Indipop &c

[John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>]

Yes, Vickie, I also think Najma is a darn good singer, but in general,
_Yemenite Songs_ by Ofra Haza (the album also known as _Fifty Gates of
Wisdom_) gets on my player more often.  I find Ofra's music and vocals
more interesting, and the mix is better.  Najma's vocals tend to
overpower the music.

Monsoon's _Third Eye_ isn't too bad.  Sheila Chandra's _Quiet_ CD is
pretty good, as it includes four ``Nada Brahma''s and the song
``Mecca''.  I sometimes get weary of the `talking drum' vocals that
Chandra can do (KaTe reference) but other parts of _Quiet_ are really
nice to listen to.  I once tried to buy the _Out On My Own_ CD, but what
I got was a CD that was labelled as Chandra and actually contained U2's
_Rattle and Hum_.  So it goes.

Skip all other Ofra Haza.  Except for maybe two tunes from _Shaday_, she
bores me.  *Yawn*.

Does Najma have another record available yet?  Last I heard was that it
was nearly ready for release.  There was a great interview with her on
the telly at some point a few months ago where she talked about how all
her Indian friends and family were trying to dissuade her from singing.
After all, in India, the men sing and the women keep quiet.  So it goes.

Speaking of the realm of the other sex, Dissidenten's new album _Out of
This World_ is a real letdown.  ``Throw another cheese log on the
fire.''  Not nearly as interesting as _Sahara Electric_, it has all the
trappings of a big pop group.  Orchestral arrangements, large vocal
chorus, smooth synthesisers.  *Blecch*.  So it goes.

However, Djivan Gasparyan's _I Will Not Be Sad In This World_ is a
beautiful and haunting album of Armenian duduk music.  Brian Eno
discovered the album in the USSR, and immediately decided to release it
in the western world.  It's available on his Opal label.  The duduk is
an Armenian traditional reed instrument with a sound much like an oboe.
The songs are all played by two people, the first playing the melody and
the second providing a tonal drone.  The last track on Peter Gabriel's
_Passion Sources_ is also an Armenian duduk song.  I highly recommend _I
Will Not Be Sad In This World_.  (Note that my ex-girlfriend gave it
her official stamp of disapproval, however.)  Stick it in your player
and put it on repeat.

Oh yeah, one last thing: The UK compact disc of Michelle Shocked's
_Texas Campfire Tapes_ contains three additional tracks not found on
the US release, ``The Chain Smoker'', ``Stranded in a Limousine'' and
``Goodnight Irene''.  Those tracks were previously only available on
the _If Love Was a Train_ 12-inch Cooking Vinyl single.  That single
also has a wonderful song called ``Disoriented'', about nuclear
testing in the South Pacific, recorded with the Accidental String
Quartet.  Good stuff.  Cooking.  Vinyl.

Later.

	-- John