Rough Sundays

While the past six days have been chaotic, violent and - at times - terrifying, yesterday saw thousands of residents of all shape, color and culture cleaning up what was burnt, looted and/or destroyed. And with that, a celebration of the country of South Africa — famously infamous if all you unfairly base your version on is what happened 30 years ago. But it's a handful of tracks, a few stories and even our favorite guide Lerato taking us to another spot in Soweto where an upbeat-yet-secretly-about-apartheid song was penned. Plus much more. Make coffee. Hit play. Sit back. And enjoy yet another episode from the magic of South Africa. 

Our second show from Joburg, South Africa and a star-studded one. No really. Famed travel writer Farirai Sanyika joins us to teach the proper way to pronounce those "Zulu clicks", tour guide Lerato takes us to the bottom of a mine where one of the world's most famous songs was composed (and later stolen), not to mention the Mahotella Queens, Elite Swingsters, Dolly Rathebe and a penny-whistle'r who would have been world famous if not for Bob Dylan... plus a whole lot more. So pour a big cup of coffee. Sit way back. And welcome to South Africa. 

Our first show from Africa — South Africa, to be exact — and what an incredible place to be. So incredible, that we've made THE FIRST SHOW FROM AFRICA YOU GUYS an entirely South African one. From the voices you know via Paul Simon to two songs dedicated to the neighborhood not far from me here in Johannesburg, to the bad girl of Afropop, some Pata Pata and even a track by Mama Africa herself. And while this show* was formed on moving slowly, this week it might make you do the exact opposite. Pour coffee. Hit play. And welcome to South Africa! 

The final show from Istanbul before a BIG NEW ADVENTURE and it's the Roughest Rough Sundays in a long while — much in part to a going-away party that ended in a near-scuffle with the police. Recorded in bed, we've got the Godfather of Rap and a story that can't be told, 22+1 skiddos, the Queen of Gospel, songs about wine and we dive back into the book Midnight at the Pera Palace for one final track from a 1930s Istanbul... plus a lot more that I've probably forgotten about. Oh yeah, a nice song heard here on the ferry from Asia to Europe and some sounds from the fish market. 

If it's music that'll make you pop out of bed, you've come to the wrong show. But if it's an easy, lazy Sunday morning mood you're after CONGRATULATIONS - you chose wisely. From the women who invented rock n' roll to one of the world's most-talented choirs, to France's most controversial export and ugly kids, plus how Easy-E got away with stealing one of soul's most catchy hooks. And we end it all with the sounds from a mystic Islamic sect here in Istanbul. Make coffee. Hit play. Move slowly. 

A moody, overcast and grey morning here in Istanbul sets the scene for a fantastic show — despite the hungover host's attempts. From Zamrock to Dinah Washington, a passage from a book that leads to the first recorded Turkish Tango, plus blind boys, some old school Jimmy Hughes and a conversation with my barber that leads to the most sampled track in musical history. It's Rough Sundays, okay great! 

Back from a week away and Good God! do we have some goodness to play you this week. From Louis Armstrong's questionable employment pre-trumpet to a Jesus-based funk album, to Django and his brother (plus story of the fire in his Romani camp), as well as a journey back to 1993, when an CD appeared at the mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma and ended up taking 4 teenagers' heads off... plus much more.

Probably the most upbeat show to date and rightfully so. We kick it off with some New Orleans goodness and then a roller-coaster of Partons and Wilsons, Cannonball and Dizzy, plus much, much more. Recorded in Istanbul and heard ALL AROUND the world - it's Rough Sundays!

All over the place in the most wonderful of ways, it's your totally favorite Sunday morning wake-me-up! We cover a James Brown cover, one of Little Britain's most powerful women, the magic of Michel Gondry and how he + Mos Def helped introduce a younger generation to the great Fats Waller, not to mention some Marion Williams goodness, some stories from life back in New York (and Shanghai), your (and our) new obsession doing her "organic moonshine roots music" ... and, most importantly, an update on last week's guest, Ben. 

This is Ben. Ben is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but now lives as a refugee with his wife and 3 children in South Africa. They're about to be evicted. And we want to pay his rent — a bit of an abrupt way to start the show, sure, but it's important that you know that above anything else. In the weeks we spent putting this show about Congolese music together, he was also being unlawfully kicked out of his apartment. This was a story host Aric S. Queen read from a friend of his on Facebook and so the idea was had to bring Ben - a musician himself - on to talk about old 1960s, 70s and 80s music from the D.R.C... and that's all we told him. But what we want to do, as stated, was raise enough so that Ben and his family can have a month or two to breathe. But don't be fooled into thinking that the setting for this show is the mood of this show - it's anything but! So grab your coffee, sit back, listen to the world's nicest guy (and the greatest laugh) teach us about Sunday morning music from one of the musical countries in the world: The DRC!