5pm_weds | ninety (theme: world music)

Pata Pata
Miriam Makeba
Pata Pata
1967

As much as I hated working at Indigo, I did have access to a great music-borrowing program (for a short time, anyway). The scope of the music I listened to widened and, with the in-store Indigo playlist, I was exposed to music I wouldn't have otherwise listened to. This was both bad (I STILL hate Manu Chao) and beneficial--in that it broadened my musical tastes.

I first heard Miriam Makeba's "Pata Pata" on a Putumayo compilation. Indigo carried a lot of Putumayo releases, and I loved the distinct, colourfully illustrated album art they used. I loved this song instantly. It still puts a goofy smile on my face and that lovely, lilting rhythm makes my head bob from side to side--like it is attached to a spring.

It was only in November 2008, sitting in an Education class at McGill, that I realized how famous "Pata Pata" was--that it had wide-appeal and was one of Makeba's biggest hits. It was the day Miriam Makeba died--my Philosophy of Education prof cued up a music video of "Pata Pata" on YouTube to mark Makeba's passing (it sounds cheesy, but it really wasn't). I was surrounded by people who stared dully at the projector screen or who glanced up briefly only to return to their own laptops or cellphones. I was lifted. Here was a song I had loved, but had kind of forgotten. I sat there beaming. Squirming in my seat. Itching to leap up out of my chair and dance.