Otokichi

About now, Christmas/Holiday muzak is everywhere, and you wonder how you'll keep from turning into "Ebenezer Scrooge," musically. Drop by and hear two masters of Violin and a great Bluegrass singer "chase the Christmas Earworms" away. It was a YouTube recommendation, even though I was channeling the lesser-known/heard soundtrack songs from the "Stand By Me" movie. Live Long, And Prosper.;) Who is "Natalie MacMaster"?

There are up to 7 movies scheduled for Turner Classic Movies Tuesday-Wednesday program of "Women Make Film." The most interesting ones usually are unavailable for streaming, so I usually end up with an "also-ran" film. However, here's an interesting French film about Lourdes and a group of hopeful pilgrims seeking a divine cure. Christine, locked into a wheelchair, suffers from Cerebral Palsy and goes on such pilgrimages to "get out in the world." In short, definitely not a pious/God-fearing person. But something happens one evening, and the world opens up for her. Is this a Miracle? Will it l

Oy, can you still hear music? Then you weren't a Boombox user. "Techmoan" has found the "Japan domestic" version of the JVC RC-M90, a ten D-cell unit that "could rule the 'hood" in the early 1980's. What did your $1500 buy in 1981/1983? A great compact cassette transport, audio switches and capabilities that could turn you into a "real MC," and "rattle the windows" sound volume levels that didn't distort when you "turned it up to 11." Get on the Wayback machine and drool over a state-of-the-art 1981 Ghetto Blaster that was featured on LP covers by LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys. (Sorry, no pu

Submitted for patient review, a "Women Make Film" tale from Pakistan. "Auntie," the "woman who won't go to the well" is well-liked in her small village. She has a secret that dates back to the 1947 Indian Partition, where people were forced to choose between The Muslim State (Pakistan) or the Hindu State (India). In a nutshell, she's a Sikh living in a Muslim village. This is also a village-level look at the drift toward Islamic Fundamentalism that makes former villagers who happen to be Sikh, "unwelcome pilgrims." The first five minutes place "Silent Waters" in perspective for the actors and

So, you think that "The Girl From Ipanema" is just "elevator music"? To the contrary, Orfeo, take a deep dive into the structure/history of Bossa Nova and see/hear this song in Brazilian Portuguese, as well.

A song that trader-warriors from Europe's Great White North might have sung on their way to rape, pillage, and burn in the 700s. Come on Metal warriors, it's time to show those uppity Christians where to go!;) Medieval "Paint It Black"

Let slip the ropes, we monks are on a pleasure cruise to lands far beyond! The Medieval tune changers invite you to "reimagine" Enya's "Orinoco Flow" as a voyage through the Mediterranean and other places "far from the Volga." (We won't be home by Vespers any time soon.;) How to make "Bardcore" cover songs/tunes.

Here's an almost-kid-friendly game for explorers of strange, far-off places. See how many kinds of Bugsnax you can find/consume in this odd little game.;)

Submitted for "Ye Olde Playboy Bunny Chaser," the hottest electronic display device for late 2007/early 2008! Yessir, for a well-heeled ($2500) "urban sophisticate," you could be the talk of the neighborhood with an OLED TV. So what if it's for "personal viewing" at 11 inches diagonal, It's A Sony! Good news, everybody, "The Moan Family Puppets" are back! See what "Techmoan thinks of a "bucket list" tech item acquired at last...

Submitted for curious fans of foreign films, another in Turner Classic Movies "Women Make Film" series. A 2007 film about a club hostess, trying to pay off multiple debts (Pimp, daughter/mother housing outside the city, dress rental) moves in with a reluctant old time photographer. According to the IMdB, she helps him realize old dreams before death.

Submitted for your approval, a UK Talking Book Service machine and tapes. "Techmoan" can finally reveal what he knows about this "super-niche" product of the 1960's. Imagine an 8 track 1/4 inch tape player that allows you to hear a book being read, along with a unique indexing system that works as the tape us rewound! Let's take a trip to the dark side...

https://tubitv.com/movies/460185/foreign-letters Submitted for your cogitation, the tale of two foreign-born grade school girls who gradually connect at school. The narrator, Ellie, is from Israel, and tells a friend back home (in Hebrew) about her life in the U.S. Her classmate. Thuy, is from Vietnam, speaks and reads English, and is aiming for the Honor Roll and an top SAT score. How does the ex-Israeli girl from a poor family get along with an apparently much-better-off, studious Vietnamese? Roll film... One of this week's "Women Who Make Film" tales found on Turner Classic Movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRYBVpV10dg&list=RDXFkJ2yT0AvY&index=3 A set of performances by "HI Sessions" performers, with more by "Streetlight Cadence" to brighten a cloudy afternoon...

Welcome to The Audio Museum! Submitted for your entertainment, "Techmoan" has gathered a number of media types that can/cannot be played/seen on various kinds of hardware. Yessir, some of this stuff "belongs in a museum" because of circumstances beyond the control of the music makers. Step into the Audio Wayback machine, (some of it) will be a "sound and light" show!

Here's a notable outtake from "Singin' in the Rain," where Debbie Reynolds sings "Lucky Star." What does this have to do with the 1979 movie, "Alien"? As "Warrant Officer Ripley" is trying to "steam" the Alien out of it's hiding space, this is the song she's singing. (William Shatner style, though.;)