[Podcast] The Sound Of Greece with Marianna Platypodi

February 7, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

The Sound Of Greece with Marianna Platypodi by Adam Kvasnica on Mixcloud

Though I’m happy enough to promote my own podcasts, I’m even more pleased to promote those whose DJ abilities I admire. Here’s a great set of old music from Greece courtesy of Slovakian archivist Adam Kvasnica. Opa!

On The Passing of Pete Seeger

February 7, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

Three articles regarding Pete Seeger’s demise – one pro, two contra, provide a good appraisal of the man’s life, work and views.

I loathed Seeger’s politics, his slavish devotion, until 1995, to Joseph Stalin’s murderous regime, and the fact that he stole ‘Wimoweh’ (see the story about Solomon Linda). Still, his own body of work will live on as part of Americana, and should be remembered as some of the finest songs to ever come out of the United States, as they are, indeed, timeless. One should never attempt to separate a man from his works, however, as the soul of each artist imbues his craft, whether we like it or not.

[Podcast] A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 02-02-2014

February 2, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 02-02-2014 by Rudy Carrera on Mixcloud

Ten tracks from all over the world. This week, we start with a cheesy-listening number from Italy, some Acid Jazz from Austria, Brazilian Psychedelia, Indie from England, Ambient music from both Italy and Canada, Rock-In-Opposition from Belgium, Turkmenistani percussion-prog, an operatic piece from the Volga River (there’s a hint!), and a little bit of Mambo to wrap things up. For more on us, visit our page at http://amiscellany.info or friend me personally at my personal Facebook site and make comments or suggestions!

[Article] Conservative Jazz?

January 28, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

Why not? Contrary to popular belief, many people who identify themselves as classical Conservatives were into Jazz long before the hipsters of our day were, and even wrote about the genre beautifully. Stephen Masty over at The Imaginative Conservative reminisces on his love for jazz here.

[Podcast] A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 01-21-2014

January 22, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 01-21-2014 by Rudy Carrera on Mixcloud

A new episode of 10 rather interesting tracks, featuring Anastasia from Macedonia, The Saqqara Dogs out of San Francisco, Australia’s The Saints, Heidelberg, Germany’s Krautrock kings Guru Guru, Argentine-Swedish indie-folk singer José González, A-Ha crooner Morten Harket, Lebanon’s diva Fairuz, Bosnia’s Bijelo Dugme, and a bit of calypso provided by Lord Invader. Enjoy!

[Podcast] A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 01-16-2014

January 16, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

A Miscellany of Tasteful Music – 01-16-2014 by Rudy Carrera on Mixcloud

Finally, we’ve begun podcasting! Don’t worry, this is more of a practice run. Expect lots more music, commentary, maybe an interview here and there. Enjoy!

[Video] Amiri Baraka & Sun Ra – A Black Mass (1968)

January 13, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

The poet, playwright and political activist Amiri Baraka passed away from undisclosed causes on January 9, 2014.

Whether you saw him as the voice of the disenfranchized, a leading light among black artists and activists, or a worthless Marxist gadfly whose best days ended before the 1970s, this polarizing figure left a gigantic cultural mark in the arts. The video below shows Baraka at his peak collaborating with the legendary Sun Ra.

[Podcast] Mundofonías

January 12, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

A couple of years ago, I had the absolute joy and pleasure to make the acquaintances of Juan Antonio Vázquez & Araceli Tzigane, two radio hosts who run Spain’s best World Music program, Mundofonías.

You can sample of bit of one of their recent shows, ‘Orientando & Africando’, here.

[Music] Melodiya rereleases classic Russian albums on vinyl

January 9, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

Russia was rich with good music, even during the Soviet Era. It’s nice to see so many classics, even the cheesy metal ones, getting reissued in wonderful packaging by Melodiya.

Many thanks to Vladimir Kozlov, who wrote this article for the Moscow Times.

[Music] Fifty Years of Tape

January 9, 2014 / Rudy Carrera

I grew up listening to a lot of experimental music in my youth, most of in in the cassette format. It was quite something to have a cheap and easy tool to trade with friends, to purchase from very creative sorts who would hand-craft something resembling music from some God-forsaken place and receive it in my little suburbia. Though I prefer the clarity of digital recordings, hearing poorly compressed audio via a tape done by modern artists trying to look ironic has its charms. Thanks to Staalplaat’s Staalzine for posting this little slice of nostalgia.