En route to an exotic, mysterious location, Townsman HVB asked that I post the following gift of music. A gamesman to the core, HVB has included a little mystery for us to solve!
Happy holidays from south of the border, fellow Townspeople! My holiday gift is here, under the palm tree, free for the taking. What do I like about it? Well, this mystery artist is justifiably reputed to be one of the greatest acoustic guitar players of the 20th century, but here he lets it all hang out with a touching, heartfelt, but downright ragged vocal performance. Telling you the name of the song would tip my hand on the mystery artist’s identity, but I’ll just tell you his wistful, earnest singing perfectly matches the lyric. I have an additional challenge for you: I’m currently in a nation next-door to this artist’s home — actually, the nation where this performer spent his formative years training with a classical guitar master before he struck out in his own revolutionary musical direction. What nation is that?
Your fellow Townsman and pal 4ever,
HVB
Wow, that’s a really nice song. It sort of reminds me of those acoustic covers that guy did of David Bowie songs for the Life Aquatic. Everything about the song is great, the guitar playing, the singing, the melody.
Even without Windows Media Player displaying the album cover, it wouldn’t be that hard to guess the country of origin of the music. The quiz is what neighboring country HVB is in?
All right, smarty pants/Windows Media Player guy, it’s time you offer an answer on the quiz!
I’m stripping out stuff in RealPlayer. Who knew there were so many other ways in which this track info could be tagged. At least you clicked Play. Thanks!
I’m stuck in i-Tunes with no clues. But it sounds like Brazil. Cool song. Thanks.
My educated guess is Uruguay.
HVB passed along the following:
“Your educated guess is correct, BigSteve — I am in fact in Uruguay. The land of my birth! Pretty cool, so far, like a slightly run-down Buenos Aires that´s laid-back, friendly and safe. Mind you, that´s just Montevideo. 10 minutes out of town, and… bam! There´s the rest of the country, which, let me tell you, is *real country*. The nation is almost wholly reliant on ranching and agriculture, and you can tell. I like the combination of urban sophistication and rural hick-dom, though. The best of both worlds — and the wine is good, too. I am pro-Uruguay!
Happy holidays to all,
HVB”