Megan's World Music Blog

The desert blues might just be my favorite genre of world music (though I admittedly change my mind at least twice a week). I'm a fiend for Tinariwen, and one of my greatest regrets in life is that I wasn't able to see Ali Farka Toure in concert before he passed away. I'm always stoked to hear about new desert blues bands (Etran Finatawa is my current obsession). I just love those wailing voices, those swirling guitars, those churning rhythms.... Great desert blues makes me feel like my blood is on fire. What genres of music do that for you? Leave us a comment and let us know! And while you're at it, check out my desert blues playlist.... Tinariwen Photo (c) Eric Mullet

There aren't many joys in life greater than listening to masters of their instrument play and perform. Unfortunately, I was never able to see legendary Louisiana Creole fiddle player Canray Fontenot perform before he passed away in 1995, but from what I hear, it was an otherworldly experience. Canray, both solo and with his musical partner Bois-Sec Ardoin, set the golden standard for pre-zydeco Creole music in the recording age. Indeed, he was not only one of the greatest Creole fiddlers of all time, but one of the greatest fiddlers of any genre, and his influence is still heard in nearly all Cajun and Zydeco music.

Learn More About Canray Fontenot:

• Canray Fontenot Profile/Bio
• Canray Fontenot Interview/Performance Clip on YouTube
• Canray Fontenot Tribute Page on MySpace

Think of One is at it with their globe-hopping antics once again. This time around, they return to Morocco to explore the sounds of shaabi, a sort of pop music that is frequently used as wedding reception dance music. Typically, they throw in bucketfuls of other global sounds as well, culminating in something that is provocative and new, but perhaps too much so - listening can be a draining experience. Read my full review: Think of One: Camping Shaabi

Every year, I ask my Mother what she wants for Mother's Day. Every year, she tells me to make her something, which is her way of paying me back for childbirth, apparently. What am I supposed to make? I could go with my only actual crafty skill, which is knitting, but there's not a lot of use for a woolly scarf in mid-May. I could try the funny route, and make her a macaroni necklace, but that gets old quickly. I discovered a few years ago that the best thing to do, when requested to make something, is to make a mix CD. My Mom's an adventurous music listener, like me, so pretty much anything goes, but this playlist of songs about Mothers is intentionally made up of easily listenable (read: not too far out there, but still nicely embedded in tradition) songs from many cultures. Give it a try!

Ilyas Malayev, one of the great torchbearers of shash maqam, passed away at his home in Queens at the end of last week. Malayev was a Bukharan Jew born in Uzbekistan, and studied both Uzbek folk and classical music, becoming an expert of both styles and ultimately becoming wildly popular among his countrymen. Malayev eventually emigrated to Queens, New York, where there is a sizable Bukharan Jewish population, and he became an important part of the cultural life of the Rego Park and Forest Hills areas. For more information on this amazing musician's work and life, read Ilyas Malayev's full obituary at the New York Times.

According to the BBC, Maxi Priest and Duncan Campbell will be joining the British reggae band UB40 for their upcoming dates. The addition of Duncan Campbell is an interesting one, as Duncan will be replacing his brother Ali, who quit acrimoniously earlier this year. Ali Campbell's voice, to me, is what defines UB40's sound, so it will certainly be interesting to see if his brother inherited a similar set of vocal cords. I'm also curious as to how Christmas dinner will shake down at the Campbell house this year.

I've recently gotten to be pretty good at being a bridesmaid. In fact, I kind of like it. You get to wear the second-fanciest dress at the wedding, sit at the good table, and get free photos to send your Grandma at Christmas. The bad part, though, is that the bridesmaids are expected to get the dancing started at receptions (I'm not sure where that's written down, but it's apparently true). I just find myself having a bit of a hard time getting motivated to dance to Kool & the Gang or whatever disco nightmare the cheesy DJ decides to sling at us. In this day and age, when it's becoming increasingly popular to skip the DJ altogether and just program an iPod with your desired playlist, you're allowed to actually play music that you like. It's definitely worth playing at least a few songs that are wedding-y in their lyrics or vibe, though, to keep the mood appropriate, so check out this playlist of World Music for Weddings. Be unique! You'll be glad you did! Well, your bridesmaids will, at any rate.

I can never decide what mine is. Some days, I like the quiet elegance of the kora. Others, I prefer the raucous, riot-startin' accordion. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Zimbabwean music, so therefore I've been digging a lot of mbira, a delicately rhythmic thumb piano that is sacred to the Shona people. Leave a comment and tell us what your favorite instrument is... and if you're feeling really brave, tell us which instrument you can't stand!

So, I'm finishing up my plans for a trip that I'm taking very soon... to Malaysia! It's pretty exciting for me, as it's the farthest I've ever traveled, and it's a music-related trip - we're going to the Penang World Music Festival. The farthest I've traveled for a music-related event up until now was Denmark, for the amazing Tonder Festival, and I have to say, I think there are a lot of hidden advantages to traveling internationally to see music. First of all, if you're heading somewhere with strong and distinct musical heritage, it's incredible to see the local groups play music with their "home turf advantage" - zydeco might seem dorky in the context of a Northeastern folk festival, but wait until you see it in a smoky, sweaty dancehall in Louisiana. A couple of my big goals for the next few years of my life are to see live fado in a cafe in Portugal, head to Mali for Festival au Desert, and to visit Belize and visit some Garifuna musicians. My goals also involve becoming a bazillionaire, so I can do all that sort of stuff pretty much whenever I want.

So, what are your big musical adventures? Vote in the poll, and leave a comment telling us about any great musical adventures you've taken... or any musical adventures that you dream of taking!

Because most of us don't speak dozens of languages, it can be easy to forget that the poetry portion of many international songs is wildly important, and the meaning of the lyrics are not always clear from the sound of the song itself. Thomas Mapfumo's chimurenga is a great example of this. Musically, it's bouncy, warm and cheerful. Lyrically, it's intense, political and even harsh. Sure, he has a few happy, uplifting songs, but for the most part, Mapfumo is a hard-core protest singer, right up there with Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley, and his songs have enacted at least as much change as any of those guys' songs.

With Zimbabwe in a state of major political unrest, it's definitely worth taking a look and listen at Thomas Mapfumo and his message - he's been protesting Mugabe's policies since before it was acceptable to do so, and as one of the most beloved men in Zimbabwe, what he has to say is taken seriously by many people - be one of them.