I am half Italian – half Slovakian and most people look at
me and see Italiano ! Italiano ! Italiano! While I am fiercely proud of my
Napolitano heritage admittedly, it is
the Slovakian blood that runs strongest through my veins. The gypsy is strong on my Slovakian side and
I'm not talking about crystal balls and pick pocket tricks and palm readings and
this sure as hell isn’t “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” brothers and sisters (that is the movies and the tell
lies vision) so in the spirit of my last post, in which I responded to an article
that labeled my generation Y GYPSYs; or Gen Y Protagonists and Special Yuppies,
I figured I would so some splainin’ about what a real gypsy in the modern world
is.
I see so many people casually throw around the term gypsy
often with no understanding of what a gypsy is. I always have to chuckle and
when I speak of this gypsy I do NOT allude to being a yuppie or Gen Y
protoganist. So first, lets talk about
what being a gypsy means to me and then we will get to some beautiful Gypsy
songs, both new and old, that warm my gypsy blood.
What we have come to accept as normality in this world, is just a quiet state of desperation.
What we have come to accept as normality in this world, is just a quiet state of desperation.
In my experience, the more you answer ‘Yes’ to these
questions the more gypsy you are embracing.
Do you recognize the earth as mother and have reverence for
all things on the planet?
Can you make yourself comfortable and at ease in any
situation / locale?
Can you melt a frozen persons blood with your gaze?
Can you freeze a hot blooded person with your stare?
Do you (energy, spirit, physical looks) belie your age?
Can you walk into a structured orderly room and always have
the potential of throwing it into utter chaos?
Do random people tell you their deepest fears and darkest
secrets ?
Do you FEEL more than you THINK? (this is a big one)
Do you drink booze / wine out of the bottle even when
there are glasses at your disposal?
DO you party harder at funerals than you do weddings?
Do you not fear death ? (this is not the same as having a
death wish)
Are you street smart / worldly (worldly does not = staying
in 5 star international hotels)
How is your laugh
> loud and proud?
Do you recognize life as a circle and not a linear timeline?
Do you have magic ? (You at least recognize you have it –
you don’t need to know
how to use it, yet)
Do you have respect for the elders and value family?
Are you stubborn and do you not listen? (although you probably should)
Do you feel connected to a world unseen?
Gypsies think of community and not of self. There is no
exaltation of EGO in gypsies.
We think not of the self while acknowledging our great self
worth. The gypsy doesn’t need to necessarily be president or CEO but their self
worth is just as great. And this isn’t me arguing that it is, we KNOW it is. It
is a spirit of love that lives in REAL
gypsy.
A gypsy is never sold anything. There is no propaganda
strong enough to make a gypsy confused as to what they feel.
If you are a woman :
Can you smoke a cigar gracefully?
Can you close fisted punch like a man?
You are not a gypsy just because you are an artist.
You are not a gypsy because you have moved a couple of times
in your life or take a lot of vacations.
You are not a gypsy because you party and go to music
festivals.
You are not a gypsy because you dress boho-chic or
hippie-ish.
You are not a gypsy because you are poor and/or don’t have a
job.
You are not a gypsy because you drink excessively /do drugs.
You are definitely not even close to a gypsy if you take
adderol, Xanax, ambien etc. (Come on now –gypsies aren’t blind even if they
can't see)
You are not a gypsy if you eat fake franken-food.
You may be a free spirit, you may be a wanderer, you might
be bohemian or a hippie or a vagabond or an artist or a party animal or an
international free lancer…but you aren’t a gypsy.
In my view the following is vital and above all other gypsy
traits:
Music runs through your soul and pulse through your veins.
You don’t have to necessarily play/sing music but with gypsies, music
(when it hits) evokes a rhythm that pulsates through our being. There is no
thinking, the music dances inside us and we must participate (whether dance, toe
tap, sing, drum, play, howl, paint--- it is irrelevant so long as there is
MOVEMENT). In my humble opinion, this is
the strongest trait of the gypsy. Movement -and again, it doesn’t mean running
around all over the place – you can create movement sitting absolutely still so
long as you know how to use your magic :
)
SO activate your magic brothers and sisters….you all have
it….whether you are a gypsy or not is of no real consequence…..activate your
magic and love. Move from heart space and activate your inner gypsy.
To celebrate all the beautiful gypsy people out there, I put
together a list of songs that you must listen to if you are a good gypsy and If
you aren’t- well, enjoy a compilation of
gypsy songs that thickens my blood, that takes me to a warm inviting sanctuary,
and makes me move- smiling and crying- feeling and loving stronger.
First things first because it is just so necessary and gets
you in the mood : a clip from the 1975 film “Gypsies are Found Near Heaven”
starring Svetlana Toma and performing the famous gypsy tune “Loli Phabay” or
“the Red Apple” aka “Hop Hop Hop”.
The song is actually sung by the famous Romani artist Rada
Volshaninova.***** (UGH) Wordpress wont let me imbed the video bc it is Russian owned so you have to click the link---its WORTH IT)
The second selection is from Vladimir Vysotsky, a Russian
Jew musician, poet, actor born in 1938 and dead all too early in 1980, some say
assassinated. He was a Russian Bob Dylan – a musical poet that weaved social
and political commentary with stomach
slapping humor into his soulful ballads. He was both a clown and a
preacher. Although I do not understand
the words in his songs, I feel them deeply. A lot of his youtube videos carry the English translation where you can actually see the wit and humor in his lyrics. He was anti-Russian establishment and he nursed the pain he harbored
from the regimes brutal policies with alcohol and drugs. He was considered a threat to the state and
for most of his life, was largely ignored, never promoted by the Soviet
Establishment. No matter though, his soul, his heart, his work were all too
powerful and the people responded with adoration and love.
His work is voluminous and it ALL warms my Gypsy Heart so it
was impossible for me to pick just ONE song to post here, so I encourage you to
check out more of his work if you dig these two, because it is ALL amazing! : )
The first is a light selection showcasing his humor (the
English translation is on the video). “A
Song About Yogis”
The second selection runs deeper, a haunting tune in which
Vysotsky’s voice takes the lead and rattles the soul, his genius ever apparent.
“It’s the Same Thing After Ten Years”
The next gypsy maestro showcased is Goran Bregovic - a more modern performer who still tours
(albeit rarely the US) with his epic 40 piece orchestra. He was born in the
Balkans, of a Serbian mother and Croatian father, and though he has
collaborated with all sorts of American pop stars and musicians, I believe his
strongest work lies in his roots. There
is no exact “genre” that you can ascribe to his work. This goes for religious/
political opinions as well :
"Yugoslavia is the intersection of so many worlds:
Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim," says Bregović. "With music, I don't have
to represent anyone except myself -- because I speak the first language of the
world, the one everyone understands: music." (wiki
– duh)
Again, his playbook is DEEP and I could not take just one
song, so we have TWO! ENJOY
The first cut is "Ici Kici" on this youtube clip- LOVE IT.
The second clip combines two beautiful musical cultures- gypsy
and reggae
And, well, although I
try to keep to two songs per artist I introduce, it is my blog so I can do what
I want – here is a third song and a beautiful live version of “Tale VII” or
“Vivo con Fuoco” (which means live with fire – whoa my Italian isn’t thaaaat
bad)
Gogol Bordello. The first time I heard “Start Wearing
Purple” way back in 2008 I went batshit nuts.
A modern amalgamation of all things gypsy the group made a sound decidedly
‘gypsy punk’ combining my favorite elements of gypsy, punk, reggae, latin rock
and electronic dub. IF you haven’t heard “Start Wearing Purple”, I invite you
to start there with them – although ALL of their songs rock. I strongly
recommend seeing them live, as their frontman, Eugene Hutz, is transformative
on stage, like a modern day Russian Jim Morrison.
Santa Marinella is one of my FAVORITE songs, combining
Italian and Russian influences. Unfortunately, I could not find a good live
version (so much better live) on Youtube, so we are working with the studio
version, which is still very strong.
The next group is obvious -The Gipsy Kings - if you have seen the Big Lebowski then you know their radical cover of "Hotel California" ****
***apparently the Eagles, (get out of my cab!) blocked all videos on youtube of the Gipsy Kings performing this song as a measure to protect themselves from copyright infringement. Get the fuck over yourself Eagles, I know it is your one good song, but PSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH (the Gipsy Kings do it better anyway) So this is what you get :
