Afrobeat Revival

Pablo (Bongohead) Yglesias and I put together a couple of compilations for UK label the Rough Guides. The first one, "Afrobeat Revival", hits the streets March 24th. It features music from Tony Allen, Antibalas, Femm Nameless, Kokolo, and many more. The second volume will be released later this year.


We'll be having a release party (or two) this spring. Details to be announced later.

clandestino playlist 2/23...carnival/mardis gras/vampisoul

it goes like this: (artist/ song/ album/ label)

today we played music from brasil and new orleans, in respect to carnival and mardi gras. we also highlighted a few tracks we like from recent vampisoul releases. that section will most likely continue next week! thanks for listening...

brasil:
luciene loyce e oxum pandá/ abada a oxum
airto moreira/ it's time for carnival
dionne warwick/ caravan/ aquarela do brasil/ arista
chico science e nacão zumbi/ rios, pontes e overdrives/ da lama ao caos/ caos



madlib/ shango/ speto da rua/ mochilla
dom um ramão e ithamoora korax/ mas que nada/ lake of perserverance/ irma
airto moreira/ samba de flora/ samba de flora/ montuno
bossa tres/ imprevisto/ v/a--brasilian beats 5/ mr bongo
luis bonfá/ apache talk/ jackaranda/ ranwood
toni tornado/ juizo final/ B R 3/ odeon



jorge ben/ o filósofo/ africa-brasil/ phillips
jorge ben/ errare humanum est/ a tábua de esmeralda/ phillips
trio mocotó/ nagô/ v/a--black rio/ strut
amon tobin/ bridge/ permutation/ ninja tune

new orleans:

rebirth brass band/ do whatcha wanna/ do whatcha wanna/ rounder
wild magnolias/ smoke my peace pipe/ wild magnolias/ barclay
roger & the gypsies/ pass the hatchet/ v/a--saturday night fish fry/ soul jazz
red beans & rice revue/ we've been runnin'/ 45/ uni-sound
meters/ mardi gras mambo/ fire on the bayou/ reprise
ernie k-doe/ here come the girls/ v/a--new orleans funk/ soul jazz
eddie bo/ check yr bucket/ in the pocket/ vampisoul



lee dorsey/ give it up/ v/a--saturday night fish fry/ soul jazz
cyrille neville/ gossip/ v/a--new orleans funk 2/ soul jazz
salt/ hung up/ 45/ boot
dr john/ big chief/ gumbo/ atco
smiley lewis/ real gone lover/ 45/ boot
allen toussaint/ last train/ southern nights/ reprise
snooks eaglin/ one room country shack/ new orleans street singer/ folkways
RIP snooks...



the mohawks/ ride yr pony/ the champ/ vampisoul
the psycho pixie puck/ terra plain/ v/a--groovedelia 2/ vampisoul
joe bataan/ the bottle/ king of latin soul/ vampisoul
there's so much i didn't get to today!!!!
thanks dj B-COMING for the ride home!!

clandestino airs live every monday 230-430pm (eastern time) at WMUA.org.

promos to:

WMUA 91.1 fm
attention: andujar
105 campus center
umass
amherst, MA
01003
USA

A Favorite Record Cover : Lightnin' Rod's Hustlers Convention

This record could actually qualify as post for both "Favorite Score" and "Favorite Album Art" though it's not actually a soundtrack to a filmed movie instead more of a concept record, the narrative, atmosphere and execution are so rich you don't need yr eyes to see this record come to life.

The record features members of The Last Poets 'rapping' non-stop telling the story of a literal Hustlers Convention in the style of an old radio show complete with sound effects and backed by an absolutely perfect Kool and The Gang (among others.) Gunshots interrupt phased out wah-funk jams mixed to the back as Lightnin' Rod tells the story of the arrival at the convention, the hustlers interaction, car chase, shootout and the shit hitting the fan. There are some other perfect conga laced mellow near-jazz tunes that weren't played by Kool and The Gang.

For those who need something to look at while the record spins David Willardson delivered an absolutely amazing air brushed gate fold depicting the well dressed chest of a money-fisted hustler named Lightnin' Rod. Vibrant Blue, Green and Red hold the image firm while the jewelery sparkles; crisp funk, jazz and soul intertwine to create a perfect backdrop for Lightnin' to spin his yarn over. On the inside a smirking Lightnin' Rod, seen through a series of concentric circles, stares out at you as he spreads across both sides of the gate fold flanked by the liner notes, a really beautiful and balanced piece of design for a really well balanced and pretty unique record.

The record also comes with a four page book with all the lyrics and some literal illustrations that don't do much for me, but it's not much concern since I've never grown tired of staring at the cover art.

Worth noting that the cover's style may be most recognized from artwork by the likes of The Tubes, Kansas and Tron and was drawn from the overzealous high gloss air brush artist culture of Los Angeles of the 70's and has been thoroughly documented in an amazing book published by Picture Box Inc called "Overspray" that is definitely worth checking out.

clandestino playlist 2/16...for joe cuba!!!!

thanks much to my guest djs...bongohead and 13yr old dj fruit loop!! also, dj B-COMING came thru at the late hour and blessed us with some of his selections! between photographers in the studio, djs everywhere, prank calls coming in, and celebrating the musical life of joe cuba, we really had a lot going on. thanks to all who came with respekt!

playlist 2/16...dedicated to the late joe cuba

it goes like this:
(artist/ song/ album/ label)

joe cuba sextet/ ritmo de joe cuba/ recuerdos de mi querido barrio/ tico

joe cuba sextet/ give us a chance/ hecho y durecho/ tico

joe cuba sextet/ psychedelic baby/ my man speedy/ tico

joe cuba sextet/ la calle esta durisima/ hecho y durecho/ tico

cheo feliciano w/joe cuba sextet/ el ratón/ la herencia/ fania



joe cuba sextet/ do you feel it?/ bustin' out/ tico
since reissued by vampisoul

joe cuba sextet/ el pito/ we must be doing something right/ tico
an all time jam...this one's been with me since i was a kid

joe cuba sextet/ so what?/ comin' at you?/ seeco

joe cuba sextet/ bang bang/ bang bang push push push/ tico

joe cuba sextet/ pud-da-din/ bustin' out/ tico

joe cuba sextet/ elube chango/ cocinando la salsa/ tico
thanks to bongohead for sheding some light on the legend

joe bataan/ mestizo/ king of latin soul/ vampisoul

joe bataan/ johnny's no good/ king of latin soul/ vampisoul



joe bataan/ rap-o clap-o 2008/ king of latin soul/ vampsioul
some songs from the brand new joe bataan. recorded with los fulanos, this gives updates on old songs

and now we turn over the controls to dj fruit loop:
common/ universal mind control/ universal mind control/ geffen

gipsy/ chavale romale/ v/a--gypsy garden 2/ lola's world



filastine/ b'tallah (featuring rabah)/ dirty bomb/ soot

x plastas/ dunia dudumizi/ v/a--rough guide to tanzania/ world music network
tanzanian rap

the bamboos/ rawville/ rawville/ tru thoughts
thanks fruit loop for bringing the music

dj B-COMING brings it in here:
shirley bassey/ spinning wheel (dj spinna rmx)/ a riot on old street/ BBE

augustus pablo/ aquarious rock/ v/a--aquarious rock/ pressure sounds

cedric "im" brooks/ give rasta glory/ v/a--100% dynamite/ soul jazz

cymande/ bird/ second time around/ janus



ahmed abdul-malik/ el ghada/ east meets west/ RCA victor

fernando gelbard/ alevacolariea/ didi/
thanks B-COMING for those jams

funkadelic/ the goose that laid the golden egg/ toys/ westbound

clandestino airs live every monday 230-430pm (eastern time), hosted by andujar at WMUA.org send promos to: WMUA 91.1 FM attention: andujar 105 campus center umass amherst, MA 01003 USA

Joe Cuba, RIP

NYC salsa band leader Joe Cuba dies at 78


from an AP article:



By Laura N. Perez Sanchez, Associated Press Writer
SAN JUAN — Salsa band leader Joe Cuba, dubbed the "Father of Latin Boogaloo" for weaving a fluid, bilingual mix of musical influences, died Sunday in New York City, a member of his group said. He was 78.

The musician, a friend and contemporary of the late salsa giant Tito Puente, died from complications of a persistent bacterial infection at Mount Sinai Medical Center a day after doctors disconnected his life support, said Cheo Feliciano, a longtime friend and singer in the Joe Cuba Sextet. Cuba had fought the infection for several years.

Born Gilberto Calderon in 1931 in New York to a family from Puerto Rico, the band leader and conga player helped change the sound of salsa in the 1960s, Feliciano said.

Until then, most popular salsa had been played by orchestras, he said. But Cuba led a six-member band with three singers who also played percussion and danced a routine.

"He had a dynamic group," with a signature vibraphone-fronted sound that "caused a craze because it was different," Feliciano said. Albums such as 1966's Bang! Bang! Push, Push, Push incorporated elements of salsa, Latin jazz and R&B and featured lyrics in both English and Spanish.

Cuba, whose musical career took him on world tours, was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and became director of the International Salsa Museum in New York's East Harlem.

In his 70s, he was confined to a sick bed for three years after contracting a staph bacterial infection while being treated for asthma at a hospital. After care in hospitals, a nursing home and at his New York home, he resumed performing in 2006.

Feliciano said he spoke to Cuba by telephone from Puerto Rico just before Cuba died.

"I told him that God has a mission for all of us, and when we've come to the end of the mission, we have to go to the place we came from," said Feliciano, who debuted as a singer in the sextet in 1957.

The band leader's remains are expected to be interred in Puerto Rico.

Film Soundtrack Favorites

Yeah...I'm hitting you all up for your favorite movie soundtracks or scores. Be it sentimental or purely artistic, let us know what has moved you in a cinematic fashion.





Send your suggestions and comments to: bombasticos@yahoo.com

Check Out Our Movie Site

Becky started up the DejaView site for all things cinema-related. Watch for my soundtracks article. Speaking of which, if anybody has any favorite movie soundtracks, let me know. Contributions accepted.

To visit the DejaView blog click here.

Out of the Past - a Noir Appreciation

Author: Theo Wulff
Contact: beshef2000@yahoo.com

I am obsessed with old black and white films, in particular those which fall under the shadowy, bleak category of film noir. These films are pretty much all I watch these days. The ghostly, fog-heavy landscapes and half-obscured faces that fill these films provide a dream-like visual aesthetic that is almost entirely missing from color films. Bright, cheery color lacks the depth and ambiguity offered by black and white cinematography: Ted Turner’s contemptible campaign of colorization providing perfect illustration of this, as the deeply impressionistic and allegorical compositions of black and white were lost with the garish, gaudy substitution of color. For me, the indelible image of doomed, three time loser Richard Widmark in Night and the City (a title that is as representative of the noir aesthetic as any), scurrying across the sinister, shadowy streets of London’s criminal underground, decaying, desolate tenement houses threatening to swallow him whole, is far more powerful and iconic than anything I could hope to find in a slick, CGI-laden blockbuster at the local faceless multiplex.



These films don’t just appeal to me visually, though many has been the time I have paused my DVD player to marvel at the carefully crafted composition of a particular shot, as haunting and evocative as any painting. The acting and dialogue in films of this era are also, in my opinion, far superior to their modern day counterparts. Watching Humphrey Bogart in a film like The Maltese Falcon, tossing off caustic, cynical one-liners with sneering aplomb is a true joy. With his haggard countenance and world-weary eyes, Bogie’s authenticity is unimpeachable: he doesn’t just play a role, he lives inside of it.

Robert Mitchum is another one of my favorites. An intriguing combination of hard-drinking macho man, intellectual proto-beatnik, and sensitive soul, Mitchum is the epitome of cool. His acting style is unique, as a laid-back, almost indifferent demeanor belies a smoldering intensity that is put to wonderful effect in films like Out of the Past. After amoral, doe-eyed Jane Greer protests that she didn’t take the forty grand she is accused of stealing, he intones in his syrupy, somnolent baritone, “Baby, I don’t care.” (That phrase is also the title of Lee Server’s wildly entertaining 2001 biography of Mitchum.)

In 1955, Mitchum would star in one of the finest American films ever made, the gothic, surreal Night Of The Hunter, in which he played a demonic, scheming preacher with “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed across the knuckles of his hands. The film is a startlingly original piece of cinema, owing as much to German expressionism as traditional Hollywood narrative. Of course it was a box office failure, ending the directorial career of stage icon Charles Laughton almost before it began.

There is a priceless photograph taken during the conclusion of Mitchum’s 1948 trial for marijuana possession, in which he is standing between co-defendant Lila Leeds and high-powered attorney Jerry Giesler. Leeds and Mitchum have just been found guilty, and their responses are caught by a reporter’s camera. Leeds stands mouth agape, shocked and dismayed. Giesler, his hands on his hips, glowers and grimaces. Mitchum has a delighted smirk on his face, reacting as if the judge has just told him a rather risqué joke, rather than pronouncing him guilty of drug possession.



The femme fatales that inhabit these flickering, fatalistic films are as memorable as the male leads, luscious glamour girls whose style and grace easily outclass the actresses of today, who are primarily a dull, unrefined lot. You’d never see Grace Kelly stumbling around in sweatpants or drunkenly flashing her crotch outside a nightclub, that’s for sure. On screen, they were mesmerizing. Once you have seen beautiful, beatific Veronica Lake smile, her luscious locks cascading onto her shapely shoulders like a honey blonde waterfall, you won’t soon forget it. Gorgeous Gene Tierney, as the coldly calculating murderess in Leave Her To Heaven, even manages to make overbites look sexy. Then there is the iconic image of Barbara Stanwyck, clad in towel and cheap blonde wig, alighting on a staircase in Double Indemnity, a silky half smile playing across her crimson lips. This enticing vision holds more erotic possibility than any number of interchangeable, gratuitous Hollywood romps in the sack. I would rather watch Rita Hayworth’s virtually skin-free striptease in Gilda, as she slowly, deliciously pulls off her long white gloves, than sit through Demi Moore’s disrobing in Striptease any day of the week.

The dialogue in film noir titles is also first rate. Crackling, razor sharp prose flies from the sneering mouths of the actors, reflecting the pessimistic, dour attitudes of many Americans in the post-war era, who had become disillusioned and weary, their happiness sapped by the horrors of WWII. Even the dullest and most uninspired films from this era still have a least a few redeeming moments of snappy patter, the kind of verbal repartee that is sorely lacking in today’s cinema, where well-written dialogue seems to have taken a back seat to mindless violence and gratuitous sex. In the 1940s, with the restrictions of the Production Code, sexuality could never be shown outright, which led screenwriters down a far cleverer path, as they were forced to use subtle, witty metaphors to get the message across. For this viewer, the sexually charged, double entendre-loaded exchanges between Bogart and smoky voiced Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep provide much more of an erotic thrill than the cold, clinical coupling of Angelina Jolie and her latest on-screen conquest. Witness this wonderful exchange from Double Indemnity, a verbal ping-pong match/mating dance between insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred Mac Murray) and conniving housewife Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck):

Phyllis: Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by tomorrow evening about eight-thirty. He'll be in then.
Walter Neff: Who?
Phyllis: My husband. You were anxious to talk to him weren't you?
Walter Neff: Yeah, I was, but I'm sort of getting over the idea, if you know what I mean.
Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.
Walter Neff: How fast was I going, officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around ninety.
Walter Neff: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Walter Neff: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Walter Neff: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Walter Neff: That tears it.



These are films I invariably view alone, as I have long since given up attempting to convert my friends to black and white aficionados. My suggestions of Detour or DOA are always met with eye-rolling derision and vetoed immediately, and I am then forced to sit through the latest Adam Sandler opus. This essay does paint an admittedly dire portrait of modern cinema, and I would like to make it clear that I am not dismissive of the entity as a whole. There are current directors like Wong Kar-wai, David Lynch, Bela Tarr and Aki Kaurismaki that create original, memorable films, but such auteur seem to be few and far between these days. The films that I treasure and am captivated by come from a bygone era that most of my peers are indifferent to or unaware of, a reality that I have reconciled myself to. To invoke the title of a Robert Mitchum film again, these pictures come from Out of the Past, a past that I am forever fascinated by.

And here's Rudolph Maté's "DOA"...

Hammond Madness: Paolo "Apollo" Negri's Favorites

I asked Paolo "Apollo" Negri, funky young Italian Hammond grinder, to list his favorite Hammond players of all time. Here's what he came up with:

Hi there Andujar and thank you for the "thanks" in your blog, much appreciated!! :-)

Well, my fave players.... Brian Auger (of course!) both with the Trinity and Oblivion Express,



Charles Kynard and Jimmy McGriff more than everything





but even Gregg Rolie (for his great taste) and Jon Lord (very aggressive)...






I think this is my faves list.. :-) Thanx again A, hope to hear from you soon, cheers!

paolo



Thanks much, Paolo! Check out the new album from Fred Leslie's Missing Link, titled "Fat Lip" (out now on HammondBeat) and featuring Paolo's funky organ sounds. Nice version of the "Pinball Number Count", as well as a couple of Joe Quarterman covers. Also check the Link Quartet. For photos of his instruments check his Myspace page.

Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, RIP

Note: This article was written by Spencer Leigh and taken from the UK Independent. Used without permission, with love and respect for the subject.

Better late than never, perhaps, but recognition and fame for the various members of the Buena Vista Social Club was, nevertheless, more than a little tardy. It was the American guitarist Ry Cooder who brought some of these fabled Cuban musicians out of retirement for a famed collaboration in 1996, and a subsequent 1997 album, Buena Vista Social Club. Such key members as Compay Segundo (vocals, guitar), Ruben Gonzalez (piano), Ibrahim Ferrer (vocals) and now Orlando Lopez (bass) have since died. Lopez, at the age of 63, was a comparative youngster in the band.

Because of the strained political relationship between America and Cuba since the revolution in 1959, Cuban musicians were not allowed into the U S, and as a result, their talents had been overlooked. In 1996, Cooder and the owner of World Circuit Records, Nick Gold, visited Cuba with the intention of making an album with local musicians. Cooder selected his musicians carefully and the results achieved global acclaim. The musicians, Lopez included, toured the world and appeared in Wim Wenders's documentary film of the same name.

Orlando Lopez was born into a family of musicians in Havana in February 1933. They played in symphony orchestras, jazz groups and dance bands around Cuba, and Orlando himself was to play many forms of music. His grandfather, Pedro, had passed his talent for bass-playing to his father, Orestes, and his uncle, Israel, who was known as Cachao (hence "Cachaito", "little Cachao"). In the late 1930s, the two brothers added some African rhythms to the local music and effectively laid the foundations for mambo music.

As a child, Orlando would watch his father and his associates at work and although he initially wanted to play the violin, his aunt Coralia encouraged him to follow in the family tradition. The first composition he learnt was "Isora", written by his aunt for the Isora Society Club, which she ran. Lopez's first composition was named "Isora Infantil". He worked for various jazz groups and then, in the 1950s, became a bass player with the National Symphony Orchestra and took classes with the Czech bassist Karel Kopriva.

He began teaching bass at the Guillermo Tomas Conservatory in the Sixties and continued to do so for over 30 years. "In a sense, music making is all listening and watching," said Lopez. "As a bassist, I think of myself as a pillow, always supporting everything that is happening and always there for the soloists to fall back on."

Cooder was impressed with Lopez's powerful tone and talent for improvisation. He became an integral part of the Buena Vista Social Club project and the title tune for the album was a slinky instrumental written by Orestes. With 7m copies sold, the album is the biggest-selling world music album to date.

Lopez played on many albums following Buena Vista Social Club, as well as making his own album, Cachaito, in 2001. Guests included Hugh Masekela on flugelhorn; the pair also wrote "Tumbanga" together. The album also featured compositions by himself and his uncle Israel, who died in 2008. Lopez played UK dates to promote the album including an appearance at the Royal Festival Hall which collected impressive reviews.

Spencer Leigh

Orlando Lopez, bass player: born Havana February 1933; died Havana 9 February 2009.

click here to listen to a track from Cachaito's album!

clandestino playlist 2/9

it goes like this:
(artist/ song/ album/ label)

sabu martinez/ burned sugar/ burned sugar/ melltronen
a fantastic album of '73 swedish radio tapes w/ bernt rosengren



henrí guedon/ negro lucumi/ modern afro rhythms/ comet

tony allen/ when one road close.../ NEPA/ wrasse
this one's dj 12XU's request. thanks for coming thru!

novalima/ libertá/ coba coba/ cumbancha

bio ritmo/ bionic boogaloo/ biónico/ locular

la excelencia/ salsa dura/ mi tumbao social/ self released

ray santiago/ alma africana/ lluvia con salsa/ el abuelo
great '88 LP from this amazing talent, and a (now) classic tune!

orquesta dax pacem/ la tumba/ v/a...the salsa dura show/ hardsalsa

luisito quintero/ skinny papa/ percussion maddness/ MAW

karamanduka y melcochita/ machu pichu/ acabo con lima huyo pá NY/ sonoramico
insane 60s bugalu...brought to my attention by señor bongohead

mauricio smith/ el green hornet/ bitter acid/ mainstream

kokolo/ please, please, please/ heavy hustling/ record kicks
thanks so much to everyone who helped make kokolo's sat nite show possible, it was great!!

neville grant & the upsetters/ sick & tired/ lee perry-give me power/ trojan
scratch produced classic version of this old jewel popularized by fats domino

milton henry/ dem a devil/ who do you think i am?/ wackies



justin hinds & the dominos/ travel with love/ travel with love/ nighthawk
big shout-out to omar, the roots fanatic!!!!!

delroy wilson/ funky broadway, stevie medley/ v/a--studio 1 funk/ soul jazz

wilson pickett/ knock on wood/ the wicked pickett/ atlantic

dynamic tints/ package of love/ v/a--eccentric soul: twinight's lunar rotation/ numero group

bobby womack/ across 110th st (accoustic demo version)/ stop on by/ EMI




dayton sidewinders/ slipping into darkness/ let's go down to funkville/ philly soul archives

symtec & wylie/ gimme some of what you got/ 45/ shama




fred leslie's missing link/ pinball number count/ fat lip/ hammondbeat
thanks to paoli apollo negri for sending this out...brings me back to my tv-watching youth!

mary lou williams/ credo/ 45/ jazzman

earl van dyke/ runaway child, running wild/ 45/ soul
these...are the funk brothers.

isaac hayes/ tough guys/ tough guys soundtrack/ enterprise
the late great

the ventures/ shaft/ theme from shaft/ UA

alice russell/ crazy/ pot of gold/ little poppet



"clandestino" airs live every monday 230-430pm (eastern time) at WMUA.org hosted by andujar

thanks for listening and of course all the folks who called in! and definately thanks for checking out kokolo last sat nite. more to come!! promos to:

WMUA 91.1 fm
attention: andujar
105 campus center
umass
amherst, MA 01003
USA

Honorable Mention: Conan Does Hyaena

Posted by: Kastle

Big ups to exWestern Mass Gutters Axe-Squelcher Bill Shafer for having his frighteningly wonderful place "Hyaena Gallery" featured on Top things to do in Burbank by the Conan O'Brien show this week.

So, when you next find yourself in the Pacific Time Zone, pop yr head in Hyaena!

and bring back a little something for your family to enjoy :)



Click here for the Hyaena Gallery Myspace page, and here for the Youtube colection.

Hyaena Gallery is at:
1928 W. Olive Ave.
Burbank, CA 91506
Tel: 1-818-972-2448 Hours of Operation
Mon - Sat = 11am - 7pm
Sun = Noon - 5pm

Unit 7 at RendezVous in TF

Unit 7

Watch percussionist, Dave Meauski, holding it down on the congas

This Friday. Probably around 9pm. Check it.
@The RendezVous in Turners Falls.
Just another reason to kick in it in the FC

Emmanuel Jal at Umass

Free Event@UMass:

In celebration of Black History Month, the University Programming Council presents Emmanuel Jal, a southern Sudanese hip hop artist and a former child soldier. The artist, author, and orator will speak about his life as a child soldier for the Sudanese People's Liberation Army and his escape to England. Emmanuel Jal is the central figure for the internationally acclaimed War Child documentary, a portion of which will be shown during the performance. A book signing of Jal's recently released book, Warchild, will accompany the event. Join us for an educational and informative event that sheds light on international issues and events not typically covered in everyday news.

Review Flora: Moneywort

Bacopa Monierii: One week before leaving Greenfield for good, i sourced the aquatic flora of my dreams. For a long time I have only known her as a powder'd brown dust. Every medicine has a living form, and alive is how i want to know my medicine. If not for Brahmi, I may have readily lost my marbles. I asked if she could live in my garden room. The answer was yes: in an aquarium. Naturally, I headed towards the great Black Jungle of Turner's Falls, source of poison dart froggies and varietal venus/diana carnivores, who DID NOT have the Bacopa. Guess they're more terra-semi-firma junglee. Black Jungle is the greatest, so if they didn't have brahmi- who would? i put searching aside. Until. Angels were singing when Brahmi found me looking at hamsters in a little petshop next to the abandoned church. They were invincibly cute. I asked the pet shop boy more questions than is polite. I turned to go and was surprised to see the entrance to a secret room. FUll of aquatic plants. I did not want to ask too much more of the shopkeep but: was there bacopa monierii? He kindly told me there would be some in March and it could be mine. and I can have a whole tankful if that's what i need (he didn't see why not.)

You boob!!!

I haven't spent as much time as others parusing Youtube, but I've certainly found fascination every step of the way.
As easy as it may be to just load some videos onto a blog, i am really into these:

First up...Ginger Baker was in Nigeria off and on in the 60s and 70s where he built a studio, played with Fela Kuti, and jammed with all sorts of maniacal people. This is the Afrocollection, who became Salt (the band who toured the USA and Europe but never recorded), and were a sort of pre-cursor to Air Force. The keyboardist is Jonny Hastrup and the guitarist is Berkley Jones (of BLO).




Here's a 1969 jam by one of my all time fave bands, the dudes who delivered LSD from ghetto to ghetto...the mighty Funkadelic:






If you want to see slamming salsa dura the way i like it check this grainy B&Wer with Colombian allstars, including the genious Fruko! He's the bass-player. Watch right till the very end for the wildstyle dancing...





And now for some silly shit...Ethan of State Shirt turned me onto this great Bert & Ernie do MOP video...





Here's Sanmukh's favorite...it's Hurra Torpedo. Thanks to Brookie the Crookie for pointing us to it.




And we save the final word for Statler & Waldorf!!!!

clandestino playlist 2/2...KOKOLO!!!!

Kokolo will be playing a FREE(!!!) concert this coming saturday night (2/7) at the Bluewall (Umass Campus Center--just steps from the parking garage). The doors open at 7:30. DJs Andujar and Victor Signore will spin vinyl before the band hits.
There will also be activist/info tables available. For info on any of this please contact: bombasticos@yahoo.com

it goes like this: (artist/ song/ album/ label)

kokolo/ donkey/ fuss n fight/ afrokings
kokolo/ kokolo/ the chinatown tapes/ demo
kokolo/ please please please/ heavy hustling/ record kicks
kokolo/ root to the fruit/ more consideration/ engine
kokolo/ our own thing/ love international/ freestyle
kokolo/ the grunt/ heavy hustling/ record kicks
kokolo/ congo bongo/ love international/ freestyle
kokolo/ democrazy/ more consideration/ engine



kokolo/ watching you/ the chinatown tapes/ demo
kokolo/ let compassion be your fashion/ love international/ freestyle

kokolo's ray lugo/ live interview




kokolo/ the magnificent seven/ love international/ freestyle
kokolo/ mind power/ heavy hustling/ record kicks
kokolo/ talk-action=zero/ fuss n fight/ afrokings



kokolo/ more consideration/ more consideration/ engine
kokolo/ love international/ love international/ freestyle



kokolo/ soul power/ heavy hustling/ record kicks
kokolo/ candela/ more consideration/ engine
kokolo/ while i got the microphone/ love international/ freestyle




The Kokolo concert is being presented by WMUA, as a thank you gift to our listeners.
Transcription of the interview coming soon!

"Clandestino" airs live every Monday afternoon 230-430pm (Eastern Time) at WMUA.org.

Album Cover Eye Candy

After hearing about this album cover thing from Andujar and then seeing the contributions, I couldn't resist throwing a few into the mix (well, ok, more than a few).

Enjoy!

~ Victor

If you like what you see here... You can hear some of these sounds by checking out

"Tabula Rasa", on 91.1FM WMUA every Wednesday from 6-8pm.

One of the finest prog jazz rock bands to come out of 197o's France.

Ripping noisy jazz with tape manipulations with Thomas Chapin leading the mayhem.

Sonny Sharrock makes a guest appearance!

Robert Fripp's first band before the looming prog monster of King Crimson.

The photo was taken by American photographer Arthur Fellig aka, Weegee, circa 1940's.

Cricket anyone?

A classic Atlantic recording and cover.