Shuffling part 3

I haven’t blogificated in a while, or is it bloggerated? Either way, the blog has been quiet lately. How about a shuffle part 3? The iPod’s been on shuffle for a while now, so I’ll put it to use. Here we go…starting…NOW:

In Love by Fear Of Pop – the remix by Thievery Corporation on their Versions LP
I was first introduced to Thievery Corporation from the soundtrack to Garden State, which Digmom owns. Then I later came across them on a Putumayo African collection. I thought this meant they were an African band. Not exactly. A wikipedia search informed me they are a DJ duo from Washington, DC. Go figure. They just happen to incorporate a lot of African sounds.

Jetto Ninjin by GO!GO!7188 on their Dasoku Houkou album
Japanese rock. GoGo are a fun band with female vocals, two females actually, typically harmonizing together throughout the entire song. They remind me a lot of Mary’s Danish who had a bit of radio play back in the early 90s. Anyone remember them?

No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga by Gloria Estefan on Mi Tierra
I love her albums in Spanish. This is her Cuban album; her other is a mix of styles from all over Latin America. I was introduced to this during my first field season doing archaeological work in Yucatan. A friend on the project had it and played it often, and when we would visit the nearby cities and towns I would constantly hear it in restaurants. I didn’t even realize it was Gloria Estefan until I asked a waiter in one of the restaurants just before leaving to come back to the States. Of course, he gave me the “stupid gringo” look as he told me.

Caballo de Madera by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs off a greatest hits album
This is another band I was introduced to while working in Mexico, during that same field season in fact. They are an ska/punk/rock band from Argentina. I came across this album recently and picked it up, precisely because it reminded my of my time in Mexico.

Letting Go by Paul McCartney and Wings on Venus and Mars
For some reason, I’ve always owned several copies of this album. I started a record collection around age 13 or so and sold it when I was a poor grad student living in Dallas. About 2 years ago, I decided to start my Beatles record collection once again. In my first collection I must have had 4 copies of this album, each bought as an improvement in condition over the last. Currently, I again have 4 copies of this LP. It seems every Ebay lot for some reason comes with this album.

Arabyon Ana (Circus Mix) by Yuri Mrakadi on the Essential Guide to Arabia
I swear, I’ve been listening to my iPod on shuffle all day long, from about 11 am. All day long. I don’t recall a single song from this Arabia collection coming on, not once. I sit down to do one of these shuffling blog entries, and what pops on? Every time. I don’t know what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I do like this Arabic dance stuff, but it just makes me laugh that it only seems to come on when I blog.

Kyuutii Hanii by GO!GO!7188 on their Tora no Ana album
More GoGo. It shows you how non-random an iPod’s random mode is. I’ve got gobs more on here by other Japanese bands, but I guess GoGo is what it wants to play now. I just realized the title is just a straight up sound-for-sound transcription of the katakana it was written in. But katakana is used to approximate foreign words with Japanese sounds. The actual title should read Cutie Honey.

Tropicalia by Beck off of Mutations
I thought I was getting some Brazilian music when it first started, but it’s Beck! I love his no-boundaries approach to music—it’s one of the things that drew me to the Beatles so strongly as well. In fact, the main Japanese bands and artists I listen to all have this same quality of incorporating all types of music. (Note: subject for future blog entry.)

Wait by the Beatles off Rubber Soul
A perfect example of the Beatles’ eclectic musical approach. Okay, maybe not, but it’s still a good song. I’ve always loved the songs like this where John and Paul are constantly trading lead parts.

Skoal by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra off of the Tokyo Strut LP
My iPod has been playing TSPO all day. It seems like every 10th song or so has been one of theirs. I’m not complaining, it’s very good music, mostly instrumental. This particular track has a bit of a Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass flavor to it. Did I mention the word eclectic before?

You Saved My Soul (With Your True Love) by John Lennon on the Free As A Bird bootleg
Another thing my iPod has been quite partial to today has been John’s demos and outtakes. I’m not familiar with this song, but I like it. Oh, it just ended. That was far too short.

Kuki (Stem) by Shiina Ringo off Karuki Samen Kuri no Hana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CMGLzgufkk (this version)
Absolutely sublime. This is my favorite version of this song (she’s released about 4 or 5 different versions of it). This is the only one sung in Japanese, the others are in English. It’s the music of this version that does it for me. This is my favorite album of hers. When it came out in 2003, some critics compared it to Sgt. Pepper as far as how ground breaking it was in the Japanese rock/pop scene. It is an amazing album—definitely one for the headphones, much like Pepper or Dark Side of the Moon.

Onaji Yoru (demo) by Shiina Ringo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWtfg71qi9A (released version)
Sure, I like a lot of artists. I’ll buy CDs of those I really like. But how does an artist know they’ve made it to the upper echelon of Digdad’s musical whims? There’s one way. If I make an effort to collect bootlegs by them, they’ve made it! Forget those gold records. They’re just spray painted, you know. If I have bootlegs by you, count yourself a truly successful artist. The Beatles and Shiina Ringo, you’ve made it. All else, keep the faith.