Do You Think the World is Yours?

OK. It's been awhile. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm just writing for Anne. Our apologies for staying quiet for so long. Wow. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. The global situation seems to be deteriorating day by day. In the midst of all this I feel like I have to breathe out consciously, and I'm here in the safety of the US (at least, I'm not hiding in a shelter) where I can comfortably criticize everyone in the world.
So, the first track...Paul Onyeabor, a guy from Lagos, chanted this simple but provocative mantra back in 1978 (hence the cold war alignments). It seems to be the zietgeist at the moment. But listening to this song gives me some hope. Not simply because it is such an amazing tune, but because he calls everybody out. There are any number of people and groups I would like to pose this question to at the moment (and I shouldn't forget myself). The song is from the album Love's a Real Thing (on Luaka Bop) a compliation of West African "psychedellic" pop. Betty Lavete's track, on the compliation album Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (Stateside) is from 1965 but it feels pretty timeless. That voice is nuts and the stripped down rhythm has the tone of some deep dark blues. That could be appropriate even here in Queens around now. The ridiculous heat and lack of air conditioning or electricity through large sections of Queens (fortunately, not us) no doubt has many people griping more than me. We don't have AC, but at least we have fans and thanks to Con Edison, they work. Whew.


Paul Onyeabor-Better Change Your Mind

Betty Lavette-Let Me Down Easy