Mor lam is an ancient Lao song form of Laos and Isan (Northeastern Thailand). Mor lam means expert song, or expert singer, referring to the music or artist respectively. Traditionally mor lam was extemporaneous singing accompanied by the khene, a free reed mouth organ, but the modern form is most often composed and uses electrified instruments. Musically it is characterised by quick tempi and rapid delivery. As well as the usual theme of unrequited love, mor lam reflects the difficulties of life in rural Isan and Laos, leavened with wry humour. In its heartland performances are an essential part of festivals and ceremonies, while the music has gained a profile outside its native regions thanks to the spread of migrant workers, for whom it remains an important cultural link with home.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mor_lam

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1801: The U.S. House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as President and Aaron Burr as Vice President of the United States, resolving an electoral tie in the 1800 presidential election. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election%2C_1800)

1854: Britain recognized the independence of the Orange Free State in the present-day Free State Province, South Africa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Free_State)

1895: The famous ballet, Swan Lake, was first performed at full length with music by Tchaikovsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Lake)

1959: Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite, was launched to measure cloud-cover distribution. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_2)

1979: About 120,000 troops of the People's Liberation Army of China crossed into northern Vietnam, starting the Sino-Vietnamese War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"There is one simple Divinity found in all things, everything has Divinity latent within itself. For she enfolds and imparts herself even unto the smallest beings. Without her presence nothing would have being, because she is the essence of the existence of the first unto the last being." -- Giordano Bruno (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno)