Tuesday, April 29, 2008

SONG OF WHITE HAIRS


Is she growling and moaning because she's found her first white pubic hair?
Is she telling a waiter she's found white hairs in her soup?
All I can tell you for sure, is that you're listening to a p'ansori, a Korean form of folk chant. The intent could be anything from telling a story to delivering a shamanist rant...you really have to know a little Korean to be sure. I know a little Korean, but she runs a bakery and was born in the U.S.A. and knows more about Springsteen than p'ansori.

Our singer, Yoojin Chung? Just as Yoko Ono conquered avant garde audiences in Greenwich Village, this singer was able to drop some jaws when she opened hers. She was a hit attraction across the river from Greenwich Village at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. One critic noted her "sounds from deep in the chest are seasoned with high-pitched wails..." and that she "emits what might be described as Korean soul music."
I think that writer emitted a really bad pun with "Korean soul music," but rather than mash that guy, let's stash "Song of the White Hairs" here for your downloading. It's from her album "The Art of Cosmic Voice." And if you really don't know, the celebs in the photo are Carroll Baker, Emmylou Harris, Steve Martin and Whitey Ford.

Your introduction to: Yoojin Chung.

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