6/11/07
I’ve been doing a lot of music shopping the last week in preparation for my performance at the Movimimento para Terra benefit this Saturday. I have accumulated quite a bit of Brazilian music over the years, but the gig has inspired me (as per usual) to deepen and diversify my collection a bit. In my shopping at various music stores I have still not seen any sign of the new Zion or Daddy Yankee CDs, nearly a week after they were released. And no, my copies haven’t arrived in the mail yet either, so I was not able to play them at Atlas. As far as more obscure fare goes, of course there has been no sign of Cuban artists like Interactivo and Telmary or Czech Roma rapper Gipsy. What is available everywhere is the new Bonde do Role. If it’s contemporary international music that appeals to hipsters, and is effectively marketed to them, (hello Diplo!) you bet you will be able to find it in Portland.
New York is so much better to me. Large groups of Indians, Arabs, Dominicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Garinagu in NYC means my musical needs are fulfilled to a much greater extent in that city. Portland needs one thing more than anything else: DIVERSITY! The more people from everywhere in the world move to Portland, the more Portland will actually be the great city many people think it is. I’m sure some old time Portlander’s miss the legally-enforced homogeneity of Portland’s racist past, but I welcome all the “problems” that a broader cultural mix will bring to this city.
IK