“Repent you people repent half of the sins” with the Star of Tarab Kaddour Midoni – Alrashool. Relying on Google Translate again… I take it the performer’s name is Kaddour Midoni. Corrections from Arabic speakers welcome.
Just found another gem from people who I believe are Berbers living in part of Morocco.
I’m fascinated by the Nacer Records YouTube channel where I’ve been finding these treasures. I just know it’s full of culture and interesting music from that part of the world.
Too bad I understand almost none of it. Always the frustrated wannabe world traveler…
Tarab is apparently more than just a kind of music. It also involves a relationship with the audience. Definitely want to dig into that in the future. (How to stop going down new rabbit holes before I finish the first one?)
Ever since a co-worker turned me onto Middle Eastern Ensemble music in the ’90s, I’ve been fascinated by the instruments from other cultures – some resembling those we Americans and Europeans know, some not so much.
I love how they sound when tuned to non-Western scales. I love them all, but I can never resist the sound of the oud, the ancestor of the European lute, still in use all over North Africa and the Middle East. “Al oud” kinda sounds like “a lute,” doesn’t it?
I believe in two things simultaneously: 1. Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago and, 2. Land of the Lost is real and full of dinosaurs (and sleestaks), we just haven’t found the right cave yet.
Action Adventure Twins. These guys make me so nervous, but I can’t stop watching. Actual identical twins, I think they live in Georgia. Somewhere in the South anyway.
I recently found a couple of YouTube channels by young guys who regularly do what I wish I could do. I’m terrified they’re going to get stuck in a hole one day, but I can’t stop watching.
Deep Freedom. Just discovered this YouTube Channel. They sound Southern and seem to be friends with the Action Adventure Twins.
As cave crazy as I was, I took on caving as a sport. Just toured a public cavern here and there. (Carlsbad Caverns were impressive, but Sonora Caverns are my favorite).
I used to dream I’d get in shape one day and take that up cave crawling as a hobby. That was before I took an MRI and learned I had claustrophobia. I was like Chuck in Better Call Saul.
Luckily there are some real cave explorers willing to let me tag along.
Show caves like Carlsbad Caverns are about all I can do these days. Someplace where I won’t fall or get stuck.
There are some gorgeous formations in Carlsbad Caverns. Glad I finally went.
Aztec Cave in Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso. Good hike at any rate.
Aztec Caves are just deep enough to get out of the sun after a rather steep hike.
Madagascan and and Latvian? Who would’ve expected that? It’s the combo I didn’t know I needed.
I’ve been a fan of Madagascan music since the ’90s. I’ll be digging into that on the blog at some point. Latvian music, I’ve barely dipped my toe in those icy waters.
Here’s one Madagascan song, just to give you an idea why I love it. How could you not? I’m especially captivated by the tubular zither known as the Valiha.
Linda Volahasiniaina plays Valiha
Coincidentally (or not, I have superstition about “signposts”), a wonderfully pagan member of our Unitarian church chose a Latvian song for the congregation. It kinda fit with her talk to go along with her talk on Ostara.
Score! Just found my Alien mp3 playlist on a long lost CDR that I thought we lost in the move. Let me share a few of the fun/beautiful/strange alien songs from that playlist.
I Come from the Sun by the Comsat Angels. Criminally underrated postpunk group
I used to make playlists where I would pick a topic and find all the mp3s on that topic. It exposed me to a crazy variety of genres in a short time. So many cool songs I probably wouldn’t have heard otherwise.
Then I’d go on RateYourMusic and nerd out over them with my online friends.
I’m hearing songs right now I probably haven’t played since 2012. Didn’t find any of the other themed playlists.
If they turn up I might share some old favorites I’d forgotten.
Matian Boogie by Brownsville Station, a group primarily known for their hit Smoking in the Boys Room. I heard this a lot on 99.5 FM KISS of San Antonio back in the ’80s.
Now that I think of it, that playlist could come in really handy. I think I’ll be bringing up aliens a lot. I’m a lifelong Science Fiction fan. How could I not?
I’m the only one I know who still has a CD collection. I just couldn’t let it go. Some of the disks are rare, but most of it is nostalgia. I spent so many years collecting these things. I bought new, used, cut outs, mail order, you name it.
I’m glad I stuck to my guns. I never did trust streaming or the cloud. I didn’t like that computers and phones were coming out without jacks or disk players. It felt like a trick and I think it was.
We have so much choice, but a lot of what we “choose” gets pushed to the top by some algorithm. I want to make my own decisions. I chose these albums for a reason.
I do use Spotify. I needed to check out some newer rap music and that’s where it was. It’s a good deal for consumers, but I keep running into albums they don’t have. Some I can’t seem to find anywhere online. And you never know when your favorite music will get yanked. Neil Young definitely messed up my psychedelic playlist when he got mad at Rogan.
I weeded out some thrift store crap before my last move, but I have six small Home Depot boxes worth, however many that is. Several hundred. Some are run of the mill, some are hard to find, and some just bring back memories.
Now I have an external CD drive and a portable CD player with a BlueTooth transmitter. Could do better, but it’s a start. Enjoying a disk that’s not on the Internet right now:
Pretty cool CD compilation of Moroccan folk music called “Morocco, Crossroads of time.” It comes with a neat little book.
I’m definitely going down a Polish culture rabbit hole. I found the most amazing singer, Kasia Mos. What a set of pipes!
The song above is from a project called Moniuszco 200. According to the venue: “New takes of compositions by Stanislaw Moniuszko performed by AUKSO Chamber Orchestra for voice, piano, synthesizer, moog, electric violin, bass and drums.”
The concert was captured in a gorgeous live album by the same name. Here it is on Spotify:
I didn’t know about Moniuszco, although I am very much into classical music. He’s a famous composer in Poland, “The Father of the Polish opera” (Belarussians claim him too). Here’s a detailed biography.
That last blog post about Polish music made me feel good. I love when people keep the old music and dances alive. You’d think I wouldn’t relate, being a mostly mainstream American. I used to think old music is for old people.
But looking back, I could sing along to “In Heaven There Is No Beer” and just like everyone else in my hometown. Parents at the football game acted like it was the National Anthem. And it was fun as hell.
It seemed crazy to me when we first moved from the Texas Hill Country to the coastal bend (close enough to catch a hurricane, too far to go to the beach).
Most folks listened to rock and country, just like everywhere, but German, Polish and Czech settlers had left their mark.
Area dance halls were hopping on the weekends. They played country or Tejano, but polka was still alive. You could hear it on the radio.
I never went to dance halls, but I got second-hand reports from friends. It sounded like a ton of fun. My religion (Baptist) thought dance halls were for sinner on their way to hell, like Catholics and Lutherans.
Along with the dancing — and Catholics and Lutherans — came alcohol. Lots of it. And it wasn’t a big deal to these folks. If they said they didn’t drink and you saw them with a beer, they’d go, “What? This is beer.” It didn’t even count.
I once saw a couple put beer in their baby’s bottle at a festival. My little Baptist heart was shocked, but it was a custom, probably going back to Germany or Poland. Baby goes to sleep. Parents dance all night.
It was a culture shock at first. We’d never been in a place where Baptists were outnumbered by Catholics. In more “Southern” parts of the state, alcohol was a sin. You had to be sneaky.
(Rule of thumb: Always take at least two Baptists fishing. If you just take one he’ll drink all your beer.)
It wasn’t a sin to these families. They could drink at dinner or at parties and the kids could run around and play, maybe take a sip of daddy’s beer. Totally wholesome. After a while you got used to it (did I ever).
I had to sneak around so some church lady wouldn’t rat on me, but I definitely got a taste for beer (I was a Budweiser guy. Shiner was nearby, but Shiner beer wasn’t hip back then. It was for old people.) Being a Baptist didn’t stop me at all. Though I was right there in church looking innocent on Sundays.
Never did learn to dance. (Why don’t Baptists have sex standing up? So people won’t think they’re dancing.) I used being a Baptist as an excuse, but I was really just shy and had no game. Baptists don’t care about dancing any more.
I still don’t dance. I’d just as soon not. But I enjoy watching others do it. It’s a great reminder that we’re human beings and not just consumers.
This is some weird weed. I think I just got polka.
I was just watching a Youtube video of this Polish folk group playing traditional music and the tune was really nice (I think it’s a waltz, but it’s in the ballpark). So the world folk music bug bit me as it often does.
Per Google Translate from Polish: “Piotr BIŃKOWSKI’s band entertains festival GUESTS!“
I’ve been into world music since the ’90s. I know some people hate the term “world music,” but I have to file it somewhere in my brain.
I looked through Zbigniew Mądry’s YouTube channel, which according to Google Translate says “On the trail of the disappearing traditional culture of the village.” Right up my alley.
The first set of videos was kind of a mindfuck, because I realized I’d been wrong about polka music for years. I used to think it was corny, something for old people. They used to play it on the radio in my hometown and all I wanted was some decent rock ‘n’ roll.
But now I know why polka is cool — because the fans know the words. There’s something exciting about singing along with all your friends and knowing the songs. It’s primal. It connects you to humanity. Those are the best parts of any concert. It’s why Queen at Wimbley Stadium was so good.
Here are a couple of cool ones from Zbigniew Mądry’s channel:
I’d say more about them if I knew Polish, but I love the way people know the songs. Culture you can’t buy or sell.
Late Boomer's Den 
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