In case there were any doubt, Al compas del mundo presents evidence that the Peruvian huayno (why’-no) is a member of folk music’s  crème de la crème .  Listen to “Vaca Ratay” by Duo Las Perlas de Hunacavelica.  Really….listen to it. There’s nothing more autochthanous and listenable, IMHO, than this burst of bovine exuberance. I doubt they were worried about how high on the charts the song was gonna rise. Rather, whether or not the cow’s were content and giving the milk that would help keep their famiies alive. It’s called “folk music”. And I belatedly discovered the esteeemed Chrios Strachwitz, he of Arhoolie Records, is listed as producer. The hits just keep on coming. Each of these countries has its own take on a shared musical theme. “Life’s hard up here in the Altiplano, but I’m going to cultivate some 4,000 varieties of potatoes, chew some coca, and we’re going to make it.” Meanwhile, the native people make it known through their music that sex, drugs (or liquor), a...

  War - What is It Good For? - Appropos of Nothing You can’t go wrong leading off the show with The Pogues, feeling all blotto and disgusting. Then follow up with Stick in the Wheel, the singer wishing from her jail cell that she ‘n Becky hadn’t nicked stuff from the retail park (shopping center?). What do pre-war Ukrainians sing about? Haven’t a clue.  And the post-war Japanese adoption of American musical tastes is always, or at least, sometimes, worth a listen. The birth of bubblegum music? But then back to serious…beats and brass from the Banda Misterioso; Ocho with quintessential West Coast smooth-ness undressing your mind; Masanka Sankayi out of the slums of Kasai in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with new electric music for the mind and body. Lastly, a dose of the blues - just to lift your spirits! An interesting side note: Lata Mangeshkar, the Indian film songstress, has made more commercial recordings than any other human ever was.-J.H. Masanka Sankayi  Ton...

  It’s r&b night on Al compas del mundo and these are songs from somebody’s youth. Casting an eye over a history that has been labeled a “teen-age wasteland.” Not by me, though, I’m more inclined to embrace a “Land of 1000 Dances”, though I can’t claim to have mastered more than three: the Twist, The Freddy, and the Funky Chicken (I once won a watermelon at a Funky Chicken competition in a Milwaukee bar). Heroics aside, I’ve gathered well-known hits alongside more obscure recordings. i.e. Shirley and Lee doing “Let the Good Times Roll” vs. Nappy Brown’s “I Cried Like a Baby.” Nostalgia and an education in a 1-hour fell swoop. You better believe! Rhythm and blues (USA) first broadcast 4-13-2023   01 Dominoes - Have Mercy Baby 02 Irma Thomas - I Need Your Love So Bad 03 Nappy Brown - I Cried Like a Baby 04 Shirley and Lee - Let the Good Times Roll 05 Bobby Bland – Satisfied 06 Aaron Neville – Jailhouse 07 Bobby Moore - I Wanna Be Your Man 08 Gladys Knight a...

Two countries, neighbors, each with a distinct language born of totally different roots, one Orthodox Catholic, the other Moslem, and not always the best of friends as viewed on the historical ledger. Still, I think you will hear similarities in the ways folks express themselves musically and that speaks of a certain brotherhood in spite of what the politicians say. The clarinet, accordion, hourglass drums, and a variety of violin-like strings play outsize roles on either side of the border. There is an “Oriental” air defining both cultures that leans towards the Middle East and Eastern Europe simultaneously. To my ears it’s a savory mix. I’ve had the great pleasure of visiting each country though it was back decades ago when the lifestyle was undoubtedly different from today. When reminiscing of Turkey, I’ve always brought up one particular impression that left its mark: women in bikinis on the beach as the local prayer leader calls the faithful from a nearby minaret. It showed a tole...