Tagged as: Gypsy

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I feel I may sound like a bit of a tosser when trying to describe this song and group. Not because the music is pretentious (far from it), but because the compositions are so tonally rich and captivating that-oh look, I’ve started already. Dangit! Oh well, steer into the skid, as they say.

This is superb. Intricately performed with sparse instrumentation, but deeply expressive at the same time. It’s whimsical and consistently interesting, which is certainly high praise for most instrumental pieces. Although there’s more of a gypsy overtone to this, it sort of reminds me of Christophe Heral’s work on the Rayman Origins soundtrack.

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Has the great age of gypsy-inspired outlandishness returned to either/or? Probably not (oh Doug, wherefore art thou, seriously dude), but I sure hope you aren’t burnt out on it just yet. I do not claim to be an expert in this marvellous genre (or any other genre for that matter); rather, I make the counter-claim that extensive knowledge is not at all necessary, as gypsy music can be measured against the metric of “is/is not suitably crazy, will/will not make you dance”. Based on that complex, all-encompassing calculation, taking a look at the band’s name and the name of the song is enough to send readings off the friggin’ chart.

Ghost of Stephen Foster by Squirrel Nut Zippers on Grooveshark

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While perusing our many years of archives (to fix every dang post to fit this rad new site design we’re currently rocking), I realised that there is a tonne of tunes in there that I either don’t have any more for whatever bizarre reason, or never had in the first place. I then concluded that it was a potential goldmine for future either/or posts; originality is evidently for suckers.

Mutiny was first brought to my attention by Doug, our phantom third writer way back in our year of conception, 2006. It is an example of the former issue mentioned in the first paragraph: I know I had this tune, but it seems to have vanished into the ether of digital nothingness. Seven years later, the tune remains a great exercise in alcohol-fuelled antics with pirate overtones. Just remember to drink and pillage responsibly!

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It’s Valentine’s day: awww! What’s that? You forgot to get your sweetie a token item to express the complex feeling of love in a simple way? Have no fear, either/or is here with the perfect gift. Here’s the scenario: you’re lying together on a rug, looking at the stars. Headphones are shared between the two of you, connected into your MP3 player of choice. You scroll to Gogol Bordello and put on 60 Revolutions and BAM! Love is assured, and Valentine’s day is saved!

60 Revolutions by Gogol Bordello on Grooveshark

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I can’t remember if these folks were ever mentioned on here before (and I’m clearly too lazy to use that convenient search bar at the bottom of the page), but I figured that in honour of the bizarre name trend we seem to have going at the moment, I’d post about the tune with the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard. Appropriately enough, it’s tied to a ridiculous enough concept if you really think about it. I mean, gypsy punk? Really? That’s all moot anyway, because the correct response to that is YES REALLY AND ITS AWESOME THANK YOU.

They Provide The Paint For The Picture Perfect Masterpiece That You Will Paint On The Inside Of Your Eyelids by Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution on Grooveshark

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Alright, I’m back. For how long who knows, but here we go, bringing up the lovely Yula again, of Nanuchka, World/Inferno, et al). This time, she’s got a whole different assortment of folks, and though some of it is fairly familiar (Thumb Cinema mostly so, due to it already having been lent to World/Inferno for their last record, though it has certainly evolved into a fairly different song by now), there is a lot of craziness going on here, most notably from the opener, Back Off America, which was almost too crazy to get into, but has since endeared itself to me greatly.

The whole album is available at Woodland Records, which is quite nice of them, though they also provide a means to not only buy a physical copy, but to donate if you enjoy it. It’s fairly similar to what they’ve got going at Quote Unquote Records, which has a bunch more bands I need to get to on here one day.

Downloads

From Victor
Back Off America – (MP3, 3.7 MB)
96 Yulix – (MP3, 5.3 MB)
Thumb Cinema – (MP3, 6.2 MB)
Magical Acoustic – (MP3, 3.4 MB)

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For some reason, blogging’s become a higher priority for me lately. Partly because I’ve got more music, partly because we’ve got an adoring fanbase of 1 person, but either way, this posting frenzy won’t last (it never does), so enjoy it while it does! Reverend Glasseye is kind of a musical enigma in that you can’t really pigeonhole them too well, they sound like too many different things at once. Part gypsy, part cabaret, part punk, part “insert genre,” it’s amazing how they can pull it all together into genuinely enjoyable music. I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to realize that 17 Lashes is a freaking amazing song, and my favorite of the good Reverend’s. I’ll give you 17 lashes to the face if you don’t like it!

Downloads

From Our Lady Of The Broken Spine
17 Lashes – (MP3, 8.7 MB)
King Of Men – (MP3, 4.4 MB)

From Black River Falls
Seven Little Girls – (MP3, 6.4 MB)
Three Ton Chain – (MP3, 2.9 MB)

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Based out of Mexico City, the closest genre classification I can come up with is Spanish punk-polka. I could seriously leave it at that, but then Hugh would probably yell at me.

Their Myspace describes their sound as a range from “euphoric polkas, melancholic waltzes to punk, rock and passages of classical music”. They also come highly recommended by Denise Petersen (the wife of Erik Petersen, i.e. Mischief Brew), and I seem to have a thing for any bands distributed by, or even just vaguely associated with Fistolo Records.

They also have some fine klezmer clarinet, and a penchant for instrumentals. As such, Hugh will probably hate them. They do have at least one member hailing from Oregon, though.

Downloads

From Infausta Noticia
Sirentitas en el Espacio – (MP3, 3.3 MB)
Funeral del tio Perverso – (MP3, 4.9 MB)
Vida Propia – (MP3, 3.5 MB)
El Circo del Siglo – (MP3, 5.3 MB)

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There seems to have been many ways to discover the music of Geoff Berner; while he’s been mentioned on a few semi-prominent blogs (which is where I discovered him), he’s also got a song on a compilation entitled Funky Jewish Sounds From Around The World. That compilation’s even got my favorite song of his on there, Lucky Goddamn Jew. As he sings ever-so-awesomely, “I’m a lucky goddamn Jew, lucky goddamn Jew! Got some food, got some booze, women who will sleep with me!” After that, you’ve got Good Luck Now, which is something of a sequel to that song, at least lyrically. And then you’ve got the excellent Whiskey Rabbi, which sounds like it could be a song by The Tiger Lillies, at least for the five seconds, and only because of the accordion. I really should have just posted this as “Jewish + accordion + violins = awesome,” but someone, somewhere, somehow, would get angry.

Downloads

From The Wedding Dance Of The Widow Bride
Good Luck Now – (MP3, 2 MB)

From Whiskey Rabbi
Lucky Goddamn Jew – (MP3, 2.2 MB)
Whiskey Rabbi – (MP3, 4.4 MB)

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While I have mentioned this band before, a mere mentioning here and there is not nearly enough! They are one of the finer gypsy punk groups out there, and certainly the best with a female singer. The singer, Yula, also plays bass for the band, and used to play bass for The World/Inferno Friendship Society, so she is no musical slouch! The rest of the band doesn’t have any slouches either, as the guitars and drums on Red will certainly attest. The songs from the EP below are samples, just quite lengthy ones (1:45 each) … they’re also demos of songs that would later appear on their full-length debut, A Carefully Planned Accident. And since I do not feel like ending my streak of mentioning some awesome lyrics, there’s a real keeper on Captain Sensible Calling in the form of “Oh you dour motherfuckers!” Makes me laugh every time.

Downloads

From A Carefully Planned Accident
Red – (MP3, 2.9 MB)

From Nanuchka EP
Anyway – (MP3, 1.6 MB)
Good Well – (MP3, 1.6 MB)

From Drink The Best Wine First
Captain Sensible Calling (feat. Jack Terricloth) – (MP3, 3.1 MB)