Tag: Music
Audio Story: Tagish Elvis and Me
by Pam Mandel | 06.23.10 | 8:50 AM ET
In Skagway, Alaska, Pam Mandel finds an unlikely way to salvage a bad trip
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Yahoo! BuzzFrom James Brown to the Spice Girls: A Soundtrack for the Road
by Eva Holland | 06.10.10 | 3:13 PM ET
In the Globe and Mail, Peter Cheney looks back on four decades of road trips, and the music that accompanied them. It’s a good read—here’s a taste:
Music always seems best on the road. As a little boy, I strained to hear the Jackson Five over a fading AM station as my dad drove our 1963 Mercury Comet from Calgary to Kingston in the dead of winter. The Comet only had a single, tinny speaker, but the Jackson’s never sounded quite as good as they did that winter day, their voices soaring over the hum of our studded snow tires.
Indeed. We offered our picks for the ultimate travel soundtrack here.
Cuban Folk Singer Silvio Rodrígues Touring U.S.
by Jim Benning | 06.08.10 | 5:02 PM ET
In 1999, two years before we created World Hum, Michael Yessis came back from a month-long trip to Spain and told me about a song he’d heard in a bar in Madrid. Two nights in a row, sometime well after midnight, the bartender played an anthemic folk song on the stereo called “Ojalá,” and as Mike recalled it, each time the song came on, the patrons erupted in singing, with dozens of locals joining in.
He wasn’t sure what the song was about, but he thought I’d like it, and sure enough, when I finally tracked down a copy of it, I did. I’ve been a big fan of its singer-songwriter, Silvio Rodríguez, ever since.
Finally, the Cuban folk singer, now 63, is touring the U.S. He has already played to a sold-out Carnegie Hall—this New York Times piece and this Christopher Baker blog post are well worth a read—and he’s scheduled to play Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Orlando.
Rodriguez is a controversial figure outside of Cuba. Many Cuban exiles despise him because he has, at times, defended the Revolution. I love him for his music, not his politics. Besides, as the New York Times put it, “Through the decades Mr. Rodríguez has become more poet than propagandist.” He sings about life.
How excited am I about this tour? I’m going to reschedule a flight and eat a hefty penalty fee so I can see him play.
Here’s a video of Rodriguez performing “Ojalá” in Madrid’s Plaza de Toros—you can hear the crowd singing along, line for line, and imagine the scene in that Madrid bar. I’ve since heard the song played by folk singers in cafes and bars from Mexico to Argentina. It’s wildly popular. Its meaning is the subject of great debate.
The version of the song below is available on the album “Mano a Mano”—an excellent live album that also features Spanish trovador Luis Eduardo Aute performing.
Interview With Bela Fleck: A Banjo Virtuoso in Africa
by David Frey | 04.28.10 | 9:15 AM ET
Photo courtesy of Bela Fleck David Frey asks the acclaimed musician about a new documentary and album
Fish Rock in Japan
by Jim Benning | 04.22.10 | 4:17 PM ET
Fish rock is music aimed at promoting greater fish consumption in Japan, where it’s on the decline. Public radio’s The World explains.
Here’s a, uh, taste.
A Space Travel Playlist
by Eva Holland | 04.07.10 | 10:09 AM ET
Lapham’s Quarterly has a list of the tracks that were launched into space aboard Voyager 1 and 2 back in 1977. Thankfully, none of the top five songs we never want to hear in space made the cut. (Via Kottke)
R.I.P. Charlie Gillett
by Eva Holland | 03.22.10 | 2:18 PM ET
The veteran British DJ, who spent the last four decades bringing world music to a wider audience, has died at 68. The Guardian notes his impact on the globalized music scene:
His discoveries were numerous, from Johnnie Allen’s Cajun version of Chuck Berry’s Promised Land in the early 1970s, through Youssou N’Dour and Salif Keita to Mariza, the young singer of Portuguese fado music who went from appearances on Charlie’s show in 2001 to sellout concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Throughout the last decade he compiled CD anthologies, presenting the best of new music from around the world.
(Thanks for the tip, Frank.)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Landmarks
by Chris Epting | 03.19.10 | 1:07 PM ET
Chris Epting explores the sights, from the Hollywood bathroom where The Doors recorded "L.A. Woman" to the place the music died
See the full audio slideshow: »
R.I.P. Alex Chilton
by Michael Yessis | 03.18.10 | 9:15 AM ET
The singer-songwriter behind Big Star, the Box Tops and classic travel song “The Letter” died of a heart attack in New Orleans. He was 59.
The greatest tribute song to Chilton has already been written, by Paul Westerberg:
Lover’s Moon
by Pico Iyer | 03.15.10 | 11:21 AM ET
iStockPhoto Pico Iyer on the power of travel to make a forgettable Glenn Frey song last forever
Video: Steve Almond’s Toto Takedown
by Eva Holland | 03.08.10 | 5:54 PM ET
Writer Steve Almond dissects the classic travel tune, Toto’s “Africa.” I’ll never hear the song the same way again. (Via @KelseyTimmerman)
The Grateful Dead: Airplane Book Fodder?
by Michael Yessis | 03.04.10 | 1:14 PM ET
Loved this aside in Joshua Green’s terrific story in The Atlantic about the Grateful Dead’s business prowess:
It can be only a matter of time until Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead or some similar title is flying off the shelves of airport bookstores everywhere.
Turns out the members of the Dead were business visionaries and masters of social networking.
The band knew a little something about travel, too.
Rock the Favela
by Caetano Veloso | 02.23.10 | 10:47 AM ET
iStockPhoto In an excerpt from the book "Culture is Our Weapon," Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso explores the power of AfroReggae in Rio
Men at Work Loses ‘Down Under’ Plagiarism Case
by Eva Holland | 02.05.10 | 2:29 PM ET
An Australian court has ruled that the flute section in the catchy travel song was lifted from “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” another Aussie classic that dates to the 1930s. Frontman Colin Hay has issued an emotional dissenting statement in response. Here’s the song in question:
Interview With Marco Werman: Traveling in Search of the World’s Music
by Jim Benning | 01.25.10 | 10:33 AM ET
Photo: Tracy Powell Jim Benning asks the public broadcasting host about a new show and his love of music from around the globe
‘They Listen to Me When Things Are Bad’ in Haiti
by Lisa Wixon | 01.20.10 | 12:00 PM ET
Photo by Lisa Wixon Lisa Wixon on the man behind Port-au-Prince's Hotel Oloffson, protest rocker and Vodou priest Richard A. Morse
R.I.P. Lhasa de Sela
by Jim Benning | 01.08.10 | 1:47 PM ET
The gifted Mexican-American musician, who sang in Spanish, English and French, succumbed to breast cancer Jan. 1. She was just 37.
Video: Stuck in Newark
by Eva Holland | 01.05.10 | 3:44 PM ET
Caught in the latest round of security-related airport gridlock, one passenger decides to make the best of things.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Love Letter to Japan’ by The Bird and the Bee
by Michael Yessis | 12.18.09 | 11:27 AM ET
Interview With Loreena McKennitt: Musical Travel Writing
by Jim Benning | 12.16.09 | 11:25 AM ET
Jim Benning asks the singer-songwriter about her most powerful travel experiences