The other evening a friend said to me that he’d love to be addicted to gandja – except it isn’t addictive. This compilation is for him.
At the start, the tracks are about seeking the high. Note that in some countries it is not a criminal offence to possess it for both medicinal and recreational purposes.
In others, such as Indonesia, it is classified as a Class A narcotic and trafficking marijuana can lead to death by firing squad. Those are the only deaths directly attributable to cannabis sativa!
The final few tracks are about the morning after the night before.
As for Jakartass, as my title suggests, I don’t have any.
Mediafire / Zippyshare 01. Serge Gainsbourg – Cannabis 02. Indian Puddin’ And Pipe – Hashish 03. Caravan – And I Wish I Were Stoned – Don’t Worry 04. Manfred Mann – Let’s Go Get Stoned 05. Donovan – Candy Man 06. Steamhammer – Leader of the Ring 07. Rita Marley – One Draw 08. Van Morrison – And It Stoned Me 09. Crooked Fingers – Sunday Morning Coming Down 10. Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends – Spinach Song (I Didn’t Like It The First Time) 11. Brim – Anti Gandja 12. Alabama 3 – Ain’t Goin’ To Goa 13. Trance Mission w. Stephen Kent – Go Play Outside 14. Serge Gainsbourg – Cannabis-bis
Today is the first day of the Year of the RedRooster in the Chinese Horoscope.
In Indonesia, Imlek is much more than a cultural celebration because the New Order’s assimilationist rhetoric still has a strong influence. The silent majority are abandoning the pluralism implicit in the country’s constitution.
However, jazz is non-partisan; hence this compilation.
01. Memphis Minnie – If You See My Rooster 02. Neil Cowley Trio – Rooster Was A Witness 03. Teddy Wilson – Chinatown, My Chinatown 04. Dave Barbour – China Boy 05. Andy Summers & Robert Fripp – China-Yellow Leader 06. Steps Ahead – All The Tea In China 07. Dennis Rea – Kan Hai De Re Zi (Days by the Sea) 08. Art Lande – Celestial Guests, Many Chinas 09. Mark Isham – Many Chinas 10. Howlin’ Wolf – Little Red Rooster
“A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool.” – George Washington
This post is dedicated to the more than five million women around the world who joined the march against Trump last Saturday, the day after his inauguration as the 45th president of the United States,
Also on Saturday, Maggie Roche, one-third of the singing Roche sisters, died aged 65.
There was a charm to the sisters’ harmonies and a wit in their songs, and I felt compelled to delve through my archives for tracks which I feel convey a similar ethos or empathy. I have no idea what the lyrics mean for several of my choices, but the key to understanding is to listen.
Mediafire Zippyshare 01. The Roches – I Fell In Love 02. Prelude – After The Goldrush 03. Dida Pelled – Losing You 04. Silje Nergaard – He Must Have Been Telling A Lie 05. DaiQing Tana – Silent Sky 06. Virginia Rodrigues – Salvador Não Inerte 07. Mary Fahl – Dawning of the Day 08. Tanya Tagaq – Damp Animal Spirits 09. Mari Boine – Cuovgi Liekkas 10. The Bulgarian Voices w. Angelite – 300 Pushki (Rifles) 11. Sheila Chandra – Quiet 1 12. Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Tell My Sister (Note: # 2 is a Neil Young song) .
The Unthanks sisters from Northumbria in England sing about a local pastime, pigeon racing.
I spent some six months in Thailand thirty years ago, and Carabao‘s Made In Thailand could be heard in every town on and off the beaten track that I travelled through or stayed in. About all I could say was “chăn pôot tai mâi bpen” which I am lead to believe means, “sorry, I can’t speak Thai”…
A few days ago during my regular wanderings around the interweb, I came across this blog which had this album.
I still can’t read Thai, so I’m indebted for the limited ‘blurb’: The pong lang (Thai: โปงลาง) is a log xylophone from the Isan region of northeast Thailand .. which .. has 12 wooden bars that, with a strong rope, are tied together in a row at each end. The instrument can be played solo or in an ensemble. The pong lang is used for all kinds of occasions, especially for festivals and ceremonies.
Gamelan aficionados will be reminded of the gambang (wooden ‘xylophone’) and should be similarly entranced by the music. In fact I often have it on a lengthy loop.
It is that connection which lead me to dig into my archives to bring you some interesting sounds from around the region. There are some surprising similarities … and differences.
The sources can be found in the ‘properties’ of each track – probably. The last track is from a folder I was sent with seven tracks labelled Kalimantan 1-7. I’m given to understand that someone called Alexander Haryanto is responsible. It’s very primeval music: drones + minimalist scales with occasional suling (bamboo flute) and what I suspect is the Borneo ‘guitar’ called a sape. Add in voices calling across the forest space and it’s all strangely hypnotic, in parts funky, and ethereal in others.
Tracks (at variable bitrates) 01. Carabao – Made in Thailand 02. Ponglaang – Isan Melodies (N.E. Thailand) 03. Nouthong Phimvilayphone – Nam Phat Khay (Laos)* —- Nouthong Phimvilayphone: bamboo mouth organ (khene) 04. Nguyen Vinh Bao & Trân Van Khê – Luu Thuy Doan / Binh Ban Van / Kim (Vietnam)* —- Nguyên Vinh Bao: zither (dân tranh) —- Trân Van Khê: lute (dân ty bâ) 05. Maung Maung & Maung That Win – Aung Mingale Yodéya (Burma)* —- Maung Maung: flute (palwé) —- Maung That Win: harp (saung gauk) 06. Orchestre Pinpeat et Chroeurs – Reamker (Cambodia) 07. Musiciens du Village de Dajeuhkolot Près de Bandung – ‘Traditional‘ (Indonesia) 08. Teu Lalag Ogok Sabaggalet etc – Urai Panoga Kagerat (Indonesia) 09. Kalinga – Rice Winnowing Song (Philippines) 10. Haba Haba Group – Sitogol #1 (Sumatra) 11. Waipod Phetsuphan – Ding Ding Dong (Thailand) 12. Alexander Haryanto – Kalimantan 2 (Indonesia) —- * These tracks need some correcting.
Acknowledgements: A nod should be offered to music-ethnologists; often French, to record traditional music they ventured deep into remote regions before they became palm oil plantations or open-cast mines. The music was then made available on easily scratched records or cassettes which sold in limited numbers.
It is thanks to bloggers on the interweb that the music is now available for all who are curious and know where to seek. For this compilation I salute in particular Kriteria de Descarga , Henk in Bandung (Mad Rotter), crate digger extraordinaire, and Orang Lucky for his exceptional music archives (which are surprisingly complementary to mine).
Track 10 is dedicated to my wife who has just returned from her hometown, Medan.
Comedian Rory Bremner says that having a ‘butterfly brain’ is both a blessing and a curse. He was referring to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a collection of behavioural symptoms characterised by impulsive actions, a short attention span and restlessness. Most of us probably ‘suffer’ from this.
The late Ivor Cutler did, and for that we should all be grateful.
In my case I’ll label it as writer’s block because I have so many gestating articles and reviews awaiting completion that it seems so much easier to make a music compilation and offer it to you.
“I don’t get it – people taking photos of their own food? That’s very odd behaviour.” Andrew Lincoln (actor – Walking Dead)
Ever had one of those times when nothing seems to make sense?
If so, you’ll find that this compilation doesn’t either, but it may help.
Download 01. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Abba Zaba 02. Steve Miller Band – Bongo Bongo 03. Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy 04. Blind Blake – Diddie Wa Diddie 05. Warren Zevon – Iko-Iko 06. Marmalade – Ob-La Di Ob-La-Da 07. Small Faces – Sha La La La Lee 08. Peter Noone – Shoo Be Doo Ah 09. Cars – Ta-Ta Wayo Wayo 10. The Goons – The Ying Tong Song 11. Professor Stanley Unwin on BBC Mastermind
2016 was a sad, sad year for music, but in a sense it could not have been unexpected. Rock and roll, the first music for rebellious teens, is now some 60 years old. Only Prince and George Michael had no childhood memories of that era.
A separate page of jazz musician obits, including a downloadable compilation is here.
January –4. Robert Stigwood, 81, music mogul, ‘mentor’ to Bee Gees ++ –5. Pierre Boulez, 90, composer and conductor –8. Otis Clay, 73, Chicago blues and soul singer (video) 11. David Bowie, 69, “The androgynous bisexual rock star from another planet.” 13. Giorgio Gomelsky, 81, “one of the more important non-musicians in rock history” 17. Dale Griffin, 67, Mott the Hoople drummer and session producer on John Peel Show. 18. Glenn Frey, 67, Eagles guitarist and songwriter 19. Animal, 66, drummer with rock outfit Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem 28. Paul Kantner, 74, guitarist, singer and songwriter Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship
February –4. Maurice White, 74, Earth, Wind & Fire drummer, singer and songwriter. –6. Dan Hicks, 74, “Kept rock’s roots in country, bluegrass and swing alive with the Hot Licks.”
March –6.Ireng Maulana, 71, Indonesian jazz and blues guitarist, founder of JakJazz. –9. (Sir) George Martin, 90, “The world’s most famous record producer.”
10. Keith Emerson, 71, iconic prog-rock keyboardist (Nice & Emerson, Lake and Palmer)
April –6. Merle Haggard, 79, country singer and songwriter. –9. Tony Conrad, 76, experimental film maker and musician —–“You don’t know who I am, but somehow, indirectly, you’ve been affected by things I did.” 11. Emile Ford, 78, first black singer to top UK charts (with this) 21. Lonnie Mack,74, rock guitar pioneer 21. The artist known as Prince, 57, multi-dimensional musician
Prince ‘gave’ this song to Sinead O’Connor
30. Phil Ryan , 69, keyboardist and composer with Man, Pete Brown +
May –2. Paul William McDowell, 84, singer (with Temperance Seven), actor and writer. 14. Tony Barrow, 80, Beatles’ publicist, and journalist 17. Guy Clark, 74, country-folk singer-songwriter and guitar maker. 30. Phil Ryan, 69, keyboardist and composer with Man, Pete Brown +
June –3.Dave ‘Swarb’ Swarbrick, 75, folk musician (mainly fiddle), songwriter and singer 14. Henry McCullough, 72, guitarist (Wings, Grease Band) 21. Karl Dallas, 85, writer (Melody Maker), singer, songwriter and campaigner 24. Bernie Worrell, 72, Parliament-Funkadelic composer-keyboardist. Talking Heads 28. Scotty Moore, 84, pioneer rock guitarist who played on Elvis’s early hits.
July
24. Keith Gemmell, 68, saxophone (video), clarinet and flute in Audience, Stackridge ++ 24. Mami Nixon, 86, the singing voice behind Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood as Maria in West Side Story, Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and many more…
August 22. Gilli Smyth, 83, partner of Daevid Allen and co-founder with him of Gong.
September
Some day around here ….. Rod Temperton, 66, prolific pop songwriter for Michael Jackson, Karen Carpenter, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Donna Summer, the Manhattan Transfer … –8. Prince Buster, 78, ‘King of Ska’ – exhaustive info here.
October –1. Neville Marriner, 92, conductor and violinist, founder of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, ‘composer’ of Amadeus soundtrack. 13. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, longest reigning King of Thailand, and keen jazz clarinettist. 19. Phil Chess. 95. co-founder of Chess Records, from blues to rock ‘n’ roll. 23. Bobby Vee, 73, early 60s pop singer (The Night Has A Thousand Eyes++)
November -3. Kay Starr, 94, pop, country and jazz singer. –7.Leonard Cohen, 82, Canadian poet-singer who deserved the Nobel Literature prize. 13. Leon Russell, 74, “Hit Maker and Musicians’ Musician”
15. Mose Allison, 89, jazz, country and blues singer-songwriter who influenced ’60s blues groups. 24. Pauline Oliveros, 84, creator of ‘Deep Listening‘ (several videos in name link)
December -7. Greg Lake, 69, bass player in King Crimson and E.L.P. —-“I think there is truth in the fact that the group was pretentious.” 24. Rick Parfitt, 68, co-lead guitarist of Status Quo. 25. George Michael, 53, ‘pop superstar’
“I don’t get it – people taking photos of their own food? That’s very odd behaviour.” 
