An Education in What Music is Really About

As I have mentioned previously, I rarely proscribe non-metal music to my dear readers. However, here comes one more notable exception to my rule:

Gogol Bordello! It's Gypsy Punk!

Have you ever experienced something so perfectly executed that it makes you feel kind of bad that you are not as awesome? Especially if it's something that you have some expertise in? Like if you are a pretty good soccer player, and then you go to a pro game and see how infinitely better those players are than you, and you think, Damn, I could have been that guy if I had just put in a little more effort 10 years ago? Or like if you were a pretty good stripper, and then you saw me on a pole, and you were like, Man, I have so much to learn!

That's how Gogol makes me feel. They are literally such a good band, that it makes me feel inadequate, as a musician, and as a man. But all you can do is thank the stars that such a work of genius exists. It's like that guy in Amadeus who both hated and worshipped Motzart. No kidding, that's how I feel about Gogol Bordello. It's more than just a man-crush. Its the real thing.

So here's what it is - the secret to their genius. The musicianship itself is good, but it wont blow you away. The songwriting is very good, but it wont blow you away. What really blows you away is their live show (which, of course, doesnt come through as well on studio recordings). The main guy is Eugene Hutz, and he is just... I don't even know...he is the essence of a showman. The personification of the rock and roll attitude. You want to be his friend, because of his earnest love of and huge talent for performance. Plus he surrounds himself with the right people. The essence of performance is a gang - a gang that gets eachother, and that makes you want to be a part of it.

I suppose I can't adequately explain it. To understand what I am talking about, you should:

1) go see a live show. It might change your life.

2) watch Gogol Bordello: Non-Stop. It's on netflix streaming.

3) watch The Pied Piper of Hutzovina - its on netflix non-streaming.

4) listen to any of their albums on Spotify - the music itself is very good even if you don't get the thrill of the live performance in this medium.

Anyways, that is all. Go, be enlightened my little demonlings.