Didge virtuoso Alan Dargin dies

Singing home soul of the didgeridoo

If you play (or even just love) the didge, you've heard of Alan Dargin. Alan died Sunday in hospital from complications of a stroke. He was only 40:

...For more than 20 years, Dargin and his stick, as he called his yirdaki or didgeridoo, were fixtures at Circular Quay, where he was one of Sydney's best-known buskers. But his fame, and the rock'n'roll sensibility he brought to the most ancient of Aboriginal musical instruments, spread much further. Over the years, Dargin had played at festivals, clubs and concert halls around the world, from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York, Paris and outback stations...Hours later, a symphony of didgeridoo players "sang" Dargin's spirit back to his tribal homeland in Arnhem Land, a tearful crowd clapping in time to the clapsticks.

Above is a pic of my didge, "Taproot Dreaming". Every player knows you have to play your didge often often to give life to the spirit that lives inside it. Here's a few of my meager toots for you, Alan...

Damien Dempsey

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm a new fan of Damien Dempsey. There's a good review of his album "To Hell or Barbados" at Celtic Lounge News. I want to point out some comments about the song 'Maasai':

...When I die/I want to die not in a home for the unknown/when I love I want to love not like a swine with no spine but love like a flower loves sunshine,” he wails about the ancient tribe that “co-existed with Mother Nature;” Damo says it’s also a song about the old warrior spirit of the Celtic people in the liner notes.

This song gets my vote for the new Pagan National Anthem, heh! Here's a thunderous version, recently recorded on the Sinead O'Connor tour, featuring members of Sinead's band as backup:

I saw Sinead O'Connor

Yes, I finally saw Sinead O'Connor. I saw her at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, NY. What a great show. For a great review and comments on her current tour, see Cale's page:

...A setlist that includes gems she hasn't performed in over a decade ('Never Get Old,' 'Three Babies') are mingled with spine-tingling renditions from 'Theology,' ('Something Beautiful' and 'If You Had a Vineyard'). Her glorious 'Universal Mother' and 'Faith & Courage' albums are wonderfully represented by moving performances of fan favorites like 'In This Heart' and 'Lamb's Book of Life.' An extra treat is provided by the introduction of 'Back Where You Belong,' a stunning, elegiac ballad Sinead wrote and performed for the upcoming major motion-picture, 'The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.'...The theater was charged with an almost messianic atmosphere as fans screamed approval, wept, sang-along with songs that had been life-defining, and even complimented the petite dynamo on her agelessly haunting beauty....

How true! The opening act for Sinead was the great Irish folksinger Damien Dempsey. His song "Maasai" from the CD "To Hell or Barbados" was one of the most rousing Pagan anthems I have ever heard--I thought the audience was going to start pulling up the seats!

Angel releases album

Sinead O’Connor releases ’Theology’ album 15 years after tearing pope photo

The always fascinating Sinead O'Conner has released a new album, titled 'Theology', inspired by religion and Biblical scripture:

"...There’s a lot that’s beautiful about religion," she said. "It’s just you get some ... nutters that misinterpret it..." Islam "essentially at its core is a very beautiful religion," she said. "You’ve got a very small bunch of fruitcakes bringing that religion into disrepute. Same in the States, you’ve got people like George Bush bringing Christianity into disrepute..."

It figures that a woman with the vocal cords of an angel would come up with something like this. I've always been mesmerized by her voice. I think she'd reduce me to a quivering blob of jelly, just reading the lunch specials in some greasy spoon diner.