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Archive for the ‘Coronavirus’ Category

Nada Surf / S.G. Goodman (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 18, 2021) [rescheduled, rescheduled again]

Posted in Coronavirus, Jersey City, NJ, Nada Surf, Postponed, Quarantine, S.G. Goodman, White Eagle Hall on April 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 18, 2021] Nada Surf / S.G. Goodman [rescheduled from May 28, 2020; moved to November 19, 2021]

indexIt is crazy to think that this show was postponed for almost a year and then had to get postponed again.  There’s a light at the end of the tunnel though a vaccines are making the rounds.   November seems like a reasonable time to plan for a show.  So I bought tickets for S. and myself.

~~~

I saw Nada Surf a few months ago and  the show was great.  They are such a tight band and their songs are super catchy. Matthew Caws is a wonderful front man (and super nice guy).

Because I had just seen them I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go.  Well, I wanted to go, but I didn’t know if I should since I was going to so many other shows.  But since it was so close, I wanted to take S. to experience the joy.

I don’t know if this is the kind of thing that would get rescheduled, but I sure hope so.

S.G. Goodman is a singer-songwriter from Western Kentucky known for her rootsy sound and raw, honest lyricism. Her debut album came out in March.

I’ve listened to “The Way I Talk” and wow, what a cool song.  A simple repetitive beat with Goodman’s raw voice.  She doesn’t sing like a country singer (so that’s good), she tells a song story that ends with some amazing guitar feedback.  I’d love to see her live.

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Ben Rice–Pobby and Dingan (2000)

Posted in Australia, Ben Rice, Big Thief, Buck Meek, Coronavirus, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Imaginary Friends, New Yorker, Opal Dream, Quarantine, Racism, Short Books, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on April 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BUCK MEEK-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #185 (March 25, 2021).

Buck Meek is the guitarist for Big Thief.  I loved the first Big Thief album, but have found the newer ones to be a little too soft for my liking.

Initially I would have thought that Buck Meek would be a harder guitarist.  But I don’t really know that much about his contributions to the band, so it should probably come as no surprise that he writes folky songs.  Although even Bob Boilen seems a bit surprised.

The back of a van on a sunny day holding an acoustic guitar is a far cry from the usual setting where I’d see Buck Meek. More likely, I’d be in a dark club; Buck’s intense electric guitar and backing vocals are a part of what makes up my favorite rock band these days, Big Thief. But here, home is Buck’s Toyota Land Cruiser in Topanga Canyon, Calif.

Buck plays a pretty acoustic guitar and his voice is soft and gentle.  He reminds me a lot of Nick Drake.  He plays three songs from his 2021 album, Two Saviors.

“Pareidolia” is, as Buck Meek explains, “this human instinct to put symbol to stimulus.” He says, “I’ve been spending this time of solitude in the canyon here spending a lot of time observing the clouds and things” — in other words, finding shapes and objects in clouds and objects where none intended to exist and perhaps turning them into stories or songs or just letting your mind wander.

He follows that with the title track “Two Saviors” and “Halo Light,” two more songs that continue the soft and gentle style.

The Texas native has a tender voice with a bit of a yodel and a resplendent way with words. After three songs from Two Saviors, Buck treats us to a new song written in quarantine titled “The Undae Dunes,” once again drawing pictures in the sky, this time of rockets and perhaps an astronaut and a love, all from the back of a Cruiser.

He says that “The Undae Dunes,” is dedicated to the woman he loves who may be an astronaut.  She’s applying to the space program.  That’s pretty fascinating in and of itself.

I enjoyed this chill Tiny Desk/Van set.

[READ: April 10, 2021] Pobby and Dingan

I had never heard of Ben Rice or this story until one of his other stories was in a New Yorker issue from 2001.  I enjoyed that story and when I looked him up, I saw that he had written this story. And nothing else!

Which is weird because this story

was joint winner of the 2001 Somerset Maugham Award and shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. It has been made into the 2006 film Opal Dream, a 2010 play for children by Catherine Wheels Theatre Company and a 2012 play The Mysterious Vanishment Of Pobby & Dingan for Bristol theatre company Travelling Light.

Perhaps he decided to leave on a high note.

The book is a novella (about 90 easy-to-read pages) set in the opal mining community of Lightning Ridge in New South Wales.  That’s over 400 miles from the nearest big city (Brisbane).  So while I don’t know if it’s in “the bush,” it’s certainly not suburban.

Lightning Ridge is apparently the opal capital of Australia.  Much like during the American gold rush, prospectors flocked to Lighting Ridge to try to get rich.  This story is about one such family.  The dad, Rex, is the prospector, the mom has followed him here from England.  She clearly misses her old life (they refer to her as Pom and her mother as Granny Pom).

The narrator is Ashmol Williamson, a ten or so year old boy.  But the story is about his sister Kellyanne.

He thinks that his sister is a fruit loop.  Because she is old enough to be going to school but she refuses to admit that her imaginary friends Pobby and Dingan are imaginary.  She talks to them constantly.  It drives Ashmol mental. (more…)

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Ministry / KMFDM / Front Line Assembly (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 17, 2021) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again] [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Depeche Mode, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Front Line Assembly, Igorrr, KMFDM, Ministry, Montclair, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Rammstein, Wax Trax!, Wellmont Theater on April 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 17, 2021] Ministry / KMFDM / Front Line Assembly [rescheduled from July 18, 2020; moved to October 17, 2021]

indexThis show was moved to April which seemed reasonable at the time.  I see now that it has been pushed back to October which actually seems optimistic.  I am very bummed to see that KMFDM is no longer on the tour, as They would have been a great opener.  I like Helmet, but I think KMFDM would have been more fun.  If I’m going to one of these two shows (Montclair being the other one) it would certainly Montclair.

I’ve been a fan of Ministry for decades.  I even liked the first album With Sympathy (and listen to it now more than their hardercore stuff).  But when Land of Rape and Honey came out, it was the most intense thing in the world. It was incredible.

They put out a series of great heavy albums, although by 1999’s Filth Pig either I stopped enjoying it or they just weren’t as good.

So I guess it has been two decades since I cared about Ministry.  However, Al Jourgensen and his band keep touring and, since I’ve seen Slayer now, I thought I should see what a ministry experience is like.

I wanted to go to their show in 2018, (I was really interested in seeing opening band Igorr) but the date just didn’t work for me.

Although I hadn’t yet gotten tickets for this show, I was looking forward to this retro bill.

I liked KMFDM more in theory than actually listening to them–I have one album I think). But I always appreciated them (especially the joke that their initials stand for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode–actually it is Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, “no pity for the majority”).  Only one guy is still in the band, but I’d be curious to see what their proto-Rammstein show would be like.

Front Line Assembly was one of the few bands on the industrial label Waxtrax that I never really got into.  I liked many bands on the label, but really never had much exposure to FLA (in the days before you could listen to things online).   I’m curious what 1980s industrial music sounds like in 2020.

Now that I see that the show is also going to be at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, I will definitely try to get to that one instead.

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Steve Martin–“Seventy-Two Virgins: Virgins in Paradise” (New Yorker, January 21, 2007)

Posted in Coronavirus, Deafness, Funny (ha ha), Justin Beiber, Muslims, New Yorker, Quarantine, Religion, Sex, Sexism, Steve Martin, Taylor Swift, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on April 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: JUSTIN BEIBER-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #182 (March 17, 2021).

When Taylor Swift did a Tiny Desk Concert it was HUGE news–the biggest pop star in the world at the Tiny Desk?

I assume at one point Justin Beiber would have made a similar big deal (even if this one is a home show and just a stream like any other). I didn’t even know he was still making music.  So imagine my surprise to hear that the album that these songs come from went to number 1 and that he is the youngest artist to have 8 number one records.  Who is buying Justin Beiber records?   I have no idea.

Especially now that he’s all tattooed up and sleazy looking.

Of course, it’s very likely that I don’t know anything he has done, because I really didn’t know what he sounded like.  He plays four songs here.

“Holy,” another song from Justice, opens this set without the presence of guest Chance the Rapper.

“Holy” is a slow acoustic song (the acoustic guitar from Julian McGuire sounds great).  His musicians are from We the Band.  This is a catchy pop song for sure–the holy holy holy, hold me hold me hold me part is a nice touch.  I like the addition of the record scotching from DJ Tay James in the middle.

But why is he always grabbing his crotch?  Especially the way he grabs it, like he has to pee.  It’s really disconcerting and seems like an unconscious reflex at his point.  It looks particularly weird with his big baggy clothes on.

For “Peaches” he heads over to the keyboard.  Julian McGuire picks up the electric guitar and shows how good he is.  The opening piano melody is slow and pretty.  I really like this song except that the lyrics are so unnecessarily crass.  Why have such a pretty song and yet have your call and response lyrics be so rude

I got my peaches out in Georgia (oh, yeah, shit)
I get my weed from California (that’s that shit)
I took my chick up to the North, yeah (badass bitch)
I get my light right from the source, yeah (yeah, that’s it)

And good lord he repeats the chorus so many times.

Bieber plays the slow piano solo as the scotching begins and then keyboardists O’Neil “Doctor O” Palmer takes over and plays a really groovy melody as the outro to the song.

“Peaches” will exist in a significantly different form when Bieber drops his new album, Justice, on Friday — the track will feature guest vocals from GIVEŌN and Daniel Caesar

For “Hold On” he moves away from the keys.  I prefer him standing in front of the keys because he looks so awkward when he’s just standing there, hunched over and crouching.

The song has pretty echoing electric guitar (Mcguire again).  This song starts out quietly but when it kicks in, what a super catchy song!   It’s got a killer bass sound from Harv and is just  full on bouncer.  This should be huge.   In the middle of the song the band take a verse or two to totally rock out with crashing drums from Robert Taylor as well as ripping guitars and bass.

“Anyone” ends the set as a big old ballad with satisfyingly quiet synths and backing vocals.  This is a really pretty song, but it would work so much better if he didn’t look so scuzzy.  But once again the band totally rocks the end–a big jam that is really awesome once JB stops singing,  McGuire get a ripping solo and the band turns the song into a funk jam with some cool bass and drums and the samples kicking in.

[READ: March 31, 2021] “Seventy-Two Virgins”

Comedy pieces are often funny when they are timely.  I’m not sure what was going on in 2007 that Steve Martin wanted to make a joke about Muslim martyrs enjoying 72 Virgins.  I do recall hearing about that closer to 9/11, but maybe something else new had happened?

I’m not willing to look this up.  How does one even searching for 72 virgins?  But the context is that it was widely believed that Muslim ‘martyrs’ enjoyed rich sensual rewards on reaching paradise.

So without having 72 virgins in the zeitgeist, what’s it like to read this?

Well, this is basically a kind of play with every virgin getting a line.

(more…)

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Ministry / KMFDM / Front Line Assembly (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, April 16, 2021) [rescheduled, rescheduled again] [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Depeche Mode, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Front Line Assembly, Igorrr, KMFDM, Ministry, Montclair, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Rammstein, Wax Trax!, Wellmont Theater on April 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 16, 2021] Ministry / KMFDM / Helmet / Front Line Assembly [rescheduled from July 18, 2020; moved to October 16, 2021]

indexThis show was moved to April which seemed reasonable at the time.  I see now that it has been pushed back to October which actually seems optimistic.  I am very bummed to see that KMFDM is no longer on the tour, as They would have been a great opener.  I like Helmet, but I think KMFDM would have been more fun.  If I’m going to one of these two shows (Philly the other one) it would certainly be this one.

I’ve been a fan of Ministry for decades.  I even liked the first album With Sympathy (and listen to it now more than their hardercore stuff).  But when Land of Rape and Honey came out, it was the most intense thing in the world. It was incredible.

They put out a series of great heavy albums, although by 1999’s Filth Pig either I stopped enjoying it or they just weren’t as good.

So I guess it has been two decades since I cared about Ministry.  However, Al Jourgensen and his band keep touring and, since I’ve seen Slayer now, I thought I should see what a ministry experience is like.

I wanted to go to their show in 2018, (I was really interested in seeing opening band Igorr) but the date just didn’t work for me.

Although I hadn’t yet gotten tickets for this show, I was looking forward to this retro bill.

I liked KMFDM more in theory than actually listening to them–I have one album I think). But I always appreciated them (especially the joke that their initials stand for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode–actually it is Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, “no pity for the majority”).  Only one guy is still in the band, but I’d be curious to see what their proto-Rammstein show would be like.

Front Line Assembly was one of the few bands on the industrial label Waxtrax that I never really got into.  I liked many bands on the label, but really never had much exposure to FLA (in the days before you could listen to things online).   I’m curious what 1980s industrial music sounds like in 2020.

Now that I see that the show is also going to be at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, I will definitely try to get to that one instead.

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David Sedaris–“Tasteless: Quantity dining” (New Yorker, September 3, 2007)

Posted in Benin, Cigarettes, Claim Jumper, Coronavirus, David Sedaris, Essays, Food, Funny (ha ha), New Yorker, Quarantine, Shirazee, Sting, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on April 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: STING-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #183 (March 22, 2021).

Sting starts this Tiny Desk Concert with a duet on “Englishman/African in New York” which is exactly how he started his previous Tiny desk Concert back in 2019.  In fact, since this is a duet, I wondered if I had accidentally cliked on the wrong concert.

But the previous Concert was a duet with shaggy and this one is a duet with Shirazee.

During the pandemic, Beninese pop star Shirazee adapted his own rendition of Sting’s classic “Englishman in New York” into “African in New York.” His version made its way to Sting, who loved it so much that he asked Shirazee to lend his voice to his Tiny Desk (home) concert and record for his new Duets album.

I never loved this song, but I’ve always liked it.  But I really like the way it has taken on a life of its own with these new duets.  And the “African in New York” parts shine a new light on the song and show its universality.

Shot in a lounge in NYC where Sting’s presently recording another album, these two gentlemen share a touching moment between songs, expressing their mutual admiration and discussing the sheer joy about a simple concept – performing in a room together after 12 long months of isolation and virtual collaborations.

Sting comments about how the song has had multiple lives: a Jamaican in New York, a Somalian in New York and now a Benin man.  Shirazee says, “Benin man in New York, I should have said that why didn’t I say that?”  When Shirazee thanks Sting, he replies, I’m always delighted when artists take the template I’ve written and make it better made it different.  Shirazee thanks him again and then says, and now I can’t wait to get a free Sting concert.

Sting jumps into a stunning acoustic performance of “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” another one of his many classics. The timbre of his voice conjures a sense of carefree familiarity, reminiscent of times with more levity and peace.

He sounds really good and definitely has fun vamping at the end of the song.

His finale, “Sister Moon,” is a gem from his 1987 solo album, Nothing Like the Sun, that rarely gets performed live.

I don’t know this song, but it sounds really good, just his voice and his resonating guitar.

[READ: March 31, 2021] “Tasteless”

The September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker contained several essays by their writers about the subject “Family Dinner.”

This is one of David Sedaris’ really funny essays.  There’s so many great lines.

He starts by saying that he was promised that when he quit smoking his sense of taste would remarkably improve–like putting on a pair of glasses that are your prescription.

But after six months he’s having no luck.  However, he was never an attentive eater.  He’d thank his mom for the fried fish and she’d say it was chicken or even veal.

She might as well have done away with names and identified our meals by color: “Golden brown.” “Red.” “Beige with some pink in it.”

In addition to not tasting things, he says he is a shoveller.  As if he were a prisoner, encircling his plate to fend off the others. (more…)

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They Might Be Giants: 30th Anniversary Flood Show (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2021)–[rescheduled date rescheduled again]

Posted in Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, They Might Be Giants, Union Transfer on April 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 15, 2021] They Might Be Giants [rescheduled from March 13, 2020 and September 8, 2020; moved to March 22, 2022]

indexThis show was originally scheduled for march 2020 and it now being rescheduled to March 2022.  It’s hard to believe that it will be two years.

So, with no opening date in sight, this is where we ask you for a big favor. Without a doubt our biggest expense has been refunding tickets for shows with new safe dates in 2021/2022.  The They Might Be Giants show has been officially moved to March 10 2022! With a date this far out, it ensures there will be no issues with TMBG touring and most important – we are near guaranteed to have a safe and normal show (finally!)

This was one of the first shows that was postponed because of the coronavirus.  The new date was scheduled very quickly and, as it turns out, too soon.

Now, like most shows, it is being pushed back about a year from its original date.  Boy I hope it holds out.

I am still very much looking forward to it.  Don’t give up on us yet, Johns!

March was going to be a very busy concert month for me.  This was to be the first of four shows in five nights.  This show was going to be for me and S.–a night of They Might Be Giants performing Flood!

It turned out to be the first of dozens of shows cancelled or postponed by the coronavirus.

Obviously, my main concern is for everyone’s safety, including the bands!

My selfish concern though is that once the shows are rescheduled that all of these shows will be scheduled on the same day!

Let’s hope the rescheduled dates also do some social distancing.

tmbg

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Donald Antrim-“A Man in the Kitchen: Parents divorce ad his father’s interest in cooking” (New Yorker, September 3, 2007)

Posted in Alcoholism, Cigarettes, Cooking, Coronavirus, Donald Antrim, Drinking, Essays, Gourmet, Hot Tuna-and-Mayonnaise Casserole, Lardo, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Parenting, Quarantine, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, Xavier Omär on April 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK-XAVIER OMÄR-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #181 (March 15, 2021).

Xavier Omär has a fantastic voice–one that I thought was rather unexpected given his appearance.  He’s a pretty big guy and seems like he’d have a deep resonant voice, but his voice is really soft and high.  And powerful.

He’s also had a pretty interesting career.

Omär’s career began in Christian music under the moniker SPZRKT, before he moved into secular R&B and hip-hop. Through his first couple of projects and work with Seattle DJ and producer, Sango, the 27-year-old singer’s heart-on-sleeve approach quickly created a buzz.

He says that the whole band is from San Antonio Texas.

Xavier Omär decided to turn his Tiny Desk home concert into a whole Texas affair. Initially, Omär wanted to recreate the look of the Desk: “I wanted to kind of bring the feeling of Tiny Desk back, so I had booked a library,” he said. Ultimately the library didn’t work out, but Rosella Coffee and Wine in his home base of San Antonio proved to be a great match for his sound–spacious and airy.

“Like I Feel” opens with some grooving bass from Korey Davison and wailing sax from Kevin Davison.  Josh Greene adds some big drums fills and guitarist Billy Ray Blunt Jr. plays some wailing leads.  Xavier trades off lead vocals duties with Talyce Hays whose voice is also terrific.

During “Blind Man” he throws in some rapping–a softer cadence, but to good effect.  There’s some response backing vocals from Jay Wile while Alana Holmes and Hays fill in the backing vocals.   Lyrically the song is kinda lame (sweet, but lame), but there’s some cool musical moments–splashes of four notes and more than a few tempo changes.

For good measure, he plays the song that put him on the map, 2016’s “Blind Man.” This is undoubtedly Xavier Omär’s best live performance on record.

I had no idea that this was his breakthrough song.

He tells a quick story (it’s amusing) about how he wishes he was at the beach.  But even if he can’t get there he can think of the the rhythm of the waves and the “SURF.”  He says he could enjoy the surf because his woman has that “splah” (?).  Its’s a pretty ripping song with, again, surprising tempo changes.  The song has moments that I would say come from Frank Zappa’s oddball melodies.  Ands once again, the drums are massive.

He says “So Much More” is the wedding song of the year.  It features Justin Crawford on keys and is a much more mellow song than the other.  It also allows Xavier to really show off his voice.

The Alamo City resident and his cohorts orchestrated a charismatic and vocally rich show. The set list perfectly depicts the emotional arch of if You Feel. He’s on a clear path to greatness in R&B music.

It was probably a smart move to go secular.

[READ: March 31, 2021] “A Man in the Kitchen”

The September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker contained several essays by their writers about the subject “Family Dinner.”

Donald Antrim starts this rather sad memory with an amusing story.

His father learned how to cook when his mother served “hot tuna-and-mayonnaise casserole with potato chops as a decorative garnish.”

This story had become Received History in the family: “Baked mayonnaise! I had to take action!”

Soon cooking had become his father’s second full time job.  He taught literature at the University of Virginia and then he would drive around buying all of the food stuffs for their meals.  He would travel to different markets for different foods and he was an early adopter of the Cuisinart. (more…)

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie–“Real Food: Writer’s childhood dislike of garri, a Nigerian staple” (New Yorker, September 3, 2007)

Posted in Black Coffee, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi, Coronavirus, Egusi, Essays, Food, Garri, New Yorker, Nigeria, Quarantine, South Africa, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on April 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BLACK COFFEE-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #180 (March 11, 2021).

Black Coffee is such an excellent name.  And yet the music he creates is nothing like what I was expecting.

Born in Durban and raised in the Eastern Cape in Mthatha, Black Coffee’s subculture of soulful … house music has always been about love. It’s a form of sonic escapism that provides a sanctuary for all beings, regardless of race, age, or gender. Therefore, it’s only fitting that Black Coffee rocks a tee embossed with “I Heart You” across his chest.

Black Coffee stands behind a big mixing board as he generates most of the sounds.  Although next to him is Pansula on the drums.  And Pansula is possibly the real star of this set, with his persistent and powerful rhythms.

Black Coffee, a figurehead of the global South African dance movement, is known for his undeniable DJ sets and AfroHouse anthems that (under normal circumstances) light up dancefloors around the world. He brings that same feeling to his Tiny Desk (home) concert, but with a unique configuration: live instrumentation.

Kicking off the set is “You Rock My World” featuring Soulstar, a classic dance joint from his Africa Rising album whose convergence of pulsating percussion, a calming melody, and the sultry vibes of Soulstar’s voice feels like a spiritual palette cleanser.

It starts with drums and drums and more drums from Pansula.  Black Coffee’s samples provide most of the music with some fleshing out from Nduduzo on the keys.  Then Godfrey Mntambo plays some sultry sax as the lead melody.

The backing singers (Musa Nhlapho, Sandisiwe Sishuba and Bonokuhle Nkala-Mtsweni) start cooing and then lead singer Soulstar sings.

“Flava” is up next with lead vocals from Una Rams and Tellaman.  My favorite part comes at the end of each verse as Black Coffee thumps the bass and Pansula echoes with cymbals.  The gentle keys on this track provide some nice high end amid all the bass.

“Flava” and “Wish You Were Here” come from his new LP, Subconsciously, whose litany of special guests — include Diplo and Pharrell.

“Wish You Were Here” is a bit more mellow and includes a much wider array of samples–guitars, flutes and crashing sounds.  Singer Msaki has an Annie Lennox vibe and sounds really great.  Nduduzo plays a jazzy piano solo as the song nears the end, which adds a fun new component to this house song.

[READ: March 31, 2021] “Real Food”

The September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker contained several essays by their writers about the subject “Family Dinner.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains that when she was little she hated garri, a food served for lunch every day except Sunday in her house.  Her mother was concerned that she was not eating at all and sat with her to watch her eat the garri.

It was made in various ways, with different ingredients (primarily yams) but was always cooked, stirred or pounded in a mortar until it became a soft mash: “it was jokingly called ‘swallow,’ because one swallowed the morsels without chewing.” (more…)

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Anthony Lane–“Choke: Writer’s first time eating an artichoke” (New Yorker, September 3, 2007)

Posted in Anthony Lane, Artichoke, Cameroon, Coronavirus, Essays, France, Lobster, New Yorker, Nigeria, Quarantine, South Africa, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, Togo on April 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: COMING 2 AMERICA, SOUNDS OF ZAMUNDA-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #179 (March 10, 2021).

I thought that this name meant that it was the soundtrack for the movie.  But no, this release highlights

the new compilation Rhythms of Zamunda: Music Inspired By Coming 2 America.

Tenuous connection to the movie, perhaps, but the results are great:

six artists representing four countries in Africa perform a megamix of selections from the project. Each performance from the pan-African project bridges the distance between the countries and cultures.

The songs jump back and forth to different locations

In addition to the sweeping range of the showings, the look of each set is stunning: vibrant, opulent colors; meticulous Tiny Desk shelf recreations; gorgeous African artifacts; and a few nuggets dedicated to King Akeem of Coming 2 America.

The majority of the songs are filmed in South Africa.

South Africa’s Nasty C — who’s arguably the biggest rapper on the continent — opens the set and trades verses with Tiny Desk alumni Ari Lennox on “Black and White.”

The set looks like the original Tiny Desk Room with cluttered bookshelves.  I like the lines where Nasty C pauses before saying the last word.  Ari Lennox’s vocals are really great.  Fundile “FD” Dlamini plays drums while Christer Kobedi and Vaughan Fourie play keys.

He then sends us over to Cameroon for some Afrobeats flavor, courtesy of Locko and his stripped-down version of “Magnet.”

His book-filled room is also a nice backdrop.  I enjoyed this song more than the previous because of all the instrumentation–drums (Marc Nzana), guitar (Benjamin Mouangue Bossamo), cool bass (Joel Parfait Ondigui) and even a violin (Martien Oyono).  Brice Essomba fleshes out the songs on the keys.

We then circle back around to South Africa to hear from R&B newcomer Ricky Tyler.

It’s the same set as Nasty C, but this time with a full band.  There’s deep bass from Tendai “Shoxx” Shoko and soft guitars from Innocent Mzizi.  The keys from Zādok float throughout grounded by drums from Tino “Beatboy” Damba.

From there, we head north to Nigeria to do the “Jiggy Bop” with Alpha P.

Alpha P is lounging on a zebra bean bag chair.  Then his hype man (David Osang?) gets everyone going and then comes a seriously funky bass from Ayodele Agbabiaka Oluwasegun.  Rocking guitars from Best Amakhian and rocking drums from Ebenezer Olayinka really power this fun dancey jam.  Olabiyi Julius sprinkles melodies from the keyboards throughout.  The backing vocalists (Agu Chinyere Gift, Tosin “SDK” Tade, Femi Jacobs) keep the song flowing nicely.

Then it’s back to that original set as

we take one last trip to South Africa for award-winning dance DJ and producer Prince Kaybee’s “Fetch Your Life,” featuring Msaki.

I haven’t heard of Msaki but her voice is really beautiful.  Prince Kaybee lays down a thumping ground track (while wearing one glove to twist the knows).  There’s a cool guitar solo from Zādok (who returns to show off his multi-instrumental skills) and gentle keys from Fundile “FD” Dlamini.  Like with the other songs, the thumping bass, this time from Katleho Motlatla really grounds the song.

Finally, Togo duo Toofan dares us not to dance to “Yé Mama.”

This song has a great island feel with lots of percussion (Therence Egue), grooving bass (Martin Lawson) and vocals from Barabas and Masta Just in French.  When Lionel Adjovi plays his guitar licks you can really hear where Paul Simon got the tunes for Graceland.  Paul Akakpo keeps the sound full on the keys while Sylvie Akpedjo and Lamabara Paul provide backing vocals.

This is a pretty great introduction to music from all over Africa.

[READ: March 31, 2021] “Choke”

The September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker contained several essays by their writers about the subject “Family Dinner.”

Anthony Lane was in France on a student exchange program.  The family he stayed with was wonderful.  Until they dropped an artichoke on his plate.  It steamed with the promise of pure malice.

Can you imagine a food less appetizing than one that possessed: “bristles, bottom and choke.”

The family watched him in bemused delight as he tried not to look like a an irredeemable hick–not knowing what to do with this hand grenade

He watched Madame rip off a spiky leaf, dip it into butter and then eat the inside.  He followed suit and felt like Tigger eating one of Eeyore’s thistles. (more…)

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