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Dead Can Dance — Yulunga [Spirit Dance]
Album: Toward the Within
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1628








Released: 2008
Length: 6:46
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(no lyrics available)
Comments (84)add comment
 redshifted wrote:
Probably the most idiotic comment I've seen here.



really should have  a Wall of Shame for comments like that, somewhere on RP
 planet_lizard wrote:

It's a loon, either Black-throated loon or Pacific Loon - their calls are very similar. This family of birds have had their calls used on numerous albums, particularly the Common Loon.

I found this interesting video on You Tube.
But I can't post it here.
Search for this... "Why Hollywood loves this creepy bird call".
Some indeed can dance to this. I am able to fly to this. 
Hauntingly kool.
Edit for grammar- Embarrassed to say I avoided this band because of the name forever. Shame on me judging the book by its cover. Have since become one of my favorite bands. So unique. Thank you RP!
Embarrasses to say I avoided this band because of the name forever. Shame on me judging the book by its cover. Have since become one of my favorite bands. So unique. Thank you RP!
The loon calls led me to listen more closely. The music has Indigenous themes. but the video depicts African tribes--and Dervishes--not North American Indigenous people. So why the loon calls? AFAIK, loons are only found in the Northern Hemisphere. Can anyone shed light on this? 

Dead Can Dance - Yulunga

In any case, as the WP article says: "[Dead Can Dance create] ... constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty." Indeed!
 drwhy wrote:

Dead can dance is the best for working and just chilling out.  I have loved them for many years now.  Still surprises me how few people have ever heard of them.  I am really bummed that their concert in Santa Barbara in May was postponed due to COVID.  Still waiting to hear when they will tour again.  Sure ain't gonna be this year!


I think few have heard of them as they may fall in the category of "you get them and love them" vs the category of "what the hell is that?"

I've gotten funny looks from family and friends when I play DCD. I didn't even bother asking anyone to see them live with me a few years ago.
 whomhow wrote:

Such low rate makes me think about RP listeners worse than they deserve. Those ones who put 1 or 2 - please try again, give one more chance (not to DCD masterpiece, but to yourselves)!
9->10 



What if we simply don't like DCD? I like some of their music, but this one falls a bit flat for me. 
 redshifted wrote:
Probably the most idiotic comment I've seen here.


the original comment was silly, the reply was spot on! :)
So if it's a loon that makes this unique song a loony tune....
 planet_lizard wrote:

It's a loon, either Black-throated loon or Pacific Loon - their calls are very similar. This family of birds have had their calls used on numerous albums, particularly the Common Loon.


If this is indeed an Aboriginal song, that Loon is a long way from home.  

OMG I love this when riding my bike 
 KalleB wrote:
Does anybody know the bird that's sometimes hearing? Is it a curlew?
 
It's a loon, either Black-throated loon or Pacific Loon - their calls are very similar. This family of birds have had their calls used on numerous albums, particularly the Common Loon.

 KalleB wrote:
Does anybody know the bird that's sometimes hearing? Is it a curlew?
 
Although the Long-billed Curlew and Common Loon sound similar, my guess is it's a loon. The loon is a little more haunting; the curlew is just a little more shrill. 
Like music you would hear in the catacombs of Paris.
Glorious transport vehicle ... to pretty much anywhere you allow your spirit to lead you . 
 LaurieinTucson wrote:
is this an arabic style of music? native american? its own unique style?
 
Does all music have to conform to a style? I live better in a world where style is irrelevant to content. I guess that I am an anachronism, from what i see out there on the comments...
... and let the inner journey begins 
 LaurieinTucson wrote:
is this an arabic style of music? native american? its own unique style?
 
Yulunga is a term meaning 'play' or 'dance' in one of the many indigenous Australian languages: Gamilaraay. I'm not surprised this track's style is jumbled and unrecognisable, as Aboriginal people here are some of the most forgotten, voiceless people in the world.

But hey, this is a good conversation starter! Here's to progress. Good on ya Bill 
Love me some DCD!  Beautiful... I think I 1st found out about them on a Radio Syndicated San Fran. show... Hearts of Space.  Love them non the less. 
Dead can dance is the best for working and just chilling out.  I have loved them for many years now.  Still surprises me how few people have ever heard of them.  I am really bummed that their concert in Santa Barbara in May was postponed due to COVID.  Still waiting to hear when they will tour again.  Sure ain't gonna be this year!
 gregmu8370 wrote:
this is a catchy tune that will be playing over the loudspeakers in that great mall in hell most of us will be going to.  It will be playing in JC Penny's and Radio shack.  
 
The good news is that there is no hell ... dissenters are required to provide verifiable evidence.

 VH1 wrote:

So good to meet so much tolerant people here...who are willing to admit that different people like different music! (Oops, am I being sarcastic here? Geez...) 

And it is the music of the native Americans, the REAL Americans, you know - those people who have been genocized by the other "Americans" (Like Donald Trump Buahhaaaa)!!!

It is your cultural heritage you ninny!

This music is fantastic and absolutely fab! More of it!{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Meditate} 
 
It's NOT Native American music ... it's Australian Indigenous

The rest of your comments are "spot on"as the Aussies say  ... just swap Australian colonialists for American colonialists

BTW are you Yanks tired of winning yet?


I can still remember very well my radio time in the 90s. For the failure of a machine or a tape every DJ always had to have an emergency reserve as CD in the studio. This CD was my emergency tape - and yes, I enjoyed the day when I once "had to" play it completely. :) My Rating: 9. I first heard this on Couleur3 (Switzerland)
 KalleB wrote:
Does anybody know the bird that's sometimes hearing? Is it a curlew?
 

Sounds like a loon to me. 
 jmari wrote:
Yuck, like a cross between chanting and yodeling. Kept waiting for it to get better - it just didn't.
 
It's called Chodeling. And I love it!
 lizardking wrote:

Gosh, I'm already at a 7 on this interesting (and eclectic!) piece of music...your comment (followed by BillG's brilliant segue to "Us & Them thru Eclipse") gave me enough incentive to go 7 to 8....Long Live RP (and let's stop bombing people!!) 
 
+1 to 9 after getting "lost" while driving  a an old familiar route, partially due to having this cranked with the windows down (70 in Seattle ya know?) and our hair flying in the wind, and only 11 minutes late to our destination.

Long Live Radio Paradise!!

Long Live Humanity; the hope and the promise!!

I think this is the first time I have heard the cry of a loon on a song.  Very nice!
I'v alway love their eclectic sound. Wish some day the discover teponachtli.
Greetings from CDMX to RP
Still as magical as ever.
Soon as I heard this I'm thinking This is going to get a lot of negatives. I, however, love this stuff.
 LaurieinTucson wrote:
is this an arabic style of music? native american? its own unique style?
 

yes
is this an arabic style of music? native american? its own unique style?
Listening to this brings embarrassment that I am so deficient in my cultural diversity and an ability to do any kind of informed rating.  I want to be exposed to more of this form and learn.  Thank you, Bill.
Wow, I was listening while drawing some sketches for clients and found myself getting lost in this. Didn't know this was Dead Can Dance. Love it.
Those of us that have grown up around the lakes of the northern US and Canada (where I am) know the instantly recognizable call of the Common Loon. Gorgeous haunting sound - especially through the dawn mists on a crisp autumn lake. The loon call is a sound I hear sampled regularly and often wonder what other folk in farther flung regions of the planet think they're hearing. It's like the very specific *bloop* of the early NASA radio communications that is so known to anyone who grewup following the space race and Apollo launches and landings. But does some Club Kid listening to 90s rave music have a clue what that is when they hear the samples?
Does anybody know the bird that's sometimes hearing? Is it a curlew?
Yulunga is apparently too rich for many of the pablum brain listeners out there in radio land...😂😂
 VH1 wrote:

So good to meet so much tolerant people here...who are willing to admit that different people like different music! (Oops, am I being sarcastic here? Geez...) 

And it is the music of the native Americans, the REAL Americans, you know - those people who have been genocized by the other "Americans" (Like Donald Trump Buahhaaaa)!!!

It is your cultural heritage you ninny!

This music is fantastic and absolutely fab! More of it!{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Meditate} 
 
When people preach tolerance while simultaneously being intolerant of the opinions and musical tastes of the people to whom they are preaching, do they hear their own hypocrisy?
"Yulunga (Spirit Dance)": in Gerrard's native Australia, yulunga means "dance" or "spirit dance", apparently related to the verb yulugi (to dance, to play) in the Gamilaraay language of the Aboriginal Kamilaroi (Indigenous Australians). In an Aboriginal dreamtime legend, Yulunga is a variant of Julunggul, the Aboriginal mythological Rainbow Serpent goddess.[7]
Say what you will about the internet, but wikipedia is pretty amazing.
 gregmu8370 wrote:
this is a catchy tune that will be playing over the loudspeakers in that great mall in hell most of us will be going to.  It will be playing in JC Penny's and Radio shack.  
 
No.  Please not in JC Penney's.
 whomhow wrote:
Such low rate makes me think about RP listeners worse than they deserve. Those ones who put 1 or 2 - please try again, give one more chance (not to DCD masterpiece, but to yourselves)!
9->10 
 
Gosh, I'm already at a 7 on this interesting (and eclectic!) piece of music...your comment (followed by BillG's brilliant segue to "Us & Them thru Eclipse") gave me enough incentive to go 7 to 8....Long Live RP (and let's stop bombing people!!) 
this is a catchy tune that will be playing over the loudspeakers in that great mall in hell most of us will be going to.  It will be playing in JC Penny's and Radio shack.  
 redshifted wrote:
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
Probably the most idiotic comment I've seen here.
 

he is just sick.
Saw Dead Can Dance live in Philly a few years ago. Magnificent. Have loved them since way back in the early 90s. Another one of the reasons I love RP!!!!!!!!
Incredible band to see live. They're touring Europe this year, and many dates are already sold-out. 
Love this. Reminds me of waking up in Morocco, wind ruffling the curtains, Imams calling the faithful to prayer. Close my eyes and I'm right there. Thanks RP x
Love DCD.

The 'Bombing' comment is just one of the reasons 'We' need a better edukashion system....
This song only reinforces my feeling that the world is ending. Would like to hear something cheerier. 
{#Good-vibes}
 triviagal wrote:
Yuck! Yuck, Yuck, Yuck!!!
 
So good to meet so much tolerant people here...who are willing to admit that different people like different music! (Oops, am I being sarcastic here? Geez...) 

And it is the music of the native Americans, the REAL Americans, you know - those people who have been genocized by the other "Americans" (Like Donald Trump Buahhaaaa)!!!

It is your cultural heritage you ninny!

This music is fantastic and absolutely fab! More of it!{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Clap}{#Meditate} 
 jmari wrote:
Yuck, like a cross between chanting and yodeling. Kept waiting for it to get better - it just didn't.

 
What's wrong per se with a chant/yodel crossover?
Yuck, like a cross between chanting and yodeling. Kept waiting for it to get better - it just didn't.
Such low rate makes me think about RP listeners worse than they deserve. Those ones who put 1 or 2 - please try again, give one more chance (not to DCD masterpiece, but to yourselves)!
9->10 

Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within - Rakim, Live

Toward the Within was recorded in one take in November 1993 in the Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica, California and was released by 4AD as an album and a video a year later. It was the last major event to take place in the Mayfair Theatre before it was fatally weakened in the earthquake a short time later and had to be demolished. The video was filmed by Mark Magidson and contains interviews with Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry.

This is the opening part, including Rakim and two declarations from Gerrard and Perry.



make it stop,
Storm clouds gathering outside my window. This music is a great soundtrack for the ominous day. More dancing dead, less grateful, please.
Yuck! Yuck, Yuck, Yuck!!!
Originally Posted by holborne: bmarti, doing his best to promote good international relations. What a stunningly ignorant, foolish remark.
You left out narrow minded.
I for one can listen to everything on the 4AD label, and happily so. Dead Can Dance are a wonderful group. That this is a live album is truly incredible. Simply beautiful.
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
bmarti, doing his best to promote good international relations. What a stunningly ignorant, foolish remark.
I like it.. Oh yes I do. Only problem is it is so relaxing it makes me want to just sit around and not do any work.
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
This guy is either very stupid, or this remark is taken waaay too seriously. Perhaps both. Time to play Randy Newman's "Political Science"! That song is more true now than it ever was, sadly. or , not sure really.
Originally Posted by ThesHunter: Bombing who? Really who are we bombing right now? Or even can you even know who we were bombing in February? Do you really know where this music comes from? If I put on a track from India and one from Morocco could you tell the difference? Or should we bomb them all anyways, cause they sound different and you don't like the way they sound. For your information this group is a couple of Australians who live in England currently. Does that mean we should start bombing London? Or Australia, Afghanistan they both start with A's I guess they are the same, who the f*ck cares, bomb them all.
THANK YOU!
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
Bombing who? Really who are we bombing right now? Or can you even know who we were bombing in February? Do you really know where this music comes from? If I put on a track from India and one from Morocco could you tell the difference? Or should we bomb them all anyways, cause they sound different and you don't like the way they sound. For your information this group is a couple of Australians who live in England currently. Does that mean we should start bombing London? Or Australia, Afghanistan they both start with A's I guess they are the same, who the f*ck cares, bomb them all.
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
Probably the most idiotic comment I've seen here.
One of the greatest live shows I\'ve ever seen was by this group. Very powerful.
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
MAYBE WE'LL GET LUCKY AND ONE WILL LAND ON YOU!
LOVE IT! CAN\'T GET ENOUGH LISA GERRARD. SHE HAS AN AMAZING, INCREDIBLY VERSATILE VOICE.
I don\'t mind this type of music, but that voice drives me bonkers! And the nature sounds seem out of place. Make it stop!
Originally Posted by bmarti: one of the reasons we're bombing them.
LMAO!!!! I'm all for musical diversity, but this has got to go
I really love all the stuff by Dead Can Dance.