Another month.

So this blog has sunk back again. Listened to some short story on NPR about a man who was recording his whole life, every day... and had been doing it for well over a decade. Seems utterly ridiculous, but i realized that this blog is itself a snapshot of my thinking about music over the last 4 years. When I read my old posts, i remember my state of mind, i remember where i was and what i was listening to. Its great to leave these crumbs behind. I dont know if anyone else will ever follow them, but I enjoy revisiting my thoughts from time to time.

Im going back to France in two weeks for a trip. Visiting and vacationing family and friends is the central reason... but it'll also be wonderful to be back in la france, i can get back to speaking french regularly. Then Turkey! thats by far the most exciting thing this year... visiting turkey and seeing the ruins there. I really look forward to it!

Ive found i havent been listening to much of the music in my collection... Its OK by me, ive heard all of it pretty well through now. Im greedy, and I'm begging to know where i can find the next interesting thing.

Anyone heard anything interesting recently?

...

There is a universe of music waiting to explored. Yesterday, thanks to Smithsonian Global Sound ( accessed through my university) I fell in love with music from Azerbaijan and its neighboring Armenia. Hearing these sweet melodies and unfamiliar instrumentation brings out urges to travel and explore, the exuberance in this music lifts my ears. I look forward to getting to know music from the Caucasus region. Yet it is daunting, hundreds of tracks of music recorded in this small region (about the size of my state) and I still have so much to hear.

Just the other day I was enjoying the beauty of Oumou Sangare's music. From Mali to Azerbaijan, there are so many incredible corners of the world, and an equally dizzying number of beautiful pieces of music. Lala.com is great for connecting up to this music, as it contains an incredible number of tracks online.

I need to travel again. I'm getting antsy.

Currently working on my thesis on 20th century urbanism in Marseille, France (not focusing on Corbu), who would of thought that it would have been so difficult to find writing on? ah well, that cosmopolitan city is my favorite in France.

Some Music from al Magrebia.

I thought, since i dedicated the post below to morocco in pictures, i should post a few words, too, so i'll do that now-

North african music was a highlight of my travels, Berber music in particular, which was played loudly in front of restaurants and cafes, in front of shops and in houses in the High Atlas. Im certainly not the first to be surprised by its beauty and freshness, theres a lot of study by ethnomusicologists (For good reason!) of the beautiful and alluring art they create there.

People sing in north Africa, and they dance; music is embedded in the culture. The elaborate echoing Adhan sent out from loudspeakers on the mosque every morning (woke me up always at 5:30, particularly on fridays) calls the faithful to prayer (and they do go! oh they do). Then they ring out 4 more times before days end, every day framed with short musical prayers. It reminded me i wasnt in france anymore, and that in fact i was somewhere far more interesting.

Currently im listening to the gorgeous music of Larbi Imghrane (the link is a good preview of his music) which fuses traditional berber songs with more modern instrumentation and electronics. The rich in lyricism and beauty. The CD i own, is Series of immortal songs, volume 1: The best of Raiss Ahmed Bizmaven- bought in Marakech's Djemaa El Fna square (photos 5 and 6 in the previous post). Mr. Imghrane is pretty famous in morocco, so its possible to find lots of his music online, thankfully. Unfortunately i cant read Arabic, so i dont know the name of my favorite song on my Cd, track 4, but i can assure you its really lovely.

A section from the first track of my CD HERE, forgive the cheesy video. Its in a Berber dialect, by the way, not Arabic, so most Moroccans probably dont know the words either.

Al Magrebia me manque.

New animal Collective-

Currently in Vegas. Enjoying myself.

In the bay area...

Currently just north of San Jose. Staying with family. Visited San Francisco again today, did a few of those tourist things, it was lovely. Nice day, not too cool either, sunny. Reading Vonnegut, and thinking about relocating to the bay area. I should ask Mr. Gable about it. I wouldnt mind living in a tiny little studio. My sister just moved into a studio in downtown seattle. She looks out over skyscapers, im envious. Then again, here in san fran, the financial district here is not somewhere i'd really want to live. I would prefer somewhere a little towards the west, in one of those beautiful old neighborhoods where everything seems lovely. Im too idealistic. But i guess thats what happens when you grow up feeling stranded in the suburbs.

In two days im going to Barstow. Not on some harry Partch homage trip, just a stop to sit in a pool and see death valley the following day. Im taking it easy here, no 12 hour drives for me.

from copenhagen

A concert in the glyptotech, a wonderful sculpture museum

Beethoven and "child mozart" in the glypt

more glypt, this time,Liszt!

and elsewhere in the city....

Carl Nielson (as a naked child on a horse?)

Copenhagen was beautiful, if somewhat, ahem, expensive. I had a great time there.

Back in beautiful, beautiful Embrun, France

Sometimes i really love france. Im leaving here in a week, unfortunately... but i'll be back at somepoint in the future.

Im leaving nantes now, for the last time. Its actually leaving me a little more than melancholy. Im going to deeply miss the wonderful people ive met here, my group of international friends. Im already planning on a trip to algeria and to quebec in the nearish future, to be a tourist and more importantly see friends. I miss morocco, i miss stockholm, and i will miss Nantes, profoundly. Whats worse is that its all transient, even i were to come back next year, all the people im close to will have already left.

in copenhagen

For the weekend, taking the night train to stockholm monday night, Copenhagen is a beautiful city, but its raining and the weather is shit. It feels like February in seattle, for fuck sake. Im kinda peeved, but what can you do, and i suppose this way its more "reality" travel , since i figure the weather is frequently like this, no? Anyway, it is beautiful, but personally, i much prefer warm climes.

Pines of rome

Just a few...

In marrakech

this world class city is filled with gardens and beautiful things. Im currently in one of the ubiquitous cyber cafes checking email and registering for university housing for next year... and oddly, Philip Glass' heros symphony was just playing on the radio, accompanied by some french dialogue. French is everywhere here, which makes it very easy for me, but then again, they all then assume im french, which kinda bugs me. Do i LOOK french? apparently. Then again, a salesman in the atlas mountains asked if i was berber.

Shukrun.

well, sort of. he guessed practically every other european nationality beforehand "french?" no, "spanish?" no, "Italian?" no, "Belgan?"no, "Swiss?" no, "German?" no "Portugese?"no... Why not Isreal though? I guess i didnt look jewish enough, ha. But what does it matter if i cant pass for arab. im still semitic, damnit! hahaha.

Again more arab music,

im enjoying it.

beautiful, beautiful country

In Morocco

This is a spectactular country. Currently in Ouarzizate, going to marrakesh tomorrow. I visited Zagora and some sahara sand dunes yesterday. Incredible countryside, and music and bread everywhere.

seriously.

I love arabic music.

So sarko won

No surprises here. lets just hope he's just not crazy. also some cars are apparently burning in the banlieu. its become a "fashon" here to burn cars, the french are not impressed anyway.

What else.

well, on the 14th im headed to Rome, then Napoli to see Pompeii and Herculanium, and then Paestum as well. Then on the 22nd im headed to see my sister who is living with a family in marocco. I'll be in marrakech, plus ou moins, for the week or so. Im really excited for my trip, and marocco in particular.

Im speaking french every day, and comfortable, generally, in doing so. its chiant, as i would say, that right now when im getting to the point of "fluency" that im soon going to leave.

From the cathedral of Toledo, Spain

Currently in Sevilla, Spain, and writing from my hostal. Seen Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba and most of the major sites in this city, so im heading back to france land soon and i know im going to miss iberia. Granada seems livable, as does cordoba, and i need to learn spanish, should i even try to study abroad again? well, maybe i should graduate first.

and pictures will come soon.

Dolmen Music

Went to Karnag (carnac in french) today in brittany. This was my birthday present.

And exactly what i wanted.











































Sarah here is posing for a perspective of the size....

uh, more pictures. N'importe quoi.















Embrun, Jardins De Luxembourg (paris), Lyon, Annecy, Lyon, Paris

Pictures!

I currently have reliable internet access and am not on the battery clock, so im posting like a madman, First, Porto, Portugal








I c












Voici, Coimbra
















et Lisboa!

























Alright, im not going to add anymore due to the bizarre nature of blogger, or "old-blogger" and its photo handling abilities...

Akhenaten!

Ahkenaten!

Here he is at the louvre.

















Returned from my Paris museum tour. I saw all the museums I hadn’t seen in a while. The Louvre, of course, the Pompidou, the D’Orsay and the Rodin museum, I also got to see the interior of Soufflot’s masterpiece, St. Genieve, or as its now known, the Pantheon who’s crypt holds the bones of Voltaire, Rousseau, and a whole bunch of over guys who probably wouldn’t like people staring at their coffin. Soufflot was there too. I saw the church of st. Sulpice and some other random neo-gothic one while walking around. I walked around the marais and latin quarter. In my last hour of paris, before my train, I saw the near-by Montparnasse cemetery. I couldn’t find anyone I had heard of… I tried to find Satre’s and Baudelaire’s but in my rush I didn’t find them. Saint- Saens , D’indy, Chausson and Franck are all there too.

The only one I really like is Franck anyway. But no big deal. Now I know where they’re buried.