Project 2010

January 21, 2010 at 5:38 AM · Filed under Carnival, music, Song of the Week! and tagged: Caribbean, Carnival, Favourite Things, Media, music, Song of the Week!, Trinidad & Tobago

My lovely Twitter friend GWTO messaged me a while ago with this unique preposition: to create a post for his blog about my favourite song. That’s actually difficult for me, because if you read my blog, you know that I love all types of songs, and I have lots of favourites across genres.

I had lots of songs running through my head; Aap Jaisa Koi, which I hunted down obsessively; UpTown Top Rankin, the Tight’n Up version; and Firey by Meastro, my motto for 2010.

All great options, but then reality struck. I’m in the UK for a year doing my Post-Grad degree. This means I’ll be missing Carnival for the 4th time in my life. I love mas, even if I don’t play I must watch. I love the Kings and Queens competition, going to the tents and the fetes. Missing it is going to be hard, but not as traumatic as my first time. Again my education was to blame, on Ash Wednesday I lay on my bed in Jamaica and cried.

I’ve never played J’Ouvert though I respect the tradition tremendously. However I love J’Ouvert calypso and soca because it has an earthiness that’s missing in the typical fare. Powder by Machel, Blue by 3 Canal, and Benjai’s Tanty are my favourites in this genre (that La Douma riddim is pres-SHA!).

But I’m a sentimental fool, so I had to select the song that introduced me to this genre. When it came out, I was in Montessori (Happy Vale in Diego). We were playing sweeties in the school Carnival, my mother made this horrible brown jumper with red ruffles because I was supposed to be a toffee. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling that portrayal, or maybe I was bewitched by Penguin because I told anyone who asked that I was “De devil dey!” True story.

Nuff said,  please enjoy my selection.

NB: This post first appeared on the blog: http://www.gamewellandtrulyover.com

Comments