I am still not sure that
I have the title right.
Nahko Bear is the person,
and he has performed as Nahko and Medicine for the People, but his newest
album, My Name is Bear, is listed under just Nahko. The Indian Country article that led me to him called him Nahko
Bear, so that was what I originally had.
Those distinctions may
not matter much, but one reason I am looking at them is that the latest album
is somewhat of a departure, and a returning to the past.
I have been concentrating
on My Name is Bear. It is not wholly different. There are earlier songs
that sound similar ("We Are On Time" from Hoka comes to
mind).
In a gross
oversimplification, My Name is Bear is quieter.
With Medicine for the People there is a definite world music feel, and it is
celebratory and joyful -- maybe not every song but that element comes up again
and again.
My Name is Bear is more
reflective. It is also harder to classify. Continuing with inadequate
explanations, there are times that it reminds me of Roger Miller and Cat
Stevens, but that is just for they style. The mood is one of considering all
the roads that brought one to this place. The roads for Nahko Bear involved
adoption, and being indigenous but raised in a white home but meeting his birth
mother. It passes through Oregon, Louisiana, Alaska, and Hawai'i. There is a lot to the journey and a lot in the record. It seems
wonderfully fitting that "Dragonfly" was done with Paris Jackson.
I do recommend listening
to the earlier music too, but starting with My Name is Bear can make
sense too, because it is the beginning. But if the beginning comes later,
because you can't see it clearly until you gain some perspective, that makes
sense too.
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