Febraury 2004

GLOBAL MUSIC ROUNDUP

Kill Bill (Vol. 1) Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the ultraviolent Tarantino vehicle of the same name is both impressive and somewhat of a letdown at the same time. I actually bought the soundtrack before I saw the movie, and was immediately taken with the Santa Esmeralda version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (me likey that Latin style), and the gritty "Grand Duel" by Luis Bacalov. Although it doesn't evoke the same excitement as the Pulp Fiction and True Romance soundtracks, it opens different doors to a new range of solitary and honor-driven emotions.

Electric Gypsyland (2003 Crammed Discs)
This is just a plain fun album. The basic backstory is that a bunch of electronic music producers from the UK got their hands on some Balkan gypsy music and made new "reinterpretations" of them. Definitely one of my favorite albums now, it is perfect party or cooking music.

All Songs Considered (Vol. 1, 2, 3)
You really can't go wrong with the "buttons" that you hear played on NPR in between stories and reports during All Things Considered. Bob Boilen, the director of ATC gets discs from all over, and has a simple but effective way of choosing these "buttons". I won't spoil the surprise, though, cuz I'm an asshole. Suffice it to say, all these tunes are more than appropriate for chill time or, as Godzilla would put it, "Porch Music". Simply excellent and well worth the money.

Double Famous, Live in Japan
I stumbled upon this disc while in a Tower Records in Shibuya, Tokyo. This was being played over the store's loudspeakers, and I was instantly hooked. Double Famous is a 9-person band, and it's hard to classify this group, but they play everything from reggae, latin jazz, cha-chas, old Japanese pop favorites, and other genres. Their energy is nothing short of contagious; they mix instruments like ukeleles, Irish flutes, guiros, trumpets, toy pianos, lap steel guitars, alto saxes, and accordians. Truly enjoyable any time of day, it's full of happy luck for shiny friend times.