Paul Simon - "Duncan"

Giacinto Scelsi - "Pwyll"

Vashti Bunyan - "Swallow Song" & "Train Song"

&

Lourdes Van-Dunem - "Ngongo ya Biluka"

Nothing like some Angolan folk music to brighten your day.

Harlan Pepper - "This Ain't The Country"

 Great young band from Hamilton, ON. Give them a couple of years and they'll be tearing up all over the world.

THIS is Canadian country music!

HARLAN PEPPER - This Ain't The Country from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

Department of Eagles - "In Ear Park" (Studio performance)

Olivier Messiaen- "Oraison" (1937)

The Jackson Five - "Blame it on the boogie"

Linda Perhacs - "Dolphin"

Anne Briggs - "The Time Has Come"

The Wailers - "Soul Rebel" & "Rastaman Chant"

Also:

&

The Wailers - "Selassie is the Chapel"

Healing music.

Flying Lotus - "Do The Astral Plane"

Intergalactic space jam courtesy of Flying Lotus -  resident of Los Angeles, California, USA, Earth.

Headphones recommended.  

The Roots feat. Blu, P.O.R.N, & Dice Raw - "Radio Daze"

A favourite of mine from The Roots' latest album, "How I Got Over" (2010).

Roy Harper - "One For All"

From the 1969 album "Folkjokeopus".

Mahavishnu John McLaughlin - "Peace One"

"My Goal's Beyond" (1970) is the third solo album released by John McLaughlin but his first under the spiritual guidance of Indian guru Sri Chimoy.

While listening:

-       right off the bat, you’re given a challenging ostinato that perpetually ascends in the bass line. Counting your eighths and/or dotted-quarter’s, you’re going to come out with 18/8, divided (in eighths) as so: 3-2-3-3-3-2-1-1. Reinforcing that it’s in a compound meter, the tablas enter at 0:16 and clearly accent every six dotted-quarter’s within the bar:

 

-       while additive and subtractive processes contribute heavily to the rhythmic style of this tune, the overlapping of these patterns creates a rarely realized metric density. While the rhythm section establishes the 18/8 meter (with the bass constantly dodging the compound dotted-quarter accents of the tablas), the tambura (drone instrument) introduces a rhythmic figure that evolves through diminution. Beginning with the bass figure (at 0:09), the drone is played four and a half beats into the measure. The next two bars, the drone is played after four beats. Then, for one bar (0:18), you hear the tambura enter three and half beats in. This continually diminishing figure adds a subtle dynamic intensity to the ostinato pattern which culminates on the ninth measure (0:33) where the first distinguishable melody is presented in the strings (next point).

 

 

-       concerning harmony, it’s quite fascinating what McLaughlin accomplishes in this introduction of 45 seconds. The D-dorian mode is clearly established in the bass line for the whole introduction, but is then superimposed by two violins at measure nine (0:33) that communicate a G-dorian mode in a parallel fourths. To spice it up, in the 11^th measure (0:39), the violins outline a B^b-dorian mode - this time in parallels fifths. Zing!!

 

-       also notice how right before the solo section at 0:45, the guitar takes over the bass line for about 2 bars, and then jumps right into the higher register. I doubt that McLaughlin actually made that leap without a cut in the take, but the effect is quite interesting nonetheless 

 

Richie Havens - "Follow"

I had the pleasure of chatting with Richie Havens a few years back at Hugh’s Room in Toronto where he was playing a show. Known primarily for opening the Woodstock Festival back in 1969, Richie Haven’s ability as a songwriter and performer are quite underrated.

Here is one of my favorite tunes from him, which is also one of the most beautiful folk songs ever written. 

“Follow” (Merrick):

 

Also, instead of watching the awkward family video, dig these wonderful lyrics:

Let the river rock you like a cradle
Climb to the treetops, child, if you’re able
Let your hands tie a knot across the table.
Come and touch the things you cannot feel.
And close your fingertips and fly where I can’t hold you
Let the sun-rain fall and let the dewy clouds enfold you
And maybe you can sing to me the words I just told you,
If all the things you feel ain’t what they seem.
And don’t mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream. 

The mocking bird sings each different song
Each song has wings - they won’t stay long.
Do those who hear think he's doing wrong?
While the church bell tolls its one-note song
And the school bell is tinkling to the throng.
Come here where your ears cannot hear.
And close your eyes, child, and listen to what I’ll tell you
Follow in the darkest night the sounds that may impel you
And the song that I am singing may disturb or serve to quell you
If all the sounds you hear ain’t what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream. 

The rising smell of fresh-cut grass,
Smothered cities choke and yell with fuming gas;
I hold some grapes up to the sun
And their flavour breaks upon my tongue.
With eager tongues we taste our strife
And fill our lungs with seas of life.
Come taste and smell the waters of our time.
And close your lips, child, so softly I might kiss you,
Let your flower perfume out and let the winds caress you.
As I walk on through the garden, I am hoping I don’t miss you
If all the things you taste ain’t what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream. 

The sun and moon both are right,
And we’ll see them soon through days of night
But now silver leaves on mirrors bring delight.
And the colours of your eyes are fiery bright,
While darkness blinds the skies with all its light.
Come see where your eyes cannot see.
And close your eyes, child, and look at what I’ll show you;
Let your mind go reeling out and let the breezes blow you,
Then maybe, when we meet, suddenly I will know you.
If all the things you see ain't what they seem,
Then don’t mind me ‘cos I ain’t nothin’ but a dream .
And you can follow; And you can follow; follow…

Maurice Ravel - "La Valse"

"Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees at letter A (1:13) an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo letter B (2:16). Set in an imperial court, about 1855."

                                                                                    - Maurice Ravel, 1921

Through one of his students (Manuel Rosenthal), Ravel also reveals a thought about his techniques of orchestration:

“In the end, we must try to dupe the listener. He/she must be led astray, made to believe in things to which we alone are privy. If, for example, you wish to assign a certain melodic line to the clarinet, anyone can do that well enough. But, if you wish to seduce the listener, then beneath the clarinet you will put something else, something that the listener will not straightaway notice: only you can know, for instance, the possibilities of pizzicati in the cello. No one will hear them, since you will have placed them pianissimo, underneath the mezzo forte clarinet; but it will be just enough to gently reshape the sound of the clarinet, creating behind it a kind of strange haze, a halo. So, that is how one orchestrates: it is what I call “fooling the listener.”

 

John Mayall - "The Laws Must Change"

The Turning Point has often been labeled as one of the best blues albums of all time, and for good reason. Recorded in the summer of 1969 at the Fillmore East, John Mayall leads one of the tightest, wildest four-pieces in blues history through an hour of relentlessly energetic music.

Strap yourself in for some serious fun.

While listening:

-       notice the absence of percussion in this group, and that how the space it leaves gives miles of room for the other members to explore their dynamic and textural potential

-       give Johnny Almond credit for contributing to both the rhythm and solo sections of the tune thanks to his versatility on both the sax and flute. Supporting the groove for the first two minutes of the tune, he hops on the flute at 2:55 and takes us on one hell of a ride!

-       in a rare instrumental combination, listen to Almond’s flute interweave beautifully with Mayall’s harmonica at 4:30-5:25. I’m not sure if I should be more impressed with Almond’s ability to mimic the timbre of the harmonica, or with Mayall’s ability to keep up with an instrument as comparatively complex as the flute

Other favorites from The Turning Point include: 

"California" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqcqZlFMUYQ)

"Roxanne" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6P-szrdBaA)

"Hard to Share" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HXFcChGn6Y)

John Martyn - "Bless the Weather"

Another semi-obscure singer-songwriter - John Martyn hails from Glasgow, Scotland. Enjoy listening to one of the most mesmerizing sections of acoustic shredding in the history of folk music: 2:50-end.





Good starting points for John Martyn listening:
"Bless the Weather" - 1971
"Solid Air" - 1973

Joanna Newsom - "Ribbon Bows"

Probably the best storyteller since Bob Dylan. No other musician in recent memory has been able to lift me right off my feet and transport me to this beautiful, deserted landscape that presumably exists on this planet, somewhere between the dirt and the clouds. 

 

Tip of the day: buy "Have One On Me"

Donny Hathaway

Not a lot of people know of Donny Hathaway, partly because he only survived until the age of 33, partly because he only released three albums over the course of his life, and lastly, because those three records feature very little of his original music.

Here are two of my favorite tracks from “Donny Hathaway – Live (1972)”, which is a must-have for anyone with an audio playback device.

“Jealous Guy” (Lennon):

&

“The Ghetto” (Hathaway, Hutson)

      * the last two minutes of the song are cut - probably YouTube's fault

Dirty Projectors - Acoustic performance of "No Intention"

I'm not the biggest fan of the album version of this tune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAqmjOER-PU), but when I heard this performance from Sirius radio a few months ago I was floored.

While listening:

- notice the detailed, decorative motions from the guitar in the verse sections. Instead of using material like this for a solo, articulation of a new section, or a climactic build, the intricate motive is used as a secondary melody against the vocals (the primary melody). What David Longstreth is essentially doing is presenting himself as the lead vocalist AND lead guitarist while using the three lovely ladies as an accompaniment. Nice!

- dig the use of the capo on the 8th fret here. He basically transforms his classical into a ukulele.

- check out the density of those vocal harmonies (particularly when all four are in at the same time). The first instance is at 0:34-0:39. This moment sticks out for two reasons; a beautiful double suspension chord is formed by all four voices, tightly secured by consecutive 2nd's held between Angel and Haley; and the pentatonic mode which the song has been built upon thus far is altered by the alto voice, which anticipates the opening of a new window of modal possibilities.

- notice how Longstreth does some swapping of the melody and accompaniment during the chorus. The guitar switches from playing a secondary melody to an accompaniment texture while Angel and Amber (the two highest female voices) switch from accompaniment to secondary melody. You can feel the texture change immediately at 1:12.

- understand that despite the quirky elements of this song, specifically concerning melody, harmony and texture, this is still pure pop music. The proof is hidden in the form: verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus.