Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Soe Sanda Tun | Unknown Burmese CD



Listen to a sample track

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The Myanmar Question: How WTF do you want your music?

Nearly every song on this utterly bewitching CD begins as though someone--some very, very bad boy or girl--had catapulted it into a giant lake of melted processed cheese, where it flails about, choking and gasping for air, its oversized Margaret Keane eyes imploring you to rescue it by turning off your stereo and going out and enjoying life.

Then, perhaps 20-30 seconds into the song, Arnold Schoenberg, John Cage, Paul Hindemith and Edgar Varese each takes his place at one corner of the Lake o'Cheese. Together, in unison, they kneel down, pressing their elderly chapped lips to the lake's orange bobbing surface. John and Paul gently suck the cheese toward them while Arnold and Edgar gently blow. Then, Paul begins to blow. And Arnold sucks. John blow-sucks, blow-sucks, blow-sucks. And in this way, these four cornerstones of 20th century avant-garde music cause the previously drowning song to lift and rise above the cheese, in exaggerated but nonetheless cool-looking feather steps, enchuflas, ronds and gonchos.

The moral of the story? When life catapults you into a lake of cheese, tell your thin-lipped avant-garde friends to suck it.

8 comments:

Apurva Bahadur said...

This is absolutely wonderful! Many thanks for sharing. Apurva from Pune, India.

peter said...

awesome! this is soe sanda tun

Anonymous said...

Thank you!
The 'Arnold Schoenberg, John Cage, Paul Hindemith and Edgar Varese' cheese analogy is funny and very apt - I've listened to some Burmese/Myanmar classic/folk stuff over the years and have always been amazed at how uniquely wonderful & strange their musical culture really is!?
As you say - a real island of WTF!?

More Burmese/Myanmar stuff if you have any....Please!
:-)
M

Gary said...

M, there are three other Burmese CDs on this site ... click on the Burma label, or go here:

http://bodegapop.blogspot.com/search/label/Burma

and I'll be posting much more this weekend.

And, Peter, thanks as always!

gypsykat said...

I'm not sure which is more mind bending, the music or your commentary on it.

Thanks!

peter said...

here is my best attempt at the tracklist:

1. cherry le hsaun pei thu yei
2. achi be ka sa
3. pyo lai pa san da
4. wa sou
5. ti pwint pan
6. november hma la ma la, december hma la ma la
7. lwan ngwei ta wei wei
8. chi ta bada na
9. nga myi ya pyi shwei bou
10. achi mya swa hpyin tha
11. shwei nya thu shwei nya tha
12. achein ya hma na htaun pa

Gary said...

Thanks, Peter!

Anonymous said...

Gary - many thanks - listening now :-)

Wonderful music!

M