The new and improved GRAMMY.com premiered today and it's a pretty slick-looking site.  Blogs are representin' big time and it's wild to see my first piece posted up there with the other community bloggers and cats like Shepard Fairey in the mix.  Incredible.  

So if you haven't guessed yet, The Recording Academy^® is really working this We're All Fans angle, as evidenced by the social media share aspects of the new GRAMMY site.  The 30-second TV spot in anticipation of the January 31st ceremonies has been making the rounds.  Highlights from the nominations concert can more than likely be found on the GRAMMYs YouTube Channel.

And as for myself, diving deeper into the music of the world.  Coming up next time:  Mamadou Diabate...

It’s about that time we start getting to know each of the world music nominees for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY^® Awards.  Since Mali has the greatest representation this year within the world music field, let’s kick things off with a husband and wife duo that’s up for Best Contemporary World Music Album:  Amadou & Mariam.

For almost 30 years now, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia have been recording and performing together.  Ever since fate allowed them to cross paths at the Institute for Young Blind People in Bamako (Mali’s capital city), their journey through life and music has been a magical one.  Singing in French, English, and their own West African dialect, their sound is rooted in Malian blues and folk interwoven with rock and reggae motifs.  The end result is engaging Afro-pop that has won them critical acclaim from all over the globe.  It was their 2003 album Dimanche a Bamako that introduced them to the world outside of Mali and some consider their latest album, the GRAMMY nominated Welcome To Mali, as their finest to date.

To listen to one of their recordings or to see one of their live performances is to witness the strength of their bond as an unbreakable musical scale, Mariam’s voice and Amadou’s guitar echoing each other’s joy and sadness.   In addition to being great artists, they have also been appointed as Ambassadors for Culture (Art) to the Zeitz Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting the Earth’s ecosphere through various international and social projects.  Tying into this environmental cause, Amadou and Mariam appeared in an all-star cover version of Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” as part of a global climate justice campaign.  As if all that weren’t enough, they will also perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway on December 11 to honor this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, President Barack Obama.

Here’s the video for “Masiteladi,” one of three singles from their Welcome To Mali album.

Amadou & Mariam online:  Official Website ||| MySpace page

Maybe I’m wrong, but something tells me that the rest of the world doesn’t refer to what they do as “world music.”  That term is a distinctly American one, part of that curiously Western phenomenon of attempting to brand what you cram to understand.  Over the several decades that the phrase has been in existence, world music has been defined a number of different ways.  Some observe it as traditional folk music from various parts of the globe while others have used the genre as a wide net in which to capture all non-Western musical styles.  At best it’s a term which recognizes the instrumentation, vocal phrasing, and rich culture of localized musicianship worldwide (even if you're not always sure of what exactly you're listening to or what to call it).  At worst it’s categorical purgatory, that place where you drop off sounds birthed from an exceptionally talented player from another part of the earth simply because you don’t have the time (or the patience) to get to know it on its own terms.

Call me crazy, but I think world music deserves better.  Nestled within that middle-aged tag cloud are sonic droplets from an extremely diverse harmonic climate.  There are traditional and modern takes on rhythms, melodies and dialects from countless ethnic backgrounds.  For those of us who are plugged in and logged on to the Internet and various social networking sites, the idea of the “global village” is our everyday existence.  And for those of us who are fans of music, seeking out sounds from another part of the world has never been easier.  It would stand to reason that if music is the universal language that we claim it to be, then that which falls underneath the world music umbrella ought not be so foreign to us stateside.  Considering the amount of love that American artists receive overseas and knowing that love isn’t always reciprocated in support of hometown heroes from distant lands, perhaps examining the 52nd Annual GRAMMY^® Awards Nominees for world music will help remedy that.

Within the category of Best Traditional World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental), the diversity immediately becomes apparent.  Mamadou Diabate (a highly revered kora player from Mali, West Africa) has been nominated for Douga Mansa while Liz Carroll and John Doyle bring a kick to Celtic folk music with fiercely engaging performances on Double Play.  Conversations in traditional Middle Eastern and Indian instrumentation are explored by Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan on their Ancient Sounds album.  Rounding out the nominees are two recordings predominantly focused on the drum:  the Afro-Cuban influenced La Guerra No from John Santos Y El Folklórico Kindembo and the Taiwanese percussion of the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group’s Drum Music Land.  

As for the category of Best Contemporary World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental), there is some serious competition.  American banjo player and nine-time GRAMMY Award winner Béla Fleck is in the running with Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa Sessions.  Speaking of Africa, Nigeria’s own Femi Kuti has been nominated for his Day By Day full-length while the joyous Afro-pop stylings of Amadou and Miriam will be recognized for their album, Welcome To Mali.  Cuban pianist Omar Sosa is rightfully within great company due to his mesmerizing release, Across The Divide: A Tale of Rhythm & Ancestry.  Last but certainly not least, the alluring vocals of Oumou Sangare (another Malian artist) are the driving force behind her latest album, Seya.

Mali has a strong showing within the world music field across the board and one might think they have it on lock, but the overall talent here is technically amazing and downright awe-inspiring.  It is my hope to shine the spotlight on each of these artists in future posts between now and January 31st, 2010 when the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place.  You can follow the GRAMMYs on Twitter and Facebook and there’s even a Twitter link for all the community bloggers as well.  After sampling a little bit from each of the world music nominees this year, I am extremely excited to be a part of this project and to learn more about music that I wouldn’t know otherwise.  As I've been saying recently on my podcast, the more you listen to, the more you'll find.

Music is a worldwide thing:  keep diggin'...

So it's official:  I am one of the community bloggers for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.  In some ways I'm taking it in stride and in others, I'm bouncing off the walls a little bit.  What's funny is that I almost talked myself out of it.  As the badge above suggests, I'll be covering the World Music category, a field that has two different album categories:  traditional and contemporary.  I honestly didn't know if I had what it took to go in on this like I thought it should be done and as I was explaining my reasons for why I thought I shouldn't do it, I ended up laying out the perfect reason for why I should.  Life's funny like that.

Then again, it was around this time last year that I found myself in a conference room at work during my lunch break, pitching a podcast idea called "grammys on shuffle" over the phone to one of the marketing managers at The Recording Academy. I never saw myself as much of a pitch man until that day.  Interesting how the things that you're passionate about can get you into that zone.  And if you're anything like me, music gets you in that zone. And seeing as how I love coming across new music or something that I never heard before, blogging for the World Music category offers that ability to get to know something new and different...and be able to see and hear harmonies and melodies through another country's perspective and experiences.

So there's a Grammy nominations concert taking place on Wednesday, December 2nd at 9PM on CBS.  That's the jump-off, more or less.  The theme this year is "We're All Fans."  A number of the bloggers will be on Twitter that night posting tweets live, so you can find us all here.  The actual ceremonies commence on Sunday, January 31, 2010.  Any and all Grammy happy haps you need to know can be found at grammy.com.

So while I'm involved in a different way than podcasting last year, I'm very happy to be writing on the regular again.  This time around should prove to be quite interesting...

family plans turned out different than usual this year.  my aunt normally plays host for thanksgiving dinner, but she was laid up in the hospital for four days prior to turkey day.  thankfully, she's better now and checked in on my wife, daughter and i prior to heading off to maryland.  apparently there was a general concensus among other family members that our reunion this summer packed quite a punch on everyone's finances, so things were scaled back considerably for november 26th and everyone just did their own thing.

honestly, that worked out well this year.  my wife was burnt out from work and various family issues of her own, so it was a small thanksgiving feast at home.  a roasted organic chicken with stuffing, broccoli, candied yams, and apple crumble for dessert.  just wifey, my daughter, and i.  it was wonderful.  quiet.  and necessary.

i am thankful for my wife beth and my daughter simone.  thankful for family and friends wherever they might be.  thankful for having a job that drives me crazy, but still puts food on the table.  thankful for having the ability to hear my daughter's voice whenever i come home from work and she calls out to greet me while running towards me.  thankful for music in all its many forms and for the podcast as a platform to share the sounds i find with others.

and i'm thankful for the person who heard my reasons for why i didn't want to do something and saw them as the very reason why i should.  and thankful for the knowledge that there were takeaway points from that conversation that will be useful long after an upcoming project is complete.  those points ought to be applied even more so in my spiritual walk.  always interesting when things happen within the secular realm that speak directly towards what you might be dealing with within the spirit realm.   hmmm...

today i remembered why i love listening to media hacks:  the spontaneity of conversation and thought.  i just listened to episode #20 and it set off a bunch of thoughts in my head.  the seed was planted with episode #19.  heard that one while exercising and at one point, mitch joel talked about hearing others say to him, "i don't know who i should blog for."  to which he replied, "blog for yourself."

that really resonated with me.  i keep saying to myself that i don't have the time to write.  actually, i do.  the list of daily accomplishments needs to be a shorter list, a more realistic one.  jotting down a few thoughts every other day shouldn't be a goal that's out of reach.  i dig twitter, but the work day is too swamped to fire off those 140 characters like i did when i first came across it.  besides that, i was reminded by mitch and julien smith that a "tweet" is the data equivalent of a fart in the wind:  it's there for a period of time, but after that it disappears.  and once a tweet disappears, it's very difficult to find again.  blog entries, however, have staying power and are far easier to search.  

prior to this entry, i wrote another music review for impose magazine and it felt good to stop stalling and just get it done.  and every week (or every other week), i've been posting a blog entry over at wfmu's free music archive.  been rather consistent with it, too.  basically, i need to force myself to go beyond the 140 characters and write.   but right now, a brother needs sleep...

it's not often that extended 90-minute shows happen around here, so when they do i make sure that i have a good excuse. this episode features the remix work of bugz in the attic and their got the bug 2 compilation. i found out while recording this show that the j. viewz cover of "smooth criminal" is also available on that compilation, not just the tru thoughts covers collection. there are a few selections from other artists here that i thought would complement the bugz material well. big shouts to myriel at bbe music for sending afronaught's promo mix my way.  hope you've got your dancing shoes on...

download ||| subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

go here to stream shows.

you can contact me via twitter, facebook, myspace, or email.

id drops courtesy of fave nite. background music includes "viva brazil" by oddisee, "germinal ring" by cyclops joint, and "bathing" by techniken defunkus.

other key info:
wfmu record fair
damu the fudgemunk and free downloads at the wonkabeats blog
us and us: talking points and frames of reference
us and us: sunrays and sound waves

1. domu - "springbreak" {iTunes}
2. johnny polygon - "the riot song" {iTunes}
3. mishoo the drumkit - "shine (feat. shuanise)" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
4. graphiqs groove - "seagreen" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
5. bookworms - "african rhythms" {FREE DOWNLOAD | iTunes}
6. afronaught - special promo mix for got the bug 2
7. bugz in the attic - "zombie 2003" {BBE Music | iTunes}
8. ikebe shakedown - "hard steppin'" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
9. sy smith - "the art of you" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
10. j. viewz (feat. noa lembersky) - "smooth criminal (bugz in the attic vocal mix)" {iTunes}
11. the pimps of joytime - "street sound" {amazon | iTunes}

free downloads from iodapromonet:

Ikebe Shakedown
"Hard Steppin'" (mp3)
from "Hard Steppin'"
(Colemine Records)

More On This Album

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

when i sat down to record voiceovers for this episode, it felt like i hadn't done them in months. felt out of practice and rather unnatural. of course, no one likes to hear their own voice, so i'm probably being harder on myself than i ought to be. but the worst was falling asleep in front of the computer while putting the show together...twice in a row. it's clear that i can't do late night editing sessions anymore, which is a shame because i don't have the time to do this in the mornings before work like i used to. a new day, a new challenge presented by my arch enemy named time. we're still in divorce court and she won't be satisfied until she's taken me for everything i own.

on the plus side, there are some pretty good selections featured within this episode. come for the free downloads, stay to drop some dough on a few cuts. for real, support these artists by buying their music. this way, they'll actually feel justified in making MORE music. and isn't that what we want?

download ||| subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

go here to stream shows.

you can contact me via twitter, facebook, myspace, or email.

id drops courtesy of india from astronauts of antiquity and darrenkeith wyatt.

other key info:
episodes mentioned: show number 90 and show number 79.

1. bk-one - "here i am (feat. phonte, brother ali, and the grouch)" {FREE DOWNLOAD | More On This Album}
2. [proverb.] the poet - "sunday thoughts" {iTunes}
3. q-tip - "damn you're cool" {Turntable Lab}
4. moka only - "rumpa-pum" {iTunes | eMusic}
5. nebz supreme and moka only - "float" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
6. betty davis - "is it love or desire" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
7. the renaldo the ensemble - "beat poem" {YouTube EPK}
8. b-ju - "philly run" {free download}
9. othello & dj vajra - "active balanced (feat. now on & mayer hawthorne)" {Fat Beats | iTunes}
10. mcm - "so many places"
11. georg levin - "the better life (feat. clara hill)" {bbe music | iTunes}
12. clubfeet - "edge of extremes" {FREE DOWNLOAD | More On This Album}
13. the angel - "ultra light (feat. jhelisa) [sustenance mix]" {Rhapsody | More On This Album}
14. teengirl fantasy - "portofino" {Rhapsody | More On This Album}

free downloads from iodapromonet:

Moka Only
"Rumpa-Pum / Company For The Pum" (mp3)
from "The Station Agent"
(Camobear Records)

More On This Album

Othello & DJ Vajra
"Active Balanced (feat. Now On & Mayer Hawthorne)" (mp3)
from "Active Balanced - Single"
(Colemine Records)

More On This Album

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

hello, i'm macedonia. and yes, i'm still doting on summer. mainly because the american northeast didn't have much of one. june was a total washout - we got robbed. fall came a little too fast for me. truth be told, it always does. so i figured i'd put together an overdue blend session paying homage to my favorite time of year. lynchpin cuts are probably "days like these" by notes to self and "that day" by oddisee off of his odd summer e.p. check for cuts from karriem riggins, oh.bliv, just plain ant, funky dl, and many others. and had to give a nod towards the living legacy of mr. john rivas a.k.a. super rockin' mr. magic. sir juice always had my ear. hip-hop mixshows wouldn't be where they are today without him.

download ||| subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

go here to stream shows.

you can contact me via twitter, facebook, myspace, or email.

id drops courtesy of bazooka joe from solipsistic nation, fave nite, marco polo & torae, thad reid, and ej flavors.

other key info:
in memoriam: john rivas a.k.a. mr. magic

1. mello music group - "endure (feat. rapper big pooh, m.e.d., and georgia anne muldrow)" [oddisee remix] {iTunes | Rhapsody}
2. core rhythm - "dusk" {iTunes | CDBaby.com}
3. mayer hawthorne - "just ain't gonna work out (astronote el camino remix)" {free download}
4. the latin project - "legal (feat. kool kojak and debi nova)" {iTunes}
5. oh.bliv - "off" {free download}
6. funky dl - "1947 (feat. lei-an and xantone blacq)" {bbe music}
7. karriem riggins - "sexy mama (soul on top)" {free download}
8. the kid daytona - "lately (feat. amanda diva)" {free download}
9. j.r. & ph7 - "top rank (feat. guilty simpson & black milk)" {iTunes}
10. notes to self - "days like these" {iTunes}
11. luck & ripps - "rock on" {free download}
12. thad reid - "do my thang"
13. kice of course - "second of your time (feat. lia)" {iTunes}
14. just plain ant - "too thymez" {free download}
15. portable payback - "relax" {iTunes}
16. baron von alias - "p.h.o.n.e.y. (feat. frank-n-dank) {iTunes}
17. praveen & benoit - "embers (machinedrum version)" {free download}
18. oddisee - "that day (feat. muhsinah)" {free download}

if you liked this episode, please check out show no. 82...

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

this is a mix that i created during the summer through wfmu's free music archive.  some hip-hop, some minimal techno, some quirky electronics and glitch-laden material, too.  if you like what you hear, go download the tunes from the archive and please feel free to share this mix with others.