Music for In-Laws

January 4, 2006... While Gumdrop and I were still cohabiting, we fell into the habit of playing the same CD whenever members of her family were over. It was cool enough to be in our collection, alongside the Steel Pole Bath Tub and the Sun City Girls CDs, but inoffensive enough to play for parents and siblings.

The CD is question is Calypso Awakening, a compilation of songs recorded in Trinidad during the 1950s and 1960s and released by Smithsonian Folkways in 2000. The music is so upbeat that only an ogre would fail to crack a smile while listening to it.

Mighty Sparrow - No Doctor No

Clearly, one side benefit of listening to Calypso Awakening is learning what the pressing issues were for Trinidadian society at the time.

Burp!

Another side benefit is hearing how the improvised lyrical battles of hip-hop were presaged in calypso, as demonstrated in song "Picong Duel" by Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody. Plus there's de 'ole beautiful-version-of-English ting...

Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody - Picong Duel

So, what do you play when your in-laws are over for a visit?

Permadink | |


Top

Home