Ladies and gentlemen, if there is something you’ve always said you do “once in a blue moon,” today is the day you’re going to do it. Tonight there will be a full moon for the second time this month, which is the very definition of a fabled “blue moon.” Do something unique tonight! If you told your buddies in AA that you only have a little snifter of anisette “once in a blue moon,” you should be getting loaded tonight. If your wife told you she’d only do anal “once in a blue moon,” you’d best tap her on the shoulder before bed tonight and tell her to brace herself.
What am I going to do that I only do once in a blue moon? A second record review! I almost never write two record reviews in one week, but there are two albums I’ve wanted to talk about for ages, so I figure I’ll get one out of the way this afternoon.
HONK HONK!
If you liked that sonic jolt, then you’ll love Por Por: Honk Horn Music of Ghana. I read about this album on the Aquarius Records mailing list a few months ago, and began a desperate search for it. A few months later, I heard two tracks on WFMU early one morning during their yearly marathon. A DJ was giving the album away in a drawing, so I called in and donated ten dollars as my entrance fee. Sadly, I lost the drawing.
Apparently it was recorded by a fellow named Steven Field on the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence. It features a bunch of union drivers from a province called La performing “Por Por” (pronounced “paaw paaw”). They use squeeze-bulb horns, drum on found objects, and ring bells while singing to attract fares, call out destinations, or just because. Although it has come to symbolize a facet of Ghana’s culture, Por Por is usually only performed at union drivers’ funerals, where the bodies of drivers are laid to rest in coffins shaped like cars and buses.
For 72 minutes, remarkably precise rhythmic structures blend with shouts, chants and prayers to form stunning compositions wrought with traditional melodies and mesmerizing percussive exercises. It is exciting to hear not only because of its uncommonness, but also because it happens to be quite trance-inducing. It’s quite easy to lose oneself in thought and be transported to bustling city streets in La, where joy and beautiful music flow through the air. Also, it’s really fun to blast this album while driving through lower Manhattan or along Sunset Boulevard, both of which have provided monumentally fun experiences for me.
The album is available through Smithsonian Folkways, and includes a large booklet with photographs and stories about the songs.
