Congrats to my old high school buddy Anthony for the publication of his first book.
Cool band of the day: Dengue Fever. Aside from being named for one of my very favorite tropical diseases, they’re a self-proclaimed mix of surf music, ’60s Cambodian pop, and Ethiopian music. Their album sounds supercool — loungy, but with the sort of druggy haze that Ethiopian music gives you.
The last time I wrote about Ethiopian music here, I said this about Getatchew Mekurya: “Picture a Quentin Tarantino movie whose climactic scene features John Travolta nervously making an opium deal in the back room of some Turkish bath. This would be the soundtrack.” Move the opium deal from Istanbul to a back alley near The Quiet American‘s Continental Hotel and you’ve got Dengue Fever.
Finally, speaking of Graham Greene, I remember why I love The Super Friendz so much every time their song “Machine Green” pops up on the iPod. Gotta love those lyrics:
So tell me, who’s your favourite author? Mine’s Graham Greene
He started with the start and kept his sentences lean