Wednesday, September 13, 2006

My Irish Roots

Shelley had redeemed some of her iCoke points for 3 downloads from Universal Music (sorry Al). It's harder than I thought. Any music that I would be interested in, I already have.

So I looked for a hit song or a blast from my past that I likely wouldn't bother buying the album for; hence, "Dance, Dance" by Fallout Boy, and "20th Century Boy" by Chalk Circle. I haven't yet committed to them, I'm still browsing. It could be that I used up all my decision-making energy to purchase tickets for the Rheostatics' swan song in March.

If you have any suggestions, I'd be willing to entertain a listen to them ... although country and rap don't get much airplay here at the manse.

While browsing through the very-poorly organized database, I discovered something that will send me on a CD-buying quest. I can tell that Shelley will be overjoyed.

Black 47 is a band I discovered in the early 90's. They're a desperate fusion of traditional celtic music with hip-hop, blues, jazz, rock, soul, and punk. Fire of Freedom detailed the woes of being Irish in New York and it was quirky and fun. But I didn't think there was enough to make a career out of it, and wrote them off as a flash in the pan (I won't call them a "one hit wonder" because I don't think anything reached "hit" status).

8 studio albums, 2 compilations and an ongoing tour prove me wrong; even though the vocalist can't really pull it off, and the lyrics are somewhat suspect (rhyming "hysterical" with "America"). However, the tunes are catchy, and the narratives are entertaining ("I Got Laid on James Joyce's Grave" strikes a chord with me, given my recent tussle with Ulysses).

They're so earnest and laughable, I can't help but smile as I listen. I'm no longer such a collector that I must possess all their remaining albums, but I do have my eye on a couple. Pogue mahone! No wait, I didn't mean that. How about, slainte!

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