Datebook: Monday, February 19th ~ 2007

[The search for the meaning of "folk" ~ Mombo #9]

I have now googled every type of Folk Music known to man.

Seriously.

Last night I typed in New Guinea and then Mozambique. I’m sorry, but I had the World Atlas out and I had hit all the popular countries. I got the usual list from Itunes (but you must remember that Itunes is not comprehensive, they don’t even have a version of AC/DC “Highway to Hell” in case you are craving it) which includes Lawrence Welk type Orchestras playing songs that your aunt used to hum.

Frustration.

So, as I’ve mentioned in the past, I decided to hit the “I Feel Lucky” button on the Google site. Now, I don’t really know why this is there, or how it works, but I use it as infrequently as possible, because, who knows, you may have an allotted number of “Lucky” hits. This doesn’t seem to be as interchangeable as the “Easy” button at Staples. It is a great concept though.

Imagine if the “I Feel Lucky” button were placed in other places and made available.

It might be option in a high end BMW or Lexus. You’re on the open road and you make that decision, should you just roll as you listen to your Ebay version of AC/DC’s” TNT” or do the speed limit. If you had a third option, you could push the “I Feel Lucky” button on your simulated wood and Corinthian leather dash and maybe the police car sitting on the side of the road would merely be a decoy.

Imagine going to a skating competition where the snaps of the costume are showing a bit of wear in their fifth month of use. Maybe you should have stitched them down again. But, “I feel lucky” has a button next to the music box, and you press it as you start your program and go into you rotational lift with a change of position. You don’t need to look down to see if there has been a wardrobe malfunction because you used the button as insurance.

So, I hit the button for “Folk Music”.

The thing with luck is that sometimes you don’t immediately know if it is good or bad.

I got a huge list that included Bossa Nova and Pygmy Music.

I started imagining writing the bio box for the competition that the judges must read about the music.

“The team is expressing true love as they anguish in their attempt to escape through the perilous jungle, narrowing avoiding capture by an opposing tribe with lethal, hand-crafted blow-darts, and being eaten by the rare Mozambique carnivorous tree frog. They end in a powerful embrace of celebration for their freedom.”

I know. They would have to wear green and perhaps have boot covers.

So the “I Feel Lucky” button produced too much material. It will take weeks to digest it all and narrow down the selections.

This is why I think the USFSA should form a “Music Distribution Committee”. That’s right. Each team would register and then be given their OD and Free Dance music for the year. It would be like American Idol when the contestants move to the “Guest Judge” rounds and have “Themes” for the week.

This makes it a level playing field for all.

No one is left to ponder if the theme song from “Madagascar” is really an animated folk song.

The judges are no longer left with the possibility of listening and watching the same song performed by sixteen junior and senior teams, after all, isn’t Carmen a folk song?

No one is made to feel like this has to be a 007 mission, or kept hush-hush in case another team hears your song idea and decides to take it.

No, the Music Distribution Committee could field sales pitches all year from music vendors who could package and market their selections. Maybe put them in designer cases. Costume designers could even ask for advance music lists and submit sketches and swatches to accompany the assignments.

Of course, this is still probably several years away from occurring. We will need to form a committee to look into forming the MDC.

In the mean time, we are left to ponder the melodies in little 30 second clips. And it leaves so much unclear…..

Can a Warthog and a Meercat be considered original artists of an African legend about a great king?

Mombo