Sit Properly

I wish I were familiar with Krishna consciousness in Latin America. Especially after hearing this one.

The only thing I really know about it is from a Prabhupada Memories DVD (#8), as told by Chitsukhananda:

I sat with him [Srila Prabhupada], and I felt happy and peaceful. I had a guitar with me, and he asked me if I would sing, so I chanted Hare Krishna. Throughout the years, even when we opened a temple in Mexico, we would play guitars in kirtan in Prabhupada’s presence. He would say, “Yes, yes, more. This is what’s making people dance and chant. Use it for Krishna.” It’s nice to hear the sitar and tambura, but it’s also nice for people to play the instruments of their own nation to worship God, and Srila Prabhupada was open minded about that. There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. He tried to accommodate everyone.

Now, the idea of guitar kirtans, especially Mexican guitar kirtans really thrills me. This tape, sadly, has very little guitar in it, which is a shame. I don’t know if the guitar kirtans were ever recorded.

KT-11 Caracas Temple Kirtans

But this is definitely a strong and steady tape. Well worth having. It’s pretty mellow. Not sad and droney or anything like that. But sober. The first half is with a bunch of devotees. The second sounds like it’s just two. It’s pretty cool.

1) Jaya Radha Madhava
2) Kirtan
3) Hare Krishna Kirtan
4) Sri Guruastakam
5) Gaya Goura Madhu Svare
6) Jai Jagganath
7) Sudha Bakata Radha Krishna Bol Bol
9) Jasomati Nandana

Click here to download.

I’m, of course, way too young to have been a part of the Radha Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party. And honestly, I don’t know much about it – mostly just from Srila Prabhupada Memories DVDs and the random story here and there.

There’s also a huge book about it.

Nevertheless, I’ve got a tape full of RDTSKP just for you!

KT-10 Radha Damodara Traveling Sakirtana Party Kirtans
w/ Vishnujana Swami

And again, thanks to Brian, I’ve got scans of the original tapes to share with you. Haribol!

This is the track list, which is quite different from the original tape (pictured above). This is from the BBT rerelease of the tape (as all of mine are).

1) Govinda Jaya Jaya
2) Sadha Bhakata
3) Gaur Nityananda Bol
4) Kabe Habe Bolo Sabi Nam
5) Gopinath
6) Manasa Deha Geha
7) Sri Rupa Manjan Jai Sachinandana
9) Han Haraye Namah
10) Kirtan

This is some good stuff. What kirtans should sound like.

Click here to download.

Hey folks! I don’t have a lot of time to write this out – working retail during the Christmas season. But this is a good one. You should check it out.

119 of you downloaded last Saturday’s. Thanks! That really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So check this out. Yamuna, Dannanath and a mess of Acyutananda! Can’t go wrong. No way, no how!

KT-09 – Delhi Pandal Kirtans

1) Kirtan Lead by Yamuna devi
2) Kirtan Lead by Dannanath das
3) Hari Haraya Namah by Acyutananda Swami
4) Radhe Shayama by Acyutananda Swami
5) Kiba Jaya by Acyutananda Swami
6) Radha Govinda by Acyutananda Swami

Click here to download.

After weeks of Hamsadutta, don’t you deserve some Visnujana? Why yes, I believe you do.

So here you go, a whole take of Visnujana Swami. And this is a real treat. My second favorite tape in the whole KT series (first favorite is KT-14, but we’ll get to that in a couple months).

KT-8 Visnujana Swami – Aratik in New York City

Click here to download.

1. Visnujana Swami – Studio Recording
2. Hare Krishna Kirtan
3. Aratik in New York
4. Nrsinga Prayers
5. Hare Krishna Chant

The first side (tracks one and two) starts off with a 26 minute studio recording with Visnujana Swami at the helm. It’s really got some bass to it. Maybe it’s just the way that I mixed it from the tape, but you’re going to want to pull your bandanna down real low for this one.

Track two is pretty much just a guitar and female-led Hare Krishna bhajana. I’m not sure who the vocalist is, but Visnujana Swami is there in response. Great song and pretty heart-wrenching. I don’t usually go for the western instruments thing, but this isn’t at all bad.

Side two gives us a super awesome kirtan done over a background of aratik bells (that are possibly cowbells). This gets to be all sorts of fun at the end.

My favorite bit on this tape is this all acapella version of the Nsringa Prayers. It’s done in a call and response that sounds a lot like an old negro spiritual. This is really well done.

Probably added as filler, this two minute kirtana, also led by a woman (same women as track two?) is a bit strange in the melody department. It really sounds like something out of the 70′s (which it is). But I think I like it.

Anyway, glad to be able to bring you another edition of Classic ISKCON Tapes. Happy Saturday!

I’m writing this on Friday night, it’ll post Saturday morning. Right now, the power is off in my apartment. It’s been for a few hours now. I suppose I could come up with something extremely Krishna conscious to say about that, but really, I think my heater blew a fuse, but nobody seems to know where that specific fuse might live. Is there a lesson to be learned here? I don’t think so.

Lucky for me, they fixed the radiator in my apartment. Prior to that, I only had electric heat. If they had not fixed it, I’d be one cold lil penguin.

So since I’ve got this laptop and a neighbor who is kind enough to let me borrow his internet when mine goes down, I bring to you…

KT-07 – Hare Krsna Kirtans

I don’t have the track list, that’s on my other computer – no electricity. And I don’t have a picture of the cassette itself, same reason.

Sorry for such a post. But you can still download it and enjoy it. 93 people downloaded last week’s. That’s pretty cool. Thanks!

Edit: Power still out. Tofu outside window to prevent major international incident.

Edit part two: Super majorly huge problem – more on that tomorrow. Good grief, indeed.

More Edit -

Track Listing:
1. Hare Krsna
2. Gouranga
3. Ratha-Yatra Festival
4. Jaya Radhe
5. Pralaya Prayers
6. N.Y. Aratika

Hola, fellow Kritters! Welcome to Saturday.

Today is the day for KT-6.

Now, before I start in on this, I want to thank the devotees who have done some research on the subject of tapes. I’m interested in the tapes, but not as much as records, so I don’t really pay too much attention. It seems like the KT series extends to number 26. I thought it was only 20.

According to Atmananda prabhu, the KT series continues…
KT-21 Resevior of Pleasure – Rksaraja
KT-22 Nama Hatta Band
KT-23 Bhakti Rasa – Agnideva
KT-24 Ancient Hymns
KT-25 well we have 2 for this spot
KT-26 Tribute to Prabhupada – Agnideva

For KT-25, he’s got a Srila Prabhupada tape and something else, but I’m not quite sure what. There’s also a “Live at Sweetwaters” tape, but I don’t know what that’s from. Maybe KT-25? The tapes are confusing. There are other series as well. Why doesn’t the archives at least keep track of these? If you want them to copy them to CD for you, it’s $20 per hour of music. That’s a lot.

So here, I’ve done 1-20 for you. This is #6. If anyone else would like to do 21 – 26 or any of the other series, that would be great. Your only reward will be a pat on the back, which you will have to administer yourself, which is still better than a slap on the belly with a wet trout.

KT-6 Hare Krishna Kirtans – Baradraja dasa (New York)

Click here to download.

1) Hare Krishna Kirtan
2) Nrsimha Prayers
3) Nama-sankirtana
4) Hare Krishna Kirtan

Some caveats: The sound quality isn’t great. These are from old tapes recorded by devotees. Quality wasn’t a priority. Also, they’re MP3s encoded at 128kbs – not the highest quality. But listenable.

Here’s a list of all the tapes…

Saturdays were always my sleep-in day when I was in school. A well deserved day off. Friday nights were football games and high school dances where I’d try to convince some poor gal that she really did want to slow dance with me to some Def Leppard power ballad spun by the DJ in the gymnasium. It seldom worked. I’d return home pretty bummed and sleep as long as I could on Saturday morning.

But now I look forward to Saturdays! Not because the ladies are finally digging Warrant, Poison or LA Guns (haha!), oh no! It’s because every Saturday I’m posting another Classic ISKCON Tape! WAAAAAAAAY better than power ballads!

Today, I’ve got a tape from the LA temple.
KT-05 Visnujana Swami – Hansadutta – Los Angeles Temple Studio Recording

Here’s a track list…

1) Visnujana Swami – Hare Krishna Kirtan
2) Visnujana Swami – Nrsimha Prayers + Jaya Radha-Madhava
3) Visnujana Swami – Vasanti-rasa
4) Visnujana Swami – Vasanti-rasa (Spoken English Translation)
5) Visnujana Swami – Nama-sankirtana
6) Hansadutta – Jaya Radha-Madhava + Hare Krishna Kirtan
7) Hansadutta – Gaura Arati

Thanks to Brian, I also have the original artwork from the original release. Check it out…

What’s interesting from the original artwork is that it claims the kirtans to be from the New York temple, while the newer artwork (well, the newer cassettes) claim it to be from LA. I believe Side A was recorded in LA, Side B in NY. Or, rather, Visnujana Swami in LA, Hansadutta in NY.

From the original spine it seems that the songs on the original KT-5 are completely different from the songs on the new KT-5. It is, in fact, the same recording, the original KT-5 doesn’t list all of the songs and uses an alternate title here and there.

Also note that the same cover was used for all of the KT & SB cassette series tapes. Only the spines were different.

When dealing with ISKCON history, so many people focus on the happy, wonderful times or the dark, nasty times. But nobody seems to be focusing on the fairly boring times. That’s where I come in, I guess. I just wish that I had some help.

Click here to download KT-5.

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ps – Yeah, Hansadutta yet again, just can’t get rid of this guy!

Hello Vaikuntha!! ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOOOCK?!?!

Remember back when you were a kid, back when you’d rock out to Kiss or Journey, probably had a van with purple tinted windows and an airbrushed painting of a wizard on the side… You’d throw on your denim jacket with the Judas Priest patch on the back and head out to a metal show on a Saturday night. And when you weren’t bangin’ yer head in the front row, you’d be at home listening to your favorite rock gods on your Solid State stereo system! The studio albums were great and all, but nothing could capture the raw energy of the live show like the obligatory live album!

Classics like Kiss’s Alive to Cheap Trick’s Live at Budokan, if you weren’t there rockin’ out, you were at home rockin’ out to the live albums!

And now that you’re a devotee, the same is true for kirtans!

Vs.

Everybody knows that kirtans are best when you’re there in person, jumping around and swaying in the temple or on the street… but what if you could take that very same feeling home with you? Too good to be true, you say?

Well think again, prabhus! THINK AGAIN!

Trade in your van with purple tinted windows for a sankirtana van, your ripped up denim jacket for a nice wool chadar and your Frampton Comes Alive LP for this….

LIVE New York Kirtans!!

Ah yes! The illustrious KT-4! You were just itchin’ for KT-4, weren’t ya! Good! KT-4 is stuffed full of LIVE kirtans from the New York Temple!

KT-04 – Hare Krishna Kirtans (New York)

1) – 5) Five tracks of Live New York kirtans!

Click here to download and rock out! ….and no, they will not play “Freebird,” so don’t ask, ok?

[93MB, btw... oh and if you get an error message, try again later, mediafire.com has been wonky lately]

And here’s a list of all the tapes…

Saturday mornings, for me growing up, were all about cartoons. I’d look forward in oh-so-great anticipation. Through the whole week, I could hardly wait to wake up early on Saturday, grab a bowl of cereal and plop myself in front of the TV. Nothing better growing up, right?

Well now I’m bringing Saturdays back. No, it’s not cartoons, it’s Classic ISKCON music! So wake up early on Saturday, grab yourself a bowl of cereal, put on your dancin’ shoes (or.. um.. take off your nondancin’ shoes, I guess) and download the latest selection!

This week’s is New York Kirtans.

KT-03 New York Kirtans*

1) Samsara Prayers
2) Govindam Adi Purusam
3) Hare Krishna Kirtan
4) Gaura-arati Kirtan
5) Tulasi Kirtan
6) Hare Krishna Kirtan
6) Hare Krishna Kirtan

Click here to download.

Some caveats: The sound quality isn’t great. These are from old tapes recorded by devotees. Quality wasn’t a priority. Also, they’re MP3s encoded at 128kbs – not the highest quality. But listenable.

Here’s a list of all the tapes…

*This is the first time I’m using MediaFire.com to host the file. Also, this is the first time I’m hosting it as a rar file. Please let me know if you have problems.

Haribol!

In the late 70′s and early 80s, ISKCON released a 20 tape series of kirtans and bhajans. As far as I know, none of these were released on any of the classic ISKCON records. Neither have they been released to CD.

I’ll be posting one each Saturday. And this week’s is Delhi Aratika!

Delhi Aratika claims to be produced by “Golden Avatar Productions.” I have no idea who Golden Avatar Productions was, but their name was on some vinyl as well. Also I believe there was a Golden Avatar cassette series, but I can’t remember. This is the only “Krishna Tapes” series that is associated with Golden Avatar Productions.

I think I’ll post a Golden Avatar Productions LP next Ekadasi. Hey, why not?

There are no credits on any of the tapes. And often, the title of the tape reflects only what’s on one side. For example, this is called Delhi Aratika, but some of the songs may have been produced somewhere else. Who knows.

Anyway, here it is…

KT-02 Delhi Aratika
01 – Golden Avatar Productions – Jaya Radha
02 – Golden Avatar Productions – Baja Jure Mana
03 – Golden Avatar Productions – Jaya Radha Madhava
04 – Golden Avatar Productions – Sri Nam Kirtana
05 – Golden Avatar Productions – Kirtana
06 – Golden Avatar Productions – Delhi Aratika

Some caveats: The sound quality isn’t great. These are from old tapes recorded by devotees. Quality wasn’t a priority. Also, they’re MP3s encoded at 128kbs – not the highest quality. But listenable.

Here’s a list of all the tapes…