Calypso

early calypso has an interesting (subversive?) mixture of slang/patois and selfconsciously correct and verbose language. the very rhythms of the music seem to enforce this mixture.

the rounder belasco cd is remarkable. i wish the other bandleaders who were making similar music at the time were better represented on cd.

Harry Belafonte: C or D?

Anyone remember their parents or grandparents singing "Brownskin Gals"?

well, whichever one they have, i guess! but suggestions welcome

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000000IAE.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

i was thinking of london is the place for me--my friend (different friend) loves it. he has it on vinyl so i can't copy it from him though.

i think anything above will make me happy though.

Faluma ding ding ding... *jizzes*. Oh man, what a song.

and i did not buy it.

I just got Roosevelt in Trinidad. Pretty amazing. Lion's "Bing Crosby" is so fucking great. Maybe my favourite closing lines of a song ever: "He has a queer eccentricity/of removing his hat very infrequently/so let us unanimousily shout three cheers for this golden-voiced prodigy!"

That reminds me...DC Caribbean Carnival coming up in late June...There's usually always a retro calypso show associated...

I just got Roosevelt in Trinidad. Pretty amazing. Lion's "Bing Crosby" is so fucking great. Maybe my favourite closing lines of a song ever: "He has a queer eccentricity/of removing his hat very infrequently/so let us unanimousily shout three cheers for this golden-voiced prodigy!"

-- fritz, Thursday, May 1, 2008 1:29 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

i want this album so bad! been trying to get it for a while now!

oh i just said that.

man the london is the place comps are so good... not all calypso, sure, but all awes.

email me slocki, i can burn you a pile of stuff... but it's worth scoring the cd of Roosevelt if you can find it, amazingly detailed liner notes and annotated lyrics explaining all the references.

the Lord Invader Calypso in New York disc that Smithsonian reissued last year (think it was last hear) kicks a whole bunch of behind.

My favorite thing in this set is the song "New York Subway," in which Lord Invader goes to Brooklyn on a date, wakes up lost, and gets bullshit excuses from cab drivers about why they can't take him back uptown. It's reassuring to know that there are constants and continuity in the world.

Other calypso songs I'm personally fond of lately: "My Wife's Nightie," in which Lord Kitchener brings home a young lady who seems "of good character" while his wife is away, but wakes up to find she's stolen his wife's nice nightie; and "Mahalia, I Want My Dollar Back," by Lord Invader, which is pretty self-explanatory. I think I go for the funny/petty complaint songs, really.

my wife's nightie is great. great punchline.

Something about a chorus singing "Come back with my wife's nightie!" in between threats of criminal action ...

Do you guys have any other recommendations? I've been listening to calypso while working on a big writing project, just to keep a steady mood/tone to the writing -- I could use more. (My only needs are that it not be too roughly recorded or too modern/insistent, both of which can jar my concentration -- the sound and recording of that prime-era stuff is really good for comfortable all-day listening.)

(Also, has anyone listened much to the WFMU calypso/soca show "Muriel's Treasure?" Trying to decide whether it's worth dipping in and going through some of the archived ones.)

Not to turn this into my calypso liveblog, or anything, but oh, Lord Melody-paws! His complaint about New York is that

In the winter when snow starts to fall
There is nothing to attract you at all
Even the women lose their sex appeal
Because they're covered from their head to their heel

But then he proceeds to visit and sing the praises of Chicago!

Search Lord Beginner's "Victory Test Match"!

^^ I would like sports so much better if all results came in the form of 3-minute calypso summaries (see also "Cricket Champions")

Yes!!!

Right, so I have now officially heard a song about a seagull with its head stuck up a mule's ass

One more item to delete from Bucket_List.xls

HAW

Dammit, took out Van Dyke Parks' Discover America a few nights ago, put "Jack Palance" on repeat for a while, and haven't stopped listening to Mighty Sparrow/Calypso comps since. Calypso Pioneers: 1912-1937, Calypso Carnival: 1936-1941, and the Mighty Sparrow Explodes into Calypso comps, all fantastic.

I have every comfort and every sport/And my residence is at Hampton Court

My favourite song right now is Wilmoth Houdini's version of Rum And Coca-Cola. Can't find a video of it sadly.

Not a bad time to dig out Maestro's "World Cup":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NRsKlMZe4k