I couldn’t wait until Monday to upload a new song for my new multimedia widget thing. (I’m bored alone at home on a Saturday night, oh well.)

I’m trying to keep everyone on their toes, as far as their ears are concerned, so this week’s offering is an instrumental. No words. No English, no Portuguese. In step with my overarching scheme, it’s something not on the popular radar but is full of merit.

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make. I am enamored of steel drums. It isn’t indiscriminate, although it may be irrational.

Some people have a proclivity for the cowbell, as famously portrayed by Christopher Walken in a comedy skit (link totally unnecessary), but I love the steel drums. Ages ago, back in the Nineteen-Nineties, I saw a duo performing in the NYC subway system. They were playing the theme from the Odd Couple and one of the fellows was not only on the steel drums, but he was dressed head-to-toe in the rattiest Winnie-the-Pooh costume you ever saw. It was beautiful. I dropped a five in their basket, took their card (“Voices on Pan”) and imagined hiring them to play at my wedding. That’s how far it goes. (Incidentally, by the time my wedding rolled around, Voices on Pan were no longer locatable.)

Back to the present. I recently came across a rarity that is just plain catchy. “Calypso Rock,” by the Original Tropicana Steel Band. It’s from the 1970’s but even the compiler* couldn’t uncover much more information than that. It’s fun, it’s infectious, and then the funky guitars come in. Oh yeah.

* Mr. Thing. Yes, Mr. Thing. The album is called “Strange Breaks & Mr. Thing,” subtitled “Rock, Funk, Soul, Jazz & Soundtracks for Modern Living.” Even I couldn’t make that up.
nb: Audio tracks will remain available for approximately 2 weeks after date of post; if you are interested in hearing something you have missed, please make a request in the comments.