There was great excitement at Leggies HQ the other day when we had our first ever visitor from Lebanon. To welcome them to the gang, here is a small selection of Lebanese sounds.
First up is Roger Fakhr. The reliably excellent Habibi Funk label has recently issued "Fine Anyway", a collection of his recordings from the 1970s. There's nothing remotely funky about them - you might easily mistake "Dancer On The Ceiling" for a Pentangle rarity - but there is plenty of good stuff on there. The album is available from Bandcamp and all good online stores.
Roger is followed by Assi El Hellani, who is considerably funkier, and we finish off with one of my favourite singles of all time from anywhere. I found an original 7" of "For Your Information" in a junk shop 30+ years ago and fell in love with it instantly. While you really need to listen to it on 1960s vinyl to get the full snap, crackle and poptastic experience, its pretty groovy in any format.
"Dancer On The Ceiling" - Roger Fakhr
"Tarani" - Assi El Hellani
"For Your Information" - The Cedars
The arrival of our new friend prompted me to look at which countries are still missing from the visitor book. According to Flag Counter there are 113 more to go. Some on the list are not countries at all (e.g. the Aland Islands) and there are others we are highly unlikely to hear from (e.g. Tokelau, pop. 1499) but there are some notable absentees.
I may have to start a Missing Countries series to see if I can lure them in. In the meantime, let's hear it for Lebanon...
Was expecting Human League in the video section
ReplyDeleteThere is a short list of place name songs that I have banned on the grounds of taste, that being one of them. Top of the list is 'Belfast Child' by Simple Minds
DeleteSo we are not having a series of Terrible Place Name Songs?
DeleteNot if the "terrible" refers to the song, no. But "terrible" referring to the place or place name may be a possibility. Let me give that some thought.
DeleteI'm afraid I was a bit disappointed with your first song today. The second is a belter, mind you.
DeleteI will try to shield Roger from the news.
DeleteI don't think terrible place names will work as a series. Apart from Bob Martin's "Frog Dick, South Dakota" - which I suspect is not a real place - I don't have anything that fits the bill