Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
06 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: natalia lafourcade
06 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: amor profundo, charanga cakewalk
Charanga Cakewalk: “Amor Profundo” (2006)
Classic Rock: I like it. I love it. I want less of it.
If you grew up embracing what typical American radio offered and find yourself beginning to succumb to taste lock as you reach a certain age, give Michael Ramos and his cumbia lounge project Charanga Cakewalk a try.
Austin-based Ramos, has worked and/or performed with Paul Simon, John Mellencamp, the Rembrandts, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. He knows his way around the rock scene.
But Chicano Zen, like Ramos’ other Charanga Cakewalk albums, is an engaging blend and juxtaposition of Tex Mex, tejano, flamenco, cumbia, salsa, merengue, ska and reggaeton with electronica and lounge elements.
It’s a calculated blend of modern cool and retro cool, and a truly a unique amalgam of sounds.
06 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: ai, songwriting
04 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: melodie grand prix 63, the last hurrah!!
The Last Hurrah!!: “Melodie Grand Prix 63”
This catchy, enigmatic tune I found in my special little drawer of Norwegian pop mp3’s sent me searching the usual sources to hear more of the band’s music.
It was a frustrating experience as all I could find was a straightforward, steel guitar-based country band with the same name.
Then more scrolling revealed the fact that the “country” band was a more recent incarnation of this Bergen, Norway-formed H.P. Gundersen project. The later lineup featured a combination of Norwegian and American musicians.
Apparently exploring lavish arrangements melding West Coast psychedelia, Nordic pop and Asian folk and employing drone guitar with open tunings, tambura and bouzouki wasn’t interesting enough.
The sound of steel guitar and fiddle was calling.
Anyway, even the country-influenced material sounds interesting in the hands of Gunderson. But this song, with Heidi Torsvik on vocals, is from the earlier incarnation of this ever-evolving band.
02 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in Video of the Week Tags: the carpenters
31 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in Recommended Albums Tags: del close & john brent, how to speak hip
Del Close & John Brent: How to Speak Hip (1959)
How to Speak Hip, a 1959 comedy album by Del Close and John Brent, was a satire of foreign language-learning records, with the “foreign language” being the parlance of “hip”.
Its lesson was intended, the introduction explains, “for English-speaking people who want to talk to, and be understood by, jazz musicians, hipsters, beatniks, juvenile delinquents and the criminal fringe”.
And if the record’s primary mission was comedy, it did a fair job of elucidating hip terms and culture.
Comedian Del Close was an early member of the St. Louis comedy troupe that, upon moving to Chicago, changed its name to Second City. Close was cited as a mentor and inspiration by the likes of John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray and John Candy.
Close plays the “straight”–read “square”–role of host/interviewer while actor John Brent–known for roles in films such as Catch-22 and American Graffiti–plays hipster Geets Romo, who chafes at the rigid, formal structure of Close’s lesson.
Geets’ reluctant participation and general disdain for the lesson (“let’s send out for some pizza”) makes for a hilarious listen, even while the objective of teaching the language of hip is actually achieved rather effectively despite.
The cult status of How to Speak Hip was enhanced by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who was fond of quoting Geet’s “…and then we’ll get, you know, world peace”, from the record’s introduction.
Wilson can be heard referencing it in the Pet Sounds recording sessions:
In fact, the working title of the Pet Sounds track “Let’s Go Away For Awhile” was actually “Let’s Go Away For Awhile (And Then We’ll Have World Peace)”.
How to Speak Hip has been sampled and excerpted by DJ’s, rappers, jazz and electronic music artists over multiple decades.
It’s considered pretty hip.
Listen to: “Introduction”
Listen to: “Basic Hip”
Listen to: “Vocabulary Building”
Listen to: “The Loose Wig”
Listen to: “The Hang Up”
Listen to: “Put On, Put Down, Come On, Come Down, Bring Down”
Listen to: “Cool”
Listen to: “Uncool”
Listen to: “Summary”
Every Moment Has A Song 