Hip-hop? Technometal? No, no, no - Bhangra!

I am so fucking sick of campaign 'news', both sides, particularly after last night's so-called 'debate'. I mean, that was only the second one out of the twenty or so that was actually on a free over-the-air network where people could see it, and it might as well have been a Britney-Lindsay hair-pull and tit-yank. It was a huge success - ABC's ratings went up. Me 'n Mrs. G took advantage of the time to do something that mattered. We went out and bought dog food.

Anyway, I was reading the papers this morning (us old farts do that, you know!), trying desperately to find something without the words 'Clinton' or 'Obama' or 'straight talker'. I lucked out, and so did you, dear reader!

I came across one answer to Fixer's burning question, "Why do they hate San Francisco?". Leaving aside for another time whether it is a wise decision to air-drop moth hormones on a somewhat sexually and socially dis-oriented burg like that (picture legions of homeless people flitting around your porch light, just for example), I found something that'll scare skid marks into shorts all across the midwest and south when it gets to them: Bhangra!

From the EssEffChron:

In the 30 years since the ascent of reggae out of Jamaica, other musical genres - Cuban son, Brazilian samba, North American hip-hop - have staked claims to international turf. The newest big player on the global block is bhangra, the ecstatic polyrhythmic music and dance of the Punjab region of northern India.

And the newest capital of bhangra is San Francisco, which - thanks to a monthly happening called Non Stop Bhangra, organized by a passionate collective of the same name - is challenging even London as the music's liveliest center.

Vancouver and New York City harbor thriving bhangra scenes, but "no one is doing it quite like us," Love says.

"No one is doing it quite like us" could be Frisco's motto!

While bhangra is seeping into pop music in tracks by Jay-Z and M.I.A., it's grassroots innovation that is fueling its explosion in San Francisco.

"The U.K. is really taking note of us," Love says, "to a point where they think that next big wave in bhangra and South Asian music is going to happen here."

Look out, Kansas. Indian music ain't just for convenience stores and motels any more, and this is just one variety. Your kids will pick up on this California trend like they've been doing for generations (remember car-top surfboards in Shawnee Mission?). They'll be dressing like this and groovin' to the Punjabi beat before you know what hit ya.

And it's all the fault of Baghdad-by-the-Bay.

My further research turned up 55,900 bhangra videos. After viewing them, I chose the following for your listening and dancing pleasure. I've got a sudden unexplained urge for a plate of curry, which I'll have while you're enjoying this.