Kyrie!

Hey folks!


I know that I haven't posted for a while. I have no excuse except the usual ones. Oh well. Suck it up.


Anyway, though, today I'm taking a break from my norm, and posting an explicitly religious song. It's an unusual one, however, and I think that even those of you who aren't Christian can really appreciate it. One reason I'm posting it today is because I'm actually in Austin, Texas (my first time in Texas!) and here with my friend at the True Vineyard office. True Vineyard does great work for women who have been left widowed in Rwanda. You should definitely check them out and help support their mission. Buy some of the REALLY cool things that these women (and others throughout Africa) make to support themselves here.
So, in honor of them and all the work they do in Africa:


GOOD SONG: Kyrie sung by Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin, arr. by Father Guido Haazen

Happy face!

The Missa Luba was a version of the Catholic Latin Mass (so all the words of the songs are in Latin, or some Greek-- like the words of this song "Kyrie, Eleison") that was put together by a Belgian priest named Father Guido Haazen after he traveled to Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the 1950's. The words may all be Latin, but the style is 100% Congolese. It's a great testament to how cultures can blend beautifully and successfully. The version that I linked to, I believe, is the original boys choir that Fr. Haazen assembled, that toured all over the place. The version that I grew up with is actually a slightly later recording, done by the Muungano National Choir from Nairobi, Kenya, which is also really beautiful.

I think that even if you're not Catholic or religious at all, you can really hear the beauty in this song. Their young voices are so pure and gorgeous, and the call and response is cool. 

If you liked this song, definitely check out the Sanctus, too. Stunning. Love the percussion.

Enjoy!

Over and out,

Anna

Let the air waves flow...

I'm back from my month-long blog hiatus. I had a serious existential (or rather blogistential) crisis in which I questioned the value of blogging, whether I wanted to continue, and tried to figure out why I haven't been listening to that much music recently (one big problem: I have so much music on my computer that the guy at the Apple store said I just shouldn't have iTunes open if I want my computer to run properly. Sigh.)


Not all my questions have been answered, but I didn't like being gone for so long. So, I'm back for now, with a new GOOD SONG!

And miles to go before I sleep...

GOOD SONG: Midnight Mile by Lee Fields & The Expressions (original by the Rolling Stones)


This song is from the Lee Fields & The Expressions album "Faithful Man" which came out just a few weeks ago. He sings with the in-house band of his label (Brooklyn's Truth & Soul), who also have played with Adele, Aloe Blacc, Jay-Z, etc. So they're pretty damn good. Which is fitting, since Lee Fields is into his fifth decade of recording and deserves some good musicians backing him up. It's kinda crazy, since he's been making great music for ages, and yet he doesn't even have his own wikipedia page! How crazy is that? Someone should get on that....


His original songs on the album are really fantastic (like the song "You're the Kind of Girl") but I totally fell for this song Rolling Stones cover. It's from their album Sticky Fingers, and it really works as a soul song, even with it's strange, poetic verses seemingly about isolation on the road. 
I love the lyrics:


"When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
with a head full of snow
with a head full of snow
In the window there's a face you know
Don't the night pass slow
Don't the night pass slow

The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road

Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes
Gonna warm my bones,
Gonna warm my bones
I got silence on my radio
Let the air waves flow,
Let the air waves flow
For I'm sleeping under strange strange skies
Just another mad mad day on the road
My dreams are fading down the railway line
I'm just about a moonlight mile down the road

I'm hiding sister and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
I'm hiding sister and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
There I go now coming home now baby
Yeah, there I go now coming home now baby
Yeah, I'm coming home 'cause

I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road
On down the road, down the road."


It's an interesting choice for a R&B artist to cover, and he does it amazingly well. He gives it a sort of haunting feel, with a heartbeat rhythm to it. That quavering flute in the background is supernatural. It definitely feels like a song to listen to it in the car in the rain, with the wipers on. 


If you liked this song, you might also check out:
Al Green
Otis Redding
Sharon Jones
James Brown
Eli Paperboy Reed

Over and out,
Anna