I know, I know, why post an 80s track by some British dudes on a blog that focuses mostly on Nu-World Bass music; well, to be honest, all I can say is that I found a copy of the Better Off Dead soundtrack recently, ripped it from vinyl to mp3 and have been playing the hell out of it...Im an 80s kid, born in '75, so this movie was one of my favs as a younster...but I never realized how nice the soundtrack really is...some real sleeper hits on there.
anyhow, when Im not listening to this soundtrack, Ive been reading quite a bit as well...just finished rereading Albert Camus's "The Stranger"--one of the central ideas in this book is this notion of "benign indifference," the philosophical idea that very little matters regarding one's choices in life. The character in the book is punished not for the senseless murder he commit, but because of his utter indifference toward his mother's death.
An interesting idea that has its perks, for one could very well go through life without a care...utterly indifferent to the world. Camus was from Algeria, participated in the French Resistance, and wrote "The Stranger" at the age of 29!Camus died on 4 January 1960 at the age of 46 in a car accident. In his coat pocket lay an unused train ticket. He had planned to travel by train, with his wife and children, but at the last minute accepted his publisher's proposal to travel with him. I wonder if Camus would choose to take that train if given the opportunity, or would he maintain a 'benign indifference'.
Also from Algeria comes Rai music. I first heard about Rai years ago while at a dj gig. I was playing some Bhangra music and assorted Eastern vibes and someone approached the booth and asked me if I'd ever heard of Rai music. I hadnt but I went out soon after and picked some up. Needless to say, I found some really great stuff. The vinyl was pretty limited, although I did find a comp or two on LP. Most of what I came across was on cd though.
Ive only come across a few Rai-hiphop tracks, one of them being really good. Im always looking for some of this stuff, but it doesnt always pop up for me. Heres one I used to play out. Its a beautiful track featuring some lovely vocals from Fadela, I believe.
Fadela-N' Sel Fik
