Fenster’s Funky Sevens

Taking the tune "Song For Shelter" by Fatboy Slim featuring Roland Clark (also known as "I Get Deep") from 2000 as a focal point. I go back and trace the development of the style of vocal delivery used in Spoken Word House Music; moving through churches, publishing houses and civil rights rallies to the mid 80s House Music and Poetry Slam scenes of Chicago and beyond.

 

 I, also, make the case that Spoken Word House Music is its own unique form of artistic expression and should be held in the same regard of Rap/Hip Hop and other spoken word forms.

 

Special Thanks to Marlon Billups (Joe De Presser), Reg E Gaines and Micah Salkind

Check out Micah's book on House Music 

https://www.amazon.com/Books-Micah-Salkind/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AMicah%2BSalkind

Roland Clark's Bandcamp

 

https://djrolandclark.bandcamp.com/music

 

Maurice Joshua's "everything house music and more" podcast

 

https://theblackpodcastapp.com/rss/podcasts/everything-house-music-and-more/

Dublin City in Ireland is currently experiencing one of the worst housing crises in the world, Property prices have increased so much that only a handful of working people can afford to buy a home. The rental market is in chaos too, with very few places  for rent and the accommodation that is available  is often very expensive and low quality. 1000s of people are being made homeless every year. 

In this episode, I try to tell the history of housing in Dublin and the causes of the current housing crisis through seven Irish songs, ranging from folk to pop to hip hop,  with lots of clips from musicians, politicians, historians, analysts and of course, the people of the great city of Dublin.

If your Instagram algorithm is tuned to serve you wholesome musical moments, you might have seen a video recently of an Alaskan bluegrass band (The Heists with Josh Fortenbery) playing the song "East Virginia Blues" with vocals from a Mongolian throat singer (Bataa Jambaldorj of Nomads). It's a joyous meeting of musical styles and cultures. 

 

This episode tells the story of how that wonderfully serendipitous moment came to be. 

 

The video

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYw9SRYRN3j/?igsh=MWJzZGd6OHQyaXp0dA==

 

Bataa's instagram

 

https://www.instagram.com/bataajambaldorj?igsh=ZTh2eGVodWU1Y252

 

Nomad's bandcamp

 

https://nomadsdublin.bandcamp.com/

 

Bataa playing in class

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA36MolMmyM/?igsh=OWt0bmN1dzhvaWFs

 

Hansel/Billy

 

https://www.instagram.com/_hansel_s?igsh=YjhyMnlja3Zwbzd4

 

The Heists

 

https://www.the-heists.com/

 

https://www.instagram.com/the_heists?igsh=NTk2dDcwdGxnZ2ts

 

Josh Fortenbery

 

https://www.instagram.com/josh.fortenbery?igsh=MWRsZjB0czljcmV0cg==

 

Taylor Vidic 

 

https://www.instagram.com/taylordallasvidic?igsh=Z291aW16ZTh0cHhu

 

 

Deni Hurtado

 

https://www.instagram.com/deni_hurtado?igsh=bnJnMm1vYTExZHluY

 

 

Lisa/Twitcher

 

https://www.instagram.com/twitcher_music?igsh=Yjg0NW9weXowd3cx

 

Cormac/Big Monster Love

 

https://bigmonsterlove.bandcamp.com/album/game-over

In the last episode, I inadvertently took a turn into the realm of true crime podcasting, and while I'm not intentionally planning this, it seems this episode could be filed under the heading of self help. 
Back in the 80s, I heard a song, Dignity by Deacon Blue, which explored themes I hadn't come across in a song before. It's about finding meaning in the drudgery of manual labour and how the right attitude can become inspirational and filled with joy and hope. Subconsciously, over the years. I've been drawn to other songs that dealt with similar themes and now I've collected these songs into a sort of mental health journey.
The modern world can lead people to act in a way that might cause them to lose their dignity, maybe the messages in these songs could help someone regain it. If that's not too lofty a claim.

Ronan Hession/Mumblin' Deaf Ro's music

https://mumblindeafro.bandcamp.com/music

I'm not exactly sure what this episode is, I guess it's a kind of audio essay based on seven "ghost songs" (songs with the word ghost in the title) and how they relate to some moments from my life. Maybe it's something of a personal memoir through song,;as pretension as that sounds.

The last 30, or so minutes are more of a documentary about a very sad and tragic event in Dublin's history, so be prepared for that if you are of a sensitive nature. 

So please have a listen and enjoy these Ghost Memories 

 

Aoife's Sing Along Social

https://www.singalongsocial.com/

 

Gary's music 

https://gazlerock.bandcamp.com

 

Trapped Inside: The Stardust Nightclub Fire Disaster Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deHNbwW6B6U