Genghis Blues
I was scrounging around Netflix last week when I stumbled on one of the greatest finds EVAR!!!!! A documentary called Genghis Blues. It's about this blind, American blues singer named Paul Pena, and his trip to a place you've never heard of, called Tuva.

You might know one of Paul's songs, without realizing it.

Pena came across a recording of this weird, throaty, whistling music on Radio Moscow one day and was fascinated. He searched high and low until he tracked down the source--Tuvan throat singing. He taught himself how to do it, and by chance performers from that region came to play where he was living in San Francisco.

After the show, he went up to them and throat sang for them. The performers were so impressed and his voice was so low that they immediately named him "cher shimjer" (earthquake), and told him he had to come to Tuva to perform.

The documentary is about Paul and his trip to Tuva, and it's just fantastic. It was made by amateurs, so some of the editing and cinematography isn't great, but it's heartfelt and FASCINATING. And the courage and determination of that man, to travel to the other side of the world, to a province in southern russia that 'bum fuck egypt' doesn't come close to describing, learning what he could of the Tuvan language by translating it through mechanical readers into russian, then into english, and not only having a fantastic time, but winning one division of the competition.

That is some strength, man. And goddamn it gets me fired up. If you're into other cultures at all, do yourself a favor and watch this movie.

Here's a couple good examples of throat singing via youtube:
Paul and Kongar-ol Ondar, from the movie
Huun Huur Tu in a beautiful example of one of the styles, called sygyt
And Paul himself demonstrating some karigyraa, and why he got the name 'earthquake.'

Oh... and... I can do it, too.

-P.