One of the daughters sent me this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_CZzhO2c3g - a Japanese kindergarten singing something that we all sang as kids, because it goes with the game (all kids squat in a circle, and one kid walks around the circle and places a handkerchief under one who doesn't watch carefully; when the hankie is noticed, the kid picks it up, gets up and chases the first kid; scores if successful, loses if the first kid ducks in his place in a later round).
That led to a rendition of the song by Goran Bregović's Funeral and Wedding Orchestra -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOTdZAL6O14&feature=related - though not directly the kiddie original, but rather the twist (anyone remember twist?) version as composed by Mile Lojpur, the doyen of Yugoslav Rock'n'Roll.
The brass bands are the speciality of Serbia - there's a festival in Guča every fall (when the plums are picked and the new brandy distilled ;).
Even better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9WNF_2-3gI&feature=related (note that most of the brass players are actually prominent jazz musicians, specially Jova Maljoković). I specially love the way he commands this whole circus of an orchestra by not breaking a sweat - he barely moves. Bad back maybe? Or he just had enough of his wild rocking years... when he was the epicenter of the Sarajevo rock of mid-70s on (the so-called "shepherd rock", some say an attempt to bring the unwashed masses to rock, others say a peasantrisation of the theretofore urban music). The white button banner displayed in the audience at some point is a reminder to his then band, "Bijelo dugme" - white button.
Just wanted to share this with y'all, on one positive note today.
