Blog Country 119 - El Salvador

 

We are off to Central America this week and to the Republic of El Salvador.

It has been in the news recently for its mega prisons where any Latino with a tattoo in Trump's America runs the risk of ending up.

You should be aware of the Gang culture with gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18. I am assuming that there is an associated rap scene which goes hand in hand with them but you will be glad to know that I have made no effort to track it down.

Like many South and Central American countries El Salvador is associated with the Cumbia genre of Latin music known for its lively rhythms and dance traditions. An act who fit neatly into this category are Mario Roberto y su Orquestra Canela with their tune El Superman (En Vivo)

Mario is followed by Los Hermanos Flores with Salvadorena.  Shaka Y Dres is rightly concerned about the climate and Global Warming as his song Cambio Climatico demonstrates.

Some Salvadorian Death Metal you say? Look no further than Fleshless Entity with VersVm. That one might go down well with the gangs.

If that has your ears ringing here is Analu Dada with Quiero Saber to soothe them somewhat.

We are back in Africa next time round.

Mario Roberto y su Orquestra Canela - El Superman (En Vivo) 

Los Hermanos Flores - Salvodorena

Shaka Y Des - Cambio Climaticotica

Analu Dada - Quiero Saber

Fleshless Entity - VersVm

I'm Going to a Gig

 

I'm going to see Rose City Band play at Stereo tonight. 

It is only my second gig of the year so far which is frankly pathetic. It is mainly down to  the two F's - Finance and Family Commitments.

I'm looking forward to it as you can imagine particularly as the only time I have previously seen them at Broadcast was my gig of the year in 2022.

I have their first three albums - Rose City Band (2019), Summerlong (2020) and Earth Trip (2021) . The first two are pretty good with Summerlong being my second favourite album from that year.

I remain to be convinced by Earth Trip and 2023's Garden Party but 2025's Sol Y Sombra seems to be a return to form. I look forward to hearing a few from that one.

Who know's it may well lead to a purchase. Match report to follow

Rose City Band - Wandering Feeling

Rose City Band - Only Lonely

Rose City Band - Lights on the Way

Cosmic Things

 

Recent listens to the B-52's and in particular Enjoy the Melodic Sunshine  the masterpiece by the Chateau au Lait's finest Cosmic Rough Riders had me thinking of all things Cosmic.

Obviously the B-52s had to be included. Any song from ETMS would be a worthy inclusion but I have opted for Have You Heard The News Today.

We then have Cosmic Slop by Funkadelic and Cosmic Cowboy (Part One) by Michael Murphey.

Ok, so Chris Bell actually sings of Cosmos as opposed to Cosmic but that was not sufficient grounds for ruling him out.

My Blog, my rules!

The B-52's - Cosmic Thing

Cosmic Rough Riders -Have You Heard The News Today

Funkadelic -Cosmic Slop

Michael Murphey - Cosmic Cowboy (Part One)

Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos

Sunshine Superman

 

We have been blessed with some glorious weather over the last few days.

This got me thinking about Maryhill's finest Donovan Philip Leitch 78 years young and still going strong.

The song which initially sprung to mind was Sunshine Superman which seemed appropriate. I then slipped down a Donavan sized rabbit hole and was quite surprised as to how few of his songs I have. Some were duly sourced.

This would have been much easier had I not, a couple of years ago, inexplicably spurned an opportunity in the Oxfam shop in Troon of  picking up a Best Of, in reasonable condition, for a couple of quid.

It's not quite causing me sleepless nights but has me shaking my head from time to time.

Donovan -Sunshine Superman

Donovan -Catch The Wind

Donovan - Season of the Witch

Donovan -Universal Soldier

Some of you got a sneak preview when this popped up early doors yesterday on his 79th birthday!

You can't get the staff!

Saturday Shuffle 97

 

The Shuffle moves slowly but surely one step closer to its Centenary with another three random tunes for your listening pleasure

We start with Who's Lovin' You by The Temptations. Written by Smokey Robinson it was was first recorded in 1960 by The Miracles. It has been covered by many other Soul acts most notably The Jackson Five. 

From 2015 we have Nothin' Feels Right But Doin' Wrong taken from the album Sidelong by Sarah Shock & the Disarmers. On the rare occasion that I feature this album I always feel obliged to let you know that this is the only album I have from the Bloodshot label on vinyl as opposed to the 34 on CD. From when postage from the US didn't require a second mortgage - and that's before tariffs!

I remain indebted to John Medd for bringing the band Curse of Lono  and in particular their 2021 album People in Cars to my attention. From that album I give you track 3  Ursula  Andress. The iconic picture above is taken from the James Bond film Dr No which was released in 1962. I can't say I remember seeing it at the time but I've seen it many times since.

More shuffled tunes, iconic or otherwise, next Saturday

The Temptations - Who's Lovin' You

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Nothin' Feels Right But Doin' Wrong

Curse of Lono - Ursula Andress

One - In - Four

 

While transferring the Jewel cases of the Burns by Delilah and Jessie Ware to a box containing Compilations which  never quite managed to make it as far as the shelves I stumbled upon the above compilation.

Compiled by SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) it is a compilation of songs by Scottish artists  highlighting the fact that one in four of us are likely to have Mental Health problems at some stage in their lives. It is a subject dear to my heart given that I spent the vast majority of my working career in this field.

The CD contains 14 tracks. I featured it once before back in October 2015 when I opted for three of the lesser known artists.

This time around I have gone for the four biggest hitters. There may be an argument in some quarters that Snow Patrol meet that criteria but I am holding no truck with that.

Unfortunately space dictates that it will not be promoted to the shelves at this stage.

Teenage Fanclub - Eyes Wide Open

The Delgados - Aye Today

Mogwai - Helicon 2

Belle & Sebastian - The Model

Carl & Pearl

 

If you happen to find yourself wandering  in the Litoral in mid Portugal and pass a farm with two goats grazing in a field and the music of Carl & Pearl Butler blaring out chances are that you have stumbled across the largest collection of their music in Europe.

Me, I am not in the same league. I only have one cheap and cheerful album Don't Let Me Cross Over and downloads of a handful of songs here and there

But what songs they are. Delivered beautifully by the happy couple who as a bonus make sure that they are always dressed for the occasion

Carl & Pearl Butler - Don't Let Me Cross Over

Carl & Pearl Butler - Heartaches For Lunch

Carl & Pearl Butler - Sundown in Nashville