This is “Karangailyg Kara Hovaa” by Yat-Kha, from their 1995 album Yenisei Punk. I appreciate a song which uses the sharpening of blades as a musical instrument.
I don’t remember the first time I heard Tuvan music. It was probably sometime in the mid-1990s, not long after the first time I heard the polytonal chanting of Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Anyway, this is excellent music to get the blood pumping on a slow Monday.
So I have spent all of this week listening to the extraordinary music of two bands from Tuva, deep in the steppes of Russia: Huun Huur Tu and Ya-Kha. Of the two, Yat-Kha is my favorite, they bill themselves as “Tuvan punk” … sort of. Imagine the polytonal throat-singing generally associated with Tibetan Buddhist chanting, then add traditional east European music, with the occasional electric guitar or synthesizer. But heck: Don’t just take my word for it; you can hear it at CDNOW .
In other news, I have learned some more things about XSLT which will make the maintenance of this site even easier than I thought. This may allow for breaking the XML into individual pieces, one per journal entry, thus making it possible to bookmark, save, and send each individual entry.
I am nearly finished with Blood Meridian . The writing is beautiful, but the subject is so terribly ugly. I feel a sustained sense of awe while reading it.