Mahatma Shankar

The name of the post is an amalgamation of Mahatma Gandhi and Ravi Shankar. The image above is all over the net with Gandhi spelled wrong ("Ghandi"). So I fixed it in Photoshop and am posting it here. These are good ideas to keep in mind, especially if I ever win the eighty million in the lottery.

As far as Ravi goes, a few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me to share some of his albums with her on mediafire, so I did. Two of the albums are traditional Hindustani raga, and the third is more like world music, albeit with some cool sounds you might like.

A few weeks ago I went into some depth about a piece I included from the southern Carnatic tradition on a compilation I made of various kinds of instrumental music. Now here is music from the northern (Hindustani) parts of India, with the incomparable Shankar playing his sitar.

Download here (no password):
http://www.mediafire.com/?gjkit3x8excqs7p

Cheers,
Angus

So Selfish Runs The Hare

I was listening to "Morris Medley" by the Albion Country Band, which is mainly instrumental but has a quick little tune called "So Selfish Runs The Hare" in the middle that got into my head:

   So selfish runs the hare and so cunning runs the fox,
   Who would think that this little calf would grow to a noble ox?
   To live among the briars and to run among the thorns,
   And die the death that his father did
   with a large pair of horns.

   Horns, large horns; horns, large horns
   And die the death that his father did 
   with a large pair of horns.

   The hunt is up, the hounds are out, the lark's song fills the air.
   And we're away to the great green wood
   to hunt the buck and hare.
   The moon is riding down the sky to usher in the morn.
   We'll rouse the town with fanfares blown
   on a large pair of horns.

   Horns, large horns; horns, large horns
   We'll rouse the town with fanfares blown 
   on a large pair of horns.

   So come you jolly fellows, drink your ale and down your beer
   To welcome in the harvest and the turning of the year.
   We'll drink the season with the blood of old John Barleycorn;
   I'll drink to thee and thou to me
   from a large pair of horns.

   Horns, large horns; horns, large horns
   I'll drink to thee and thou to me 
   from a large pair of horns.

The song on their album only features the first verse, which is traditional, but I found the other two verses above printed here. They were written by Jon Berger and round out the song nicely.

I became so enamored of the tune that I immediately went to figure out the chords on guitar. I suppose when I get a ukulele in a few weeks, I'll try it on that too. Meanwhile, here are professionals. The lyrics begin a few seconds after the three minute mark...

Download "Morris Medley" here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1dis8mumbbe6e3b

In addition, the whole Albion Country Band album, currently out of print, can be found here at Folk Yourself.

Cheers,
Angus

Frank Rosolino - I Play Trombone

Frank Rosolino (1926-1978) was a great trombone player. I Play Trombone, released in 1956, is his second album as a leader. Here is a great start if you want to know more about his style or jazz music with trombone. This is good, old-fashioned swing combined with sweet melody - fun fun fun.

Download here (no password):
http://www.mediafire.com/?hb1dm1029b4o1fq

Cheers,
Angus

Labor Day, Beer, Norwegian Music

Labor Day is a good secular holiday in America. It falls around a time of year when the nights get colder, the days slowly get shorter, and summer is at an end. Now is a good time to drink beer. Let me share some of my reviews on

- a totally cool site. No surprise that my user name is angusdegraosta on that site too. I've reviewed twenty-five brews so far, which you can view HERE. Beer makes me very excited. Wine is always good too, but beer is less expensive and less complicated. You should try some.

What else? Oh, yes, I wanted to highlight Nordisk Sang, a great album of musicians from Norway. The album features great instrumentals and a woman with the world's loveliest voice. Again, thanks a million to Folk Yourself, which has plenty of great Scandinavian music as well as other stuff from all over the place. I also really like a folk band called Slinkombas with a similar sound. So, with the inevitable onslaught of autumn and cold, short days ahead, it's a fine time of year to listen to some Hardanger fiddle hoedown music. I eat this stuff for breakfast.

Cheers,

Angus