Sebastien Tellier – La Ritournelle
A new favorite song accompanied by an excellent video.
Appropriate for today, this version even has a bunny in it. Sadly, I think it gets eaten.
Saint Patrick’s Day
San Patricio Battalion Flag
It can be argued that St Patrick’s Day is like a local holiday in my neighborhood, despite the fact there is no sizable Irish community in this area. Here in Lincoln Heights, it’s common to see people wearing shamrock paraphernalia all year round. As was recently pointed out to me, stores in Lincoln Heights will stock green colored clothing more frequently as it tends to sell more quickly than other colors. Shamrocks magically grace the walls after long weekend nights, spreading the luck of the Irish throughout our little hood.
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Unwanted surprises
Despite my lack of religiosity, I tend to be a somewhat superstitious person which I blame on my Mexican Catholic upbringing. For that reason things that shouldn’t bother or scare me, like ghost stories, the dark and forests, sometimes do.
For instance, I recently purchased two mid-century nightstands from a thrift store here in Lincoln Heights. I kept these nightstands in my garage for a little while, then moved them into my house and when I went to clean them, I made an unfortunate discovery: an old doll. Not just any doll, a doll that looked like some kind of voodoo priestess (see photo above). Okay, so I know it’s unfair of me to call her “voodoo” when she’s wearing the traditional dress of the Caribbean but it’s not the kinda doll you want to find randomly in an old piece of furniture.
When I first pulled it out of the drawer, my boyfriend said out loud what I had been reluctantly thinking: “oh, oh brujeria!†He said it as a joke of course, but it planted that tiny seed in my mind that grew into irrational thoughts. Why was the doll still in the drawer? Why didn’t the workers at the store discover it? The doll, which looks like it’s from the 1950s is remarkably preserved. Has it been stuck in the drawer all this time?
Finally, a tiny bit of rational thought broke through my tense, muddled mind and I mustered the courage to pull the doll out of the drawer and stick it in my cabinet of knick-knacks. It’s something I should have done weeks ago but didn’t have the nerve. I hate being superstitious and silly but it’s one part of myself that will probably stick with me for a very long time…whether I like it or not.
[I wrote this a week ago and now the doll doesn’t seem so scary but kinda cute, huh?!]
Favorite Video of the Week: Boney M
Rasputin-Boney M (another version here)
Despite being super popular in Europe during the 70s and 80s, German disco group Boney M were never all that famous here in the US. I first heard about them many, many years ago from a young Iranian co-worker who would talk about them endlessly and was shocked that they were never well known in the U.S. She had asked me to find her some of their music but despite my music collecting skills, I had no luck in locating any of their albums. Finally, I found some of their music, in of all places, on a Vietnamese mixtape I bought in a small Chinatown music store. Soon afterwards, I discovered one of their albums in my dad’s extensive record collection. Like my co-worker, I was hooked! Boney M’s music was catchy, infectious and even delivered social messages with their disco beats. Most of their songs are about folk heroes, rebels and historical events.
Their videos and performances have been an extra treat. The lead singer’s Michael Jackson like moves, along with his profuse perspiration lead one to believe certain substances might have been involved in fueling his on stage energy. See for yourself:
Daddy Cool-Boney M
Children of Paradise is another favorite and this is what it was like to go to school in the 80s, sorry if you missed out.
Happy Leap Year Day!
As I was driving around this morning, I noticed an unusually high number of cars with their lights on. When I pointed this out to my passenger, he claimed this is a Leap Year Day tradition. He’s been known to pull my leg, so I’m asking all of you, have you heard of this practice? Any other Leap Year Day traditions I should know about?
Favorite Video of the Week: Boards of Canada
Music is Math-Boards of Canada
There was a very brief time, a few years ago, when I felt overwhelmed by sadness and despair. Rather than try and make myself feel ‘better’ I decided to go with the flow and wallow in it. Surprisingly, wallowing in despair is much more enjoyable than faking happiness or denying such overwhelming feelings. In any case, I feel it is part of my tradition and my cultural right as a woman of Mexican descent to experience emotions in a very obvious way. Those telenovelas characters weren’t created from scratch, right? The perfect accompaniment to this bit of self indulgent dramatics was a weekend listening to Boards of Canada’s album Geogaddi while reading Chris Ware’s visually beautiful but tragic story of loneliness and alienation, Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth. Something about the combination of this music and story was just the right salve for a sadness like mine.
“Hasta Luego…”
Jessie Tellez Garcia, 1922-2008
My grandmother, Jessie T. Garcia who I mentioned frequently on this blog and who I just recently congratulated on reaching the age of 85, passed away unexpectedly last Friday. Her heart slowed down until she was gone. Despite the pain of her last few days, she managed to keep up the sense of humor she was notorious for. I find it fitting that her goodbye to me was a small chuckle, a wry (but sweet) smile and the send off of “hasta luego!”
She took me in during my teenage years, let me be a rebel and a brat and still had grilled cheese sandwiches for me and my friends when I came home from school. As wild as I was, I think she enjoyed my crazy assortment of punk rock friends, she was very rarely judgmental. She loved company and conversation and charmed most anyone she met. She reveled in the challenge of making me clothes from random scraps of fabric and half baked designs. Our house sometimes was a mini hostel, and it never seemed to bother her. In fact, she entertained herself by playing practical jokes on our guests. Like the time the band Chumbawamba was passing through LA playing a gig at Jabberjaw. My grandma woke up to find half the band crashed out on the living room floor. I told her they were a band on tour from England. I came out of my room a little later to find her sprinkling water on them. I asked what was she doing, she replied “you said they were from England, I wanted them to feel like they were back home!” and proceeded to say “it’s raining, it’s raining!” The band didn’t forget this, and a few years later when they had their big breakout hit, Tubthumping, you know the one “I get knocked down but I get up again” they dedicated the song to her at their LA concert after hearing she recovered from a black widow bite.
I will miss her terribly.
Her memorial website:
www.chimatli.org/garcia
Best of 2007
Best found trash on the streets of Lincoln Heights
I’m a little late but I’d like to present my ‘Best of’ for 2007…
Best Live Show: Manu Chao and Radio Bemba at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and Stereototal at El Rey (tie)
The best part of Manu’s show was the after party with Radio Bemba: impromptu bulerias and palmas, some Django/Manouche guitar playing, fun sing-a-longs, Leila. Drunken revelry all around. Stereototal: ditto, drunken revelry all around!
My favorite album of the year: The Knife-Silent Shout
So what if this album was released in 2006? It was my most listened to record in 2007. To be honest, I didn’t really like the album when I first heard it but it’s one of those that kinda grows on you. It goes beyond the usual electronic stuff out these days, I think it’s the bizarreness of the vocals: tweaked, modulated and at times sounding almost demonic. The structure of the songs too are very different with hooks coming in at strange places. And on top of all this, it sounds as if they have a thing for Native American music. I guess I could go and read up on all of their influences instead of speculating but the music speaks for itself.
The Best Album I Bought This Year: Son Antologia de Mexico: Huasteco
I’ve been working on a Son Huasteco post since my return from Mexico but for some reason I’ve neglected to finish it. Violins, fiddles, not sure how they are referred to in the context of Son Huasteco, all I can say is they are magnificent – listening to them gives me chills. Son Huasteco moves me in a way so few types of music can…So for now, a sample from this wonderful album:
La Rosita-Trio Renacimiento Huasteco
Favorite Song(s) of the Year: Robyn-Konichiwa Bitches, Jape-Floating, Caribou-Melody Day, Maps-You Don’t Know Her Name
Another tie! Konichiwa Bitches was a Favorite Video of the Week as well as Maps and Caribou was mentioned in the Electro-Psych post. Jape is a newcomer from Ireland, his hippie-ish, anthemic ‘Floating’ provided repeated listenings of aural joy.
Jape-Floating
Best Flamenco of the Year: Excavated Shellac’s Early Flamenco & Angelita Agujeta’s Bulerias (private juerga, Tujunga, June)
JW put together an awesome collection of Flamenco tunes collected from 78s, meticulously cleaned up, digitized and researched. Modern Flamenco wishes it could sound so good!
Dancing bulerias while a member of the Agujetas clan sings for you, how much more Flamenco can one get?
Best Party of the Year: Bookfair after party at Matt’s house in Oakland.
Cumbia dancing, comrades, hufu, discussions of the economic/cultural situation in China, 60s French Pop and drunken revelry all around!
Best Art Exhibit: Edith Abeyta’s Salty: A Tale of Three Sorrows
Tiny Sumo wrestlers clinging to sides of cups, a room made from the pages of Marie Antoinette’s diary, piles of delicately crafted ceramic bones, graffitied hankies, textual embroidery and an assortment of lovely handmade artifacts. Her work is always an inspiration. Check out Marshall Astor’s photos.
Best Blog of the Year: Chanfles!
Y’all know! His Eastside 101 posts on Metroblogging LA put the uninformed on check and plus, he has his own distinct style and voice (who hasn’t bitten his photo essay style?) that’s finally getting recognized.
More ‘Best of’ to come…
Favorite Video of the Week: Follow your dreams
CSS in Coronet, London “Music is My Hot Sex” 12/15/07
Little over a year ago, myself and the dancing Christmas tree girl in this video were co-workers in a crappy warehouse doing a tedious and ever increasingly frustrating job. Now she gets to dance around a stage in silly costumes to sold out audiences around Europe and the US. I am so happy for her! Seriously, way to go!
It’s 2008, time to follow your dreams!
Happy New Year!
An excerpt from Eduardo Galeano’s Book of Embraces.
The Fiesta
The sun was gentle, the air clear, and the sky cloudless.
Buried in the sand, the clay pot steamed. As they went from ocean to mouth, the shrimp passed though the hands of Fernando, master of ceremonies, who bathed them in a holy water of salt, onions, and garlic. There was good wine.
Seated in a circle, we friends shared the wine and shrimp and the ocean that spread out free and luminous at our feet.
As it took place, that happiness was already being remembered by our memory. It would never end, nor would we. For we are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass, which is something everyone knows, no matter how small his or her knowledge.