It’s been a couple music-filled weeks, from Baul music festivals in Kushtia, to discoveries of (relatively) hidden Bon Iver tracks, to surprise concerts from Bengali music sensations.

So, to begin with, here’s couple of tracks that have been looping in the background for the past little while.  First, from a friend of a friend, Lemonade’s “Braids” off their as-of-yet unreleased new album.

Swiped from the stellar music discoverer Lower Frequencies, The National’s “Think You Can Wait.”  (Be sure to click through to LF’s blog for a number of other excellent finds.)

Next, a track featuring the dear, dear Justin Vernon.  Shied away from it at first listen, but now, many times through, I think I might just be hooked.

And how’s about a little Bangla?  This tune has been the ring-back tone on my research assistant’s number for the past six months – meaning I’ve heard the first three lines or so about three hundred times.  So it was a bit of a surprise when, at a concert hosted by BRAC University’s cultural club earlier tonight, out from the singer’s stellar voice came this song.

The lady, as it turns out, is Moushumi Bhowmik, a singer-academic who spends most of her time traveling between West Bengal, Bangladesh, and far northeastern parts of India (actually to the east of Bangladesh!) collecting and archiving local tunes, writing some of her own (like this gem) along the way to add in.  Check out a live version of the one above to see something a great deal closer to what the show tonight was like.  (Although, gotta love wanderings through jute.  Jute!)

Thanks for listening!