And You Can Be My Cowgirl: BeauSoleil and "La Valse du Vacher"

Today's tune is La Valse du Vacher (Cowboy Waltz) by BeauSoleil. BeauSoleil was founded in 1975, released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known groups playing traditional and original music in the Creole tradition of Louisiana. They have also gone beyond the traditional, incorporating rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso and other genres. They are an extensive touring band, and they sing in both English and Colonial Louisiana French. The band takes its name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, who led the Acadian resistance to British deportation from Canada and led 193 exiles to safety in Louisiana. The band almost didn't come to be - Michael Doucet, one of the founders, was going to New Mexico to study Romantic Poets, but he won a Folk Arts Apprenticeship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. As he puts it: "I traded William Blake for Dewey Balfa," and he sought out every living Cajun/Creole performer to learn what he could about Cajun music and their techniques. He even encouraged some to resume performing. BeauSoleil are one of the few Creole/Cajun groups to win a Grammy. La Valse du Vacher can be found on their 1997 album The Best of Beausoleil and on their 1999 album Vintage Beausoleil.

Like Mashed Potatoes: Mike Marshall & Darol Anger with Väsen performing "Misch Masch"

Some American folk musicians mingle with Swedish folk musicians to create today's random tune, Misch Masch. Väsen is a Swedish folk music ensemble formed officially in 1990 for a music gathering in Norway. Väsen plays traditional instruments such as the nyckelharpa but it was adding a guitar that gave the band a unique sound. They play on this song with American mandolin player Mike Marshall, a leader in the New Acoustic Music movement that blends folk, bluegrass, jazz and world music. Also featured on the song is Marshall's longtime collaborator Darol Anger, an American violinist with an extensive background in jazz, folk and classical music. Misch Masch can be found on the 2007 album Mike Marshall & Darol Anger with Väsen.

A Story of Brothers Three: Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam with "Pyar Ka Matlab"

Today's random tune is from a Bollywood movie, and is entitled Pyar Ka Matlab. It is from a movie, Om Jai Jagdish, which is about three brothers with very different values who become estranged from each other. The playback singers who voice this song are Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam. Yagnik, a classically trained singer, has had a three decade career singing for Bollywood films and has won many awards for her singing roles in films. Udit Narayan is a Nepalese playback singer and current resident of Mumbai who has had featured singing roles in both Nepali and Indian films. Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer who is also one of the highest paid of Indian singers. He has also hosted TV variety shows. You can find Pyar Ka Matlab on the soundtrack for Om Jai Jagdish (2002).

Here It Is: Salif Keita and "Here"

Salif Keita performs today's random song, called Here. Salif Keita is an albino afro-pop singer from Mali known as "the golden voice of Africa" and a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire. Cast out by his family because of his albinism (a sign of bad luck in his culture) he moved to Bamako where he joined the renowned Super Rail Band de Bamako and then the famous Les Ambassadeurs. He moved to Paris in 1994 to reach a wider audience. In his music, he combines traditional West African styles with influences from Europe and the Americas, and uses a variety of African traditional instrumentation along with more modern instruments. He has since returned to Mali where he continues to make music and has released critically acclaimed albums. Here can be found on his 2002 album Moffou.

In the Gulag: Beirut and "Prenzlauerberg"

Today's song is called Prenzlauerberg. The song is performed by Beirut, a band initially formed as a solo project by Albuquerque-born Zach Condon and later expanded into a full band. Condon recorded the bulk of Beirut's debut album, Gulag Orkestar, in his bedroom and finished the album with the assistance of Neutral Milk Hotel's and A Hawk and a Hacksaw's Jeremy Barnes. The strength of the recordings brought Condon a contract with Ba Da Bing Records under the name of Beirut, and the album was released in 2006 in conjunction with some live shows in New York - Condon recruited some friends to play the concerts and they became the band Beirut. Beirut has released three albums, the last in 2011, and Condon has been involved in several side projects. Prenzlauerberg is from Beirut's 2006 debut CD, Gulag Orkestar.

Jackamo Fee Na Nay: Zap Mama and "Iko Iko"

Zap Mama re-imagines a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tune for today's random song. Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. This song, Iko Iko, can be found on Zap Mama's 1999 CD A Ma Zone.

Not My Choo's: Kirsty MacColl and "In These Shoes?"

Kirsty MacColl - "In These Shoes" from Ben Unwin on Vimeo.

Today's tune is by Kirsty MacColl, an English singer-songwriter who recorded many pop hits in the 1990s, and made notable appearances on other hits. Married to producer Steve Lillywhite, she sang backup vocals on the recordings of many of the artists that he produced. She died in 2000 in a tragic accident in Cozumel, Mexico. While diving in an area restricted to speedboats, she was hit by a speedboat that had strayed into the area - she died saving her son who was in the boat's path. To give you an idea of the esteem she is held in, Billy Bragg always includes extra verses she wrote in covering his song A New England, a memorial bench has been placed in her honor at the southern entrance to Soho Square in London, and she is always heard on her guest vocal in The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, which has been voted as the fan favorite Christmas song on the VH1 video channel. This song, In These Shoes?, can be found on her 2000 album Tropical Brainstorm. I originally thought this video was fan-produced, but then fleetingly noticed Kirsty MacColl in the conga line at the end.