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)
Trio Visca ~ Trio Visca
(Blog: Stereomono)
Zodiac Killers
Trio Visca was a vocal harmony girl group from Indonesia consisting of the three sisters Winny, Ria and Widyawati. They named the group after their respective Zodiac signs; Virgo, Scorpio and Cancer. The backing band on the EP is Gaja Remadja and the producer is guitarist Ireng Maulana, a member of the Eka Sapta band. (Description with links by Á Go-Gojira, at Stereomono)
The Whole Darn Family ~ Has Arrived
(Blog: Milk Crate Breaks)
Gee You Look Familial
"Richmond, VA's The Whole Darn Family's debut Has Arrived is a classic slab of funky, soulful goodness. Originally released in 1976 and similar to War, the Ohio Players and Brick, Has Arrived featured the hit single "Seven Minutes of Funk." That song has been sampled dozens of times, most notably by Jay-Z, EPMD and Grandmaster Flash." (Sales copy found on the WWW)
Various ~ Voices of Haiti (recorded by Maya Deren)
(Blog: A Closet of Curiosities)
Deren Do
"If the songs and drumming achieve the compelling power which I believe is represented in this album it is because the microphone, lashed to the center post of the ceremonial peristyle, has captured a record not of men and women at play, not of their relaxed spontaneities, nor of their effort to create an art work for other men or for the satisfaction of any employer. It is a record of labor, of the most serious and vital effort which a Haitian makes, for he is here laboring for divine reward, addressing himself not to men but to divinity. They are singing for the gods. It is a privilege to have overheard and to have recorded it." (From Deren's liner notes )
Edwin Hawkins Singers ~ The Edwin Hawkins Singers
(Blog: Flageolette)
Oh Happy Disc
"The Edwin Hawkins Singers began as The Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. and was founded in 1967 by Hawkins and Betty Watson. Members were aged 17–25. As was common in gospel circles they produced and distributed their own LP: Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord, recorded live in church. "Oh, Happy Day", featuring Dorothy Morrison as lead vocalist, was picked up by a local DJ, KSAN's Bob Mcclay, and subsequently released commercially. Aretha Franklin had already brought strong gospel stylings to the pop charts with songs such as "Think" (1968), but a hymn had never “crossed over” before. "Oh Happy Day" soared into the US Top 5, winning a Grammy and massive sales worldwide." (From Wikipedia)
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.
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Caro will be at the Union Square Barnes and Nobles on May 7th.
Posted by: Chris | May 03, 2012 at 03:36 AM