I have been swamped by Swedes today. Having barely registered on the consciousness of that fair land previously, I have had over twenty visits from Sweden in a matter of a few hours.
I don't know why but I suspect word has got out that I made some rather disobliging remarks about Thomas Denver Jonsson recently and they are rushing to defend one of their own. Let me just say for the record that, regardless of what I may have said about his singing, Mr Jonsson is a model of moral rectitude and a credit to his country.
In an attempt to demonstrate that it isn't an anti-Swedish thing, here is some cultural heritage for you:
"Chris Craft No. 9" - The Shanes
"To Be Free" - The Tages
"Pa Tredje Dagen Uppstandna" - Turid
And in a further pathetic attempt to ingratiate myself with you, may I say that the sons (and daughters) of the spelmän have been responsible for some of my favourite pop moments of the last few years: "Punkrocker" by Teddybears, "We're From Barcelona" by I'm From Barcelona and, most of all, this one:
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Monday, 19 October 2009
Tsonga (No Disco)
I've got more of the Tsonga stuff than I realised. I went onto Google to try to find out more about today's featured act, Gezane Thomas Mzamani, and discovered that he (or they) had been nominated in the Best Tsonga album category of the South African Music Awards for his (or their) latest album.
The CD I picked up in Cape Town recently came out in 2007 and goes by the catchy title "Tribute to Freddy Matshwa Bemuda: Rifu Avaleli". Here is the cover:
All the songs were composed by Gezane Thomas Shuma, who is presumably either the big lad bottom right or the moody feller top left. I'm not sure whether the Mzamani refers just to him or to the whole ensemble, including the two lovely ladies.
They seem to be from the more traditional wing of the Tsonga scene. Generally I prefer the Tsonga Disco, but I like this next track. It goes along on its merry traditional way until about 1:15 in, when suddenly someone doing a slightly dodgy Nelson Mandela impersonation appears to tell Zuma and Mbeki to get their act together. As a rallying cry it obviously wasn't a great success, but it is jolly enough.
"Tatana Mandela" - Gezane Thomas Mzamani
Here is some more Mandela-based South African music for your entertainment. Mr Hugh Masekela and friends.
The CD I picked up in Cape Town recently came out in 2007 and goes by the catchy title "Tribute to Freddy Matshwa Bemuda: Rifu Avaleli". Here is the cover:
All the songs were composed by Gezane Thomas Shuma, who is presumably either the big lad bottom right or the moody feller top left. I'm not sure whether the Mzamani refers just to him or to the whole ensemble, including the two lovely ladies.They seem to be from the more traditional wing of the Tsonga scene. Generally I prefer the Tsonga Disco, but I like this next track. It goes along on its merry traditional way until about 1:15 in, when suddenly someone doing a slightly dodgy Nelson Mandela impersonation appears to tell Zuma and Mbeki to get their act together. As a rallying cry it obviously wasn't a great success, but it is jolly enough.
"Tatana Mandela" - Gezane Thomas Mzamani
Here is some more Mandela-based South African music for your entertainment. Mr Hugh Masekela and friends.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Minty Fresh
I have received an e-mail from a nice man called Mark Sturdy alerting me to the fact that Spearmint's 1999 album "A Week Away" is being re-released tomorrow in a special deluxe edition with 12 bonus tracks and a 24-page booklet. It will be available via iTunes and the band's online shop.
Mr Sturdy seems to have mistaken me for someone who is up with things - or was at least up with things ten years ago - but I have to confess I have never heard of Spearmint before. Fortunately he sent me an mp3 of one of the bonus tracks to enlighten me. He encouraged me to share it with you which I am going to do because it is really rather good, a sort of mix of the poppier aspects of 1980s indie and 1970s soul - imagine Van McCoy as house producer at Postcard Records. It is called "A Trip Into Space" and apparently made it all the way to number 82 in the UK charts back in 1998.
"A Trip Into Space" - Spearmint
As a bonus for you, and a sort of "thank you" to Mr Sturdy, here is Dr. John:
"Jump Sturdy" - Dr. John
And returning to the minty theme, here are the Strawberry Alarm Clock in 2007, 40 years on:
Mr Sturdy seems to have mistaken me for someone who is up with things - or was at least up with things ten years ago - but I have to confess I have never heard of Spearmint before. Fortunately he sent me an mp3 of one of the bonus tracks to enlighten me. He encouraged me to share it with you which I am going to do because it is really rather good, a sort of mix of the poppier aspects of 1980s indie and 1970s soul - imagine Van McCoy as house producer at Postcard Records. It is called "A Trip Into Space" and apparently made it all the way to number 82 in the UK charts back in 1998.
"A Trip Into Space" - Spearmint
As a bonus for you, and a sort of "thank you" to Mr Sturdy, here is Dr. John:
"Jump Sturdy" - Dr. John
And returning to the minty theme, here are the Strawberry Alarm Clock in 2007, 40 years on:
Saturday, 17 October 2009
More Generals
Yesterday I posted a clip of General Johnson (of Chairmen of the Board fame) and Joey Ramone (of ... err... no, it's gone) doing a beach music remake of "Rockaway Beach". I have been asked to put the mp3 up, so here it is.
As a bonus I have added the General and the lads performing a sweet, innocent song about the joys of dancing with the one you love which will unfortunately raise a snigger or two in the UK.
"Rockaway Beach" - General Johnson & Joey Ramone
"Shaggin' The Night Away" - General Johnson & Chairmen Of The Board
As a bonus I have added the General and the lads performing a sweet, innocent song about the joys of dancing with the one you love which will unfortunately raise a snigger or two in the UK.
"Rockaway Beach" - General Johnson & Joey Ramone
"Shaggin' The Night Away" - General Johnson & Chairmen Of The Board
Friday, 16 October 2009
Tsonga Disco: General Muzka
Let us return to the Tsonga Disco. Today we bring you a couple of tracks from General Muzka's 2007 album "Means Business: Kufa Ka Yin'wana". I would speculate that "Kufa Ka Yin'wana" means "Means Business" in Tsonga. And as you can see from the cover, he really does:
I know nothing about the General apart from his real name, which is Chris Mkhonto, but he is obviously well-connected. "Means Business" was mixed by our old friend Joe Shirimani, and this year he has made an album with the mighty Penny Penny which Joe produced - that is a treat that is still to come. In the meantime, wrap your lugholes around these two:
"Xitulu Xale Mahlweni" - General Muzka
"Dudula" - General Muzka
I can only think of two other musical Generals and, like Muzka, they are both pretty cool dudes - General Saint (of "Clint Eastwood and" fame) and General Johnson of the Chairmen Of The Board - and there are clips of both below. Perhaps calling yourself is sufficient to bestow coolness, in which case please call me General Goggins from now on.
The second clip is about as cool as it is possible to get - General J and Joey Ramone with a Carolina beach music version of "Rockaway Beach". If you ask nicely I might put the mp3 up as well.
I know nothing about the General apart from his real name, which is Chris Mkhonto, but he is obviously well-connected. "Means Business" was mixed by our old friend Joe Shirimani, and this year he has made an album with the mighty Penny Penny which Joe produced - that is a treat that is still to come. In the meantime, wrap your lugholes around these two:
"Xitulu Xale Mahlweni" - General Muzka
"Dudula" - General Muzka
I can only think of two other musical Generals and, like Muzka, they are both pretty cool dudes - General Saint (of "Clint Eastwood and" fame) and General Johnson of the Chairmen Of The Board - and there are clips of both below. Perhaps calling yourself is sufficient to bestow coolness, in which case please call me General Goggins from now on.
The second clip is about as cool as it is possible to get - General J and Joey Ramone with a Carolina beach music version of "Rockaway Beach". If you ask nicely I might put the mp3 up as well.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
The Generation Gap
Mr F and I took some young people to the Sheep Walk in Leytonstone last night for a double bill of Andy White and Thomas Denver Jonsson. There was a definite division of opinion along age lines about their respective merits.
The young folks were very keen on Thomas Denver Jonsson. I thought he handicapped himself with too many alt-country cliches to stand out from the crowd - such as the strained voice pitched a bit too high for comfort which is as common in this particular field as bad Mariah Carey impersonators are on X Factor. It is presumably meant to convey intensity but too often just sounds like they can't sing. Which in this case was a bit of a shame because he actually had a few decent songs.
Thomas spent most of his set staring down at his shoes and mumbling incoherently in between the songs, which the young folks found immensely endearing. When Andy White came on he made the mistake of looking at and talking to the audience and was immediately condemned for being "too cocky". He never won them back after that, whereas I increasingly warmed to him for his old-fashioned virtues like being able to write a proper tune.
The last record of his I bought was "Rave On Andy White" way back in 1986, but I enjoyed the show sufficiently to buy his current album "Songwriter". Here are a couple of tracks from that album that he played last night, the second of which has a fantastic title that was given to him by a friend's small daughter, who in turn had been given it by her imaginary friend - although only one of them gets a credit on the album.
"First And Discovery" - Andy White (with Allison Russell)
"Turn Up The Temperature On The Machine Of Love" - Andy White
I can't find any clips of Andy, so instead here is another Irish act that was around in the 1980s and had a way with a tune.
The young folks were very keen on Thomas Denver Jonsson. I thought he handicapped himself with too many alt-country cliches to stand out from the crowd - such as the strained voice pitched a bit too high for comfort which is as common in this particular field as bad Mariah Carey impersonators are on X Factor. It is presumably meant to convey intensity but too often just sounds like they can't sing. Which in this case was a bit of a shame because he actually had a few decent songs.
Thomas spent most of his set staring down at his shoes and mumbling incoherently in between the songs, which the young folks found immensely endearing. When Andy White came on he made the mistake of looking at and talking to the audience and was immediately condemned for being "too cocky". He never won them back after that, whereas I increasingly warmed to him for his old-fashioned virtues like being able to write a proper tune.
The last record of his I bought was "Rave On Andy White" way back in 1986, but I enjoyed the show sufficiently to buy his current album "Songwriter". Here are a couple of tracks from that album that he played last night, the second of which has a fantastic title that was given to him by a friend's small daughter, who in turn had been given it by her imaginary friend - although only one of them gets a credit on the album.
"First And Discovery" - Andy White (with Allison Russell)
"Turn Up The Temperature On The Machine Of Love" - Andy White
I can't find any clips of Andy, so instead here is another Irish act that was around in the 1980s and had a way with a tune.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Won't You Come Out Tonight?
Today we have a couple of - rather different but equally jolly - covers of the traditional American tune, "Buffalo Gals".
The first by Eliza Gilkyson updates the lyrics a bit but retains the name and is generally fairly true to the original. It is available on her compilation CD "Retro Specto". The second is a doo-wop remake by the Olympics from the 1960 album "The Olympics Meet The Marathons".
"Buffalo Gals" - Eliza Gilkyson
"Dance By The Light Of The Moon" - The Olympics
To complete the set I should really have added the clip for Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals" but I have never much cared for it - as my late grandmother might have said it is all just bang bang bang. So instead here is something of a similar style and vintage that at least has a bit of a tune.
The first by Eliza Gilkyson updates the lyrics a bit but retains the name and is generally fairly true to the original. It is available on her compilation CD "Retro Specto". The second is a doo-wop remake by the Olympics from the 1960 album "The Olympics Meet The Marathons".
"Buffalo Gals" - Eliza Gilkyson
"Dance By The Light Of The Moon" - The Olympics
To complete the set I should really have added the clip for Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals" but I have never much cared for it - as my late grandmother might have said it is all just bang bang bang. So instead here is something of a similar style and vintage that at least has a bit of a tune.
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