Four Things #10
Four things #10..
We are midway through December, and if I'm really honest with you, I'm completely over this year. It was a lot, and I feel exhausted! I tried to do way too many things that all needed to be executed to perfection, and with maximum result. Around this time last year, I made a personal "to-do list 2019", filled with often completely unattainable goals (one of them was: "guest on Gilles Peterson's radio show & play my top ten Pharoah Sanders pieces". Hey, not completely unattainable, but pretty lofty). Surveying that list now, I'm about 1,5 book, an album and a couple EP's behind schedule and I feel very unaccomplished. Surely there must be a better way of managing capacity and expectations in 2020, rather than being extremely tough on yourself. To be kinder and dedicate more time to creating and experiencing beautiful things. To share your knowledge and discard all the (online) clutter that you don't need in your life. Maybe I can put that on my to-do list for 2020.
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Martyn,
Dec 16, 2019
FIRST THING: WILD WILD COUNTRY
Besides "Hey there's this really great podcast ...", possibly the most cringe-worthy way of starting this thing off is: "I am watching this really interesting show on Netflix", but here we are. Because of sheer unlimited bandwidth, the medium of streaming video has the potential to broaden our horizons on a wide range of subjects, perhaps even enhance the important conversations of our time, but often times these "really interesting shows" fall short of that and turn out to be nothing more than extremely dragged out, slightly sensationalist, faux-historical docudramas, not that much more enjoyable than, say, Ancient Aliens. Because of this, I was slightly apprehensive to start watching "Wild Wild Country" on Netflix, about the ascendancy of the Baghwan movement and its settlement in the town of Antelope, Oregon (population: 40) in 1981. Even though I'm not sure this undoubtedly fascinating story warrants six 70-minute episodes, I was captivated by it. The story is historically significant too; extensive media manipulation, cult behavior, questions of separation of church and state and domestic terrorism are all extremely current subjects. Give it a try.
SECOND THING: CATCH AND KILL
I always thought Ronan Farrow's work in the #metoo movement was very impressive. As kind of a "celebrity" himself it's easy for his thorough reporting work to be misunderstood as Farrow putting himself at the center of the story, but I feel he has always gone out of his way to emphasize that he is merely a messenger, and that the real heroes of the story are the women who have decided to come forward and tell their story. While the podcast version of his book "Catch and Kill" (the title refers to the practice of tabloids to 'catch' a story and not publish it to protect those in power) feels like a very well executed, captivating thriller of a listen, his admiration for the courage of Rose McGowan and others shines through as well. A very, very good listen.
THIRD THING: SECOND CHORUS OF THE WASHING LADIES
One of the more unlikely songs to ever find its way into the sets of some of the biggest techno DJs is THIS strange new wave / proto-techno crossover track, the "Secondo Coro delle Lavandaie", the Second Chorus of the Washing Ladies, from the opera La Gatta Cenerentola by Roberto De Simone from 1985. Originally an adaptation of an old fable about a cat (The Cinderella Cat), this modernist opera in the Neapolitan language (spoken in the South of Italy) debuted in Napels and was later performed in the US and the United Kingdom, to mixed reception. The "Second Chorus" is the scene where the washing ladies sing to the driving beat of them scrubbing clothes on their washboards, the result is a strange but very danceable piece with a militant vocal, that sits neatly with proto-Detroit techno pieces like A Number of Names' Sharivari. I'm not entirely sure who played or discovered this piece, but I remember Ricardo Villalobos amongst others playing this. I've played it at Panoramabar but was certainly not the first. Did get a thumbs up from the Italian half of the crowd though! Check it out here with scenes from the opera. Maybe one of my music journo followers can pick up this baton and write a longer piece about this fascinating track?
FOURTH THING: CLAIRVOYANT FROG
Exciting, vibrant and fresh music by Mor Elian for the Dutch label "Visible Spectrum". Pre-order here and listen to clips here. See you next time!