Sharing is Caring: Part 2

Well, readers, it's a long time coming. I kept promising a sequel to this post,  but a lot of outside influences made it difficult. That, and I'm also a little bit lazy.

In this post, I'll talk about my favorite Rap album, one of my favorite Foreign albums, and my favorite album that fuses two genres. So, seeing as this is long overdue and I'm sure you all are itching for new music, let's get started.


1. Rap: K'naan's Troubadour

 Living in Minnesota has shown me a large swelling of Somali population. I admittedly didn't know a whole lot about Somalia, so when I heard K'naan hailed from there, I simply repeated, "Where?" to which my friend wisely replied "Listen to his words and you'll find out." I was so intrigued by this poet's turn of phrase and ability to rhyme both predictably and unpredictably. Yeah, a lot of you know him from his World Cup smash hit "Wavin' Flag" (this album version is markedly different, and I would argue it's better), but make damn sure that it's not the only song of his you're familiar with. His blend of references to pop culture, other hip hop artists and his hardship in his homeland make each of his songs a bit of a surprise every time I listen to them without losing a familiar feel. With his ability to turn an unfinished rags-to-riches story into a verse full of fable-like morality (with a subtle wink to Muslim faith and Somali culture), I hope K'naan continues to make music-- Especially if it expands on what this album accomplished.

Favorite Tracks:

• America
• ABC's
• Take A Minute
• Bang Bang
• Wavin' Flag

My Favorite Lyrics:
From "Bang Bang", a red-hot love song that drips with summertime attraction, these lyrics always bring someone to my mind who I used to have a thing with. Now it's nothing romantic, but certainly it's always good to remember good times spent with someone close.

"She’s so hot she’s a scorch-ian,
Killing me softly,
Lauryn or Kevorkian,
Couldn’t tell if she’s coo-coo or corky, when
I asked her her name she said “Call me Ten.”
Testing, testing
Things just got more interesting
She’s dressed in a vest pin, double-breasted holster,
A very Western toaster,
She ain’t nothing Kosher.
Ah… she lets me closer.
Hotter than a pepper-crusted Samosa
While I try to keep my composure."

2. Foreign: Gigi Shibabaw/Abyssinia Infinite's Zion Roots

  This is a diamond in the rough that I picked up from my college's limited music library. My college has/had a fairly sizable Ethiopian population, so it's no wonder the library tried to get their hands on some Ethiopian music. The first thing I noticed was that the number of songs in English on this album is exactly 0. So, naturally, I loved it. Each of the songs has a complex rhythm, without sounding busy. It sticks out among a lot of African music because it's more harmony-based, like Western music, rather than putting more emphasis on polyrhythmic structures. In layman's terms, you hear more voice and instruments that can balance out the percussion. It has a nice energy level throughout: Vigorous at times, but this album can relax. That said, the album always stays in motion, and that complex, rhythmic motion is what sells me 100% on this album.

Favorite Tracks:

• Aba Alem Lemenea
• Ethiopia

My Favorite Lyrics:
From "Aba Alem Lemenea", a song I adore for so many reasons, I chose just one word that's repeated numerous times throughout the song. In English, it simply means, "Why?"

"Lemen? Lemen? Lemen?"

3. Fusion of Two Genres, Classical and Metal: Nightwish's Imaginaerum

Okay, so, "fusion" may not be the right word for this album. That's merely because there are very few words for this album: "IT FUCKING ROCKS"  is the phrase that comes to my mind. I've been a fan of Nightwish for years now, especially since their hit release Once, back when they had their old singer, Tarja Turunen. Now, they blown my mind by creating not only an album, but a musical film of the same title that tells the allegorical story of why Tuomas composes for the band, and offers a glimpse into the band's collective imagination. Imaginaerum starts off with the only Finnish song on the album, Taikatalvi, which sounds like a music box's melody gone horribly wrong. From there, the Imaginaerum draws you in deeper, with heavy numbers like Ghost River and I Want My Tears Back, until you hit the climax of the darkest piece, Scaretale, which is reminiscent of Tim Burton-esque horror combined with every nightmare you've ever had, retold in an oddly entertaining way. After that, the album slows down a bit with downtempo songs such as Rest Calm and The Crow, the Owl and the Dove. However, after that, you're reassured that the album can't end so slowly (After all, it's fucking NIGHTWISH), and Last Ride of the Day closes the main part of the album with a powerful chorus promising "Such an incredible high". After that, a short musical number (Song of Myself) follows with a long poem recited by different band members and other unknown voices, questioning what is worth valuing. Finally, the musical score for the film version of Imaginaerum brings the album to an amazing theatrical close. Nightwish has done it again. Onnittelut, Nightwish.

Favorite Tracks:
All of them. Seriously. A few stick out, though.

• I Want My Tears Back
• Rest Calm
• Last Ride of the Day

My Favorite Lyrics:
From Last Ride of the Day, showing what's in store yet despite the fact that it's near the end of the album-- their imagination isn't so limited!

"Once upon a night we'll wake to the carnival of life
the beauty of this ride ahead such an incredible high
It's hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead
This moment the dawn of humanity
The last ride of the day!"

If you like my writing, you can join the site to the right of the page, like Speaking with Storms on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+ . If you have questions or just want to chat, I'm on Formspring too!

Thanks for reading. Go forth and do good things, my friends.

Lost in Translation

One of my nerdiest hobbies includes studying Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the study of the theory of (and the practice of) interpretation. I spend a lot of time (some would say too much) comparing different translations of texts and different interpretations of literature in order to form my own opinion. Some call it obsessive... I just consider it being thorough.

The other evening I was speaking with a friend of mine who is Christian. We were discussing the Lord's Prayer-- I was sharing anecdotes and details that I found amusing. For example: Did you know that in most Asian-language translations of the Lord's Prayer, they ask for God to "Give us today our daily rice"? Regardless, we were not discussing Asian languages.

We were discussing Aramaic, Jesus' first language and the one he spoke most fluently. Aramaic is a Semitic language, meaning it is related to ancient Hebrew and helped give birth to modern-day Arabic. Semitic languages have a great habit of being butchered by Western civilizations for numerous reasons; sometimes to spin the information the way the Church wanted and sometimes simply due to terrible scholarship. Either way, a lot of meaning has been lost. My friend just so happens to be a linguistics student who specializes in Semitic languages. Needless to say, I lucked out.

He wrote and recited the Lord's Prayer for me in Aramaic. It is as follows.

D'bwaschmâja Nethkâdasch schmach
Têtê malkuthach.
Nehwê tzevjânach aikâna d'bwaschmâja af b'arha.
Hawvlân lachma d'sûnkanân jaomâna.
Waschboklân chaubên wachtahên aikâna
daf chnân schwoken l'chaijabên.
Wela tachlân l'nesjuna
ela patzân min bischa.
Metol dilachie malkutha wahaila wateschbuchta l'ahlâm almîn.
Amên.

When I first looked at the phonology of the words and the way the consonants and vowels played off of each other, it honestly looked like a bit of a mess. I said right out loud, "Who would ever design a language this way?" To which my friend wisely responded "We don't design language. Language designs us."

We discussed this for some time, as I recited the German version for him, then translated it literally. He was shocked.

"That's far too close to the Westernized version. It's not close to the original at all."

I asked him to elaborate, which is when he recited the most beautiful English prayer I have ever heard.

Oh You, from whom the breath of life comes,
who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration.
May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.
Your Heavenly Domain approaches.
Let Your will come true - in all the universe
just as on earth.
Give us wisdom for our daily need,
detach the fetters of faults that bind us, like we let go the guilt of others
Let us not be lost in superficial things,
but let us be freed from that what keeps us off from our true purpose.
From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act,
 And the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.
May this be sealed in trust, faith and truth.

I smiled to myself as I muttered, "That almost sounds like a Buddhist mantra or meditation wheel prayer." The first thing that I noticed (and immediately loved) about it was the second line. "[God] fills all realms of sound, light, and vibration". I interpret this to mean that God can be experienced first-hand, audibly, visibly and palpably. This paints a very different portrait that if any word close to the English "Heaven" were used. Heaven implies somewhere completely separate from the realm of Earth, but in the original Aramaic, God is well within our realm of perception.

Another thing I loved was that it references the holiness of the self. Many denominations of many faiths paint the Human as faulty, less-than, fallen from grace. This prayer, however, speaks of the holiness of the individual. That's right: when Jesus first spoke the Lord's Prayer, he referenced that there is holiness inside every human, a little bit of God in each of us-- a Divine Spark.

When Jesus spoke the words "Let us not be lost in superficial things", I doubt he really meant what is now "let us not be led into temptation". Really, to be lost in superficial things means what? It means to realize what truly matters. It means to avoid desire for things you don't need. It means to remember that you could always have less.

My favorite phrase in the Aramaic is the closing. In English, it's well-known: "For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory." In Aramaic, it is incredibly different. Instead of the kingdom that God owns, he gives something to us: will that is all-purposeful. Instead of omnipotence, he gives vigor and life. Instead of his own glory, he shares something more glorious with us: A song. A song that makes everything beautiful. Indeed, Jesus saw beauty in music-- within and without.

Jesus in a very Buddha-like pose.

 When he finished writing it out for me, he circled a few phrases and explained a few Hermeneutical issues (words that are near-impossible to translate or have other quirks worth notice) to me.

• • The phrase "Breath of Life" is very common in almost all Semitic languages as describing the way God breathes life into clay or dust.
    
  •  In line 5, the word "Universe" can be literally translated as "All that vibrates".
  • In the line after that, the word for "Earth" is more accurate as "That which is material and dense".
  •  The word "wisdom" in line 7 could also mean "understanding", or "assistance" (as in, the way a teacher 'assists' a student).
  • The phrase "fetters of fault" gives birth to the modern Arabic term for 'karma', an oddly Eastern word to see in a Western prayer.
  • to "let go" in line 8 also means to unlock, relieve weight from, or release from grip.

All-in-all, the Aramaic words used strike certain stark differences tot he modernized version. A lot of people could wonder how so much could be lost in translation, and I urge those people to visit this site  which displays and illustrates Hermeneutical fallacies perfectly. 

Language is constantly changing. There is nothing intrinsically good or bad about that, but it is always important to see where the words we're using come from in order to gain a deeper understanding about the history of what we say and why we say it.

If you like my writing, you can join the site to the right of the page, like Speaking with Storms on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+ . If you have questions or just want to chat, I'm on Formspring too!

Thanks for reading. Go forth and do good things, my friends.