MOG

God I love shuffling.

I just got TInariwen back to back with Kal. Neither of these acts gets much play in the press, but they both rule. I am using them as examples to make a point about musical relevance, and the ability of the modern popular arena to offer shelter to traditional forms, while simultaneously giving those forms a space to evolve and stay pertinent into the 21st century.

TInariwen is a band made up of a group of tribal warrior/exiles of the Kel Tamashek (derisively referred to be Arabs as Tuareg, or "abandoned by God") people, whose spoken/sung poetic forms go back centuries. The Tamashek were run out of Mali and found refuge in Libya, but returned to engage in armed struggle in and around Mali. Eventually, some of the freedom fighters were offered a deal by the Malian government where they turned in their guns and were given electric guitars in return (I'm not kidding). They have a couple records out, and (I don't know firsthand, since I don't speak thier dialect) but they are still revolutionary advocates for their peoples' cause, thru song. Plus, they totally groove, in a desert/blues kind of way. Theirs is a traditional musical voice being given a shot at forced, fast-track evolution, which nevertheless transforms an ancient (arguably outdated and isolated) form into a megaphone for their personal and tribal concerns. I think that's cool.

Kal is a group out of Belgrade. made up of Romani (aka Gypsy) musicans struggling to "keep it real" in the 21st century. The Romani are a well-documented worldwide diaspora, whose main claims to fame are their intensely insular group mentality and their extreme musical excellence. A Roma proverb states "The one who does not know how to play does not eat. The musician awakens what's human in the human being. Music was given to the Roma by God." Often forced to move around, the Roma have historically played the music of whatever country they happenned to be in, often better than the ethnic "home team." So Kal is a bunch of young gun players, disenchanted by the willingness of many modern Roma to play lowest-common denominator pop music (doesn't that sound familiar) because that's what pays the bills. Staying true to their gutsy improv roots, Kal's music has RIPPING violin and accordion solos, but over funky beats, with slide guitar, some bhangra, and a little rap, as well. These guys are racially proud, yet all-inclusive, and their music is a gas. They play their a$$es off, and have a bold statement to make about 21st century homogeneity vs. heritage and creativity, seen through a personal/pop lens.

SO: (sorry to bore you) my point is this: so many times we find the modern music scene a place where enthusiatic would-be stars will sing/write/wear whatever they think the fame machine requires this week, and let their unique selves dry up and blow away. Claiming your musical "heritage" sometimes seems no more complicated than spinning some records from the 80s and wearing a vintage Iron Maiden t-shirt (ed. note: I LOVE MAIDEN). We all mine our pasts for "inspirado," but most of us are drifting in an ocean of recycled consumer trash, masquerading as personality. On the other hand, honest-to-gosh "traditional" music is often a boring exercise in cultural taxidermy, tedious re-enactments of material that was once vital, but now stands as an essentialist stamp of official cultural authenticity.

These bands are showing us there is a way to unite the past and the present, both inside and outside of the pop/major label juggernaut. It takes work, thoughtful intent, and a willingness to swim upstream, and I don't expect they will be making P-Diddy money any time soon, but for real musical weight, you can't go wrong with either of these acts.