Music Video: Señor Flavio - El Apagón

"Latin Alternative" is an exciting musical genre.  Previously on this blog, I've stated that Manu Chao is arguably the father of the genre.  Apparently others believe that the Argentine artist Señor Flavio, formerly the bassist for Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, is the father of the genre.  I won't argue the point.  I will, however, argue that El Apagón is a great song - combining ska, hip-hop, and Latin rhythms into an exciting cocktail.

Music Video: LaBrassBanda - Bauersbua

I was introduced to LaBrassBanda by Arndt Peltner, who does a great program on German music for Radio Goethe.  With their song Bauersbua, you not only get a driving beat that will get your feet dancing and your heart beating faster, you also get a tuba solo that makes your lungs hurt just watching it.  LaBrassBanda manages to blend what you may think of as traditional "Oompah" with more modern beats to create something new and very exciting.

Music Video: Marteria - Sekundenschlaf

I am a huge fan of the German dancehall band Seeed (trust me, this is going somewhere), and have been biding my time while its various members follow their solo side projects before returning to record a new album in 2011.  Well, imagine my delirious joy when I saw on their website that they had just released a "remix" of German rapper Marteria's song Sekundenschlaf.  Well. . . it's actually not all that different from the original version, but it is enjoyable nevertheless.

Music Video: Iriepathie - Marianne

German band Iriepathie can lay down some smooth reggae grooves.  When they combine those smooth reggae grooves with a video that portrays the band in an 19th Century Alpine village setting as they do in their song Marianne, it gets pretty surreal.  But hey, isn't that part of the glory of musical cross-fertilization? 

Music Video: BB Brunes - Perdus Cette Nuit

BB Brunes are the standard bearers of France's "Le Nouvelle Scène", which consists of French bands playing hard driving rock 'n roll while singing in - gasp - French.   Well, good for them, I say!  With their song Perdus Cette Nuit, complete with driving beat, raucous guitar, and grinding keyboard, BB Brunes really sets the tone for the movement.  But this energy carries through on both of their two studio albums (so far).

Music Video: Second Sex - J'ai Couché Avec Le Diable

French popular music is finally moving beyond the whole chanson/accordion thing.  Indicative of this trend is the "punk" band Second Sex and their song J'ai Couché Avec Le Diable.  Like much other French "punk", their version is much more in the style of New York than California or London - complete with lots of ripped jeans and black leather jackets.  They have a great sound though.

Music Video: Peter Fox - Alles Neu

German artist Peter Fox's debut single, Alles Neu, is the song that launched this blog over a year ago.  First, because this hip-hop mixed with jazz mixed with classical song has amazing crossover appeal into any language.  Second, because Peter Fox seems to have tendrils that reach into huge swaths of both German and American popular music (for example, Cee Lo Green was originally slated to do the vocals for Peter's first solo project).  Also of interest here is that the drummers are from the North Carolina drumline, Cold Steel.

Amusing Music Video: The Powerpuff Girls - Love Makes the World Go Round

I have learned a lot of things by watching the Powerpuff Girls in German with my daughter.  First, it's that they did a really good job with dubbing it into German.  Second, by being such compelling television, through repeated watching of Love Makes the World Go Round, I happened to notice that Buttercup plays the bass leftie.  Who knew? 

Music Video: Koalas Desperados - Keep Marching

What happens when you mix a German and French songwriter/producer team with vocalists from Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Uganda (by way of Sweden), on top of a reggae groove?  Well, with all those different influences, probably just about anything can happen.  In this case, though, you get Koalas Desperados and their tune Keep Marching. 

Music Video: Caravan Palace - Jolie Coquine

Somewhat like the Swedish band Movits!, French band Caravan Palace is trying to bring swing into the 21st Century.  While Movits! accomplishes this by combining hip-hop and swing, Caravan Palace is a leading exponent of the electroswing genre.  On songs like Jolie Coquine, it works exquisitely well.  Whether you want to or not, while watching this video your foot will start tapping.  Just wait.  You'll see. . .

Music Video: Nils Koppruch - Kirschen

German musician Nils Koppruch is one of those singers who is difficult to characterize.  When I first heard him, I thought of Tom Waits without the 5 pack a day habit.  However you would describe him or his style, though, Kirschen from his recent solo album Caruso (for 10 years he was the lead singer with the German band Fink) is a pleasantly upbeat song to carry you through a hectic day.

Music Video: Pizzicato Five - Baby Portable Rock

Some music out there is just painfully happy.  Japanese band Pizzicato Five made their money making music that is so painfully happy that it makes your teeth hurt.  But I mean that in a good way.  Baby Portable Rock is unashamed 1960s bubblegum pop.  While that would get really irritating if sung by some precocious teen working for Disney, when sung by a lovely Japanese chanteuse and her Dorothy Hamill hair-doed musician chum it is simply irresistible. 

Amusing Music Video: Enrique y Ana - Super Disco China

In my eternal search for interesting music from around the world, occasionally I find something that simply must be posted, but that doesn't generally qualify as a song that I "like".  Super Disco China by Spanish duo Enrique y Ana is just such a song.  Granted, much that came out of the 1970s should be forgiven or forgotten.  On the other hand, songs like this should be remembered forever simply because of the wonder they evoke.

Music Video: Deichkind - Electric Super Dance Band

I started out being somewhat indifferent to German band Deichkind.  I thought their first couple of albums were kind of ordinary Beastie Boys rip-offs.  With their third album Aufstand im Schlaraffenland, however, they started to grab my interest.  They still maintain their boyish sense of humor, but the music begins to take on a much more danceable beat.  Electric Super Dance Band (or "E.S.D.B.") is a perfect example of where this new musical direction really hits its stride.

Music Video: Movits! - Sammy Davis Jr.

Like me, probably the first you ever heard of the Swedish band Movits! was on the Colbert Report.  Their infectious mix of hip-hop and swing was both exciting and completely new.  Well, with their newest album Out of My Head comes this swinging track, Sammy Davis Jr.  If this song doesn't get you moving your feet, nothing will!

Music Video: Manu Chao - Politik Kills

It would be extremely difficult to talk about non-English popular music without mentioning French-born artist Manu Chao.  First hitting big-time fame with his band Mano Negra, Manu has been a solo act since they broke up in the mid-1990s.  With songs like Politik Kills, Manu has remained a major force in the Latin-Alternative scene; a scene which he was instrumental in creating in the first place.

Music Video: Rachid Taha - Rock el Casbah

I enjoy finding little-known gems that also really rock.  I first heard Algerian musician Rachid Taha performing Rock el Casbah on a Joe Strummer compilation, and loved it so much that I knew I had to post it here on Open World Music.  It's the perfect blend of North African styles and early British punk.

Music Video: Blockflöte des Todes - iPummelchen

If you have been following this blog, particularly my 2010 Bundesvision Song Contest preview, you'll already be aware of Blockflöte des Todes.  He's not everybody's cup of tea; his music is an eclectic mix of everything from punk to folk to alternative.  But there's no mistaking that he's a staggeringly talented musician.  Here he is playing the song Pummelchen from his Mädchenhaar EP on an iPhone(!!!).  This version is called iPummelchen.

Music Video: Jan Delay - Feuer

I have a huge backlog of videos to post, so I'll just get underway with Jan Delay and his song Feuer.  This is one of the fist songs of Jan's that I heard, and I really like how he has made the transition from hip-hop to more of a soul/funk.

Open World Music is Reborn. . . kind of. . .

It has been quite a while since I have posted here.  It was not for lack of interest or lack of content.  Rather, it was because I was having a hard time pinning down what I wanted this blog to really be about. 

Initially, I wanted this to largely be a commentary about the music industry in general, particularly as it relates to marketing non-English language music.  Not being an industry insider, but rather simply a borderline obsessed outsider, how much could I really write that would be both informative and entertaining?  That concept lasted all of two posts.

Next, I thought I might make this a music review blog.  I collect music avidly, and would have plenty of interesting music to write about.  After a while, though, I ran out of interesting or insightful things to say.  Rather than simply saying "I liked Tracks 2, 7, and 8 because they rock, and Tracks 1 and 4 because they're mellow," I wanted to provide compelling insights into the listening experience for the whole album (or video, in one case).  Sadly, as I'm neither compelling, nor particularly insightful, that concept also lasted only a couple of posts.

Finally, I focused on the 2010 Bundesvision Song Contest.  Now that was actually kind of a fun project.  Every few days I would watch one of the competing music videos, would comment on whether I personally liked it or not and why, and then would make a prediction about where it would place in the final competition.  While it was good for what it was, it was a very limited universe of music, it was only relevant for a short period of time, and it was only German music.  I want this blog to be so much broader than that.  So, while my preview of the 2011 Bundesvision Song Contest will probably return again this fall, that concept will also only last a dozen or so posts.

So, we come to today.  While this blog has largely been laying fallow for the past 6 months, Open World Music has been alive and well on my Facebook page.  On a semi-regular basis, I have been posting YouTube videos of music that I have been running across, along with a line or two of commentary on why I like that particular song or video.  It is compelling content, it is interesting content, and most importantly for my purposes, it is easy to generate content.

Yes, I will still occasionally prattle on about a subject that I find interesting as it relates to non-English language music.  But mostly, I intend to use this space to expose you, my faithful readers, to new and interesting music.  Rather than simply describing it, though, I will let you listen for yourself. 

I hope you enjoy!