Why music? Because it's the title of a favorite, intentionally eclectic album by guitariste extraordinaire Joe Satriani, and it fits.
Opoponax is Strange indeed. Sun-drenched, earthy, tobaccoey, leathery, hay-like, dusty, markedly medicinal and un-perfumey, rich, big and joyous yet somehow quiet and contemplative... Bitter-sweet. Therapeutic and mind-cleansing like incense in church.
Opoponax is Beautiful. Beautiful in a way a bigboned villager might be, healthy, fullblooded, with perfect, if a bit dry from all the sun, freckled skin and laugh lines in the corners of the eyes. Not a trace of makeup, anemia or pretence. It's straight talking, delivering down to earth, biblical wisdom, not pseudo esoteric Coelhian cliches.
As far as Music goes, Opoponax very evidently consists of one and only note, sang in a husky, smoked voice, and yet it couldn't be farther from monotonous or one-dimensional. It evolves constantly, sweeping through sun-beaten fields and shadowy olive groves, touching down in the stables and on the beach and finally landing in the soft, furry, Shalimar territory hours later. Simple and great.
