Mood:  not sure

So, let's have a test post on reviewing MP3 singles, shall we?  I envision it something like this: I provide the Amazon link to the mp3 song, and let you know how I feel about it.  I probably won't promote many songs that I don't like, or that drive me nuts by keeping me awake nights.  But let's pick out a few at random.  Click on either the images or text links to check them out on their Amazon pages.  They're totally free to sample!  Really!  :)

"Kana" is one of my favorite songs written and performed by Cecile Kayirebwa, the very first Rwandan singer I ever heard of, at least 20 years ago.  Kayirebwa fled her native country during its heartbreaking period of civil war; yet the clear, natural, highly fluid vocal phrasing indigenous to her culture shines through, enhanced by the amazing harmony/choral singing, in which the Rwandan pygmy (Twa) culture leads the way.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997) is my all-time favorite singer in any genre; and "Jewleh Lal" (The Red Falcon, a reference to Sufi Saint Lal Shabazz Qalander) is one of my favorite songs that he and his qawwali party (ensemble) recorded.  It's one of his longer songs (nearly 20 minutes!); but give yourself time to listen to the entire song; you'll find it a very rewarding, emotionally satisfying experience.  It's a sure-fire temporary relief (at least) from depression, including the seasonal variety; any spirited, high-powered qawwali song by Nusrat and Party will wake up your brain and lift your spirits quickly, on a physiological as well as emotional level.  Not to be missed!

 "Rocky Road to Dublin" is a longtime favorite song of mine--especially as performed by the late, great Irish duo of Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy; and especially in a live concert performance. This was my first lp by Makem and Clancy, after being entranced by their live performance in the spring of 1979. I'd been a huge fan of their "parent group", the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, for several years before that; but that concert was the first I'd seen of any of those guys, and it was a life-changing experience. Admittedly, I'm biased; but I can hardly find the slightest flaw in this recording, and don't hesitate to recommend it for the ecstatic Celtic spirit flowing from every high-energy second of sound.  I do, however, recommend getting the vinyl version of it which includes their unforgettable performance of Gordon Bok's story-song, "Peter Kagan and the Wind."  I've never been able to understand why this classic was excluded from the CD format...  

Mood:  party time!

Welcome, friends and folkies, to my latest crazy plot to make the world safer for folk and world music, for both fun and (hopefully) profit!  I'm starting up this MusicLair to publish reviews of Amazon's digital singles in the folk and world music genres (I'll have to take care of the album reviews later)!  I'm a bit new to this; but I have a passion for these musical genres, and I'm quite excited to share this stuff as widely as possible. 

It'll take a lot of research and listening, of course, not to mention expanding my limited knowledge of css and html, in order to make this blog look decent.  Meanwhile, I'd like to start off with a link to one of my own Youtube world music playlists...