Every time I’m on a deadline, I develop a sick nasty obsession with some form of niche culture. In general, I love a niche cultural, historical, PBS documentary moment. American river people? The Dust Bowl? Italian bagpipe music? Acadian French? Macao????? My ideal dinner party is Mary Beard, Anthony Bourdain, anyone who remembers the Soviet Union, and Joe Manganiello because I THINK??? I could make him fall in love with me.
What would we eat? Standing rib roast. Obviously.
Anyway, a new deadline, a new obsession. Add to the list: zydeco.
Me Not Against The Music, Me Love The Music
Every time I talk about my childhood, I feel like that meme of Lady Gaga being like “I’m Italian” but listen — you can’t help where you’re from and what freak nasty culture you’re exposed to. Lucky for me, the freak nasty really gave and I was exposed to a million little worlds through my international upbringing. So, instead of being Lady Gaga saying “I’m Italian”, I’m something way more annoying actually. I’m Cady in Mean Girls saying “Jambo!”
Anyway.
I grew up around conjunto norteño (aka Mexican polka), watching people dance the hully gully to accordion music, learning bastardized versions of bachata and cumbia and merengue for balli di gruppo, swimming in a musical fusion soup. Line dancing and accordion music feel as Italian to me as pasta and peas. But really — and this is just my observation, I’m not a historian or an anthropologist — it seems like almost every culture loves a lil accordion and doing the same dance moves all at the same time. Is this, perhaps, the most human thing a person can do? What is it about that silly little hand-powered piano???
Invented in 1822 (or perhaps earlier) in Berlin, the accordion has found its way around the globe via… the way most things find their way around the globe: colonization and immigration. Far be it from me to congratulate the Germans for one of their, erhm, inventions (long-time friends know how I feel about the phrase “german engineering”), but wow. Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann, you put your whole free reedussy into this one.
Isn’t it incredible that something invented only 200ish years ago is now so widely defused and beloved? In 200 years, what will be as widely known and integrated into music as the accordion?
I hope it’s Iggy Azalea screaming TYAAAHHHH MARX, TYAH MARXXX
What is Zydeco?
Per Wikipedia, zydeco is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by African Americans of Creole heritage, blending rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles, such as la la and juré. Musicians use the French accordion and a Creole washboard instrument called the frottoir.
In my own words, zydeco is a joyful, danceable blend of classically Southern American chord progressions, strong and familiar percussions, and the absolute SLAY that is an accordion coming in on the damn chorus.
Now, if you just look up zydeco you will be hit by a lot of the wordless, dance music played at festivals which — to a friggin Yank like me— just sort of sounds like the type of music that would be pumped through a Cajun-themed restaurant or in that one, confusing part of Magic Kingdom that’s like… the Revolutionary War meets Robison Crusoe.
The real magic is in the COVERS.
The covers are fun because there’s a lot of… editorializing? Improvisation?
I love this shit. I LOVE THIS SHIT.
I could really listen to it all day while I two step around my cowering chihuahua, enjoying a handful of turkey lunchmeat.
If someone ever asks, “how does being an author affect one’s mental health?” do not show them this newsletter.
TLDR:
I missed you. I missed being silly in your inbox! But now my deadline hath passed and I’m back to drafting and my brain always filled with nonsense. I can’t wait to share more about 32 DAYS IN MAY and my new WIP!
Also, Substacks now has this really cool chat functionality and I’d love to use that space. Have any ideas for how we can all connect better as writers and authors? Shoot me a DM! Or an email! Or leave a comment.
Okay, ciao for now xoxo