I went to hear Slavic Soul Party the other night out in Brooklyn at a small venue called Barbes. I understand they play there every tuesday night when they are not on the road. I am a fan of brass bands and I have to say this is one of the best brass bands in the US. I do not understand why your article does not even mention them. Sure, they are not a bunch of authentic gypsies but they play music with a certain passion and groove that is quite overwhelming. I am a big fan Kocani, Fanfare Cioccarlia and Boban Markovic. They all have their own sound as does Slavic Soul Party. They just put out a new CD that I am going to get. Not mentioning them with the likes of Rebirth, Hot 8, Boban Markovic, etc... is like having chocolate cake without the chocolate. http://www.barbesrecords.com/teknocheck.html

I was really glad to see that Salon printed an article about the Roma music festival in NYC, which I missed. I've been a fan of Gogol Bordello ever since I saw Eugene Hütz in "Everything is Illuminated," and later, at a live Gogol Bordello performance. Hütz is definitely on to something. Gogol Bordello's performance was transformative, at least for me.

So I clicked the link and read the article. OK, I skimmed the last few paragraphs. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure whom Christgau is addressing. Is it a select group of musicologists who specialize in traditional Roma music? Is it a small group of indie rockers who only enjoy music nobody's ever heard of? Is it a smaller group who only enjoys explaining at great length and detail why a particular band is, in their opinion, the worst band of their genre?

Here's what I got from the article. Christgau attended the Roma music festival. He disliked most of it. He liked some of it. Kinda.

Not particularly useful for those of us who were unable to attend. And even less useful for those who have never heard of Roma music.

Props to Eugene Hütz for organizing the festival. Salon ought to interview him instead of running pieces like this.

... all of them looking for a narrative. Was there a story here?

Also, the sampler link was 404 when I tried.

The term "Oriental", when applied to the music and dance of the lands from Turkey to Iran (or so) is in fact the correct word: it derives from the original Latin meaning of the "Orient", which is the East, that is, the lands east of the Romans, or what we now call the "Middle" East, and has nothing to do with Asia, the "Far" East. "Oriental" has been rejected by Asian-Americans (I don't know how Asians feel about it), but among my belly dancing colleagues, it's the correct word to describe a certain type of music of the eastern Mediterranean and its dance forms. I would say that "Gypsy music" has a broader connotation than "Roma music": if you called R&B "Black music", you would not be far off, even though many of its performers are not Black.

About the paragraph starting "Three true Gypsy brass bands with nary a Gypsy among them", some things need to be said. First, I don't know of a standard by which you could call Hungry March Band, Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars, and Zlatne Uste "true Gypsy brass bands" -- I'd love to know how Christgau sees that. Hungry March band borrows Balkan elements, and London's band is klezmer with other ingredients in the pot. About Zlatne Uste, he's wrong on both counts: not a true Gypsy band, and with a Gypsy among them (Seido Salifoski on percussion).

Since Christgau was at the Costel Vasilescu concert, I think it's odd that he omitted Slavic Soul Party! from the brass band paragraph, since they opened that night (and the entire Gypsy Festival) and are a New York brass band with a Gypsy band member. He obviously appreciates Ron Caswell's tuba playing, who's an important part of the Slavic Soul Party! sound. SSP also deals with the integration of American (and African-American) musical styles into Gypsy music, another topic Christgau discusses. What's up with that?

-a Balkan music fanatic

This author is a jerk. He doesn't know how to use the dictionary, either. Do your homework, Beavis. It looks bad when a writer spouts like that about a topic that is so deserving of real reporting.

http://www.salon.com/ent/audiofile/2006/10/29/gypsy_music/index.html

(But I still don't understand why these specific links weren't embedded in the article.)

Is there no published music? Can I not, you know -- not to be too American -- buy something?

You got me all pumped up here with nowhere to go...

I'm amazed that not once does he mention the fact that most Roma despise the term "Gipsy" and its related stereotypes and would NEVER use it. Looking for "authenticity" among people who use the word "gipsy" is a pretty funny concept.

Actually, I guess I'm not amazed, given that the author uses the dead term "politically incorrect" to refer to the word "Oriental".

I don't know why you didn't mention the group from Seattle, Kultur Shock, who were in attendance. You did mention one of their songs, Tutti Frutti, but said some other group preformed it. They've got it all over Gogol Bordello. One of the most creative, hard driving, danceable groups I've ever heard.

Bob from Seattle/Chiangmai

Everything about Gypsy culture would make you predict that the music was edgy and completely wonderful. I think the article short-changed the Serbian monster Boban Markovic and his posse, and let me tell you that the "rumba flamenco" scene centered in Barcelona is richer than you give it credit for being. That said, I am happy to see Bob in Salon.com. It can only be good.

Let's give him a big welcome with this old Sonic Youth ditty, I Killed Christgau with my Big Fucking Dick:

I don't know why

You wanna impress Christgau

Ah let that shit die

And find out the new goal

Kill yr idols

Sonic death

It's the end of the world

Your confusion is sex

Kill yr idols

Sonic death

It's the end of the world

Your confusion is sex

ps: it still works, too!