God and Goddess onstage

I confess, I am not one of the 30 million worldwide who bought Alanis Morissette’s debut Jagged Little Pill (1995), nor could I say that I ever became one of her fans. While I did buy the deluxe edition of her new Flavors of Entanglement recently, I wasn’t overwhelmed by it; I felt more often than not that her writing was forced and stilted, trying to fit words into rhymes and parts of speech they weren’t suited for, extending or reducing their number of syllables, or even pronunciation, to fit the melodies. I appreciated more the raw energy she had started out with, in her biggest hits, You Oughta Know, Ironic and Hand in My Pocket, as well as her own intimate connection with India, documented in Thank U on her second breakthrough Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998).
So it was a very pleasant surprise to meet Alanis (Celtic for “beautiful”) and be won over by her presence, her wit and intelligence, and a bit later onstage, by her live performance.
Her 90-minute set, a balanced mix of older hits and a few of her newest songs, including Versions of Violence, Citizen of the Planet and Moratorium, showcased her high energy and her synchronicity with her new musicians, as well as demonstrating that she at least knows “köszönöm” and “szeretlek” perfectly.
Both onstage and off, she gushed about how she loves to come to the beautiful city of Budapest – as long as we will have her – the homeland of her mother’s side of the family. (As for what else she had time for while she was here, it is apparent only that she visited the Gellért Baths.)
Upon meeting her, I took the chance to ask about the newest project she is involved in: Songs for Tibet – The Art of Peace, an album to support Tibet, with the contributions of some 20 musicians, including Sting, Rush, Moby and Suzanne Vega, and which has just been released to coincide with the Beijing Olympics. (Released on iTunes on August 5, the CD is out on the 19th.)
Alanis’ contribution is Versions of Violence, recorded in her dressing room before a concert in Cologne, because on tour, there was no opportunity to make a studio recording.
“When I wrote it, I really felt it was my song for the Dalai Lama, because he speaks about many different kinds of violence, most importantly about internal violence within oneself. When it came time to make a record for Tibet, and specifically for him, I thought that would be the perfect song.”
Asked about the message of her music, she says, if there is any, “it would be gentleness toward any aspect of humanity and color, anger, sadness, deadness, aliveness, joy, despondency, all the different flavors of being alive – underneath is what really survives, which is love, or God, or whatever word you want to use for it.”

Humor of god

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity: I had to ask what it was like to play God (in Kevin Smith’s controversial film, Dogma).
Her immediate response was a flippant, “It was easy” (laughing). But, she continued, Smith’s only direction was “just go be what you think God is. So I thought, well, looking at this planet, God definitely has to have a sense of humor, and has to be a little whimsical too, so I just and portrayed God how I thought she or it or he would be, with a little attention deficiency disorder.”
Other acting roles include a lesbian cameo in Sex and the City (on TV), Eve Ensler’s Off-Broadway Vagina Monologues, and she has recently finished filming in the starring role of the film adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, Radio Free Albemuth.
At the same time, she is working on what has been referred to as her memoir – which she would rather call a very personal scrapbook (including philosophy, humor, photos, a travelogue) – Volume I, with hopefully many more to come over the years.
She finds Flavors of Entanglement different from any of her other albums, in that it is the first time she has written in real-time rather than in retrospect. She says that now she realizes, “it covers all the stages of grief: shock, denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance.”
The concert kept the energy level around the Main Stage on a high – with Thank U as the perfect “viszontlátásra”.

Rokia’s return

“We arrive in this world / somewhere / Between the past and the future / And we evolve by wavering / Between more and less / Balance lies in relativity / That which is human / cannot be absolute”

Rokia Traoré

With a very different beauty, another highlight of this year’s festival was certainly Rokia Traoré, returning to the World Music stage after her 2004 appearance. The infinitely graceful “goddess”, as organizer László “Távolodó” Marton calls her, is promoting her new album, Tchamantché, which turns from traditional West African instruments to the guitar.
Just like Salif Keita (see Budapest Sun, Aug. 29, 2007, Praise Singers and Empty Spaces), she is from the Koulikoro region of Mali, but while Keita is descended from the royal Manding tribe, Traoré is Bamana, also noble, and that is the language she usually sings in, though she now has one or two exceptions in French and English. Both, far above the station of traditional griots, have ignored the class boundaries of singers in Mali.
The lines above are translated from the Bamana, from the title song of her new album.
Her diplomat father took the family to various locations far from Mali (Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France, Belgium), and she has always found herself at the intersection of different cultures, and consequently, aware of her roots, but not bound by them.
She was born in 1974, just a few months before Alanis, and while her background and style are very different, this singer/songwriter/guitarist also writes progressive lyrics, emphasizing the rights of women, and she also supports important human causes in many ways.
She and her brilliant musicians and backing vocalist/dancer gave a wonderful show – if only the sound technique had been worthy – focusing mainly on the new material, which is world class.
Traoré introduced Tounka (Migration) with a plea: “Mothers don’t hear from their sons for 5-10-15 years, don’t know if they are alive, if they have made it to their destination – or if they are deep under the ocean. One day, Africans will be able to stay home, to make a living. Will only travel as tourists – like you! And come home – or not even leave – but will be as free to travel as you.”
Let’s hope the world will become a bit more as both women would have it.

Photo: The two 34-year olds both have their cases to fight for with and beyond music.
Photos by Judit Lángh and MTI