WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 168

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Under almost any circumstances and conditions, radio is to be exalted—except when some imbecile driver plows into your wife on her bike while fiddling with the freaking dashboard tuner (as happened yesterday evening). If every damn citizen would just let WFMU implant cranial receiver pods like we planned, accidents like this could surely be avoided. Best thing to do is stay safely indoors and just download all the damn day. That's all I've got to say.

 

Various  ~  Sorrow Come Pass Me Around
(Blog: Serpent Spirit)

Seriously Holy Grail
These riveting, heartfelt performances, recorded by ethnomusicologist David Evans in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, were released on the Advent label in 1975, then reissued, briefly, by Japan's P-Vine in 1991. [This astounding collection was shared at the late, lamented Holy Warbles in 2010—and the post was linked to here in Motherlode #83. I removed a link to that post due to claims that this OOP record was to be imminently reissued. Two years later, with no reissue in site, download links for Sorrow Come Pass Me Around have popped up at numerous blogs and I feel comfortable acknowledging that fact here.]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 167

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

For this soultacular edition of the Motherlode, your miner has unearthed a quintet of rarities, classics, favorites and long-ago posted gems whose download links are miraculously still working. Stop whatever it is your doing (including reading this) and slurp up these treasures straightaway. It's chicken soup for the soul lover's soul.

 

 

Percy Sledge  ~  In Soul Africa
(Blog: Soul Safari)

Sledge Hammers It
"Not an easy album to track down, I must agree but last February luck was on my side as I went digging into a hospice shop in the Eastern Cape. Between all the nicks and nacks and lots of broken tracks and poor old vinyl,  there it suddenly was; Percy Sledge in Soul Africa, music from the soundtrack recording. It’s actually a film about the soul singer touring South Africa in 1970. Most of  Percy’s worldwide hits can be heard, although live creates another vibe, another energy. Most of all it contains two really funky tracks, unusual James Brown -type-o-sound like “Soul Fire” and the groovy, funky instrumental “The First Time.“ Percy and his band getting down!! And  ’Soul Fire’ is perpetrated by the true Zulu spirit, with tribal chanting in a steaming 7 minutes version. Can you feel it?!!"  (Description by Eddy De Clerq, at Soul Safari)

[Note: Only three of the LPs tracks have been posted so far. Keep your ears to the grindstone on this one.]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 166

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Don't sleep on the stellar selections in this all-African edition of Mining the Audio Motherlode. I was all set to lead off with another brilliant effort from Guinea's 22 Band (see below for links to three LPs from this magnificent outfit), but then the bottomless oasis that is Oro bubbled up a stunning bit of Cameroonian funk and soul that's as thrilling a listen as I have all year.

 

 

Hamad Kalkaba ~  Nord Cameroun Rythms
(Blog: Oro )
[To download, click on the tiny "oro"]

Cameroon
"For a long time this extremely rare and fabulous record has been asked. For good reason I repost it. I think the singer is Hamad Kalkaba, known to have recorded, on the same label Sonafric, with "Le Grand Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine du Cameroun."  (Description by Oro)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 165

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Ten years ago, while reading a review of Robert Caro's Pulitzer Prize–winning Master of the Senate, his 1,200-page third installment of a planned four-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, I blurted out that I wished I had the time to read such a thing. With every-waking-moment music obsessions to attend to, I'd kind of fallen off the pleasure-reading bandwagon. Blessedly, my wife dashed out and bought me a copy, and I've been enthralled with Caro's work ever since.

Yesterday was the official pub date of The Passage of Power, Caro's fourth, but (as it turns out, not final) LBJ volume, so if Mining the Audio Motherlode over the next number of weeks appears a bit thin, it's only because I'm reading and just don't have the time.

Sharing my sonic discoveries with you is a great pleasure. There are times when I wish I could just reach out and grab you by the collar to get you to listen to some of this stuff. Well, my enthusiasm for Caro's writing is just as impassioned. Trust I don't say lightly that I find the experience of reading his books to be as miraculous as any music I could recommend.

Pádraig O'Keeffe  ~  The Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Master
(Blog: Ceol Álainn)

Leaves You Reeling
"A deleted recording of the Sliabh Luachra fiddle player and teacher taken from RTÉ archive recordings made by Séamus Ennis between 1947 and 1949. This is absolutely brilliant Sliabh Luachra music, and the final set of tunes - a duet with Denis Murphy - is a classic."  (Description by Dragut Reis, at Ceol Álainn)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 164

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

During my earliest navigations of the Freemusicsphere, I was so floored to discover the bounty of amazing out-of-print recordings on offer, I made little notice of the actual quality of the MP3s I was prodigiously hoovering. I still don't give a fig about fidelity and I'm still harvesting the fertile fields of vinyl kudzuing across the Internet, but there are some records I've snatched whose sub-par listenability indeed does cut through the happy haze of merely having them.

One such recording was Roswell Rudd's live recording Maine from 1976 that I snagged from the old incarnation of Jizz Relics. The music struck me immediately as one of the most stunning jazz performances I'd ever heard, but the brutal quality of the rip made it sound like Rudd and his quartet were playing submerged in a swimming pool. To be so close to an all-time great recording and yet so far from the full flower of its true magnificence has been fairly excruciating. Well imagine my thrill yesterday when the inimitable Kinabalu at Inconstant Sol posted a clean copy of this dazzling album. Before you eat, sleep, breathe—download this now!

    
Roswell Rudd  ~  Maine
(Blog: Inconstant Sol)

Good to the Bone
"This is a hyperkinetic date, top speed ahead from all four and to me, Dulfer is a revelation, even over-powering Rudd at times, particularly on the Rollins piece. Sometimes you need a bit of coolness to balance the hotness, and the soloists do compliment each other nicely. Recommended, and to be played reasonably loud to appreciate the full dynamics of this wonderful date! And it's a topnotch recording to boot."  (Description by Kinabalu, at Inconstant Sol)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 163

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Beginning in August 2008 and continuing over the course of 28 thrilling monthly installments, an unidentified blogger behind the music-sharing site Tonal Bride posted an impressive collection totaling 170 recordings.

Comprising roots music from all cultures, experimental and avant improvisational sounds, and field records from far and wide, the audio library up for grabs is as stunning an array of free music as you'll find anywhere on the Internet. (Well, at least until the massive Alan Lomax archive came online last month.) But here's the kicker—almost every record posted at Tonal Bride is still available almost four years later.

In addition to its wonderful selections, Tonal Bride provides extensive commentary for every single recording. Given the increasing volatility of the free-music blog scene, do yourself a favor and spend an afternoon or two (or three) downloading the entire archive before the site disappears.

Listen to my radio show Give the Drummer Some—Tuesdays, 6-7pm, and Fridays, 9 to noon—on WFMU's web stream Give the Drummer Radio.
Send your email address to get on the mailing list for a weekly newsletter about the show, the stream and Mining the Audio Motherlode.

Check out every installment of Mining the Audio Motherlode

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 162

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Three years after being written about in this space and two years after performing live on WFMU, the miraculous return of saxophone legend Giuseppi Logan has received its highest-profile acknowledgment to date with this recent piece in the New York Times.

The attention has been good for Mr. Logan, who's reportedly sold numerous copies of his last CD at his regular busking gigs in Tompkins Square Park. Better yet, a Kickstarter campaign, created to fund distribution of another Logan recording, has now been swamped, thanks to a mention in the Times piece. Even better, since the Kickstarter effort has surpassed its goal, word is that some of the additional $$$ may be used to help repair Logan's damaged saxophone!

    
Abderrahim Amrani ~  Hamadsha Tunes from Fez
(Blog: Moroccan Tape Stash)

In Full Possession
"The performer, Abderrahim Amrani, is the muqaddem of a Fez branch of the brotherhood as well as a versatile musician proficient in a number of genres. See yala.fm for his biography (and some questionable pop versions of Moroccan trance tunes.) Or check out more tunes and video on the Fez Hamadsha website or on their MySpace page! The music on this tape features the guinbri (not the large guinbri used by the Gnawa, but a smaller variety) and the large clay goblet drum known as gwal, along with clapping and singing. Not heard here is the ghaita oboe, which the Hamadsha use in some parts of their ceremony."  (Description by Tim Abdellah, at Moroccan Tape Stash)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 161

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

I am not a lawyer, and I don't play one on the radio, but for the life of me, I can't fathom the legal argument against music Web search engines like Chewbone, which was squashed like a bug almost two years ago, and Captain Crawl, which voluntarily went dark last week. If a search engine merely points to existing sites online but actually hosts no content, legal or otherwise, what is the justification for shuttering this service?

By this logic, the Post Office, which delivers millions of pieces of fraudulent mail each year, should be dismantled. Since bank robbers plan escape routes, how come road maps aren't contraband? Google provides a blog-specific search engine tool that points to innumerable sites hosting unlicensed material. What so distinguishes this service from others that have been forced to shut down? I mean, what the hell?!

My head hurts. Time for music.

    
Guelewar Band of Banjul  ~  Tasito
(Blog: Oro)

Guelewar, What Is It Good For?
"Guelewar Band of Banjul has been further developing the Afro-Manding sound of Ifang Bondi during a short period in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With strong percussion, a psychedelic tinge, prominent keyboards and saxophones, Guelewar's music is an "Aha-Erlebnis", but surprisingly enough, not a single album has ever been reissued on CD, whereas their LPs are sometimes offered at horrendous prices. Not much is written on the group apparently lead by Laye N'gom since the 1970s. Youssou N'Dour considers Guelewar as a main inspirational influence, partly because of the use of lyrics in a noble wolof as opposed to "street" Wolof, and partly because Guelewar had resolutely moved forward from Latin and highlife. Lead singer Moussa N'Gom has had a strong imprint on Guelewar's music with his expressive voice."  (Description by Frank Bessem, at Musiques d'Afrique)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 160

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Long-time readers of the Motherlode (and listeners of my radio show Give the Drummer Some) are well familiar with my near-hysterical schoolboy infatuation with South African music. In my nearly four decades of music discovery, no other sounds on the planet have thrilled me as deeply as the recordings of South African artists—in large part, the music produced by those in exile during the last thirty years of the the Apartheid abomination.

Well, it pleases me immensely to report that now this particular area of music has been paid near-miraculous tribute by artist/archivist Siemon Allen in a new post at Electric Jive. Assembled in two long sets, with rich annotation for each selection, Allen's "In Exile" presentation paints a portrait at once devastating and uplifting. Go hear and see for yourself.

    
Various  ~  In Exile
(Blog: Electric Jive)

Umkhonto we Sizwe!
"For purposes of definition, exile music here covers a thirty year period from 1959 to 1990, during the heart of the apartheid years. This survey is by no means comprehensive, nor is it representative of all South African exile artists or even their ‘best’ work. Rather it is a collection of some of my favorite, more personal tunes. Tunes that for me capture some of the darker but also more ecstatic moments of exile. The alienation, isolation of the foreign experience is evident on many tracks, especially the solo performances. But at the same time, so are fragments of cultural memory, various phrasings, quotes of the majuba sounds of the 1950s, that instantly recall a distant home. Often the fragments gives way to moments of ecstatic joy and build in strength to challenge the darkness."  (Description by Siemon Allen, at Electric Jive)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 159

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Allow your Miner to indulge his first love, a little creative improvised music for a hump-day stroll through Motherlodesville. You can call it jazz if you like, but I find that term pitifully inadequate. (I could just go with personal hero Yusef Lateef's description of the music as "autophysiopsychic," but writing the explanation would eat into my precious listening time. Suffice it say that the five albums presented here provide some thrilling and lovely moments. Collect them all!

 

 

    
Max Roach/Archie Shepp  ~  Force (Sweet Mao/Suid Afrika 76)
(Blog: Free the Music)

Sweet
"This exceptional double-album of duets with Archie Shepp helped inaugurate Max Roach’s own revolutionary cultural program. Over the ensuing years, he purposefully connected with the younger generation of adventurous jazz musicians, engaging in a series of stellar duets with Dollar Brand, Anthony Braxton, and Cecil Taylor. Roach not only reinvigorated his own music and pushed his playing to dazzling heights, he proved himself (at least) the creative equal of his esteemed partners."  (Description by Destination: OUT)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 158

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

MIXTAPE SPECIAL
Today's Motherlode pays tribute to those magnanimous bloggers who, in addition to their constant ripping of tracks, scanning of album art and writing of nuggets, somehow find time to produce marvelous homemade mixes as well. Most prolific of all is the venerable Moos of Global Groove who's now dished out three dozen such collections. While Moos produces samplers as a way to highlight individual tracks from previously posted LPs, other hosts are merely taking pleasure, in the age-old analog mixtape tradition, at concocting  high-, low-, and no-concept collections of tunes they're just dying for you to hear.

On display below is a collection of custom mixes I think you'll appreciate. If you do, please drop by the offering blogs and leave a kind word for all the extra effort.

    
Custom Mixes:  Global Samplers, Volumes 33 | 34 | 35 | 36
(Blog: Global Groove)
[password = globalgroove]

Around the World in 36 Mixtapes
"With over 1100 posts, the Global Groove is becoming quite a reference book. Lots of styles from lots of countries are to be found here. To help you find your way through all those LPs...Global Samplers can be of help. They contain some personal favorites and highlights. Single tracks from selected LPs that were posted through time."  (Description by Moos, from Sampler #33 )

[There are 36 amazing samplers available at Global Groove. Scroll through the archives and collecte them all!]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 157

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

First, big ups to the many generous readers who stepped up and gave a little something back in support of these weekly Motherlodes during WFMU's annual fundraising marathon. Biggest cheers for Holly in NC, who made a significant contribution to the station and Beware of the blog and "adopted" your faithful Miner for the next year.

And while you're applauding, how about a round for blogger Gary Sullivan, who found time—along with continuing to share marvel after pleasurable marvel at Bodega Pop (see the lead item, below)—to write two critical observations of the post-Megaupload blog tumult. The first, his cathartic rant Guilty Until Proven Innocent?, is required reading for those trying to make sense of the scorched-earth tactics of those seeking to extinguish online music sharing—free, legal and otherwise. The other is a piece published in the latest edition of The Brooklyn Rail. Titled Vanishing Point: Will the RIAA and MPAA Wipe International Music Off the Globe?, it includes some words from me regarding the late, lamented Holy Warbles.

    
Selda Bağcan  ~  Türkülerimiz 6
(Blog: Bodega Pop)

Mos Def Sampled Her (w/o permission)
"Belting out radical poetry with heart-wrenching conviction, Turkish folkie-cum-siren of psychedelia Selda Bağcan has endured imprisonment, banning, restricted travel and other indignities, all for love of rocking the paranoid authorities. Istanbul in the 1970s was, for legions of Anatolian space cadets, the primo launching pad for the taking the mother of all acid trips. And in a world of progressive music dominated by men, Selda was the mother of Turkey's countercultural revolution. This release, originally from 1976, finds Selda amid a din of flanging, fuzzed-out guitars, crooning lines like "The sweat of the working-class amalgamates with the soil.""  (Description from my own Favorites of 2006 page) 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 156

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Hey, no one gets how the Interwebs is all about getting stuff for free. Mining the Audio Motherlode is nothing if not a blissful survey of spectacular sounds that cost you nothing but the time it takes to snag 'em. Saving you time as well as legal tender, your faithful Miner does all the hunting and gathering, inspecting the wares at many hundreds of music blogs—so you don't have to!

Now the Miner comes to you, illuminated helmet in hand, asking for a small contribution to the cause. You see, the Motherlode is a labor of love: For 50 weeks a year, the Miner provides the labor; for these 2 weeks, it is incumbent upon all Motherlodes to provide a little love.

Take a moment and drop a few coins in the virtual tip jar below. Help  us get raise 100% of our goal and get ready for another cornucopia of sonic delights next week.

 

As a gift to you readers and listeners of my radio show, Give the Drummer Some, I have produced Going Out of Their Heads, an insane, 2-CD assemblage of whacked-out warblers, psychotic singers and loony tunesters, losing it before your very ears. (This follows an '05 compilation I created called Loony Tunes, which is available here for free!) To receive this handmade, one-of-a-kind collection, please make a pledge, above, of $75 or more. Thank you.

Big THANKS to Holly in NC for adopting the Miner for 2012!

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 155

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Your faithful Miner is taking a couple of weeks off during the WFMU Marathon to hammer home that the Motherlode—and the blog that publishes it—are nonprofit, labors-of-love in need of your financial support.

Take a moment and count up all the $$ this weekly offering has saved your music budget, then use the pledge widget below to make a small offering of your own to support WFMU, the radio station that makes this all possible.

 

As a gift to you readers and listeners of my radio show, Give the Drummer Some, I have produced Going Out of Their Heads, an insane, 2-CD assemblage of whacked-out warblers, psychotic singers and loony tunesters, losing it before your very ears. (This follows an '05 compilation I created called Loony Tunes, which is available here for free!) To receive this handmade, one-of-a-kind collection, please make a pledge of $75 or more. Thank you.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 154

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

With the blogger Arkadin's decision, last week, to shut down his online music sharing efforts, deep music appreciators are losing three fantastic blogs: one that was dedicated to the Italian record company Palcoscenico; another that astounded collectors by aggregating download links for every last OOP album from Flying Dutchman; and the crown jewel, Arkadin's Ark, an exquisitely curated sound salon that began almost exactly three years ago.

Arkadin announced the sad news in his most recent post, accompanying a beloved recording from the recently departed French pianist Jef Gilson. Arkadin says his sites and links will go dark at end of the month, so get cracking—and don't forget to leave some farewells and thank-yous in the comments.

Today's Motherlode presents five memorable offerings from Arkadin's Ark. Thanks for everything, Arkadin!

Jef Gilson  ~  "Europamerica"
(Blog: Arkadin's Ark)

You Will Be Missed
"It's just a (regrettable) coincidence, but my very first post exactly three years ago was an album by David Young, a rather unknown sax player who had worked with George Russell and died some days before my post. Just like Jef Gilson, the French pianist, arranger, bandleader, composer, producer, label founder and talent booster—a key figure of modern jazz in France—who sadly died on February 5. May he rest in peace! Europamerica is quite a wild thing, maybe a bit too wild for some of my regular readers as it ranges from still structured progressive jazz to free jazz expressiveness. But those of you getting through the first four tracks will be rewarded with a relatively accessible and great rendition of Gillespie's "Con Alma." Give it a try. Making this my last post feels like having completed a circle, so thanks a lot for your attention! Hope you liked some of the stuff I posted..."  (The final words from the great Arkadin) 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 153

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

After our hopeful words last week about an attempted comeback at The Vault, it appears (for now) that this mighty Everest of music sharing has been reduced to rubble. Adding to the misery in blogland this week was the apparent demise of the enlightened pages at Weird Brother, but an outpouring of appreciative comments at the site has led erudite host, Y Brawd, to consider giving it another go. (We were all set in this post to link to an historic Fluxus audio collection at WB, but the link went dead as a DCMA doornail.) Please cross fingers—and maybe send a few encouraging words—to help inspire this vital cultural resource to find a way to keep calm and carry on!

 

    
Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo  ~  "Mastership"
(Blog: Allegory of Allergies)

Pick Hit: "Laugh and Dance"
"Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri in the late 1970s Omer was running a mobile disco that ended up using live instruments. It incorporated a spectacular stage show with smoke and light effects. Along with other stage props, including a spaceship styled car, the stage attention inspired him to create his first solo album in the early 1980s under his moniker 'Starship Commander Woo-Woo.'"  (Uncredited bio posted at Discogs) 

[A friendly hint from your Miner: Do NOT sleep on this one!]

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 152

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Few bloggers blitzed by the Megaupload seizure on January 19 could claim to be more devastated than the uploading wizard behind the curtain at Japanese music site the Vault. Eating prolific for breakfast, Voodooninjamunky shared, in less than three years online, a staggering 5,600 LPs.

Understandably discouraged, our hero posted the sad notice that he was retiring the blog. A few days later, though, he announced he was shifting his files over to a private bittorrent tracker, but that proved inefficient and unsatisfying, and the idea was abandoned. Now, to the delight of Japanese music junkies everywhere, it appears that Voodooninjamunky intends to continue the Vault, uploading files to a different 3rd party file-sharing service. Steps toward a reanimated blog are tentative, but the last number of hours have seen a flurry of offerings that looks a whole lot like the old Vault. (Our lead-off item below is a lovely female duo pop album posted not 12 hours ago.)

In honor of Voodooninjamunky's determination to press on, your Motherlode today presents exclusively Japanese music. (For more such magnificent sounds, check out my most recent Give the Drummer Some broadcast.)

    
Membous  ~  "Honey Chapatti"
(Blog: The Vault)

 Track #5 translates as: "Grandma Is Wating for Summer"
"Membous is a group I have been hunting for for a little while now and was shitcited to see them pop up on Rakuten for pretty sweet prices. I first heard them on one of the Benten comps a long while back. then realized that they were affiliated with the Gyuune label also and was like, yeah, I need that shit. They popped up on another comp I found from childish soup, which seems to be a bit of a spinoff from Gyuune. So now I finally have their albums, and they don't disappoint. Delicious lo-fi dual girl action with sweet mellow musical background to some cute and relaxing melodies."  (Description by VoodooNinjaMunky, at The Vault) 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 151

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

All was copacetic during SOPA/PIPA smackdown day last Wednesday, the day of last week's Motherlode posting. Then came Thursday and bloodbath in blogland as the popular file-sharing site MegaUpload was seized and shuttered for copyright violation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The subsequent ripple effect of fear spread quickly, prompting other file-sharing sites to go dark preemptively. Meanwhile, the free and unfettered exchange of ideas and information amongst millions of legitimate Internet users has been eviscerated.

In an instant, crucial music-preservation sites like Madrotter, Mutant Sounds, and Global Groove—and the many hundreds of painstaking hours their conscientious hosts spent constructing libraries of vanishing sounds—have been wiped out. Surely, this isn't the end of the story, but it is a sickening chapter. To be continued...

 

 

    
Kwamy, Nico, Rochereau  ~  "Les Merveilles du Passé 1965"
(Blog: Global Groove)

Seront Merveilles Jamais Fin?
"Do you know that phenomena ? Some LPs can hit you instantly when hearing it for the very first time, you are blown away and think, this is one of the best I've ever heard. Often these are the ones that get boring after a while. The LP we have here today is one of the other kind, you like it instantly but it gets better every time you hear it. These are the ones that remain for ever and never ever bore. How lucky are we to enjoy this wonderful disc for the rest of our lives?"  (Description by Moos, at Global Groove) 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 150

 

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Here we are at Motherlode #150 and it doesn't feel a day over 100. Strange to think that when we started this weekly column, your ol' miner still lived in Brooklyn, and he still had a damn job. Surely by now he's adjusted to life in the Steel City, but if he could just get someone to pay him to scour 600+ music blogs for the best free music online, he'd be well on his way toward delivering another 150 weeks of sonic spelunkery.

No worries, friends. As long as there are sites where music is presented thoughtfully and with reverence—like the exceptional African music blog Worldservice (see our lead item, below)—producing this survey will continue to be as richly rewarding as it was back in January 2009. 

 

    
Alhaja Hassanah Waziri  ~  "Oghena Iruduna"
(Blog: Worldservice)

Smooth as Corduroy
"I am puzzled about the adjective used to describe the voice of Alhaja Hassanah Waziri. "Velvet"?? Unless it is meant as a clever alternative to "rough" or "rough-edged," I am at loss for the source of this label. Maybe it is a cultural thing."  (Description by Wrldserv, at Worldservice) 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 149

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

In addition to producing this weekly travelogue through Freemusicstan, I also wrassle a couple of other sonic obsessions: I run a 24-hour webstream/radio channel for WFMU called Give the Drummer Radio, and I host two weekly radio programs live on the stream, called Give the Drummer Some. (The show airs Tuesdays, 6 to 7pm and Fridays, 9am to noon, ET.)

In its default mode, the stream delivers a continuous flow of the sorts of sounds presented here in the Motherlode—unusual, wide-ranging, adventuresome, groovy. In addition to the queue of tracks, the stream also serves as a broadcast channel for radio programs produced by a regular crew of DJs. For a schedule of these shows and links to their playlists and archives, go here. To listen to the stream anytime, go here.

In the next two weeks two programs will be added the the GTDR schedule. Starting tomorrow and airing every Thursday, noon to 2pm, Charlie Lewis will revive his excellent show Busy Doing Nothing. Beginning  on January 20, and airing every Friday, noon to 1pm will be rebroadcasts of mix maestro Steinski's legendary show A Rough Mix, which first ran on WFMU back in the mid''90s!

For program alerts and other info, friend Give the Drummer Radio on Facebook and follow on Twitter at @GTDRadio.

    
Yoshiaki Fujikawa & EastAsia Orchestra  ~  "Shoyoh Jurin"
(Blog: Big in Japan)

Blowing in from the East
"Very rare original Japanese progressive, improvised free Jazz Avant record from 1984."  (Random description on a Popsike page)

"This is great, Doug! It sounds like a demented version of Masada or something."  (Comment left by "Ricardo Montalban" on the playlist for my January 6 radio show.)