Wha' Happened? The WFMU Record Fair and the Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Money

If you are reading this blog entry then undoubtedly you personally know a "record nerd." Sometimes I try to distance myself from this demographic by turning a blind-eye to a flea market or I might even buy a CD or cassette tape (for the car), but who am I trying to kid, I'm a card-carrying "record nerd" myself. This past weekend I was not alone.
What used to be a biannual event now just happens once a year in early November when dozens, if not hundreds, of record dealers descend upon a large room in Chelsea to hawk their wares. Dudes (and I do mean dudes - the male:female ratio is approximately the inverse of any given lingerie store) prowl the aisles with a fierceness in their eyes and bulging wallets in their pockets all hoping to snag that record they've been looking for FOREVER before some other chump does. But to be a girl here would be dangerous, as every record nerd is looking for a record nerd-ette and your mere presence at the fair implies that you tolerate record nerds and might even be one yourself.

I nearly had to elbow this kid in the tie, because he was standing between me and a mono pressing of Moacir Santos' "Coisas":
What was exciting for this record nerd is that WFMU is just about the only place in the US (aside from Joel's great record store in the East Village, Tropicalia in Furs) where you can find some great Brazilian records for sale. Joel was there of course, but so was Wolmar and Danilo and his friend Sergio from Sao Paulo. Wolmar's been coming for a few years now, but Danilo & Sergio came up for the first time this year. I managed to spend all of my money in my wallet and then go out to the ATM to pull out the max just to bring home a handful of Brazilian platters. I went in telling myself that I was limited to the 50 bones in the wallet, but as soon as I saw some of these records that I had been drooling over on the internet and in my vivid vinyl imagination, I turned into a mad man. This condition can be referred to as recordnerditis.

The only way to treat this illness is to: (a) not buy anymore records for awhile (until recordnerditis re-emerges), and (b) to share your finds with friends and loved ones, or in this case, I'll make an exception and post some highlights here. Here is a song apiece from each of the albums I picked up:

I've just switched from divshare to hipcast for hosting my songs, so let me know what you think in the comments section.

Dominguinhos - "Oi, La Vou Eu" 1977
Here's a funky little forro tune with a killer bass line.


Download: Não Tem Jeito Que Dê Jeito

Banda Black Rio - "Gafiera Universal" 1978
Here's one of my favorite songs from this legendary band of the Black Rio scene. This one is more Disco than Samba, but I don't mind.


Download: Expresso Madureira - Banda Black Rio

Gilberto Gil - "Gilberto Gil" 1971
This is the only classic Gil album I didn't have and it's a great one, very spare, funky in Gil's special acoustic way and lots of the songs are in English too. He recorded this one while in exile in London. This song is an early collaboration between Gil and another favorite of mine, Jorge Mautner.


Download: Crazy Pop-Rock

Marku Ribas - "Mente & Coracao" 1980
This was the final Marku album I needed to finish my collection and it features some contributions from the man, Joao Donato. Here's a nice samba mixed with forro:



Download: Olha Brecha

Joao Bosco - "Galos de Briga" 1976
This one is for a friend, John Bosco aka "Bosco" and shows how his Brazilian name sake can get down with some psychedlic samba action . . .


Download: O Ronco da Cuica

Various Artists - "Abertura" 1975
Burnier & Cartier have to be my favorite Brazilian Law Firm ever! Hah, sounds like a couple of lawyers, huh? These guys have the most incredible harmonies and that suingue! That's "swing" in portuguese. This is an exclusive track of theirs from this excellent compilation.


Download: Ficaram Nus

Os Mutantes - "Jardim Electrico" 1971
This is possibly my favorite Mutantes song and it sadly was not featured on the Luaka Bop compilation of a couple of years ago. They played this at the show I saw over the summer. Check out the interview I did with Sergio Dias.


Download: Top Top - Os Mutantes