Lately been rediscovering some albums that have been in my iTunes for a long long time, and of which I had only devoted attention to one or a few songs. Annie's 'Songs of mass destruction' is one of those, and 'Dark road' has been indeed a favourite of mine since I was listening to it on the radio during my last high school years (10 years ago, jeez!!). It just felt right to share this now, even if at this time of my life I feel like finally I have been able to lead somebody through the dark road that leads to my house! Let's just say I worked hard to keep the door open all this time, and finally I've been repaid!
"It's a dark road
And a dark way that leads to my house
And the word says
You're never going to find me there
Oh no
I've got an open door
It didn't get there by itself It didn't get there by itself"
Life is weird, and that is an established fact (I suppose). I get periodic reminders of this, so I can't explain why I woke up with this song in my head this morning. Absolutely no idea, but I did! I haven't been listening to this song in forever, so it was a pleasing experience to go back 10 years (and for how weird it is [again], it really feels like this song is in my past past) and re-discover the Kylie I got the closest to, at the end of the 00s. It helped me start a relatively good day, so I can't complain too much! I hope it helps you get a decent night too!
I don't know why I fixed in my mind the 20th of October as the blog's birthday, when I actually posted the first entry on the 19th of October, but well... does it really matter?
So, I'm here to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the blog!!! It turned 3... well, yesterday actually! It's incredible that I've managed to stick to it for so long given everything that's happened in these past three years and especially given that I didn't expect to stick with it for so long in the first place! This third year has been the hardest one so far, I'd say. I've been having plentiful of free time in my hands and that brought me to waste it on TV series and travelling (well, that time wasn't wasted at all!) and other things, so that I haven't paid enough attention to 'A song or two per day', which has actually become 'A couple songs per week', or something like that! Lately, since I started my PhD and moved to Hong Kong, things have been hectic once again and it's been even harder to find the time and energy to come and post here, but still, I'm trying my best!
So, as I keep saying, this blog has been the longest commitment of my life (it has been actually), so let's make somethings special for its third birthday, hoping that I will be able to finding my balance and carrying on with all parts of my life, this included! To celebrate the blog's birthday I want, as usual, to share something special with you. This year I've chosen my favourite OneRepublic song, given that they have just released their new album and after this and 'Native', I really got the feeling they're not gonna go and make anymore great music as they did on their first two album, as they have started a more commercial path (understandably, but I must say that doesn't make me happy at all). Moreover, just a couple of months ago I left everything I had at home to embark on a new adventure and, knowing that most of it will be there again when I come back, of course being far away doesn't allow me to enjoy my past relationships as much as I could when I was back home. That doesn't diminish them, rather... they just evolve. So "Time could tear you apart, but it won't break anything that we are... We won't say our goodbyes, you know its better that way, we won't break, we won't die, it's just a moment of change! All we are, all we are, is everything that's right..."
Hello my dear readers, I am finally ready to announce to you all my next step in life! After almost 10 months of enjoying life and what I called my own "early-retirement", I am back on track (kinda). I came to Hong Kong today and this fall semester I will begin my PhD studies in a University here in the city! I am quite excited about the whole thing and very happy that I have the chance to follow this path, which I hope will open up new, interesting opportunities for my future! I am of course a little sad to realise that many people I care about will be farther away from me and I have compiled a playlist for them to remember me and, most of all, for me to feel a little bit nostalgic! This song is one of the few (or maybe the only one) on it that hasn't seen the light on this blog yet, so here it is for you all! To new beginnings!!
Two years before dying at the remarkable age of 81, Koko Taylor sang "I may be getting older but I've got young fashioned ways"! I mean... wow! I already feel old at 26, actually I've been feeling old since I can remember. I have always bonded better with adults when I was a kid, I disliked a good bunch of people my age during teenage years as they were doing stupid things, now my body is mostly broken... and I'm lazy, I'm not a party animal, I live well in my own little corner of the world (except when I often take up my bag and travel around the other corners of the world). What I'm trying to say is that I've never felt like I've got young fashioned ways, even if it feels a tiny little bit like I'm living my teenage now, with a little delay...! In the end, being old or young, feeling young or old, each one of us has their own way of living life and looks for different things so as to be happy, don't we?
Tonight I decided to shake you up with a little blues, maybe it can be a good thing for this weird summer that is beginning! I am spending a few days in Milan, with some things going well and others a little less so, and the same goes for the weather, which is as changing as if we were in any British coast town, a thing that - I must confess - doesn't entertain me. At all. Damn summer rain!
Time for blues tonight, here I leave you with another great tune off the Queen of Blues's last album, I'm sure it's gonna be a great soundtrack for your summer nights, get on for a couple of moves with your friends out in the open under the moon, with fire lights and bright stars, enjoying a good company and having a great time!!
When driving back from the sea yesterday I put on some blues music, in particular Koko Taylor's last album, one of those I am currently listening to. I must confess that blues music tends to bore me after a while, but I undoubtedly enjoy it under the right circumstances and in the right amount. A night with friends (or else) dancing off in a club or under the stars, a few songs here and there... it's a classy and enjoyable touch imho! I hope you can enjoy this great tune off the Queen of Blues's last record!
Today I have been working out a thing that has been bothering me for the past weeks: since I updated the OS of my Macbook, I have been unable to listen to and to transfer on my iPod the songs I had bought on the iTunes store with my old account (created with an email address that doesn't exist anymore). Not even trying to change mail and working with the authorisations did any good, so the only solution I had left was to... download the songs I had bought with that account. Do you see the irony in that? I guess that the DRM (Digital Rights Management) thing didn't really work out, it did not for me at least. The good thing in all that is that I got to listen back to old songs I haven't been paying much attention to lately. And I just realised I hadn't posted anything off Dolores's debut album as a solo artist since... the very first post of this blog!! I'm making it up now, as thinking about what this album has meant for me and listening to it always gives me a powerful chill!
At the end of this slightly tiring but very rewarding day of exploring Algarve, I found myself with a song off Tori's 'Americal doll posse' on my mind, so I went on to listen to the whole album. And I got the right inspiration for today's post. I'm not a huge fan of ADP, but I think I like it better than most Tori fans do. Ok, I agree, it's trashy pop. Mostly. And I'm not a big fan of that too (even if the song I mentioned falls under that category). What I think is that there are quite a few songs that, were they to be taken out of (this album's) context, they wouldn't feel bad in any of Tori's good albums. This is one of them and it has always been a favourite of mine, so I am sharing it with you now hoping that it will become a favourite of yours too!
I am ashamed. I am deeply ashamed, but I have to live with it, it's a consequence of the life I'm leaving and one of the things that bothers me the most about it. I'm taking about how I forget things: I forget to put my slippers in the baggage, I forget my computer charger, I lose keys, I forget things, I lose control over stuff... and I hate it, as I didn't use to be like that. But I am paying the price for being too stressed out, and this includes missing important things, including the second birthday of the blog. My blog. My creature. The (probably) longest commitment of my life. Two years are a lot, and even I failed to post as often as the name of the blog itself suggests, especially in the past few months, I have given it all for 'A song or two per day', and what I got back is not at all disappointing! I am mostly doing it for myself, as I love sharing the music I like, and finding such great feedback was totally unexpected! I have tried a few complementary paths to share the music I love and I know that most of them were not really successful, but by trial and error I am doing my best to reach the widest audience possible and most importantly to engage other people in talking about great music and in giving each other inspiration and advice. So, here I am, late but not too late, thanks LinkedIn and the people on there for reminding me that I had a job anniversary, and I hope to be back in a little less than 12 months to celebrate the next birthday! I am celebrating the 24 months of life of my blog with one of my favourite songs ever, which just got played in my car quite randomly, right after another Amy MacDonald song whose lyrics meant a lot for me now, but for such an important occasion I really want to share with you something that is dear to my heart, so here it is, from my heart to yours, 'This is the life' and I really wish for all of you that you know where you're gonna sleep tonight! (I know, but I don't know where I'm gonna sleep next week and the one after, so I guess that most of you are in a better place than me now)!!
I've been listening to quite a little bit of Feist in the last couple of days and it seems right to show it on the blog! Taking advantage of the perks of using Spotify in Thailand (i.e. there is no Spotify in Thailand, but it's working anyway for me and it's working with no ads, as there's no Spotify in Thailand!!) I didn't miss my personal computer (I'm writing from the business one) so badly! Sadly it's my last night in Bangkok for this month, the trip has been nice but very short and tiring... I was just starting to get into the groove and it's time to get back... anyway, let's hope for a bright future while feeling all the present at our best!
Here I am, lost in the heart of Europe! I am on a mountain in Liechtenstein (yeah, I know, many of those of you reading from outside Europe won't even know what that is!), at the end of a small town just above Vaduz, at the foot of skiing tracks and taller mountains! But hey, it's a road-trip! I am travelling through Switzerland with a couple of friends and this is out first stop, which is not in Switzerland (but almost and kind of). The landscapes are beautiful, the weather cold and cloudy/rainish, the time we're having great and the music... quite cool! We've been mostly playing one of my playlists with 00s music, but before that a little OneRepublic and Linkin Park. Given that I have never posted any song of the latter, it seems like a good moment to begin, and I'm doing it with one of my favourite songs of theirs! Have a good night you all!
I don't know if you guys ever post(ed) about music, so I don't know if it happened to you to feel what I have just been feeling now... it's not so unlikely methinks. Anyway, I was just about to open the page of my blog to write this post and a song started hammering on my mind out of nowhere... "ain't nobody... lalala...". I realised I just recently got to listen to a cover of the original version of 'Ain't nobody' (which I don't even know if I have ever listened to, but I presumed so because I already knew the song), and after a quick search on Wikipedia I found out where: KT Tunstall's 'Drastic Fantastic' DVD included in the deluxe edition of the album I recently bought on Amazon (and already posted about here). I couldn't not post it, especially because I'm falling more and more in love with it and because it is a great piece of music interpreted by a great (set of) musician(s). Don't miss out!!
We all know Amazon is the best when it comes to buying things at a good price and getting them home fast! I guess most of you are also familiar with the concept of free delivery if you spend more than 19.99€ (at least in Italy) that applies to most products sold by Amazon itself. So when I went on to buy Florence's new album HBHBHB, I have been taking a look at other albums I wanted to buy and found a couple of them at a very good price: one is Feist's 'Metals', and the other one is a deluxe edition of KT's second album 'Drastic fantastic'. I must confess it has been a very good bargain and a great purchase!! I am now watching the DVD that came with the album and I am greatly enjoying it! Besides the nice bits and pieces of interviews and life, there are also great performances of the songs of the album, some of them I never felt particularly close to and that I am "discovering" now. That's what I love about extra material (and also live concerts), that they help me take my relationship with songs to a whole new level, and I just love it! This is what happened with 'Saving my face' this morning, so here it is, I hope you can enjoy the post! Cheers!
It's hard for me today to post anything but Florence + the Machine, as I've been devoting myself almost completely to their new album which came out yesterday! I must say I'm pretty satisfied with it, there are a few songs that sound a bit to poppy and naif, but there are also powerful tunes that really are faithful to the band's style, history and talent, so I'll give it some more listens in the next few days to get a clearer idea about it, but I leave it after one day with a smile on my face. To take a break from it, today while driving back to Veneto from home, I (also) listened to Junip and so they are the only thing I can sense-fully post today. This is an awesome instrumental song I have been utterly in love with!! My car's steering wheel knows something about it, with me tap tap tapping all the times it plays!
It's a pity that I have already posted Imagine Dragons' 'Dream', as I've been utterly in love with the song, it's really really beautiful, and I felt the need to post something dreams-related today. I've never been a big dreamer, meaning that most of the movies in my head took place while I was awake and, even if they did when I was asleep, I very rarely remembered them in the morning. Lately instead I've been recalling my dreams quite often, be it because being forced to wake up early I sleep worse in the morning and this helps me remember or whatever else is the reason, that's what's happening. And this morning it's been no different. The context and environment of the dream were, as usual, realistic but surreal, but the feelings were so strong and realistic... I was basically getting involved with a person (I know for real) who wanted to have a sentimental experience with me (highly, highly unlikely and I've actually never felt particularly attracted to him), but the dream was so vivid... the determination and the uncertainty, the imaginary and then realistic home, showers lasting forever and making it hard for us to be together at night, and finally meeting again in the morning, not sure if anything was gonna happen, then he says his heart is beating so strong, I put my hand on it to feel, then a kiss... and then the waking up. Waking up with a feeling so good I can't describe, a feeling I had never felt in my awake life, of completeness, of fulfillment, of happiness... well, it made my monday much less hard to bear.
Such a pity that we are all living in a dream (but is it so bad?)... well, if just for today, I'd rather be dreaming out loud!
After and excruciatingly long drive from home to Conegliano, close to where I work (resting in a hotel here for the night), I have realised I've ended up in a thing that looks more like a prison than a hotel, as after I asked the lady at the reception how I could get out, given that she had closed the front door, she gave me the keys of a backdoor to access the hotel from the restaurant.... well, stuff happens and we all fall down! Coming to my room after dining with an ice cream and taking a shower, I was wondering what I could post for this week's sundayrevival. OneRepublic came to my mind somehow and given that I have posted very little stuff out of their first album (my favourite) it makes sense to give them a little room! All fall down is one of my favourite songs of theirs, as besides being a great pop/rock song in terms of lyrics and melodies, it prominently features a cello, my fav instrument!!! Enjoy and have a great new week!
This weekend I'm back home, with a little more light shed on my future! Next week is gonna be the last of my training near Venice, and after that... I have some plans for what is waiting for my ahead, just need to finalize things and I will hopefully update you soon enough! In the meanwhile... yesterday afternoon I picked up two girls with blablacar to share the trip back to Milan with me, and given that they were not very talkative, at one point I turned on the radio to keep myself awake and to make the journey more pleasant. After Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, I opted for Alt-J, who also got appreciation by my crew! This morning I was driving around town with my father and when the playlist finished, the next one in alphabetical order started... wow, it's been a long long time since I've listened to Amy MacDonald, and noticing how old her debut album is... almost 10 years ago! It brought me back instantly to the last years of high school when she boomed with 'This is the life' and I got to know her and love her. Realizing that I knew many songs by heart made me feel good and really did bring back memories form those times, that seem like yesterday... but in fact so much time has passed and so many things have happened in the meantime! The feeling have not changed though, thanks goodness!
"I will run until my feet no longer run no more
And I will kiss until my lips no longer feel no more
And I will laugh until my heart it aches
And I will love until my heart it breaks
And I will love until there's nothing more to live for"
Good [fill in with the part of day it is when you're reading this] folks! It's time for a combined post again! Yuppie! I wasn't sure I would post any of these two songs but, given that they have been going hand in hand since I started listening to them up to the point when I put them in a playlist close to one another, I am sure it really does make sense to have them together in a post! They are two very quiet and relaxing songs almost at the beginning of The Reminder, two songs of the kind that you usually don't pay much attention to, but that work perfectly as the soundtrack of so many moments. So, guess what? I am sure you'll enjoy them both, even better if played one after the other!
