song for monday

Amadou & Mariam: Sabali

I was surprised today to find that the opening track on AMADOU & MARIAM's recently-released Welcome to Mali is a veritable electro-pop dance jam (give it a few seconds). This was unexpected, and exciting, I think. Yet... as much as I love Amadou & Mariam, and as much as I love dance parties, and as much as this particular song is a lot of fun and strangely meditative to boot, I just don't know if I can get down with it. I mean, does all current popular music need to sound like it's from outer space/Cut Copy/a ringtone? This is a serious inquiry because electro-pop dance music is serious business. Also, this is a photograph by Franck Juery. Also, congratulations to all for finishing the semester (!).