Blessing Udeagu

With the exception of King Sunny Ade's 1984 Aura, I came to Nigerian music late -- embarrassingly so. And it wasn't through Fela. It wasn't through Now-Again or Soul Jazz. And it wasn't through any of the amazing African music blogs of the last decade or two. 

It was all because I stopped for water at a bodega on the corner of 99th Street and Lewis Avenue in Corona on a hotter-than-usual early June day in 2012, two years after I'd moved to Queens. After quenching my thirst, I took a look around my surroundings, spotting the words "AFRICAN MOVIES" in red on a yellow awning two doors down. I walked over and stepped inside.

Blessing Udeagu moved to the U.S. in 1986 and opened her eponymous tax preparation / Nigerian video and CD shop on Lewis Avenue in Corona, Queens, two days before September 11, 2001. 

On Wednesday, April 4, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio played some of the most incredible pop and folk we've ever heard, all plucked from the shelves of Blessing's remarkable store.

Listen to the show now in the archives

Νοσταλγία | Nostalgia

On Wednesday, March 28, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio spun favorite tracks from the Pathé 100 Hong Kong + Shanghai series, early Jamaican mento and R&B, Greek garage and laïka, Krautrock from Brain Records, 70s mor lam from Soi 48, and nascent hip-hop from the U.S.A.

Listen to the show now in the archives

Ould Mbarek & Milouda Ouhada | Great Concert in the City of Khouribga

Thanks once again to Tim Abdellah Fuson of Moroccan Tape Stash for translation and a bit of context. Take a listen, read a bit, download (link in comments).



A terrific Moroccan cassette with superfine playing, frenetic energy, and expressive vocals. Likely from the late 1980s or early 90s. Tim has posted other rocking examples of Zaêri on MTS; if you like this one, there's a lot more of this kind of thing there. (Though I should admit that I'm altogether unclear what, exactly, Zaêri means.)  

Another incredible gem from last year's massive haul at Naseem Meat Market & Grocery right in in Astoria, Queens.

Dust-to-Digital

On Wednesday, March 21, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio celebrated 15 years of incredible releases from bar-raising re-release label, Dust-to-Digital. From brilliantly curated international 78 rpm collections to focused releases featuring early recordings from Africa and Southeast Asia, DTD has changed the way we think about -- and listen to -- so-called "world" music.

Listen to the show now in the archives

Rare & New CDs | WFMU Fundraising Marathon!

WFMU's 2018 Fundraising Marathon continues and I've got 9 more new and rare CDs to give away to winning Bodega Pop Live listeners. All CDs were found in bodegas and media stores catering to immigrants in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. 

This Wednesday, March 14, from 7-10 PM ET I'll be joined by my Give the Drummer Radio stream mate, Continental Subway's David Dichelle; in addition to playing some really great tracks, we'll be giving away the nine CDs shown aboveto lucky pledgers of $20 or more.

Here are a few details on what's up for grabs:

1. Brazilian hip-hop crew Racionais MC's 1994 compilation of their first two albums, plus bonus tracks. It doesn't get funkier than this.

2. Polish post-punk pioneers Siekiera's 1986 debut. One of the most influential eastern European albums of all time. Plucked from the shelves of Music Planet in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

3. Niemen's 1968 Sukces -- one of your humble proprietor's favorite albums, ever. I mean, look at him. Look at his haircut. Look at his jacket. Look at the freaking lettering. Is Niemen going to disappoint? Nie, man. 

4. Bappi "The Big Bappi" Lahiri's 1987 Dance Dance soundtrack. Holy freaking s#1t, this is like ... well, first of all, good luck finding a copy. No one's selling it on Discogs, and there's a reason: It's drugs. "Zooby Zooby"? "Super Dancer"? "Dance with Pa Pa"? Powerful drugs.

5. Biddu and Nazia & Zoheb Hassan's Disco Diwane and Star. Bollywood's two greatest disco albums, bundled into a single CD. 

6. R.D. Burman's Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Heera Panna soundtracks. Asha's finest moment. Ultra-rare original EMI CD found in a wee, unassuming bodega next door to Battambang Market II in the Bronx. 

7. Holy bejeebus, but this is an amazing CD. Millie (aka Millie "My Boy Lollipop" Small)'s 1970 comeback album, Time Will Tell, with covers of songs by Nick Drake, from Hair (the musical), and Jimmy Cliff's absurdly catchy bubblegum earworm, Honey Hush.

8. Total Reggae Chart Hits (2 CD set) -- reggae versions of chart toppers, from Sugar, Sugar, Puttin' on the Ritz, and Da' Ya' Think I'm Sexy, to Fast Car, Knocking on Heaven's Door, and Amazing Grace.

9. Finally, this 40th anniversary 3 CD set of one of the greatest reggae albums of all time, Lee Perry's production of The Congos' The Heart of the Congos, with the original album, a disc's worth of bonus tracks, and never-before-heard original mix versions.

If all this weren't enough, listeners who pledge $75 or more will receive a copy of our 2018 DJ Premium, Burma Pop, a collection of Burmese hits and crazy cover songs from the 1960s to 1980s.

Bookmark the page and see you Wednesday night!

Rare CDs and Cambodian Lyric Booklets

WFMU's 2018 Fundraising Marathon is upon us, and this year I've got a special surprise for Bodega Pop Live listeners: I'll be giving away 18 CDs and two Cambodian lyric booklets plucked from bodegas and media stores catering to immigrants in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. 

This Wednesday, March 7, from 7-10 PM ET I'll be joined by my Give the Drummer Radio stream mate, DJ and visual artist Mayuko Fujino; in addition to playing some really great tracks, we'll be giving away the nine CDs shown above plus two beautifully illustrated Cambodian lyric booklets to lucky pledgers of $20 or more.

Here are a few details on what's up for grabs:

1. Two super-rare, gorgeous, illustrated Cambodian lyrics booklets plucked from the shelves of Battambang Market II in the Bronx. 

The scans on this blog are from my own personal copies. The two I'll be giving away are identical to these, but still in their shrink wrap, and in much better condition.

There are no others at the market; I bought both copies of both booklets. And I've never seen any like these before, anywhere else. You'll have a chance to win these gems this Wednesday night, shortly after 7:00 PM.

2. Our second prize will be Turkish rapper Ceza's unimpeachable 2004 album, Rapstar, found at Uludag Video in south Brooklyn. Your copy, unlike mine shown above, is a rare fold-out cover version, with complete lyrics so you can rap along with the fastest rapper in Eurasia. 

3. Up third, Sezen Aksu's remarkable debut album from 1977, in a special CD edition that also collects rare singles from 1976-79. Your copy, plucked from Uludag Video, includes a 16-page booklet with lyrics, photos, production notes, and bio (all in Turkish).

4. Up next is hands down one of the greatest pop albums I've ever heard, The Very Best of Ahmed Adaweya. Adaweya rose from the streets of Cairo to become the greatest sha'abi artist of all time. When I found a second copy of this long out of print collection of his early hits at the Nile Deli in my neighborhood, I snatched it up, knowing it would someday find a great home. (Yours, if you're lucky!)

5. Also from the Nile Deli, a copy of Oum Kalsoum's greatest song, "El Atlaal," from a live concert in the 1960s. That's my treasured copy above; the copy you could win on Wednesday is still in shrink wrap, with a different cover.

6. The 19 tracks on this electrifying collection of 21st century Egyptian street-level pop changed my life, and will likely change yours, should you be so fortunate to win it this Wednesday night. 

7. Our last three prizes of Week 1 focus on Soviet-era punk and avant-garde music from Russia, including the above, three electronic-religious albums from Yuri Morozov. I have no words to describe this record -- it's amazing. I found your copy at RBC Video in Brighton Beach.

8. These two Aquarium CDs, [Triangle] and Taboo, from 1981 and 1982, respectively, provide a rare window onto some of the most out-there music of the Russian post-punk movement.

9. And, finally, as if that weren't grand-prize-y enough, here's the real grand prize, a 2-CD set of some of Grazhdanskaya Oborona's most incredible tracks. Don't let the lackluster CD cover fool you; never mind the Sex Pistols, this is some of the most scorched-earth punk rock ever committed to recording media. 

Don't believe me? Tune in Wednesday night when Mayuko and I will be playing selections from each of the CDs above.

10. If all this weren't enough, listeners who pledge $75 or more will receive a copy of our 2018 DJ Premium, Burma Pop, a collection of Burmese hits and crazy cover songs from the 1960s to 1980s.

Bookmark the page and see you Wednesday night!

(Stay tuned for pics and descriptions of next week's prizes ...)

#NoFilter | Special 2-Hour Show

Cassette image from Moroccan Tape Stash

On Wednesday, February 28, from 8-10 PM ET, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio focuses on four North African superstars: Mariem Hassan, Koudede, Najat Aâtabou, and Ali Farka Touré.

Bookmark the page and see you at 8 PM Wednesday night!

Koreas, real and imagined.

Tonight from 7-10 PM ET, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio spins North and South Korean tracks, from the 1960s to today.

Bookmark the page and see you at 7 PM tonight!

Crazy Love

This Valentine's Day, Wednesday, Feb 14, from 7-10 PM ET, Bodega Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio spins tracks by six of our favorite fools for love: Abdel Halim Hafez, Aiha Higurashi, Serge Gainsbourg, Googoosh, Daniel Johnston, and La Lupe.

Bookmark the page and see you Wednesday night!

The Man Who Recorded the World

On Wednesday, February 6, Pop Live on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio celebrated recorder / compiler extraordinaire Alan Lomax, who would have been 103 last Wednesday. (Due to illness, we were unable to broadcast this show the week of his actual birthday, January 31.)

Listen to the show in the archives