Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 198

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

Beloved anarchist Emma Goldman famously chirped, "If I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution." No cause is worth denial of joy, she insisted. From the fife and drum troops of the Continental Army, to the populist warblings of Woody Guthrie, to the Boss rocking the presidential stump, music has contributed to social and political upheaval throughout history.

Take the Civil Rights movement for example, which was so awash in song as to have its own virtual soundtrack. But not all such music was a joyous affair worthy of Emma Goldman. Particularly the collection of songs reflecting on the most calamitous moment of the era, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To acknowledge King's birthday on January 15, I produced this hour-long broadcast for WFMU. Now the Motherlode pays tribute with its own contribution, in the form of our lead item, below.

Various ~ Martin Luther King's Blues
(Blog: Washerman's Dog)

Got MLK?
"The songs on this collection are living history. Guido Van Rijn, a Dutch music writer/journalist wrote a book called President Johnson’s Blues which was an exploration of how Blues and Gospel artists responded to the Presidency of LBJ, and the assassination of MLK and Robert Kennedy, both in 1968." (Description from ajnabi, at Washerman's Dog)

Various ~ La Tabaquera
(Blog: Snap, Crackle & Pop)

Cumbia, My Lord, Cumbia
These days, you can't swing a cat and not hit a fantastic collection of cumbia tunes. (Look here, here and here. Every one of these is worth a purchase.) Regular visitors to the Motherlode will remember another killer cumbia LP shared in this space just a few weeks ago. That link is now dead, so if you dig this music, act fast.

Jayne Cortez & the Firespitters ~ Maintain Control
(Blog: Incontant Sol)

Poetic, Justice
THE FAMILY OF JAYNE CORTEZ INVITES YOU TO A CELEBRATION OF HER LIFE:

Wednesday, February 6, 2013 2:00 pm
THE GREAT HALL in the COOPER UNION BUILDING
7 East 7th St, New York City

For further information, please contact [email protected]

Super Sounds ~ Namba
(Blog: Oro)

Ghana Fly Now
"Here is a great record to start 2013. This album, recorded in Togo in 1981 under "Super Sounds Namba,", features the two biggest stars of Ghana: Pat Thomas and Ebo Taylor. This record is rare but known for its wonderful afrobeat piece: "Yes Indeed." Ebo Taylor is a figure in Ghana Highlife music. His career reflects his artistic vitality. During the '50s and '60s, after the explosion of pioneers highlife bands like E.T. Mensa, Taylor became a figure of this movement, beginning with bands like Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band. Highlife music appeared to Ghana in the '20s, it was born from the meeting of Portuguese guitars, western brass bands, African rhythms, American big bands and Caribbean styles like calypso. Thus in the mid-'70s and '80s, Ebo Taylor recorded a number of solo projects, exploring unique fusions and borrowing elements from traditional Ghanian sounds, Fela's afrobeat, to jazz, soul and funk." (Description by Oro, at Oro)

Xangô da Mangueira ~ Rei do Partido Alto
(Blog: Flabbergasted Vibes)

Samba Schooled
"A great record by one of the under-heralded sambistas, Xangô da Mangueira aka Olivéirio Ferreira. Every track is a winner, and this has been one of the most-played samba records in my stash since I got it, often getting played twice in a row which is something I NEVER do. A friend of Paulo da Portela, he passed through the samba schools of Portela, Lira do Amor (now defunct) and Mangueira. This record has probably the biggest concentration of Xangô's better-known compositions that he recorded in one place. Well-known because they have been recorded by the likes of Clara Nunes, Martinho da Vila, Elza Soares, Beth Carvalho, Roberto Ribeiro and others since the 1970s heyday of "samba de raiz." The record lopes along in an old-school pagode, roda de samba vibe and is one of the best partido-alto records you're likely to hear." (Description by Flabbergast, at Flabbergasted Vibes)

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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