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The Sacred Idol is a gorgeously cinematic soundtrack that was made for a movie that was never released. Itā€™s mysterious and fantastical. It transports you to some other imaginary dimension. I suggest you avoid looking at pictures of Les Baxter as this may ruin the music for you.Ā The genre of exotica is kinda fucked up mashing up disperate cultures of South America, Africa, the Southeast Asia and the Levant without having any knowledge of the cultures. Iā€™m half Peruvian-half Lebanese, so I too am a mashup of disparate cultures. There must be some metaphor within exotica for people like me. Growing up 1st gen American never feeling fully connected to either of my ethnicities and maybe I relate to this pictorial version of ā€œexoticā€ cultures.
Jan 18, 2024

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I've been a guilty lover of exotica for some time now-- im just fascinated by the kitsch of it. its like if you made tablescapes into music. I'm half peruvian as well and find Yma Sumac to be a compelling participant in the phenomenon-- she channeled her miraculous talent through a consciously exoticized image. today we might criticize her or call it "selling out" but i cant help but suck up the mythic incan concentrate she developed. there's an element of colonialism to exotica that she is exempt from as a native and i think her story/inclusion elevates above the joke it's made out to be. check out the book Mondo Exotica if you havent already! lovely stuff in there
Jan 18, 2024

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Although one of my favorite artists of all time and I've said this quite a few times over the years is Thelonious Monk. Which reminds me, a film that I saw recently that I think everybody should see is Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat. It's a documentary about Patrice Lumumba, who liberated the Congo, the Democratic Public and Congo and then unfortunately died not too long after that. It's the story of that juxtaposed with jazz music. I saw this movie in New York City and I know in New York City you get access to things sometimes that you might not get access to all around the country, but if you should definitely hunt this movie down and see it. I've seen it twice and it is one of the most exciting films I've seen in this, I guess they call, award season or whatever. I sure hope it wins or gets nominated for an Academy Award because I mean considering how dark ultimately the subject matter is so full of joy and life and just beautiful performances of jazz music particularly of Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, the music they used to make together, which I just find so remarkable . It's funny, I guess that I started off by saying I recommend quiet, but I guess I must be into extremes. I either like quiet or I like to hear Abbey Lincoln laying it all out there. I guess the noise I don't like. It's just kind of idle chithatters, you know, static or mediocre music or it just seems to be so much noise around to keep people from a higher awareness of things. Distraction, noise as distraction. I'm not a fan of that.Ā 
Feb 12, 2025
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I heard this during the end credits of Being John Malkovich for the first time yesterday and have decided that I am now a Bjork fan. So magical! And if you happen to see this, recommend me songs that sound like this. I feel like Iā€™m always hearing the best songs in end credits of films, thatā€™s why you must always sit through them! And itā€™s really nice seeing all the names of the people who worked on something, and sometimes thereā€™s some surprising thank you notes and whatnotā€¦
Oct 15, 2024

Top Recs from @sharleen

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I would never tell a lie.
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Iā€™m in a little Glenn Branca phase right now. Sometimes his pieces are too much. This video is probably my favorite performance of his. I like the way he ā€˜conductsā€™ the guitar orchestra like itā€™s a dance. His convulsions are similar to kids slam dancing to hardcore; the same way his pieces are like elongated punk songs. Also heā€™s from my hometown of Harrisburg, PA.
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I could watch these for hours. Itā€™s like a magic trick or optical illusion. And I can't imagine what the rehearsals are like.
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