In case you are new to Monday Music, this month I have been reflecting on the musical influence of my older brother Mark, who was born on the 25th September. He would have turned 62 this month. This week’s post, which is the last of the series, also doubles as the finale in a quartet of posts that I decided to write as part of my grieving/healing process after his death almost three years ago.
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For those who are new to this blog, this is the 4th in my September series of musical tributes to my brother Mark. The series starts here.
No tribute to Mark would be complete without Tom Waits. I clearly remember Mark’s pleasure when he shared One of Waits’ early albums with me in our grotty student house lounge room (Small change, I think it would have been). I’m not a Waits fan, but I can see … hear … why Mark liked him. The gravelly voice, the poetry, the bluesy sound, the stories of people on the fringe, the somewhat depressing tone. Continue reading
I just got a reminder about earlybird tickets for Womadelaide. It reminded me how I had hopes, a few years ago, that one day my brother Mark and I would do a road trip to Adelaide for this exciting world music festival. I may make it there one day, but it won’t be with Mark because he died in late 2010.
I don’t know what the line-up will be for 2014, but the Womadelaide home page features one of Mark’s favourite musicians: Hugh Masekela. We played Hugh Masekela at his funeral. He particularly loved Coal Train (Stimela).
It’s that time of year. The annual birthday blitz, nine months after the Christmas holidays.
Are you struggling to think of original greetings for all the Facebook birthday notifications flashing up in front of you? Or just trying to budget for the mountain of gifts? Fear not, the Birthday Kit is here. Simply select and share the most appropriate birthday song video.
What more could you possibly need?
A belated Eid Mubarek to any readers who celebrated the end of Ramadan last week. This week’s post, in recognition of that significant time, is devoted to female singers from some of the Muslim countries of Africa.
The voice of Egypt
The famous Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum seems the obvious choice to introduce this blog post. Yes, it’s a very long video. No, you don’t have to listen of all of it right now.
This week I’m sharing a variety of musical styles from Côte d’Ivoire (independence from France: 7 August 1960): reggae, ‘Afro-blues’, zoblazo, zouglou, and a sort of hip-hop fusiony thing. Fusing with other African styles, that is. Actually no, I’ve got that last one completely wrong. It’s Coupé-Décalé.
This week’s selection includes flash cars, gorgeous clothes, the streets of Paris, a surprising dance, and lots of wobbly bottoms. It includes lively new young’uns and an international star from the 80s. It even includes a musician who’s performed in Australia. What’s more, I was at one of his concerts!
So let’s get started. Continue reading
Border Crossings 