NPR: Milo Miles

Yo La Tengo: Decades In And Far From Fading

NPR: Milo Miles — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:02:00 +0000

Yo La Tengo wouldn't seem to be very rock 'n' roll, given that it's a very stable and long-lasting operation. Since 1991, the lineup has consisted of a married couple — drummer Georgia Hubley and guitarist Ira Kaplan, along with bassist James McNew — and all three play additional instruments as needed. Yo La Tengo has been with the same label, Matador, since 1993.

Tunes To 'Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard' To

NPR: Milo Miles — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:57:00 +0000

The first thing to note about the collection of old-timey music Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard is that it resulted from a record-discovery event that happens less and less often, and soon will likely never happen again. The music was recorded between 1923 and 1936. Most of the sides on the set are taken from 78s collected by the late Don Wahle of Louisville, Ky., and rescued from Dumpster destruction in 2010 by compiler Nathan Salsburg. Nineteen of the songs have never been reissued. Piles of moldy vinyl left behind by the deceased were once commonplace. No longer.

Samuel Yirga Ushers In A Golden Age Of Ethiopian Music

NPR: Milo Miles — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:34:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyI7IWtb-NI

Analog Players Society: A Party Cooked Up In A Studio

NPR: Milo Miles — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Albums made by collections of professional studio players once had a bad reputation with the traditional rock audience. Such works were supposedly arid and chilly — more like the results of a board meeting than the recorded adventure of an organic group of fabulous friends. Some music fans may still feel that way, but they are few.

Boban i Marko Markovic: Irresistible Party Music

NPR: Milo Miles — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

A dozen years ago, if someone told me that one of the liveliest, most inventive party albums of the year would come from a band originally associated with wedding celebrations and beer festivals, I would have been all, "Yeah, sure, you bet." If it was further explained that the band's roots were much closer to polka than rock, funk or hip-hop, I would have responded, "Don't push it." But nowadays, I'm familiar with the Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar, whose retrospective Golden Horns will lighten the heart and lift the feet as surely as anything you'll hear in 2012.

Paying Tribute To San Francisco DJ Cheb I Sabbah

NPR: Milo Miles — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Cheb i Sabbah's life traces an almost fairy-tale perfect path through the evolution of what's now called world music. Born in Algeria in 1947, he absorbed the Judeo-Arabic Andalusian music of his local culture before he joined the '60s rebellion and became a 17-year-old DJ playing soul 45s in Paris. By the end of the decade, he'd moved to New York and become friends with trumpeter Don Cherry, famous for his association with Ornette Coleman and a pioneer in the concept of multicultural music.

A Sure-Footed Collection Of 'African Blues'

NPR: Milo Miles — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:45:00 +0000

I have to hand it to the Putumayo label. Since it started as a soundtrack-provider to a clothing store in the early '90s, the operation has placed racks of CDs with friendly-primitivist art by Nicola Heindl into Starbucks and Whole Foods everywhere. Putumayo is as responsible as anything for making music buyers ask "Where's the world music section?" in shops or online.

From Dominican Roots, Bachata Is Here To Stay

NPR: Milo Miles — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:04:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBCq0cSxvEE

Hugh Masekela: Wedding Songs That Don't Sound Blue

NPR: Milo Miles — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:22:00 +0000

In 1968, Hugh Masekela was not quite 30 years old and though he was in exile from his homeland of South Africa, he seemed ready to become at home on the American jazz and pop markets. That summer, he had scored a number one single, "Grazing in the Grass." A year earlier, he'd been one of the few international performers at the 1967 Monterrey International Pop Festival and had appeared in its D.A. Pennebaker documentary. Yet strangely enough, over the next 45 years Masekela never quite found his sweet spot.

El Rego: A Singer From Benin With Soul And Funk

NPR: Milo Miles — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:09:00 +0000

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the history of world music proves that unfamiliar instruments and rhythms cross borders much more readily than vocal styles. There's no question that, starting in the late '60s, soul and then funk became very popular in sub-Saharan Africa. Decades of reissues show that a lot of players found their way into electric guitar, and that enriching the big beat of the West was a cinch for African percussionists.

Regarding singers, only South Africa had a gospel tradition that was ready for soul from the get-go.

Iron Butterfly Stretches Its Wings On 'Fillmore East'

NPR: Milo Miles — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Before Led Zeppelin, there was Iron Butterfly — these days, a very misremembered band from Los Angeles. Maybe it was the movie industry all around, but '60s garage-rock in L.A. had an expansive, almost cinematic streak. Iron Butterfly was not the most inventive band on that scene, but it became the most famous because of a single, durable, out-of-nowhere hit, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." The song was 17 minutes long, and the proper thing to do on underground radio stations was the play the whole thing.

Iggy Pop: A Punk Rocker Devoted To Imperfection

NPR: Milo Miles — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:13:00 +0000

I'm not presenting much of a consumer guide here. If you even think you would enjoy four CDs of unreleased Iggy Pop concert bootlegs — with dropouts, feedback and lots of flubbed notes — you don't need me to tell you about it.

This is more of a reflection on surprising endurance. Back in the late '70s, Iggy, like Keith Richards, was supposed to already have a coffin with his name on it.

Bombino: High-Energy Sounds From 'Agadez,' Niger

NPR: Milo Miles — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:29:00 +0000

The Tuareg people have lived in the Sahara desert of Western Africa for thousands of years. The harsh desert environment gets woven into those who can adapt to it. So the Tuareg have long been protective of their independent, nomadic-herder culture and society. But not unlike the European Roma, Tuaregs have a tense — occasionally violent — relationship with central governments.