Oh yes, you read that right. This post is about the music from my mission. To those of you who served in Romania, you might be surprised at the music files I found. If you didn't serve in Romania, you might be surprised by the songs that bring back mission memories for me.
When I was in Romania, there were some enterprising entrepeneurs who sold cassette tapes of songs, which were obviously copied from originals. They would set up tables on the sidewalk and display the tapes for sale. Of course as anyone with marketing experience knows, in order to sell your product, you have to advertise. What better advertising for cassette tapes then to play songs for your potential customers to hear? Makes sense to me. So we would be walking to various appointments and it was very common to hear songs on the street. Even though I didn't listen to the radio, it was pretty obvious which songs were popular, because those were the songs we heard the most often.
The first song is a song that I called the Romanian National Anthem during the summer of 1995 because it seemed to be played everywhere! It is called "Casablanca" and to make it even better, the woman singing the song mispronounces the words! It is pretty obvious she doesn't speak English, which makes the song a little more fun for me.
The next song is one I heard quite a bit when I first arrived in Romania, January 1995. This is one of those songs that sounded like euro-trash disco music to me, a song that could only be popular in Europe. Americans would NEVER listen to a song like this. Imagine my surprise then when I went to a club after my mission and heard this song! Instantly everyone in the club - most especially the dj lowered in my estimation! This one is "Cotton-Eye Joe."
This last song is "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio and it shocked people a little when I came home from the mission and knew the words. Again, we would hear these songs everywhere! The more popular they were, the more we heard them! We couldn't exactly shop or take the bus or go around town with earplugs, so what can I say? I know this song. What's more, I liked it then, and I still like it now!
You will find these three songs on my group site at the following link:
http://groups.google.com/group/scumpas-group?hl=en
Copy, paste, listen and enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.JPG)
6 comments:
Awesome! I couldn't get the first two music files, but the last one was no problem. Ahhh, Romania's music. I should post one of those because the popular music was a little different in my time and a little cornier!
Cotton Eye Joe was the only link that worked. I had never heard that song until Ryan and I went to a Stake Gold & Green ball 2 years ago. We were amazed at how many people knew the 'choreography.' Guess I don't make it out to the clubs very often. ;)
Thanks guys for letting me know about the technical difficulties. I am working on getting it fixed so you can hear all the songs. After all, what is the point of posting three, if you can only hear one?
The link is now fixed. Thank you for your patience!!
To this day, the sound of techno music sends me back to Romania. Music that I otherwise probably wouldn't listen to has such a place in my heart because it reminds me of that special time and place. Good times!
Cotton Eye Joe didn't work for me. I managed to survive the loss, though, but only because I had heard it before. If you haven't heard Amish Paradise (Weird Al) you are really missing something. Not to state the obvious, but it is a parody of Gansta's Paradise.
Post a Comment