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someday i’ll go to Tuva. when I was an undergrad, a band called Alash came to play. I had no idea who they were, only that James said it could be interesting, and James knows his music.
It was riveting. I’ve never heard anything like it before, and this recording barely does justice to it. I found out much more about throat-singing later: its origins in pastoral animism, and that particularly phenomenal people can teach themselves (this also includes my good friend Erik).
Tuva is a tiny republic in southern Russia, and oddly enough is a familiar name to diehard physics geeks who will associate the name with Richard Feynman, who became fascinated with the Republic in his capacity as a philaltelist (the Republic was bold enough, in its short period of autonomy, to issue a stamp which didn’t conform to international standards, which had the stamp-collecting fraternity in something of a tizzy. So Feynman set out to figure things out. Surely you’re joking…)
(And while I’m in Tuva, I might need to make a detour to Kalmykia*, primarily to check out the saiga antelope. I wonder if Dr. Suess ever saw any of these, becuase I think he would have loved them. or been miffed that nature was stealing a bit of his curious-creature-creating thunder.)
*Yes, Kalmykia is half of Russia away from Tuva. And yes, Russia is big. Still, they’re in the same country, so that should count for something.
It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a streetcar was in sight;
While the sun was shining brightly,
For it had rained all night.
‘Twas a summer’s day in Winter,
And the rain was snowing fast,
As the barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.
- anonymous
Places I've been, places to go, things to save, objects moments spaces of mystery beauty whimsy wonder.
