I like to watch YouTube videos at bedtime. After a few, I fall asleep easily. I’ve created quite a few playlists like fire spinning ones, and Burning Man ones. I’ve developed a fondness for deserts because of Burning Man so I thought I would share this set of music videos.
Cars
I like this video’s uniqueness, and happy nature. Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam is a hip hop artist and more. She goes by the simpler stage name M.I.A. which includes her initials but also gives a nod to the acronym for “Missing In Action”. It is pronounced Mia. She lives in a suburb of London, England. She did not have a conventional childhood. “M.I.A. notes that the voicelessness she felt as a child dictated her role as a refugee advocate and voice lender to civilians in war during her career.” (Wikipedia – I recommend reading about her.) Here she performs “Bad Girls” in Morocco.
Behind the Scenes
See the rational and the method behind the “Bad Girls” video. Director Romain Gavras says “Creatively, no other contemporary pop artists are as interesting as she is.”
Action / Adventure
I want to visit Russia so I’ve been trying to learn Russian. Part of my effort has incorporated watching Russian music videos. I especially like this one because it’s like Black Rock Desert but it isn’t there. Alexey Vorobyov (Russian: Алексей Воробьёв) performs under the English translation of his name which is Alex Sparrow. The following is the soundtrack to the movie ” Treasure of DC – Gold beckons “. Check out his other videos – he usually has a story component and quite often they’re humorous like his lifeguard one.
Celebration
“anna RF is an Electro – Ethnic – Reggae group. The phrase anna RF is an Arabic-Hebrew expression which has a double meaning – “I know” and “I don’t know”, that is the concept behind the band. anna RF was formed in a tiny desert village called “Shaharut” (Israel) … The group is travelling across the globe creating music and videos with local artists in authentic settings using a portable studio.” From anna-rf.com. They have a monkey mascot. I have a penguin one so I totally approve. Here they perform “Raining in the Desert”. Then afterwards check out their “Weeping Eyes” music video set in a high mountain range in India.
Redneck Life
Jake Smith’s stage name is “The White Buffalo”. In the spring of 2014, I drove around the desert in southern California. The short stubby branched trees in this video are Joshua trees. They only live there, and they only grow one inch per year. This video also has Ocotillo bushes. I discovered this video when I searched for desert music video. I really like this laid back song with its banjo strumming.
The White Buffalo perform “Insane”.
Apocalyptic
I play fiddle, and I love how Lindsey Stirling can play fiddle while dancing. Here with Pentatonix, she performs Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” on the Salton Sea Beach, California. When I went to the desert last year I visited the Salton Sea but I was on the east shore. The Sea was created accidentally when California diverted the Colorado River to irrigate farms in the southern part of the state. The river spilled into the Imperial Valley Desert. Over the last half century, the Sea has been shrinking. Its salinity is extremely high but its California’s largest body of water. Migrating birds depend on it but its not a healthy place. Its a beach where you don’t want to wear sandals. The sand is composed of dead fish.
Staging an Apocalypse
Behind the Scenes on how they produced Radioactive.
Road Trip
These last two videos are of the same song. I wasn’t familiar with them and found them when I searched. I include them for completeness but they aren’t my favourites. Here’s Sting singing “Desert Rose”.
Clubbing
This version lacks the Arabic singing. It’s by Carlos Gallardo & Peyton. Which version do you prefer? Sting’s original or this club version?
Others
So tell me, what other desert songs do you like that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments.
Check out my other blog posts about deserts: