If Music Could Talk - Jun 28, 2009

PODCAST LINK

16mm "nationalist" film about Indonesia

Indonesia - a new nation in Asia

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

- favorite song by my first favorite singer from the first LP record album i ever owned.. (ok, at the suggestion of an online peer i rephrased the previous wording "musical hero" because yes, he may have lived his life in a way that was not exemplary, but i did love his music from an early age, and always will...)

a very interesting science: Visual Anthropology

I cant believe i've never heard of this before.. but i just came accross the term "Visual Anthropology" when I found this book online, which seems like it could be a fascinating resource and, if it isnt a total bore and full of useless facts and lists and dates, may really broaden my view of VISUAL documentation of Indian Culture, beyond the highly fantastic and stylized "Bollywood" as it is referred to.... First thing i need to do is find myself a copy of this book.

India has a LONG tradition of painting for purposes of story telling-- and photography has probably been present in India since the invention of the camera...

my collection of postcards from the turn of the century , containing rare images in sepia tone from Thailand, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Peru, Mexico, Trinidad, Jamaica, India, and Africa, was, i guess, my first foray into the world of "Visual Anthropology" ... but i think ive been exploring this field for basically as long as i can remember... studying my own ancestors, and then launching from there into the rest of the world, through images.. which, like music, can transport you to places you might have never dreamed of... and in the case of images from days past... places no one will ever visit again....

suddenly, a more contemporary manifestation of this term comes to mind.... YOUTUBE.... which has opened up a vast new frontier in this science of visual anthropology.... because we are documenting our lives, our culture, everything, so much more often--- and storing it there... on Youtube.. in fact, the whole world is doing this...

also now, for some reason, im remembering a photography exhibit i saw at the VA Museum of Fine Arts years ago before they renovated.. I am pretty sure it was a collection of photographs from India.. i remember some of them being really beautiful... wonder if i can figure out what that exhibit was called.. maybe theres a catalogue somewhere..

oh, and speaking of "Visual Anthropology" -- here's an old school film about Maharashtra - i edited the really bad stereotypical commentary out and added music from an old library record called "Folk Music of Maharashtra"
(quality will improve soon-- just uploaded)
part 1

part 2

excellent Malagasy Photo & Culture site (Madagasgar)

www.MADANIGHT.com

lots of cultural info, links, videos, and some incredible pictures

check out this photostream from a music festival in 2007





( im becoming a big fan of malagasy music )

100 Greatest: Singapore 60s – The Definite Collection-- REVIEWED

READ THE REVIEW

oh im so excited that my copy of this collection is in the mail on the way to the states.... when i get it, you'll be hearing it on my radio show... hopefully followed by an interview with the creator/curator of the collection....

If Music Could Talk - June 14 2009 - Hott Muzik for the Summertime

PODCAST LINK - JUNE 14th 2009 - If Music Could Talk

Bollywood Night - June 13 2009

Bollywood Superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Cusco Peru

Aishwarya Rai in Cusco Peru

part 1

part 2

part 3

BREAKING NEWS: Bollywood Fever has been declared a pandemic!!!!

read here : Bollywood dance craze hits America

and here: Bollywood craze grips even Peru also here - (here is a youtube video taken by some Aishwarya crazed fans who found out she was going to be in the airport in Lima! it's madness!! )

and here: Poland's Bollywood craze

and also here : Bollywood craze brings Pakistani boy to Indian jail

and in Turkey! and Germany too!

outbreaks of "Bollywood Fever" have also been reported in South Africa, Spain, and elsewhere..


oh noez! and it's not just Slumdog Syndrome anymore.. its a full on pandemic! but do not be alarmed, this is no time to panic... on average 8 out of 10 people exposed to Bollywood actually enjoy the experience, while others are so bewildered and awestruck that they go completely INSANE!!!! you can too! - this Saturday Night.... at Cous Cous --- 900 W Franklin Street, Richmond VA

If Music Could Talk - Podcast - june 7, 2009

Last Sunday's show featured Special Guest Dj - Semih - a fellow music lover, film connoisseur, deep thinker, and world traveller who has lived in Richmond for several years now.

I met Semih at the local film rental place, and he always had the coolest music playing when I walked into the store - the type of music that compels someone like me to ask "what is this we're listening to? and where on Earth did you get it?"
Besides knowing a lot about Turkish psych musicians like Mogollar, Baris Manco, etc - he also hipped me to some great electronic artists like Four Tet and Gotan Project, as well as newer Turkish artists like Baba Zula and Ceza.

He'll be going back to Turkey for a little while, and will also be traveling to various other destinations.. so this show is the last chance we'll have to enjoy his selections for an indefinite period of time, unless he sends us some tunes from his travels abroad.. which he hopefully will.

thanks for sharing the music Semih! I hope you'll return with more great stories from your journeys around the world.

PODCAST LINK

Cornershop - "brimful of asha" - interview link, and ini mina dika (sung by asha bhosle)

brimful
Adjective
(foll. by of)completely filled with

Adj. 1. brimful - filled to capacity; "a child brimming over with curiosity"; "eyes brimming with tears"

brimfull, brimming
full - containing as much or as many as is possible or normal; "a full glass"; "a sky full of stars"; "a full life"; "the auditorium was full to overflowing"

explanation of the song by the group, and a little interview with asha herself here

asha sings "ina mina dika"

If Music Could Talk - 5/31/09 - soul on 45, bhangra, bollywood, and more

funky soul from the dusty crates, bhangra, and some other assorted new releases

PODCAST LINK