Music Video: Massimo Volume - Fausto

As a music fan, I am always fascinated by the labels applied to bands and musical genres.  These labels can go from broad, like pop, indie, or metal, to very narrow, like dancehall, death metal, or folktronica (I particularly like the sound of that last one!).  Anyway, despite having been an avid listener for well nigh 4 decades, I have never before heard the term "math rock".  Never before, until today.

Apparently, the Italian band Massimo Volume is a math rock band.  According to the ever faithful, and never wrong, Wikipedia, math rock is rock music that is played according to ever changing  and complex meter, as opposed to typical rock that is usually played in straight 4/4 time.  I can't speak to whether that describes an actual genre of music as defined by the musicians themselves, but I suppose I can pull it out at my next cocktail party to see if it excites the ladies in the room.

In the meantime, check out Massimo Volume's Fausto to see if any of this makes any sense to you.  For whatever it is worth, I am notoriously bad at assigning genres to bands.  Typically, genres are used in music for the purposes of exclusion rather than inclusion.  I think that's a shame, because whether or not Massimo Volume is math rock or something else altogether, they're still a lot of fun to listen to.

This Year's OWM Thanksgiving Disco Playlist

A few months ago, my step-sister made me a challenge that I couldn't resist: her new Belgian husband (another music lover, apparently) and I would go head-to-head on a Thanksgiving disco playlist.  Well, after going through a dozen permutations, I have come up with my list.  They're not all "disco" songs, but they're all danceable.  Enjoy!

1)  Baaba Maal: International (Senegal)
2)  Mexican Institute of Sound:  Bienvenidos a Mi Disco (Mexico)
3)  Timbuktu:  N.a.p.  (Sweden)
4)  Napoleon Solo:  Explota (Spain)
5)  Deichkind:  E.S.D.B. (Germany)
6)  Plasticines:  La règle du jeu (France)
7)  Madsen:  Mein Herz bleibt hier (Germany)
8)  BB Brunes:  Sixty Eight (France)
9)  Die Sterne:  Depressionen aus der Hölle (Germany)

10)  Model:  Şey. . . Belki! (Turkey)

11)  Movits!:  Sammy Davis Jr. (Sweden)

12)  Koalas Desperados:  All Night Long (Germany)

13)  Casino Royale:  Anno Zero (Italy)

14)  Nous Non Plus:  Catastrophe (USA)

15)  Jens Friebe:  Über den Weg (Germany)

16)  t.A.T.u.:  220 (Russia)

17)  Frida Gold:  Wovon Sollen Wir Träumen (Germany)

18)  Dodo:  Wett di hebä (Sweden)

19)  Mono & Nikitaman:  Komplizen (Austria)

20)  Ryo the Skywalker:  ****Japan (Japan)

21)  LaBrassBanda:  Bierzelt (Germany)

22)  Manu Chao:  Besoin De La Luna (France)