seeline

Exactly - and unless you're writing for the ethnomus crowd, you really have to try and come up with ways to catch the readers' eye. OTOH, the "blues" designation is slapped on all kinds of things that don't sound remotely like blues. In this case, I'd guess it came about mainly because some Tuareg groups (like Tinariwen) play electric guitars, though what they play on them is another thing altogether! You're right in saying that I wouldn't, but some other writers are not so careful, or honestly don't know that the idea is questionable. There's a *lot* of confusion about this, as I'm sure you know.

Yeah, it's a weak designation. On one hand I understand the inclination to attach it to some genre that is known, but on the other hand it sells a lot of people short who are interested in the actual roots and history of the music. But y'know, if i were a promoter, I'd more than likely be very tempted to use it... because I do think it works as a draw. Back when I was writing reviews, I avoided this kind of phrase, but it does go down easier than a semi-scholarly explanation of Tuareg and/or Wodaabe music might. (Hee - I think I just proved my own point about awkward wording. )

Sounds like a great show! but I do wish that promoters (etc.) would come up with something a bit better than "desert blues"... I say this because "[something] blues" seems to be a favorite designation here in the US, also the UK. The word gets slapped on just about anything - even European styles like fado. Oh well. I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?!

"Inolvidable" ("unforgettable") was composted by Julio Guitierrez and published in 1944, while the Cole Porter song in question was written for a 1943 movie, Something to Shout About. "Inolvidable" is one of the great boleros... It would be interesting to see if Guitierrez ever acknowledged a debt to Porter. I'd never thought about the connection before, but it makes complete sense. (There are so many borrowings of this kind - Cachao and his brother Orestes reworked part of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for their piece "Africa Viva!," which Cachao talked about in a documentary that's o.p. now.)

Fascinating. If you've ever seen the David Byrne produced documentary Ile Aye about the Candomble in Brazil, there's this great image early on of Africa and South America as one continent, part of Pangea if you will, breaking apart and moving into separate continents. The implication of course is that they're inextricably linked, and he explores these connections in the film. Has anyone heard Victor Deme? He's from Burkina Faso and apparently is releasing his first album after a long career as a local musician there - his MySpace page has some clips and it sounds great. Amazon is only carrying the MP3s right now but hopefully the disc will get distribution stateside so I can pick it up. Oh gads - I don't want to get started on David Byrne! I'll just say that I think some of his production efforts are very good (mostly the compilations he's done), but beyond that... there is a vanity press feel (to my mind, anyway) to a lot of his other projects. Example: he and Caetano Veloso "curated" a series of summer concerts in NYC a few years back. Cae was supposedly bringing the best new, younger artists from Brazil - and you know what? Everyone he presented was/is signed to the label he and his wife own (Natasha). The PR for that series was (I think) a great deal of bs. I think I'd better stop now, especially because i haven't seen the film you mention and need to give it a shot, instead of acting like I'm somehow superior to Byrne. (Might make my ego feel better, but... it's not true! ) As for Victor Deme, I don't know his name - got any more thoughts/links? A *lot* of African musicians are showing up on MySpace, which is great! They'd probably never get exposure any other way, outside of their local area (for the most part).

I think you're quite right!

My apology was because I took a stand about something, and then realized I needed to be consistent about what I was defending. But feel free to make fun of it anyway. And as was expressed to me in a private message this evening, a joke here and there, or an occasional comment is probably not that big a deal in the bigger picture, and is probably normal. Most people probably understand that. But threads that objectify women don't really help promote healthy discussion. If only one female is bothered by them (and it's clear that at least one has been), then it's an uncomfortable environment. And I'm not accusing you (Jim) of being sexist, personally. But we do have board members that have caused *other* boards to be shut down due to offensive sexist comments (BNBB anyone?). So not everyone is as evolved as you. I do appreciate your comments, and actually have been known to to enjoy the occasional joke . (Even the trombone gals, who showed up on a thread welcoming some of us former AAJers - am an ex-band instrument rental person, so they reminded me of a Conn ad gone slightly haywire.) As for Jim, I think he must be upset about my hat link - could it be the Pat the Patriot logo, d'ye think? (FWIW, I have to agree with those who think Pat was better than their current logo. )

Yep!

And you would be quite correct in your guesses - also in what you said in the post before your response to Dan. Perhaps it would help to know that one of the main reasons I avoided this board for a long time had to do with feeling uncomfortable with those kinds of threads? It's true. (Though I also am aware that some of those threads are gone, which was - I think! - a wise choice.) As for issues of perception, that has a lot to do with it - don't know if anyone here has read any of Deborah Tannen's books, but she's very good at working with that (differences in perception, especially how men and women typically view/hear things) without taking sides or making anyone (of either sex) look like "the bad guy." She's dealt with - and written about - a lot of workplace situations, too. (This book has been quite an eye-opener for me personally.) Edited to add: True dat! (On both counts.)

But even I have to admit that she was kinda cute when she was younger, and I'm an Obama fangirl (of sorts; meaning that I hope he becomes our next pres. and think his Philly speech is the best I've heard since MLK's time).

Resistol: makes sense - I Googled them and see that they're making lots and lots of hats for Civil War reenactors, which goes a long way toward explaining the "seasonal" thing. As for your remarks on the SI babe issue,

You might be better off posting pics from the latest "swimsuit" issue of SI. Still wondering about a hat company being a "seasonal" business...

I love Acabou Chorare - and meant to mention something earlier about some reunion efforts that came out a few years back. From what I've been told, it's best to stick with the discs from the 70s. (but I have to qualify that by saying that I haven't heard any of the recent material.) Apparently Baby Consuelo (lead singer) is going by the stage name "Baby do Brasil" now (and has had an awful lot of plastic surgery).

Those *are* great comps! I was amazed to find out that there's actually a Brazilian presence in Nigerian music - there's a mention of it in Christopher Waterman's book Juju (and elsewhere, too, though I'm blanking right now...). apparently a bunch of ex-slaves from Brazil settled in Lagos, Nigeria in the 19th c., and they still have their own musical styles - unfortunately, you have to go there to hear them. Ditto for a bunch of former slaves who went from Brazil to Angola, and still (many, many generations on) identify themselves as "Brazilians." (I found out about this from a Brazilian friend who saw a documentary about these folks on a Brazilian TV station.) There seems to be an ongoing back-and-forth (in the way of cultural influences) between Brazil and all of the former Portuguese African colonies - bandolim player Rodgrigo Lessa has spent over 10 years working on research, and has a new CD that's a collaboration between Brazilian and African musicians, Das Ilhas Mestiças. here's his URL (site is in Portuguese): http://www.rodrigolessa.com.br/ He has some MP3s available on his site, and I think some of his music might be in the Amazon.com MP3 store.

Just for fun, a hat pic of a musician I like - Edited to add: "seasonal"? (there are millions of things I don't know about Texas... oh, the irony! )

What the heck is "university apparel" - A&M and Aggie t-shirts?

it's all about the hats....!!! http://www.villagehatshop.com/

Oh, the irony's not lost on me, Jim, because women can be pretty good at it, too. But I do think that these kinds of threads are not primarily about irony, if you know what I'm saying. This all might make me get upset enough to start posting photos of men in hats, like I did on another board's "babe" thread quite some time ago. And with all due respect, there is a larger point in question, as I've said earlier, as has Aggie87.

The "you" is plural, though in the past I've been told that Jim A. was hoping to be able to attract more women posters... It seemed like it might be both reasonable and worthwhile to post a few comments on a new thread regarding "sexiest" whatever. To be honest, I have no desire to participate in this thread, or similar threads. (I did like the LP cover game thread at AAJ, which died off quite some time ago - it was about cover art, period, not sexy chick pics.)

My point exactly, Aggie. I think most women feel put off by these sorts of threads, and that you guys are (unintentionally) missing the bus on this one.

Whatever.

Like I said earlier.... And no offense to anyone, but... if you want more women posting here, you might want to let this kind of thing go by the wayside. But then, boards are still very much a "guy thing," while other kinds of platforms (blogging software, for example) are much less so. Just something to think about. On the whole, this is a pretty friendly place, and I'm not complaining... but I'm also very much not inclined to want to add any links to this thread, or others like it. Cool?

Yeah, that's it!

.....

Not meaning to trash yer locker room here, but can I just ask "Why?"