My year in photos

My brother, a friend from Taft High School and a representative of the European Union.



Mmmm. Guinness is good for you.



Helen got married in 2006 and she makes me happy.



There's no place like the Scottish highlands.
There's no place like the Scottish highlands.
There's no place...



Homophobia 1



Save Betty, always.



Never, ever forget what you are thankful for.




Emily looks fantastic in London. I can't wait for her to come back.


















Have you ever seen a portal?



The club for people who hate clubbing.



Protects against sunburn and premature skin ageing - And water resistant!



Lady V and Red.





Homophobia 2



















I heart Tuscana!



The truth is that sustainability implies something quite different depending on which side of the bulldozer you are on.



The Killoffs: In the Nation's Service, and in the Service of All Nations.



When everything in the world seems scary, I remember how much I like paella and it does not seem so scary any more.



What I really like about Anshuman is that he knows how to handle his mulled wine.



Italy is a very beautiful country, I think.




I ain't no queer.

Me neither.


















O Tannenbaum!



I wish my name was Zinedine Zidane.



What more could one be hungry for?



You can't always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you just might find, you get what you need.



And my favorite picture of 2006...

Untitled

I like living in London!

I missed Ba Cissoko with Amadou & Miriam on Monday, but got to see him last night at a bookstore in London. Free!

Got tickets for February 15 in London with Femi Kuti.

Ali Farka Toure

"Bathing in Black Gold"

I miss being in Azerbaijan for my regular bath in crude oil.

The therapeutic benefits are a product of natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory agents that seep into the skin

And they re-cycle it too so it is environmentally friendly. What could be better?

In the Face of History

The Barbican is my new favorite London spot, again. Great photo exhibit on now through January, In the Face of History. Really loved the slide show by Annelies Strba, which was a series of photos from her family over four generations. Makes me want to do a collage with all the out-of-focus, over-exposed photos that I have tucked away in my attic at home.

The Strba show is actually online here, but not the same as the exhibit at the Barbican, which had three projectors and music. It felt like I was watching someone's dreams. Not the same on the computer.

Gilles Peterson Worldwide Podcasts

Gilles Peterson Worldwide now online with podcasts. And, of course, still playing a weekly show on Radio 1.

Love Gilles!

Insects

It strikes me that you better watch out, or the insects will get you.

That's just what I think.

I welcome your opinion.

And, yes, that is art, if you cared to ask.

Electric Griot Land

Not exactly the kora as I have know it, but Ba Cissoko makes me wiggle. Here is a full BBC concert at WOMAD, which doesn't sound as good as the CD, but it is still good. For the newer stuff, here's a few samples from the new CD, Electric Griot Land. I shall see him in a few weeks when he performs with Amadou and Mariam in London at the Roundhouse.

More Mali, that's my motto!

I suppose I need to do more than listen to NPR and post links to music I like, but I can't pass sharing this one. Salif Keita is certainly not a young Malian rocker, but the interview is insightful. I love hearing musicians talk about what their music means to them, particularly as it relates to change in them and their society. I saw him in London last winter and it was a fantastic show. First numbers were acoustic, lulling you into thinking he was old. But he was bouncing around the stage like a 10-year-old (with 50 people from the audience) by the time it was over. It wasn't a good show to be trapped in the balcony.

Not art!

I went to go see the five-story slide last weekend. Clearly I was a moron for going on Sunday afternoon as I had to stand in line for 1.5 hours for the small slide. There were more kids in the Tate Modern than I had ever seen before, but there should been a mandatory trip through one of the galleries before they could go down the slide. Yeah, that’s a good idea! Force them to see art before play on the slides!

Friday's NPR piece, while trying to be objective, shows that nobody sees the artist value except the woman who is promoting it, thus validating my initial concern that it is just a playground in an art museum. Looks cool and will increase sales in the cafes and shops, but it didn't do as much for me as those white boxes by Rachel Whiteread. Now that was art.

Save yourself waiting in line and just checkout NPR's videos going down each slide. How did they sneak that camera in? Clearly a violation of Tate rules, those cheeky NPR bastards.

Song of the Day (a few days ago)

Nuru Kane was a great find a few months ago when Songlines magazine put one of his tracks on their monthly CD. NPR highlighted him as the song of the day last week, so you can get a sample. Also on my space.

Bad blogger returns (from Central Africa)

Have been very remiss in my blogging habits. Employment and travels to Central Africa will do that to a man.

Have seen many things, but the most amazing shot I captured was in the village of Gralinji Chantier, a artisinal mining village in the center of the Central African Republic. Notice the faces on the dress and shirt of the little boy on the right. A bit difficult to see, but it is basically the opposite of jesus.

Must demonstrate the ability to blog and have a job at the same time!

Peacebuilding music

I got my brother looking out for new North African stuff now! He sent me a good review with clips from Introducing Etran Finatawa. It was on NPR today.

"Silly Countries"

Well, not exactly silly "countries"... It has been said by some that the North Caucasus if difficult to understand. This map and accompanying article make Ingushetia (new home for a friend who just accepted a job there) easy to understand.

If you were a friend of Daghestani National Assembly speaker Magomedsalam Magomedov, what nickname would you give him?

"New" Bob Marley song!

It's been over 25 years since Bob Marley died and I have been part of the mass of admirers for over a decade. (Yes, this blog gets it's name from a Wailers song...)

Albeo recently bought Catch a Fire, not knowing that I already had it. I didn't fully appreciate it, but...there is a "bonus track" that I had never heard on the version that he got here in London!

All Day All Night is infectious and well worth hunting down! I thought I had heard it all, but I was wrong. The CD jacket says "...All Day All Night was recorded during the Catch a Fire sessions and appear on Catch a Fire 2 CD Deluxe Edition released in March 2001."

Desmond Dekker

Obituary: Desmond Dekker

Afropop podcast (and Oumou clip)

I found the Afropop Worldwide website somewhat dated when I first visited a few months ago, but I signed up for their podcast and like the updates. The first I got was very informative on North African music and poetry. Like everyone, I am starved for good insight on music from North Africa.

I also found a old gem - here's a video clip of Oumou Sangare from a series of shows in New York in 2004. I dream of seeing her live someday.

Bird Flu Dance

War, disease, etc., etc., etc.

I like the idea of chasing away fear with dance, in this case, the bird flu dance.

I haven't seen the dance, of course, but the story reminds me of a few musical/social change heros who protest through art. They can be angry, not too moralizing, and enjoy themselves immensely. I admire that!

I have read that even the police used to love Fela Kuti's diatribe against the police and military in Nigeria, Zombie.

Zombie no go go, unless you tell [him] to go
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell [him] to stop
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell [him] to turn
Zombie no go think, unless you tell [him] to think
...
No brains, no job, no sense

What to do? What to do?

Having a hard time setting priorities today? Molly.com offers an interesting question.

Iron, lion, zion...

Is it ever too late to be (re)inspired by Bob? Never.

Festival in the Desert

I have heard from a returned Peace Corps friend that this getting a bit expensive, but the Festival in the Desert looks amazing. And it sounds fantastic! Great music quality and fantastic interviews on the link, which is from the 2003 festival. Aside from the great stuff by Ali Farka Toure and many others, Robert Plant, with back up from Touareg musicians, has NEVER sounded better singing Whole Lotta of Love! (At 35:30 on program.) I love the BBC and I want Andy Kershaw's job!

To get more in the mood for the festival in 2007, this is a good one by Tinariwen who made their first instruments from oil cans and broom handles.

I am going!

Farewell to the Lion of Niafunke

Oh, we will miss Monsieur Ali Farka Toure! I am from Maine in the US, I am a rural boy and not really a musician myself, but I loved!!! the music of this man! A dear friend sent a tape of Talking Timbuktu to me while I was living in Russia from 1996-98. I fell in love with the sound. Even while it was dreadfully cold and living amid the surreal post-communism, the sounds were amazing to me. (Coincidentally, my Russian teacher of two years used to tell me that the "best time of her life" was when she lived and taught Russian for two years in Mail during the cold war.) From 1998-2000 I lived with three returned Peace Corps volunteers (and one Malian) who had lived in Mali for two years. They shared more and I was hooked, not only West African blues, but West Africa.

I will never, ever forgive myself for living in London and missing this performance. Luckily, they made a CD, but it isn't the same.

I never understood his words, but I think I got his message.