The weather has been crazy in Seville of late.  For a while it was so hot that I was convinced summer had already arrived, but then one day it was right back to winter again: brisk winds and heavy rains.  Then more sun.  Then more rain.  Then sun.  Now it's freezing again.  It's near impossible to know what to put on in the morning--and given the nature of my work (out all day, all over town, on buses and bikes, teaching English in offices, schools, and business parks) I have to carry a ridiculous amount of gear with me to be prepared.  Still, I somehow manage get caught without my umbrella pretty much every time it rains and usually can't find my shades and have to squint my way through the afternoon when the brilliant sun returns.

I've always considered it a mere coincidence that the word in Spanish for "weather" is the same as the word for "time"--tiempo.  Lately, however, the mistakes of my students have brought my attention to ways in which the two concepts are related.  Just last week I explained to one class that "time of year" was a close match for "season."  Perhaps all this is obvious.  The earth spins on its axis but also rotates around the sun; there are patterns and rhythms of all sorts--tides, food chains, season, and life cycles.  When I got the records together to record this mix I was just hoping to convey in a vague way the idea of springtime, of rain and the social rebirth that follows the storm.  Still, there seems to be a subtle sort of meditation on the other tiempo running through the mix, staring with the very first track and apparent just from a quick look at the tracklist. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?  The workings of time are still one of the principal mysteries of life on this planet.

One more time-related thought for March: does it matter how "new" music is?  I mean, at all?  Billboard charts, radio stations, advertising companies, and the big labels have managed to convince a whole lot of people that it does--to very predictable consequences.  It stands to reason that if people want the music they hear to be new, then in fact it does matter--but it's easy to confuse what's "new" with what's "fresh" (opposite of "worn" or "played out") or "hot" ("newly popular").  My own take on things: the time we should care about is when the music is played, not made.  Musically, everything worthwhile eventually comes back around if we let it--and we should.  Check out my March 2009 Top Ten (at least seeven of which are either represses or re-releases) and you'll see what I mean. The music is timeless, forever new, in a perpetual state of now.  Yes!

OdDio's Audio Odyssey - Episode 07 : Nature's Plan

• 1. The Quantic Soul Orchestra – "Interlude" – Tru Thoughts
• 2. The Quantic Soul Orchestra feat. Noelle Scaggs – "Lead Us to the End" – Tru Thoughts
• 3. Fertile Ground – "Illumination" (FG's Afrobeat Version) – Counterpoint
• 4. The Fusion Experience – "Scaramunga" (Sidewinder's Explosive Afro Re-make) – Buff International
• 5. Bugz in the Attic – “Once Twice” –  V2
• 6. Slowsupreme – "African Time" – Jazid Collective
• 7. Modaji – “Things U Do 4 Me” (Syncopated Dub) – PAPA
• 8. Ruben Blades – “Plastico” (Nauts Ricanstruction) – Fania/Vega
• 9. Grupo X – Brand New Day (Patchworks Remix) – Still Music
• 10. Koop – "Bright Nights" (Rima Techno Chimp Dub Mix) – Jazzanova Compost
• 11. Butti 49 – "Incurable" (Demo Version) – Exceptional
• 12. Masters at Work feat. Roy Ayers – "Our Time is Coming" – MAW
• 13. Simbad feat. Steelo – "Soul Fever" (Remix) – Raw Fusion
• 14. Nathan Haines feat. Verna Francis – "Earth is the Place" (DJ Gregory and Julien Jabre Voxy Pass) – Chilli Funk
• 15. Kerri Chandler – "Rain" (Old School Vocal Remix) – Nervous
• 16. H. Garden feat. Joi  – "Gentle Rain" (Rain Forrest Version) – Sacred Rhythm
• 17. Flower S.E. Productions – "Ten Minutes of Thunderstorm" – Flower
• 18. Movement in the City – "Lament" – The Sun/Counterpoint
• 19. Incognito – "Out of the Storm" (C's Planet E Special Mix) –  Talkin' Loud

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