good stuff, maynard

The more I listen to middle eastern dance music, the more i love it. It's so free sounding. I think that's the polyrhythms but man, if there's something that makes me want to dance, this stuff is it. A ended up with a promo from a few years ago put out by Putumayo Records called Turkish Dance Groove. It doesn't have any artist info, but it says "A musical mix of Balkan, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern flavors mixed with sophisticated global pop and dance music". Whatever. It's good shit. I'm especially enamored by Gulseren and Bendeniz. I think both of these are Turkish..

I dig the different scales and vocal styles (different compared to western music), how the instruments are used differently than we would, and how seamlessly it meshes with techno stylings.

nuthin no how

I don't live in a "community", if one defines "community" as a group of disparate people working to make life better. Every effort to make it a better place is stonewalled, plastered with blame- every step a battle with city and county government, neighbors and economic interests. This is a town full of bitter, angry people who hate each other. "Stupid" is a cloud that hangs over it. Bush 1's "thousand points of light" are so dim and weak and browbeaten they can barely be seen or heard anymore. Everything is someone else's fault, someone else's problem, someone else's mess, drug problem, poverty or hungry kid. This is the "me" generation as it begins its daily regimen of Geritol.

just gross

will somebody do something about all the tooth-whitening ads online? They're really gross and I'm really sick of looking at other people's gross teeth.