The Beard Hour

Thomas Mapfumo - 'Track 9' - Hokoyo
Salif Kaita - 'N'Toman' - Music In My Head Compilation
Franco and Sam Mangwana - 'Cooperation' - Golden Afrique 2
Balla et ses Balladins - 'Paulette' - Golden Afrique 2
Boubacor Traore - 'Pierette'
Al Haji K. Frimpong - KyenKyen'
Peter King - 'Ajo'
Funkees - 'Point of No Return' - Point of No Return
Apostles - 'Ndi Nku' - Black is Beautiful
Hugh Masakela / Baranta - 'Ahvuomo' - The Chisa Years
T.P. Orchestre Polyrhythmo - 'Kokoriko' - The Kings of Benin

Franco - 'Likambo Ya Ngana'
Franco & OK Jazz & Camille Feruzi - 'Siluwangi Wapi Accordeon' - Golden Afrique 2
Hallelujah Chicken Run Band (ft. Thomas Mapfumo) - 'Sekai' - Take One
Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - 'Gori Iro' - Take One
Toumani Diabate's Symetric Orchestra - 'Boulevard De L'Independence' - Boulevard De L'Independence
Toumani Diabate's Symetric Orchestra - 'Mali Sadio' - Boulevard De L'Independence
Super Mama Djombo - 'Dissan Ma N'bera' - Golden Afrique 1
Chief Stephen Ositos - 'Debe Oyolima'
I.K. Dairo - 'Okin Omo Ni'

Avozinho - 'Mama Mama Divua Diame' - Angola 70s: 1974-1978
Belita Palma - 'Manazinha' - Angola 70s
Bonga - 'Monaki Ngi Xica' - Afropea: Telling Stories to the Sea
Carlos Burity - 'Manazinha' - Angola 70s
carlos
David Ze - 'Undenge Uami' - Angola 70s
Duo Misoso - 'Tchi Kolona' - Angola 70s
Gimba - 'Otjikenlu Ya Yndunduma' - Angola 70s
Joy Artur - 'Kudizanga Dia Veiangongo' - Angola 70s
Kisangela - 'Solo Do Maqui' - Angola 70s
Matadidi - 'Nkuwu' - Angola 70s
Os Bongos - 'Kazukuta' - Angola 70s
Os Jovens Do Prenda - 'Lamento De Mae' - Angola 70s
Os Kiezos - 'Princeza Rita' - Angola 70s
Prado Paim - 'Bartolomeu' - Angola 70s
Santocas - 'Valodia' - Angola 70s
Santos Junior - 'Athu Mu Njila' - Angola 70s
Sofia Rosa - 'Kalumba' - Angola 70s
Taborda Guedes - 'Kamaka' - Angola 70s

Franco & Le T.P. OK Jazz - Kinsiona

Posted by Nate at 2:44 AM | Permalink | Comments

Nate’s Top Ten for 2006:

Om – Conference of the Birds

Espers – II

Ostinato – Chasing The Form

TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

Lobi Traore Group – Lobi Traore Group*

Ali Farka Toure – Savane

Boris – Pink*

Daniel Higgs – Ancestral Songs

Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra – Boulevard De L’independence

T.I. – King

*These were basically released in 2005, but I’m allowing for the discrepancies between international and domestic release dates to allow me to include these. I just wasn’t that psyched about too many records that came out this year.



Personal Top Ten:

Franco & T.P. O.K. Jazz Orchestra - ‘Kinsiona’ / ‘Likambo Ya Ngana’
I probably haven’t made it a day without listening to either of these songs, probably multiple times. I cannot even begin to imagine better songs. Discovering Franco is the second most revelatory musical moment of 2006.

Joe Cuba – ‘El Pito’
Who knew a salsa song could send you into a trance like this? Who knew that the combination of a whistle, a piano, a bunch of handclaps, some drums, a bunch of dudes chanting, and never going back to Georgia could make such an insanely compelling song? Oh, and the devilish laugh helps as well. Watching John and Adam feed this song into a processor and a barrage of noise and distortion was a fitting end to a very strange year.

Spacemen 3 – The Perfect Prescription
A little late in the game, I guess, but this record defined large portions of 2006 for me. Talking about authenticity in music is a little played out, but this record projects such a palpable feeling of absolute nothingness that its hard to feel anything but affected by it.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat at the Satellite Ballroom, Charlottesville, VA
I’m generally of the school of boring dudes who hate on any sort of showy-ness in rock-n-roll shows, but Quintron was easily the most entertaining show I saw all year. If only I knew what Quintron was pushing, I’d probably have come out a believer. (And I haven’t even started talking about the drum buddy.)

Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley
I’ve always loved this record, but flying through the Nevada desert with this blasting made it make sense in a totally different way. My vote for best rock-n-roll record of 1994.

Kohoutek / Little Howlin’ Wolf / EMT at DUST, Charlottesville, VA
DUST is where my particular vision of Charlottesville tends to coalesce, and this particular show was an apt expression. It started somewhere after 1 AM, was sparsely attended, and probably freaked the bands out a little bit, but there was a point, when I was reeling from moonshine and Little Howlin’ Wolf was squealing on his saxophone and Kohoutek were actually hitting that point in improvisational music where it sounds like the sounds are coming from outer space, that I could not have imagined a place I belonged more. Charlottesville at its absolute best.

Rick Ross – ‘Hustlin’
By all standards, a decidedly mediocre song, but what a song! Rick Ross swaggers through four minutes of Miami bass, synthesizer choruses, and overdubs of his own weak rhymes, but I’ve listened to it a hundred times and I’m still not sick of it. Most importantly though, Caleb and I listened to this song every morning of what was probably the best couple of weeks of this year, and its hard to divorce music from memory. Beeenzeees.

Chuck Brown at the Satellite Ballroom, Charlottesville, VA
The most fun show I saw all year.

The Body at DUST / Red Wizard too many times to count
One band that understands the virtues of unrelenting volume and simplicity, and one that continues to get more and more complex and exciting every time and I see them. Two bands that have never disappointed and kept getting better throughout 2006. Stay tuned for a special edition of the Beard Hour starring Red Wizard.

Salif Keita – ‘N’Toman’
More about newly solidifying friendships than anything really, but a fantastic song nonetheless.

Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees– Twice a month at Atomic Burrito, every month of 2006, Charlottesville, VA
The Young Divorcees are a well-oiled machine. If you live in Charlottesville and did not see Jim Waive in the last year, you have a very quick and easy resolution to make.

Silver Jews at the Grey Eagle Tavern, Asheville, NC
Finally. Despite Caleb not getting his sweet potato fries, this was probably the best place to see the Joos, and after waiting years to get a chance to see these songs played live, the Asheville setting proved to be near perfect. Almost the musical highpoint of 2006.

Ofo & The Black Company – ‘Allah Akbar’
The number one most revelatory musical moment of the year. I played this song largely by accident on the beard hour one night, and not only did it open me up to new ideas in music, but to a whole new continent. Imagine the Nigerian Stooges, with a guitar sound that sounds like someone is rubbing sandpaper directly on your brain. When the drums kick back in 2 minutes and 44 seconds into this song and all hell breaks loose, or at least continues to break loose, its like nothing I’ve ever heard save for Fun House. If all Muslim songs sounded like this I would have converted when I was sixteen. According to these dudes, God is apparently a pretty badass dude.

Posted by Nate at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

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Spacemen 3 - "Starship' - The Perfect Prescription
Ghost - 'Piper' - Hypnotic Underworld
Sun City Girls - 'Black Mambo' - Torch of the Mystics'
Brian Eno - 'St. Elmo's Fire' - Another Green World
Brian Eno - 'Golden House' - Another Green World

Harvey Milk - 'Old Glory' - Special Wishes
8Ball & MJG - "Intro' - In Our Lifetime Vol. 1
8Ball & MJG - 'We Started This' - In Our Lifetime Vol. 1
Mr. Bungle - 'Women of Porn'
Goodie Mob - 'Cell Therapy' - Soul Food
Quintron & Miss Pussycat - 'Witch in the Club' - Swamp Tech
Kylie Minogue - 'Come Into My World'
Michael Hutchence - 'The Passenger'
Paperboy - 'Ditty'
Tom Russel - 'Stealing Electricity'
The Verve - 'Bittersweet Symphony'
The Phantom - 'Love Me'
Stevie Wonder - 'I Believe'
Elvis - 'Summer Kisses, Winter Tears'
Nelly Furtado - 'Maneater'
The Darkness - 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman'

Weird Al - 'Trapped in the Drive Thru'


And Last Week:

Young Jeezy ft. Timbaland - '3 AM' - 'The Inspiration'
Slimm Calhoun - 'Dirt Work' - The Skinny'
Stingee - 'Take Dem Panties Off'
Miss Elliott - 'Work It'
T.I. - 'Ride Wit Me'
Jay-z - 'My First Song' - The Black Album

T.P. Orchestre Polyrhythmo - Kokoriko - The Kings of Benin Urban Groove
Franco & T.P. O.K Jazz - 'Likambo Ya Ngana'
Franco - & T.P. O.K. Jazz - 'Kinsiona'
Salif Kaita - 'N'Toman'

Ostinato - 'Lattitude'

TransChamps - 'Give It To You'
The Knife - 'Pass This On'
Man Man - 'Gold Teeth'
Tom Waits - 'The Return of Jakie & Judy'
Candi Staton - 'Stand By Your Man'
Electronic - 'Getting Away With It'
Cocteau Twins - 'Frosty The Snowman'
New Pornographers - 'All For Swinging You Around'
Sally Shapiro - 'I Know'
CocoRosie - 'Armageddon'

Posted by Nate at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tupac - 'California Love' (Long Delayed!)
Notorious BIG - 'Party and Bullshit'
Jay Z - "LaLaLa"
Clipse - "Momma I am So Sorry" - Hell Hath No Fury
Clipse - "Mr. Me Too" - Hell Hath No Fury
Ciara - "Evolution"
Dark Tranquility - "Cathode Ray Sunshine"
Jack Nitzche - "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"
Built To Spill - "The Weather"
Toto - "Hold the Line"
Distillers - "Beat Your Heart Out"
The 6ths - "You Can't Break a Broken Heart"
Soft Boys - "Sandra's Having her Brain Out"
Jilted John - "Jilted John"
The Who - "A Quick One While He's Away"
Sally Shapiro - "Anorak Christmas"
Stick McGhee - "Drinkin Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"

Mr. Magic & Positive Choice Band - "2001 Kazoos" - The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop"
Mr. Magic" - "Potential 1980" - The Third Unheard
Joe Cuba - "El Pito" -The Nuyorican Funk Experience
Shuggie Otis - "Ahut Uh Mi Hed" - Inspiration Information
Mavado - "Wah Dem a Do"

Posted by Nate at 2:44 AM | Permalink | Comments