Mister Trend's Random 10

"Galloping Over the Vast Grasslands” is off of the CD Chinese Traditional Yang-Qin Music. I can easily say I know almost nothing about Chinese music. I only bought the CD 5 years ago because I was really in the mood for something simple yet beautiful, organic, and unlike anything else I had, and while at the local Borders, a little voice in my head said, “What about China?” I looked at that section of music, Guo’s was the only one I saw that looked like it might be what I wanted (thanks to the “Traditional”), so I picked it up on a gamble.

While I couldn’t begin to tell you what makes one particular Chinese artist technically “great” and another one “bad”, I love the Guo CD. As I’d hoped when I bought it, it has a simple beauty to it, without the music ever being simplistic. It’s just Guo and her Yang-Qin (a dulcimer-like instrument), with occasional light percussion (such as on “Galloping Over the Vast Grasslands”, which has a galloping sound that always makes me think somebody is playing two empty coconut halves a la Monty Python’s Holy Grail). I often find myself listening to the CD when I wake up and am getting going on a relaxed morning, or starting to do some reading, or other such quiet, introspective moments. I have bought a few other albums of Chinese music (always being aided by the word “traditional”), and have never been disappointed, but Guo’s is still my favorite.

[As an aside, I also love Chinese song titles (from my limited knowledge), which perfectly describe what the music wants you to envision (other nuggets from other CDs include “Flying Snow Decorating the Green,” “Picking Red Chestnuts,” and “The Great Wave Washes the Beach”.]

1. “Cassandra Gemini: Plant a Nail in the Navel Stream” – The Mars Volta
2. “Bring It to Jerome” – Bo Diddley
3. “Quando Eu Te Vejo Passar” – Nelson Sargento
4. “Rock and Roll” – Velvet Underground
5. “The Lord Gave the Word” – Georg Friedrich Händel
6. “Bodysnatchers” – Radiohead
7. “Galloping Over the Vast Grasslands” – Anna Guo
8. “Alegria, Alegria” – Caetano Veloso
9. “Suckers Never Play That” – DJ Cam
10. “Surrogate Drone” - Swans