I will use this Frida Kahlo quote for personal use and change the word "wings" for "ears," because it is true that music can transport you to far-away places.
So, like I promised last week I have made a new playlist. This week's theme is all about traveling!!! I was pretty down the last couple of days because I want to travel and I want to meet different cultures and people and eat different kinds of food and pretty much just be able to say "Yeah, I've been there!" But, since it is impossible for me to do so right now, I decided to have a world traveling experience with music. In this playlist you will hear music from all over the world...well...mostly from the other side of the globe! Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts because our journey is about to begin.
[click pictures to view videos]
Bizness by Tune-Yards: Our traveling starts in New England! Painted faces, feathers on uniforms, and amazing haircuts….is this how kids from the future will look like? I sure hope so! The Tune-Yards is a one-woman project that started back in 2009, by Merril Garbus. This video is seriously one of the coolest things I’ve seen. It actually reminds me of a story my mom told me of how when she was little and still in school. Her teacher would sometimes leave the classroom to do who knows what, and this one time, her teacher left and all chaos broke loose! All her classmates started clapping and dancing and, of course, her being my mom she stood on top of a desk and started dancing too! Now, you can imagine what came next...yep, the teacher returned and she got caught haha but not before she was able to fit in a little bit of fun in her curriculum. This song sort of encapsulates the same topic…if life is boring..why not stand up and make it your own?
What You Know by
Two Door Cinema Club: We make our next stop in Ireland. This trio is everything I love about European indie bands which is that distinctive guitar/bass sound! If you haven’t noticed it, listen to any song by Foals and you will hear it! I got a hold of this song merely by accident (like most of my music) while getting asked some questions by a random person. So this band came up and I decided to look them up, first song I played on YouTube was exactly this one and that was it…I was hooked. I don’t think I even blinked once during the video, the choreography and editing are just incredible. You know what I like about these guys? I like that they can ACTUALLY sing! I was watching their live performance on “Later with Jools Holland” and they’re just as good as the recorded track!
Come Closer by
Salma Agha: When I started looking up information about this song, I couldn’t believe it was recorded in 1984. Sure, it has that retro feel but…to be honest..which song doesn’t these days? So with this song we go all the way to Pakistan and India. Pakistan because Salma Agha was born in Pakistan and India because this is where she developed a very successful career as a singer and actress in the 80s. This song is the perfect combination of smooth, sex appeal and bilingual lyrics. I wonder if this song was very risqué in the 80s!
Tekitoi by
Rashid Taha: Now, from India we move over to France. Les Jeunes de Paris is a new skit from SNL, Miley Cyrus and Emma Stone have both played the part of French teens in a café who suddenly get into a crazy French stand-off! This song was actually featured in the episode hosted by Miley Cyrus (don’t ask me why I as watching) and it was the most memorable part of the night. Rashid Taha is the man behind the masterpiece. He was born in Algeria but he and his family immigrated to France in the late 60s. So as you can see, that probably caused the inspiration behind the combination of French lyrics with rustic sounds.
Bombay by
El Guincho : Our musical traveling now takes us to Spain, Ole…okay that was cheesy, but this song has nothing cheesy about it! In fact, one of the most original things about this video is the PBS-like introduction at the beginning, where it talks about "the cosmos...what is or what will be." I decided to include this song in this compilation because a “latin-based” song is a MUST in everyone’s iPod, especially a song one like this one! I was extremely surprised when I found El Guincho’s album at my local library (one of the reason why I heart Albuquerque). Just by listening to his music you would never think he is from Spain, he has more of a South-America type of vibe that includes marimbas, drums, and that electronic sound that a lot of new artist from Chile are starting to use.
WARNING: this video has moderate nudity in it and sexual references, so…don’t watch it at school or anywhere people might gasp!
El Blu del Ping Pong by
Rita Indiana Y Los Misterios: few years back we saw Ivy Queen opening the road for other women in the urban contemporary style, now the turn belongs to Rita Indiana Y Los Misterios. This artist from the Dominican Republic has been opening the doors for other artists in the cumbia/merengue rock style and has also reached the American public and shown that a woman can make it BIG! Rita Indiana caused quite a stir in her country when she admitted to being homosexual, so you see...any woman who can fight her way through all of society's taboos and make amazing music is a Goddess in my book! This song is one of my favorites from her album El Juidero, if you have a chance to listen to all of it I strongly recommend you to do so. She mixes a lot of common latin beats in cumbia, merengue and even a little bit of reggeatton with modern rock rythms.
Sun Hands by
Local Natives: All journeys must end, and what a better place to end up than sunny California, home of the Local Natives. I must truly thank my brother for introducing me to this band, especially this song. I swear, every time I listen to this song I go into this trance-like state where I close my eyes and just let my body move! it is just perfect, the drums, the lyrics, the singing…everything! The Local Natives remind me of a more up-beat version of the Fleet Foxes (another band that you have to check out!). They do not have an official video for this song yet, which turned out to be great because you can feel their energy when they’re playing live, they REALLY feel their music which is something all great artists must do but sadly only a few actually do!
