The little guy is earning his keep

The Shriner string section

30 minutes and 52 seconds of bad grammar

I don’t know much about Halil and (presumably) his wife Senada but I play this great tape so often that the backing is running thin.

Halil and Senada’s family plays traditional Bosnian music. Whether you like it or not Bosnian music sounds like this. It naturally makes my head bob like a bobbing doll. It’s fast. Faster than you’d think by looking at the fez crowned fiddler.

Alaj umijem, alaj znam
Cure da varam

Jednu, hocu, drugu necu
Trecu mi namecu

Boy I know, boy I do
Girls I screw

One I want, another I don’t
And another is after me

Considering the lyrics there isn’t much family values in their music. The little guy is probably oblivious to the fine language of his dad’s songs. He is just learning the basic chords for now. Look at those pudgy fingers plucking the little strings!

Halil’s instrument is not just some demented guitar. It’s called saz. Its sharp sound is a great alcohol antidote. Imagine yourself sitting drunk in a smoke filled den with a saz player stroking the strings until his fingers bleed. This sound alone is so strong that it would actually prevent alcohol from causing irreparable damage to your brain.

The songs on this tape swing back and forth between Bosnian Muslim subject matter, the most recent war and generic love songs. There is nothing terribly memorable on the tape but it’s still fun.