Song of the day: The Body Electric, by Hurray for the Riff Raff. A bluesy-folk response to all those murder ballads where women are killed.

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“I also feel like, first and foremost, I have this feminist lens that I see the world in. And I feel like folk music is so great because it’s a conversation throughout the generations. So I thought it was ( Read more... )

I came across Sahel Sounds through a Kickstarter raising money to create the first Tuareg-language fiction film (a homage to rock film Purple Rain called Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai or... "Rain the Color of Blue with a little Red in it"). Sahel Sounds is an ongoing project by "guerilla ethnomusicologist" Christopher Kirkley to share field ( Read more... )

One more video from Commander Chris Hadfield (who is finishing up his stint on the ISS and heading home to Earth), because it's too good not to share:

With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World. youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9d…
- Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) May 12, 2013

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First ( Read more... )

Also slotting neatly into the Southern Gothic musicfest of the previous post: Murder By Death's Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon (previously mentioned in this post), which has arrived in the mail, and which pleases me mightily.

Something that doesn't get captured by the read/watched list (which is, yes, overdue but not forgotten) is music. There's an excellent Southern Gothic music mix going around on tumblr: It's A Long Way Down (To the Bottom of the River). Like any good mix, it's also sent me hunting down more from each of the artists (fyi, if you're looking for more ( Read more... )

I have zero interest in owning vinyl albums (I have enough problems finding space for CDs as it is), but the Kickstarter video for Murder By Death's next album makes a strong (and hilarious chilling) case...

("Aw, hell--aliens.")

I wanted to listen to Bill Scott's Bundaberg Rum song (specifically, the version sung by Ian McNamara). I ended up with Tex Morton's Travelling Showman (which was on the same cd).

This is not what I asked for (she says, clicking replay for the tenth time).

Julian Smith, I dips me lid.

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For some reason this song about a mass of incandescent gas was not on my mp3 player while this one about a miasma of incandescent plasma was. UNACCEPTABLE! I demand catchy upbeat science songs for workytime train journeys.

(even though its thesis has been rendered invalid)

Best swing song. This evening is now diamonds!

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