Finds: Beirut in Brazil, Sierra Leone in Brooklyn, Balkans in DC, Myspace Nostalgia

Michael Neault

Michael Neault

— 1 min read
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Finds: Beirut in Brazil, Sierra Leone in Brooklyn, Balkans in DC, Myspace Nostalgia

Vampire Weekend on Myspace. What year might this be? 2006 is my best guess. Their mastery of melody visible right from the jump.

Vampire Weekend palm wine. Pair myspace with this one. Vampire Weekend samples palm wine star S.E. Rogie, from Sierra Leone. Note that lyrics to this song are a testament to contentment, a rare theme for indie rock.

Big Band, Tiny Desk. Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia at NPR. These are the kind of bands that Beirut (who is from New Mexico) were inspired by. Few (any?) have broke through to western markets. Why does Beirut have a following in Sao Paolo, Brazil? They’ve toured the country, a Brazilian Beirut projects exists. Beirut has more listeners in Brazil than in the United States. Theories? 

Main Ingredient, Everybody Plays the Fool. Cuba Jr’s dad and one of the most memorable intro sequences — pay attention to the piano-flute-bass interplay.

Girl Talk takes that riff and froths it up into something new. This style of mashups seems to be unique to this musician. Has anyone else done it with such commitment? With TikTok attention spans, I would’ve guessed it would be more popular. (and if you want to go too deep)

Isicathamiya, Maskandi, Hlanganani. South African acapella. Adjacent, but distinctly different from Ladysmith. Less sacred, more labor oriented. Minimal information about the band, but the depth of the vocals is immediately distinctive. Via songlines (kinda). 

Bonus: Shaggy T-shirt, “It was’nt (sic) me”, $250 on Ebay. Bid now.

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A Dignified Lake • Trail Running with Kids • Cheese curds and Whitefish Dip • Freshwater Cliff Jumping • Sheboygan is Extremely Underrated • Cleanest Gas Station Ever • Lucky Strike Cigarettes

A Dignified Lake • Trail Running with Kids • Cheese curds and Whitefish Dip • Freshwater Cliff Jumping • Sheboygan is Extremely Underrated • Cleanest Gas Station Ever • Lucky Strike Cigarettes

The world’s largest body of fresh water (by surface area) flanks the shores of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (affectionately known as the “U.P.” in the local vernacular). Due to the extreme northern latitude, the water shimmers from the sun’s sharply angled raking light. The lake is magnificent,

By Michael Neault
Questionable Bloodletting • Learning highlife guitar • Ketchup etymology • Designer Dreams • Brazilian Hand Lettering • Epic Knowledge Transfer • Paul McCartney’s Sweater Vest

Questionable Bloodletting • Learning highlife guitar • Ketchup etymology • Designer Dreams • Brazilian Hand Lettering • Epic Knowledge Transfer • Paul McCartney’s Sweater Vest

Dream engineers, you have my attention. This start up (Dust Systems) is hacking your dreams with the intention of improving your life. Here’s a page about their work designing dreams for creative joy. One staff person is listed as a “Anesthesia Dreaming Pioneer.”  Notably, you can try this yourself.

By Michael Neault