Salone soundtrack

Admittedly, the idea for this post was pilfered shamelessly from Brandon's Zambia blog. But I like to think I would've come up with it on my own, given how essential music is to my day-to-day existence.

For me, a major part of music's transcendent beauty is that so many songs are plainly relatable to such a wealth of people who, save for their shared appreciation of a given tune, might otherwise have no discernible connection.

Many of the songs on this playlist came over to Salone with me without the slightest tie to SL or even Africa more generally, yet leave with a whole new significance on account of what they've meant to me here. That's kind of cool.

The rest are songs that I either didn't know or didn't like before coming here, but have come to appreciate for what they are. In a way, that's pretty cool too - even if admitting to enjoying some of them requires me to swallow a little pride.

In the interest of a throwback to the proverbial good ol' days, we're going to do this in cassette form. Side A represents the tunes that dominated the Salone airwaves while I was here, while Side B showcases the imported songs that came to define my experience just as much.


SIDE A
1. Bubere - "Kabuko"
For five of the six minutes in this song, I have no idea what is being said, but it's catchy as hell. The other part touches on the topic of proper health and sanitation. Regardless, though I haven't heard it at all recently, it was the biggest song in the city for the first two weeks I was here and, as such, will be forever on my mind when I think of Salone music. Unsurprisingly, I can't find it anywhere online, but I have a copy on CD and will play it for anyone who pesters me to do so when I get home.

2. Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown - "No Air"
This song flat-out beat me into submission. Through no fault of my own, I think it was probably the one song I heard more than any other during my seven months in SL, contested closely by Brown's "With You". And in it's defense, at least the lyrics are challenging. Try as I might to figure it out, I just don't know how you're supposed to breathe with no air, Jordin.

3. Lil Wayne - "Lollipop"
I can't agree with this song winning the Grammy for Best Rap Song, or Lil Wayne winning Best Rap Album. But if the prevalence with which it's played is any indication, the Sierra Leonean masses would take no umbrage. And while the lyrics are laughably bad, the track is undeniably catchy. That - coupled with the fact that all things Lil Wayne remind me of my JHR colleague Craig and his ill-fated attempts to convince Patrick of Wayne's genius - is enough to grab it a spot on my Salone soundtrack.

4. Ne-Yo - "Miss Independent"
A song that gets massive airplay and has a positive message about women? It's not really a track you'd catch me listening to in my living room, but I can definitely get behind the notion of the inherent sexiness of independent women. (Sidenote: Is this song actually sampling Kanye's "Flashing Lights" or just blatantly ripping it off?)

5. Akon - Right Now (Na Na Na)
Yeah, I like Akon. What of it? So does everyone else in West Africa. The man, who traces his roots to Senegal, has seemingly been appropriated by the whole region, and his entire catalogue is played constantly. Outside of this track, his collaborations with Kardinal Offishall ("Dangerous"), Colby O'Donis ("Beautiful"), Kat DeLuna ("Am I Dreaming"), Lil Wayne ("I'm So Paid") and MJ ("Hold My Hand") lead a long list on constant rotation. I still think most his lyrics suck ("She made us drinks, to drink, we drunk 'em, got drunk"), but if there's anything that'd likely get me on the dance floor at a trashy nightclub, Akon might be it.

6. Jordin Sparks - "Tattoo"
It's amazing how much cultural context can impact definitions of taste. I distinctly remember the time this song came on in a poda-poda and I was relieved, not horrified, to hear Jordin Sparks. Don't judge.

7. Keyshia Cole - "Heaven Sent"
Despite hearing this song daily for months, I always thought she was saying "sinful heaven" instead of "sent from heaven", which I suppose is a pretty crucial difference. Such confusion is not uncommon, though. There's a popular song in a local language that Patrick swears revolves around the lyric, "Speaking of apple carts, why me?" I don't know what he's talking about - they clearly say "Apple Jacks". Regardless, I think this track stands as proof that some songs don't grow on you no matter how many times you hear them. Sorry Keyshia.

8. Timbaland - "The Way I Are" feat. Keri Hilson and DOE
Grammatical atrocities notwithstanding, I can't seem to hear this song without thinking of sitting in a small bar in Kabala on New Year's Day having just dragged my hungover self up and down a small mountain - and I still couldn't help but tap my toes. I suppose that's why everyone wants to work with Timbaland. File this one under 'another inescapably popular track that could potentially get me on the dance floor'.

9. Morgan Heritage - "Tell Me How Come"
I barely set foot in Kalleone's downtown office in the last month of my contract, instead working from the more laid-back studio, which meant my days were spent listening to whatever was on the airwaves at 105.7. Apparently, Kalleone listeners love Jamaican reggae music. I think I asked Popani, the Kalleone workhorse that does 12-hour days keeping the studio running seven days a week, the name of this track about 15 times. Much like I did with Al and Ryan Adams in The Cord office last year, actually.

10. M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
If there's a country in the world where this song isn't beloved, I've yet to hear about it. It's still in reasonably regular radio rotation in SL and was also one of the few songs played in our house with any consistency. When I ranked the top albums of 2007 for my Radio Laurier show, Kala didn't crack the top 30. It's grown on me. A lot.


SIDE B
1. Eddie Vedder - "Hard Sun"
"There's a big, a big hard sun, beating on the big people, in a big hard world." Patrick and I had never spoken before we arrived here, and we both brought very little music. Yet we both had the soundtrack from Into The Wild, one of my favourite films of '07. It seemed a fitting one to bring, given that the movie follows someone leaving the comfort of the life they know right after graduating university, looking inward on an epic adventure. "Society", a deeply meditative track that often spoke to me in moments of quiet reflection, was a close runner-up, both for its insights into wants vs. needs, and because I thought often of the society I left behind and how it was moving on without me.

2. The Roots - "Duck Down!"
Given my hopelessly understocked music library, stumbling across The Tipping Point on Kevin's computer was like sipping at an oasis. I'm increasingly convinced this is one of my five all-time favourite albums and Black Thought is my favourite emcee. And this track in particular possesses a hugely restorative quality for me. Upon arriving home from work, it's amazing how quickly it can transform me from sheer exhaustion to a ball of energy and positivity. The Roots are more than music.

3. The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive"
Though my mood after especially long days at Kalleone was sometimes better encapsulated by the track, "Lord, I'm Discouraged", the singalong chorus from the album's upbeat title track became something of an anthem for me as I sought to retain high spirits. Props to Kari for bringing this stellar album back to me after her vacation in Florida over Christmas.

4. Rise Against - "Savio[u]r"
I could lie to you and grab a couple of lyrics, superimposing meaning to illustrate their relevance to my current station in life. I was an English major - trust me, I'm quite good at it. But there's nothing deep here. I just listened to this song a lot.

5. The Stills - "Rooibos/Palm Wine Drinkard"*
My initial reason for giving this song heavy rotation was that palm wine is a popular drink in Sierra Leone. Turns out, not so much in Freetown. I've actually only drank the stuff once, and it was in Guinea, just before Rebecca and I set off to track elephants with a guide who was drunk at 7 a.m. So I guess he's the palm wine drinkard in my story, but it doesn't really matter because the song's awesome.

6. Matt Mays & El Torpedo - "Tall Trees"*
If I were to compile a video slideshow of my Liberia-Guinea adventure, it would be nothing short of criminal to set it to any song other than this. "Tall trees hanging over the road, feels like they're staring me down." Try spending hours a day on the back of a motorbike, traversing narrow dirt roads with jungle on both sides of you, and not thinking of this song. Impossible. This was my anthem anytime I headed to the border regions.

7. K'NAAN - "Take A Minute"*
"Fire in Freetown" would've been the obvious choice on an album so littered with Africa references that it dominated my playlist from its February release onwards, but "Take A Minute" edges "Fatima" as my favourite song on Troubadour. K'NAAN's lyrical flow has definitely come into its own since The Dusty Foot Philosopher. "I take inspiration from the most heinous of situations, creating medication out my own tribulations. Dear Africa, you helped me write this, by showing me to give is priceless." Mad props to B-Roc for sending me the whole album as soon as it came out.

8. Kings of Leon - "Be Somebody"
Okay, this might as well just be the entire album. Every song on it is near the top of my Media Player most played list. But I figured this one would function as a reasonable stand-in because the title fits with the theme of self-discovery and figuring out what I want to do with my life, as I spent a lot of time here mining my inner depths in what I deem a very healthy, introspective period. Nevermind that the song lyrics actually have nothing to do with that ...

9. Radiohead - "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box"
Every time I crammed myself into a shell-like poda-poda with 18-25 other Freetown commuters, this song title popped into my head until I finally had my buddy Ryrie send it to me. Its meaning will never be the same. Besides, it brings my JHR experience full circle, since I interviewed for this position on almost no sleep, after an 18-hour commute from Lollapalooza, which was headlined by Radiohead, and only made it on time because Ryrie drove to London to pick me up at 3 in the morning. Turns out Ryrie's been good to me lately. Thanks bud.

10. Shad - "I'll Never Understand"*
No playlist of mine would be complete without a Shad track and, as I think I made clear in a previous post, this long-time favourite has only grown more relevant in the last seven months. With my impending trip to Rwanda, I can't imagine it'll lose any of its impact. "I'll never understand how people can go on and live, the miracle of finding the strength to forgive, to resurrect peace, to close up wounds so deep that they pierce souls beneath heartbeats." A sombre playlist closer, perhaps, but still fitting for what has been an often sobering experience.


* - Even when I'm living in West Africa, my playlists still feature CanCon prominently. Turns out Canadian music's awesome.