From the African country of Senegal, Youssou N’Dour is perhaps the most widely known afro-pop musician performing today. He has achieved superstar status virtually everywhere outside of the United States. I have been wishing to hear him perform live since 1990 when I first read about him, and purchased his new CD at the time, Set. Last night, Youssou and his band, the Super Etoile of Dakar, finally played a show close enough for me to attend. Seventeen years of anticipation is a lot to live up to, but the charming master of mbalax (a blending of traditional Senegalese music/rhythms, afro-cuban music, and popular western music) exceeded my high expectations.
All posts by Jonathan
Winter mode
It’s been pretty cold here in Madison for the past week, and this morning our first big winter storm of the season began.
Today I’ve officially gone into Winter mode. I put a batch of chili in the crock pot, and dug my humidifier out of the closet. While those shocks from static electricity are fun at first, it gets a little old after a few times. I also took my first pictures of snow for the season, from the warm side of my patio door of course.
Yes, winter has arrived.
Family photos
My family had a couple of get-togethers over the past few weeks.
From left: my brother Steven, my sisters Barbra and Christine, and myself.
Ryan Adams: Follow The Lights
A few weeks ago Ryan Adams & the Cardinals released some new music, a seven song EP called Follow The Lights, which I have been listening to a LOT lately.
A perfect companion to their excellent disc Easy Tiger (released this past summer), Follow The Lights features two brand new songs, a great cover song, and four live studio performances of songs the band has been playing during their recent tour.
The two new songs, “Follow The Lights” and “My Love for You is Real” are ballads, the latter makes a beautiful statement without being too sweet.
Bare Oak
Even after the oak tree looses its colorful autumn leaves, it’s a beautiful thing.
Red beans and rice
About once a week or so, I eat some version of beans and rice. Many years ago my friend Sharon gave me the following recipe and it’s one of my all-time favorites. It’s what I made for supper tonight. As I was eating, I thought this is such a good recipe, I should share it with the world.
This version of Red Beans and Rice has great flavor, it’s very filling, very heart-healthy (if you use olive oil to sauté), and best of all it’s easy to make. Have this with a salad, and you’ve got a great meal.
Autumn lake
Lucky Dube, 1964-2007
Very sad news in the music world today. South African reggae musician Lucky Dube was shot dead in an attempted carjacking.
Lucky Dube’s music was just a joy to listen to. His beautiful tenor voice singing along with those reggae rhythms was something special. True to reggae traditions, his songs often had a strong social message, singing against things like apartheid, social injustice, violence and crime, and the epidemic of AIDS. The folks who run Lucky Dube’s website wrote “the death of Lucky Dube leaves a great void in the music industry, as 25 years of music suddenly ends in tragedy.”
The Nikon D40
Many years ago, I had a film single lens reflex camera. SLRs are great for their flexibility, allowing you to change lenses, add filters, and manually adjust settings. For a while now, I’ve been wishing for some of that flexibility in a digital camera, and have been thinking about buying a digital SLR. Early last month, a local camera store was having a sale on the Nikon D40 — a deal I couldn’t pass up.
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals in concert
I’ve been looking forward to seeing Ryan Adams in concert since I first heard his outstanding release, Gold back in 2001. Last night that six year wait was over, when Ryan Adams and the Cardinals played a sold-out show at Madison’s Barrymore Theatre.
The band started the concert with a amazingly tight version of “Goodnight Rose.” Toward the end of the song, they jammed a bit, started fading out and sang the word “goodnight” in an almost mantra-like manner. I expected the song to continue to fade out and finish, when the band crescendoed and launched into the final chorus of the song. Wow! This is going to be good, I thought.