastic, fleeting moments of musical love.

Cup of Life, Ricky Martin - Puerto Rico - He and J.Lo really helped explode Latin music in the mainstream in the late 90s. This was the World Cup of soccer song I think in 1999, and basically, a party-your-ass-off tune.

This is Me in Grade 9, Barenaked Ladies - Canada - Indie rockers with a keen sense of humor. They went from LAV underground to mainstream with the hit "One Week," but the album Gordon is just too awesome. I picked this song because while there are universal high school angst themes in the lyrics, the song is also uniquely reflective of being a Canadian in the 80s. Bonus! Spirit of the Radio sample.

Ugh, this list is pathetic. Any suggestions on how to broaden my horizons is greatly appreciated.

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