Cambodian Music on Youtube
6 months in Vietnam has made me start to really miss Cambodian music.

In Vietnam, the music from the last several decades is so militaristic and patriotic. (Marching songs and patriotic hymns seem to predominate).  I miss the light joyful touch of the music I used to hear in Cambodia.

I was thinking all this the other day, and began going to Youtube to find some of those old Cambodian songs again.

It then occurred to me that over the years I had - written - a - lot - on - this - blog about Japanese oldies, and linked - to - a - lot - of Japanese oldies on youtube, but I'd never written about or linked to any Cambodian music.  Time to remedy that.

When I was in Japan, I hated most of the current Japanese music.  (It was so awful--over the top saccharine sweet soft rock love ballads).  But I really liked the older stuff.
My experience in Cambodia was exactly the same.  I hated most of the current Cambodian music.  (Those over the top saccharine sweet soft rock love ballads appear to be popular all across Asia.)  But I really liked the Cambodian oldies from the 1960s.

There was a difference, however.  In Japan, I was considered a bit weird for taking an obsessive interest in Japanese music from the 1960s.  In Cambodia, however, I was in very good company.  All of the expat crowd really likes 1960s Cambodian music, which is called "The Golden Age of Cambodian Pop".  [Article from The Wire on The Golden Age of Cambodian Pop" HERE].

I'm not going to link to everything in just one post.  I'll start out small by linking to one song I like, and then, in the future, maybe gradually link to more.  Or not. It all depends on my mood.  But right now this song is in my head, so I want to share it.

Shave Your Beard by Ros Sereysothea--link here



Like most Westerners, however, I admit to being more familiar with the version of this song performed by Cambodian-Californian cover band, Dengue Fever--link here.




Addendums:

Stray thought one: Like most of the things I do, I don't really understand why I do them.  It's a strange human impulse to always be evangelical about the things we like.  When I see a good movie, or hear a good song, why can't I just be satisfied with the experience of enjoying it?  Why do I feel like the experience is not complete until I've shared it with someone?
At any rate, this human impulse to always share the things I like is why I keep linking to music off this blog.

Stray thought two:  I've linked to a lot of Japanese oldies off this blog over the years.  But, alas, most of my old posts now just lead to dead-links.  The Japanese music industry appears to still be really aggressive about removing it's music from Youtube.
Well, such is the nature of Youtube.  Anything that's copyrighted is only going to be on-line for a limited amount of time.  That's just the way it goes.
But I wonder... what exactly is the Japanese music industry playing at?  They appear to be even more aggressive about taking down music than their American counterparts.  (Must U.S. music companies have come to an accommodation with Youtube.)
I mean, I get it, it's their music and they have a right to the profits from it.  But by refusing to allow it on Youtube, they're essentially guaranteeing this music will never be heard outside of Japan.  It's a pity.  And short-sighted in my opinion.