3/13/07
Ugggh. I’m sick again and finding it pretty lame. I’m not devastatingly sick, just enough to have no energy to do anything that needs to be done. Or go to work. Or eat. And I miss eating. I can’t wait to get well enough to devour a massive seven-course Indian feast. Mmmm. I’m still working on my massive FRPG post, so you don’t get that now. I also started a post on the last Atlas. Not sure if I have the energy to finish that right now either. Thanks to everyone who came out. That was one crazy party. Thanks for putting up with my perversity.”Where’s the Party Tonight,” at Atlas? Yeah, who knew where that came from?
One thing I have had the energy to do is spend far too much time on the internet. Searching for CDs of international hip-hop and the like. So frustrating. Hours and hours of banging my head against the screen. Talk about globalization all you want, but most contemporary music in the world is NOT available online. And I should know, because I’ve spent far too much time looking for it. Now I should point out that I don’t do illegal downloading at all. I’m sure that everything is available for free on file-sharing sites, but for those of us who want to purchase music legally there are very few options. I spent forever looking for the Lebanese rapper Rayess Bek with no luck. His website lists the tracks for his new CD but I couldn’t find it online anywhere. I also spent a lot of time on Brazilian websites looking for Funk Carioca only to discover that there was some legislation passed in Brazil so that none of the Brazilian websites are allowed to ship outside the country. Of course I couldn’t find the latest releases anywhere but Brazilian websites.
The amazingly-knowledgeable international music fan Jacques flew in to town to attend the last Atlas. He was kind enough to give me a CD he put together of Dangdut, Malaysian hip-hop, Indonesian hip-hop, and other amazing sounds. Of course you have to travel to that part of the world (like he just did) to get any of it. I know there is no substitute for travelling. Unfortunately a lack of time and money has meant that Anjali and I have had to cancel every hoped-for vacation we wanted to take this Spring. Other than frequent trips to Vancouver, BC we haven’t made it out of the country since our India trip in Spring of 2004. It’s so frustrating. I would love to spend time travelling the world and gathering music, but Portland DJ gigs are only paying enough to pay the rent at this point. Thankfully they are doing that much. Little did you know that the cover charge you pay at the door keeps a roof over my head, but it’s true.
Looking through foreign markets is so much more appealing to me than staring at a screen. I was not raised with computers, and I am certainly ambivalent about all the time I now spend in front of them. Unfortunately if I can’t afford to travel, the internet is my only hope at tracking down contemporary international dance music. As frustrating as it often is. Gotta travel soon. Somehow. Some place sunny, hopefully. With beaches, and beautiful clear water. I think I’ll get well first. Still fantasizing about food . . .
Take care everybody.
IK