sounds of Morocco
Mahmoud Guinia (1951-2015), gimbri (aka guembri, sintir), live, Morocco (Marrakesh), 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
Four negatives make a positive.
—John Ashbery (1927-), “The Pie District” (excerpt), Breezeway (2015)
sounds of Mali
Tinariwen with Lalla Badi, “Tinde Final Tinariwen,” live, Paris, 2014
sounds of Nigeria
Wizkid, “Ojuelegba,” 2014 (audio) – 2015 (video)
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Remix featuring Drake and Skepta, 2015
sounds of Cameroon
Jovi, “Zélé,” 2015
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reading table
Maybe you go looking for one thing and find another.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), Don Quixote (translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman; internal quotation marks omitted)
more sounds of Kinshasa*
Mbongwana Star, “Malukayi” (feat. Konono No. 1), 2015
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*Democratic Republic of Congo.
sounds of Kinshasa*
Mbongwana Star, “Kala,” 2015
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Birds, plants, music—one of the most astonishing things about this most astonishing world is its variousness.
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*Democratic Republic of Congo.
sounds of Mali and France
Amadou & Mariam with guest Bertrand Cantat, live, France (near Belfort), 2012
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lagniappe
reading table
We dream – it is good we are dreaming –
It would hurt us – were we awake –—Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), #584 (Franklin), excerpt
sounds of Zimbabwe
This I could listen to all day.
Thomas Mapfumo, “Chikonzero”
Live (studio performance), Eugene, Oregon, 2015
MVP? That’s easy—guitarist Gilbert Zvamaida. In his hands melody (or “lead”) and rhythm are one.
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the beat goes on
2,100 posts—and counting.
sounds of Mali
Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba, “Siran Fen,” 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
my rice field too
song by song
is planted—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
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The Beatles (Comiskey Park). The Who (Kinetic Playground). The Velvet Underground (Kinetic Playground). The MC5 (Lincoln Park). Bob Marley (Quiet Knight). The list goes on and on. My musical life is unimaginable without the experiences I’ve had with my brother Don, who turns 65 today. Happy Birthday!
sounds of Senegal
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Seckou Keita (kora), “Mikhi Nathan Mu Toma” (The Invisible Man), 2015
music clip of the day 