Heading to the rural Southwest this morning for work, so please absorb this dreamy slice of soul as I zoom through American airspace. Back tomorrow, motel WiFi willing.
Entries Tagged as 'music'
By the Time I Get to Arizona
September 14th, 2010 · Comments Off on By the Time I Get to Arizona
Tags:Arizona·Black Ivory·music·R&B
M
September 9th, 2010 · 5 Comments
According to the nifty WordPress counter, this is my one thousandth post on Microkhan. Unlike the last time I hit such a significant milestone, there shall be no navel-gazing—in part because I’m too busy working on an afternoon post about Prohibition-era crime in northern Florida. But let me just say thanks to all who’ve stuck […]
Far More Than a Footnote
September 8th, 2010 · Comments Off on Far More Than a Footnote
Focusing on various paying gigs today, so just a quick music clip to tide y’all over. The above is Segun Bucknor’s brief appearance in the excellent Ginger Baker in Africa; he’s the man in the lime-green vest behind the dancers. With Comb & Razor provides some much-needed background on the largely forgotten Afrobeat pioneer here: […]
Matti Nukes Adrift
September 3rd, 2010 · 10 Comments
Of the many death-defying sports that I’ve grown to admire over the years, few astound quite like elite ski jumping. Perhaps it’s not until you witness the sport in person that you really get a sense of just how bananas it is: TV can’t do justice to the true height of those hills, nor the […]
Tags:crime·Finland·Matti Nykänen·music·psychology·ski jumping·sports
Back in the Bunker
September 2nd, 2010 · 8 Comments
Sorry, but today’s all about tackling a major project, rather than scooping out a small portion of my brain to share with you good people. Please content yourself with the high-brow electronic music above, as well as the following snippet of anti-jazz hysteria from the April 11, 1921 edition of the Chicago Tribune: Home was […]
Landing on Planet Mercury
August 31st, 2010 · 2 Comments
Unlike everyone’s favorite intergalactic MC, I am not bio-enhanced. And that means I must occasionally steal a day to focus on a single project, rather than multitasking as if I’d been blessed with multiple brains. Today is such a day, which means no meaningful Microkhaning ’til after the next sunrise. Apologies, and hope y’all understand. […]
Interview Zero
August 18th, 2010 · 4 Comments
It’s not very often that I can boast of a warm personal connection to a recently deceased celebrity, so please let me take a moment to vouch for the key role that Sir Frank Kermode played in my development as a writer. No, I never had the privilege of studying under the lit-crit master. And […]
Tags:music·Richard Kermode·Santana·Sir Frank Kermode·writing
The Way Back
August 16th, 2010 · Comments Off on The Way Back
Back to world headquarters today, via the skies. Many thanks to the Grand Empress for the excellent packing job.
In Transit
August 10th, 2010 · 6 Comments
Off the Canvas
August 3rd, 2010 · Comments Off on Off the Canvas
Apologies for deserting you yesterday, but I was completely pancaked by what appeared to be the dreaded Osaka flu. A good night’s sleep and some orange-flavored Gatorade seems to have restored me to halfway decent health, so I’ll soon be posting anew about Chadian kidnapping, Malaysian snake control, and the challenges of increasing adult literacy […]
Tags:housekeeping·Joe Higgs·music
Ring the Alarm
July 28th, 2010 · Comments Off on Ring the Alarm
A Wired deadline just snuck up on me, so off to hit the keyboard. In my brief absence, please check out this excellent history of Tenor Saw, the dancehall legend who never made it to his 23rd birthday. The singer’s violent demise remains one of music’s great unsolved mysteries: It shouldn’t have come as a […]
The Father of Boom
July 27th, 2010 · 2 Comments
During my guest stint over at Ta-Nehisi’s place last week, a commenter reminded me of my all-time favorite Otto von Bismarck quote: “Politics is the art of the possible.” The unsmiling German statesman may have meant that all successful negotiations must end in compromise, but I’d like to think he also had faith in politics’ […]
Tags:gadgets·Horace Leslie Galbraith·Jamaica·music·Otto von Bismarck·politics·sound systems·technology·World War II
The Vanishing Artist
July 19th, 2010 · Comments Off on The Vanishing Artist
(Cross-posted from Ta-Nehisi Coates) I’m eternally fascinated by great artists who seemingly fall off the face of the Earth. Many disappear because they lose battles against their demons, but others simply decide to change paths and opt for stability. Bettye Swann certainly falls into the latter category, as detailed in this excellent 2005 piece from […]
Tags:Bettye Swann·Las Vegas·music·R&B
Nose and Grindstone
July 12th, 2010 · Comments Off on Nose and Grindstone
As we pound away at day-job matters this afternoon, please take a moment to enjoy our favorite X-Clan track above. We’ve taken the liberty of fast-forwarding past the esoteric sermon that precedes the actual music. But if you’d like to learn more about the concept of, er, “white kryptonite,” by all means, please rewind.
Becoming Aquaman
July 8th, 2010 · Comments Off on Becoming Aquaman
This morning’s all about taking Microkhan Jr. to his first-ever swim class, so no meaningful posting ’til a bit later on. The next time you hear from us, our first-born progeny will hopefully have the skills necessary to cross the Chuluut River—or, at the very least, the ability to kick his legs.
Tags:drumming·housekeeping·music
Buffer Overload
June 30th, 2010 · 2 Comments
Sorry for the slow start to the day. We’re working on a couple of solid posts, including a great kidnapping yarn from the ’70s, but getting clear of our other chores is taking longer than anticipated. That’s in part because of the five million e-mails that currently sit unopened in our inbox—the Times piece on […]
Ye Olde Tyme Robo-Banjo
June 28th, 2010 · Comments Off on Ye Olde Tyme Robo-Banjo
We can trace our lifelong fascination with technology to a few choice childhood experiences: our first time playing Pitfall on an Atari 2600, watching The Black Hole on Betamax, and, perhaps above all, visiting The Magic Castle. The foyer of said castle featured a self-playing piano, which responded to audience requests (as long as those […]
Tags:1980s·Encore Automatic Banjo·music·musical instruments·robots·technology
Push Out the Jive, Bring in the Love
June 25th, 2010 · Comments Off on Push Out the Jive, Bring in the Love
We couldn’t bear to leave an AA-related post atop the blog all weekend, so let us instead sign off with another addition to our growing Asha Bhosle collection. Back on Monday with more AA extras, as well as the standard Microkhan fodder that hopefully makes the drudgery of existence a little brighter for all involved.
Tags:Asha Bhosle·Bollywood·music
Waylaid By Progeny
June 21st, 2010 · Comments Off on Waylaid By Progeny
So much for our grand plans to start this momentous week on the right foot. Microkhan Jr.’s sitter canceled on us last minute, and unlike our Mongolian forebear, we don’t have a legion of fur-clad handmaidens waiting in the wings to take over childcare duties. And so we must dedicate our morning to tackling a […]
Asha on the Beach
June 17th, 2010 · 5 Comments
Once again, a fresh track has led us to discover a gem from distant shores. In this case, Gonjasufi’s haunting “Sheep” inspired us to seek out its source material, “Yeh Hawa Yeh Fiza” from the 1983 Bollywood classic Sadma. To our great delight, the singer is one of our all-time favorites, Asha “The Enchantress” Bhosle, […]
The Sacred Exchange of Knucklebones
June 11th, 2010 · 6 Comments
We’ve been lassoed into some emergency parenting today, and Microkhan Jr. is tugging on the hem of our deel as we type these very words. So let us just quickly share with you two things that bring much gladness to our collective heart: the above Donny Hathaway gem, an Afro-Cuban spin on “The Ghetto,” and […]
Tags:Donny Hathaway·Genghis Khan·Jamukha·Medieval history·Mongolia·music·R&B
Krinklebein’s Poor Russian
May 28th, 2010 · Comments Off on Krinklebein’s Poor Russian
We’re still in northern Michigan with the Grand Empress, and you’re hopefully prepping for a raucous three-day weekend. As you pack or purchase beer, enjoy the sonic stylings of a talking fish and his feline arch-nemesis—one of Microkhan Jr.’s favorites. It really is a fine piece of animation, save for the fact that Mr. Krinklebein’s […]
Tags:cartoons·Cat in the Hat·music·Russia·TV
“This is a Titanic Above Water”
May 27th, 2010 · 1 Comment
Okay, here’s the deal: Ever since Microkhan Jr. entered the picture, we’ve been able to spend a grand total of one night alone with the Grand Empress. But all that’s about to change, starting today: By the time you read these words, the Microkhan crew will (hopefully) be winging its way to Detroit, en route […]
The Sons of Gumby
May 25th, 2010 · Comments Off on The Sons of Gumby
Our beloved WEFUNK just celebrated its 600th show in grand fashion, with sets dedicated to late ’60s soul, Clinton-era hip-hop, and the fine art of locking. Given the show’s Montreal base, they also couldn’t help but throw some north-of-the-border rap into the mix, including the gem above from DJ Format (whose British by birth) and […]
Beyond Bulgarian Metal
May 19th, 2010 · 3 Comments
In discussing Bulgaria’s long and healthy tradition of heavy metal last week, we briefly lampooned the first act that popped up when we Googled “Bulgarian hip-hop”—a buffoonish rapper named Ustata. As fate would have it, a Bulgarian reader chimed in to gently upbraid us for highlighting her nation’s most embarrassingly awful MC: I’m amused that […]
Room 118
May 18th, 2010 · 2 Comments
If all goes according to plan, this post will go live right as we exit a federal courthouse. That where we plan on spending the better part of the morning, in search of a case file that is likely jaundiced with age. Wish us luck in dealing with the quizzical looks of the clerical staff; […]
Tags:housekeeping·music·Syl Johnson
Lessons from the Thin White Duke
May 14th, 2010 · Comments Off on Lessons from the Thin White Duke
Even if you never owned the cassette version of Use Your Illusion II, this recent interview with Slash can’t help but entertain. We’ve loved the man ever since seeing him avoid self-immolation by ever-so-calmly removing a dropped cigarette from his knee-high boot. (Such are the perils of falling asleep on talk-show couch, apparently.) Oh, and […]
Tags:cigarettes·music·Slash·snakes
Angels With Dirty Faces
May 11th, 2010 · Comments Off on Angels With Dirty Faces
We were gonna hit you with another Bulletproof Project entry this afternoon, but paying gigs and prior commitments have conspired against us. The next few hours are all about writing FOIA requests and researching an upcoming “Mr. Know-It-All” column for Wired, before we bolt downtown for an evening of industrial design, Pakistani food, and Cavs-Celtics. […]
Sofia Rock City
May 10th, 2010 · 6 Comments
Okay, quick word association game: When we say “Bulgaria,” what’s the first thing that pops to mind? For us it’s french fries slathered in partially melted sirene, but heavy metal is a close second. And so you can only imagine the great times we’ve been having sifting through the archives of this stupendous site, inarguably […]
Tags:Bulgaria·heavy metal·Legs McNeil·music·scorpions·Soviet Union
Representing the +95
May 5th, 2010 · Comments Off on Representing the +95
The sitter’s deathly ill and the Grand Empress is at JFK picking up a shipment of lacey undergarments (slightly NSFW), so Microkhan Jr. is our sole responsibility ’til his afternoon playdate. That means no time for words o’ wisdom this morning, an announcement we make with heavy hearts. Hope to get back to y’all once […]
