And a totally excellent song. Off a totally excellent album.

You ain't just whistlin' Dixie.

French text messaging.

David has to be right, because that song dates back to 1979.

My dear Buffistarawkers! My son has a HS World Cultures teacher that is said to be a most knowledgeable fellow when it comes to independent, and shall we say obscure, music. He really is a cool person although his main purposes in life seem to be split evenly among torturing high school students, music, and online video game wars.

He has assigned Brendon the following project. Compile 10 musical selections from 10 different European artists. (They are doing Europe this term) Stump the teacher obscure is a plus. Three (3) different genres, yes, he used the word genre. He wrote on the board No Spice Girls and No Emo, including a stick figure of a teary person with knife. (he is a funny guy) At least 3 countries of origin. At least three selections in foreign language. There are other aspects to the project as well, flash animation and so forth that Brendon has under control.

Thing is that Brendon only knows that Rap exists in music. Well, he knows I listen to other music. He has gone so far in his desperation to ask his mother for help. (not so easy for a teen)

So, Help! (so much easier to ask for help when you get to my age)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. He will follow up with the research. He will have to have video or animation to accompany the music with the who what where when how aspects. And yes, this is what the kids in honors HS are doing these days.

A friend into folk sent me an album by a Swedish group which uses "the synthesizer of the Middle Ages" aka the hurdy gurdy, which sounds vaguely Irish and very cool. I'll be glad to put a couple of tracks that I like the most up on Buffistarawk2. They're called Hurdy Gurdy and the album is Prototyp. As far from Europop as you can get and stay on the same continent.

SA included a lovely Europop song from Italy about Vespas in her last year's Frankenmix.

I'm sure I can up with some obscure Francophone stuff--including places like New Caledonia which is part of France. Let me look through my iTunes. I'll make sure to include French rap!

Darn, I didn't read the last part about having video to go with it.

Errr.... How obscure do you want to go? There was a great art-punk band from Switzerland called Kleenex, later renamed Liliput, in the late 70s - early 80s. [link]

In the middle of the bio is a link to an mp3 of one of their songs, "Ain't You".

t edit Oh, I missed the video bit as well....

Oh, I assumed they had to be current artists.

And I thought the video was part of what he would be making to give context, not video of the tracks.

Here's a (very low-budget) video of Liliput that accompanies one of their best tunes, "Die Matrosen". Great whistle-rock! [link]

Laura, you have DirecTV, don't you? Channel 824 is UPOP, which is kind of a worldwide Top 40 station. Saturday night at midnight is a countdown of the top 40 in the UK. They do a fair amount in foreign languages, but not so much in the UK countdown (though there'll be a fair number of Continental acts singing in English there).

Goldie Lookin' Chain is an English rap act that uses a lot of humor. Check out "Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do."

Eros Rammazzotti (and I'm sure I put in a few too many consonants) is an Italian pop singer who's recorded in (at minimum) Italian and Spanish.

Dare I suggest Eric Prydz' remix of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall"? I believe he's Swedish.

I'm not sure where to find videos of those songs/singers, though. But if Brendon has to make his own videos, I'm sure he'll get some ideas from the songs.

I'll send the following to buffistarawk2. I've listed the song, the album, artist, and country of origin here. I tried to include a variety, but I'm not sure how obscure most of it will be for him. Axelle Red, De Palmas, Iam, Manau, and Zebda are well known (in France). Also, I use many of these in class so I could probably send lyrics (or just the gist of the song) if he wants them.

"Rester femme," A tâtons, Axelle Red, Belgium (cheesy pop, but, hey, Belgium!)
"Elle m'a dit," L'Amour parfait, Cali, France (rock)
"Regarde-moi bien en face," Marcher dans le sable, Gérard De Palmas, France (rock/pop—listen closely and hear a great rip-off of Fat Boy Slim)
"C'est qui qui paye?," Best of Gurejele, Gurejele, New Caledonia (zouk-like protest song)
"Je danse le Mia," Ombre et lumière, Iam, France (Marseille rap)
"La Tribu de Dana," Panique Celtique, Manau, France (rap using traditional Celtic music)
"Avril," Paris Combo LIVE, Paris Combo, France (jazzy)
"Le Mur du son," #1, Willy Denzey, France (rap)
"Tomber la chemise," Essence ordinaire, Zebda, France (Marseille group that does rap mixed with North African influences)

Eros Rammazzotti (and I'm sure I put in a few too many consonants) is an Italian pop singer who's recorded in (at minimum) Italian and Spanish.

And, because he was mentioned, I'll also send "Piu' Bella Cosa," Eros, Eros Ramazzotti, Italy

ETA: Also, for people more adept than I, should I resave the files as something else? Or just send them as stored in my iTunes?