Nobody - Mitski

Countdown to 2019: -5

Nobody - Mitski

2018 is coming to an end, leaving as legacy plenty of great music. Why not share one song per day in these last 5 days of the year? And what better place to do that than A song or two per day? These thoughts were going on in my head and brought me here to resurrect this blog, more than 1 year after the last post. It's been a long time, and I missed it, and I am sure the Facebook friends whose walls I have overloaded with music videos, also miss this blog as an alternative channel of distribution of my music taste! But here I am, back to my longest commitment, at the end of a year that has seen me go through ups and downs, keeping some challenging commitments and letting other go. Life is beautiful has become my mantra, and if you keep repeating something, you will start to believe it. Keep repeating it further and it will become true.
To a 2019 full of beautiful lives! In the meantime, you can just follow MItski's example, open the window to hear sounds of people, even if still nobody wants me, give me one good movie kiss and I'll be alright!

You got the love (live remix) - The XX feat. Florence Welch

You got the love (remix live) - The XX feat. Florence Welch

The first encounter I've had with The XX was in 2010 or 2011 when I approached their remix of one of my favourite songs ever, i.e. 'You got the love' by Florence + the Machine, and I was disgusted by that. That kept me far from them for a couple more years, when in 2013 I finally got close to them thanks to some friends' suggestions, and of course I could only regret letting so much time pass by without their music! Still, that 'You got the love' never met my taste, and I couldn't but be amazed about how two of my favourite bands could get together and create something that I found so hateful. The same feeling transferred through to my viewing of their live remix during the recent Night + Day event The XX organised in Brixton. Still, for how much the song didn't please me, their collaboration on the stage was magic, especially how Florence could remix her voice live even better than a DJ could do in a studio...! And that drew me to listen to the song again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And, well... I guess you understood by now what happened afterwards!

"You know it's real! I know, I know, You know it's real! Eh eh eh eh eh eh"

#yearinmusic A song or two per day - Best song and album of 2016

2016 has been a pretty good year for me under many points of view, but A song or two per day has not been one of them, and the two things are probably related: I have been having such a good time that I found it hard to find the time and (mental) energies to sit down and write blog entries constantly, which ended up in me posting very rarely. The music point of view is another one in which 2016 lacked with respect to its predecessors, which is maybe another reason why I didn't post as much. These two reasons are also the ones why I procrastinated the posting of my 2016 music summary, as I am pretty much at a loss in finding a best song and best album released this year...

Best song 2016: Line of fire - Junip

Best song: Line of fire - Junip

Given that 2016 has mostly been the outcome of life decisions made in the past years, with a lot of change that took place thanks to triggering moments that had happened in the years before, I am actually quite ok with choosing a song that was actually released 3 years before as my 2016 Best song pick. Junip and José Gonzalez have been hugely meaningful for me in the last couple of years, probably the most influential new music discovery I made lately and 'Line of fire' in particular has been a soundtrack of many big moments of 2016, mostly the ones related to me moving to Hong Kong. "What would you say if you had to leave today? Leave everything behind even though for once, you're shining."

Best album 2016: Shura - Nothing's real

Best album: Shura - Nothing's real

2016 has been quite a disappointment for me mostly because some of my favourite artists released albums that were not nearly up to my expectations or to the level of what they have been releasing before. The biggest one of these disappointments has been PJ Harvey's 'The hope six demolition project': PJ made us wait 5 years for new music, and all the expectations built in this time crushed against an album I personally find weak and pretty much pointless, the only low of her career together with 'White chalk'. On a similar note I can place the new releases by OneRepublic, KT Tunstall and, to a lesser extent, Sia. Their albums have not been all bad and feature some quite awesome songs, but overall lack a consistency that would allow me to classify them as great albums. I have been tempted to pick Sia's 'This is acting' as my favourite album released in 2016, as notwithstanding its not being nearly as good as '1000 forms of fear', it's a quite good album, but in the end I decided to go for something that I discovered towards the end of the year, here in Hong Kong: I found out about Shura thanks to Clockenflap, the music festival I attended in Hong Kong this past November, and I fell in love with her debut album quite quickly. It will not go on to enter my music olympus, but it's a good representation of my life in this past year: new, enjoyable and linked to Hong Kong!

After a hectic, full and great 2016, which has been mostly about consolidation under the music point of view, I hope 2017 will take me back to previously unseen heights with some new, great music! And I also hope I'll be able to post a bit more consistently on the blog (even if I have a hard time believing myself)...!

Happy 2017!

Mother - Tori Amos

Mother - Tori Amos

Last night I was reading an interview that Tori made together with Justin Timberlake, Sting, Alicia Keys, Pharrell and John Legend about songwriting and music, and she was talking about her debut album 'Little earthquakes', which is probably in my top 5 of all times! I of course had to go listen to it, and well... even when having it in the background while doing other things, if the moment is right it can convey such a strong energy...! Its magic is unparalleled and it always resonates with me in one way or another. 'Mother' is one of my favourites in an album of favourites, and it is the one that really resonated with me last night. It's her time to shine here on the blog.

"Go, go, go, go now out of nest it's time, go, go, go now, circus girl without a safety net..."

Northern lad - Tori Amos

Northern lad - Tori Amos

I often say that life is a sea of shit with a few moments of happiness interspersed here and there, and somehow even when it looks like I might be proven wrong, I end up being right. What can one do about it? Learn to swim through the sludge and try to keep your head up.

"Had a northern lad, well not exactly had

He moved like the sunset, god who painted that

First he love my accent, how his knees could bend

I thought we'd be ok, me and my molasses

But I feel something is wrong

But I feel this cake just isn't done

Don't say that you don't

And if you could see me now

Said if you could see me now

Girls you've got to know

When it's time to turn the page

When you're only wet

Because of the rain..."

Thank you - Dido

Thank you - Dido

Today has been a very Dido day: as we all hoped last night, thyphoon Haima passed quite close to here and so the weather observatory issued the typhoon signal and all day activities have been cancelled! No lectures, no conferences, so I've had quite a bit of time to... well, work on papers and assignments of course! Busy life, but with the colder season slowly coming in (is it actually?), the rain and the quiteness of working in front of my computer, Dido on the soundtrack... it's not been a bad day in the end! I've produced some output and hope I didn't deplet my energies so that I can keep on being productive! Not time to enjoy the weekend yet, but maybe Sunday I'll be able to put my papers aside for a while! I hope you'll be having a more entertaining weekend than me anyway!

#blogbirthday All we are - OneRepublic

All we are - OneRepublic

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..."

#sundayrevival Sprawl II (Mountains beyond mountains) - Arcade Fire

Sprawl II (Mountains beyond mountains)
- Arcade Fire

Yesterday I thought I would be posting something by Arcade Fire for this sundayrevival, but don't ask me why, as I really can't remember...! Whatever, I thought I would and I will. Staying on topic with yesterday's events (the first Gay Pride in my home town, followed by today's news that we are going to have a left-wing mayor for the first time since... ever), I remember I thought about Regine dancing with ribbons in the video of this song (maybe that's why I thought about Arcade Fire) and that is a thing I always feel like doing too while listening to this song. Not being able to move graciously (at all), I'd better refrain from that, but who knows whether sooner or later I will give way to my ideas...?

#sundayrevival I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2

I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2

You might remember that a little less than three months ago I posted one of my favourite U2 songs, 'One tree hill', just to celebrate the fact that I had just started watching the homonymous TV series. A TV series that I just finished watching tonight, and when you spend months with fictional characters in a fictional world, it's always extremely hard to cut your relationship with them and come back to reality, realising that they are not a part of your real world and real life. Or maybe they are, in the end this is the magic of movies and series and books, isn't it...? Anyway I found myself reading about the actors, their lives, what they are doing now and so on... I think it's my brain's way of slowly and gently detaching with the characters, and when strong music is linked to the show, listening to the songs is another great way of easing the end of it all. So I went back to listen to 'The Joshua Tree' and off that great album I am posting this one song today. Why? Because all the main characters have in some way found what they were looking for, while me... I still don't think I know what it is I am looking for, so I guess that this song is a great way for remembering that real life is real life and things don't work as "smoothly" (killings and accidents and kidnappings apart) as in the entertainment industry...!

Call me - Blondie

Call me - Blondie

This morning I woke up with this song on my mind, I'm sure I've heard it somewhere in the past couple of days, some restaurant or shop or else. I don't think it needs any presentation at all, so well... you can imagine how waking up with it makes me feel like today is gonna be a powerful day! Let's hope it's gonna rock as much as its premise suggests! Sing and shout at the top of your lungs, and if the world doesn't smile to you, you smile back at it!! Sing and dance and shout and run and express yourself whatever way you see fit. In your room, in the streets, at the beach, just don't care about what the world thinks and enjoy yourself!

Life for rent - Dido

Life for rent - Dido

Today I got to hear Dido songs around twice, so I take it as a sign I should be posting a song of hers on this special day! She's been this hugely influential singer for me in my teenage years, she's been my favourite for a long time and most of her (older) songs still hold an incredible affective value for me. I got to listen to a sh*tload of music in the last years and many artists entered my heart, yet Dido still does and will retain her special place in it. Today is also my birthday, a day that didn't start well, I was in a bad mood for no reason in particular, but it's been improving by the minute and hopefully it will continue to! After all, 26 years later "I haven't really ever found a place that I call home, I never stick around quite long enough to make it..."

#sundayrevival One tree hill - U2

One tree hill - U2

Lately I started watching a new (old) TV series, that is 'One tree hill'. Yeah, yeah, I know I am living my second teenage at almost-26 (or maybe it's the first one), but I am really enjoying the dose of teenage drama, feelings and experiences that my life is filled with (mostly on the screen I must say). I love TV series when they make you think about life, they teach you somethings, the remind you why you are who you are and what are the important things in life. Even if they're fake, there's always something good you can take and use in real life. I'm enjoying 'One tree hill' quite a bit for now, even if I practically just started. And watching this series, I couldn't help thinking at this beautiful, beautiful masterpiece by U2. I put 'The Joshua tree' on yesterday and well... many of these songs make me feel incredibly nostalgic. It might well be my favourite U2 album, and this is one of their best songs imho. Couldn't ask for anything better for this sundayrevival.

#sundayrevival Only if for a night - Florence + the Machine

Only if for a night - Florence + the Machine

This week has come to an end so quickly! I didn't even realised it started yet, and here is a new one already! Quite a few things happened actually, but time is flowing by in a weird way lately..! Anyway, today I am sharing with you a very, very important song for me. 'Ceremonials' has been the album that converted me to the Florence + the Machine cause fully and completely, it's been one of the most significant albums of probably the most significant period of my life so far, when I blossomed, suffered and grew up, when I went to live abroad alone for the first time, when I learned (again) how to stand on my own two feet. 'Only if for a night' is the opening song of this album, one of F+tM favourites overall and one of those songs that... just gets carved into you. Whenever it starts, it feels like it's singing the story of a part of me, as if my body was giving voice to its own feelings.
Today has been a Florence + the Machine day, I have been practically listening just to their music and it's been a while since I didn't do that, probably since their concert in Milan last December. And it all started with this song. It was on my head, I don't know why, but as I told you it is just a part of me, so I'm not surprised that it just comes out like this, even without any perceptible trigger. I am sharing this piece of me with you, so please just treat it well (I know you will)!!

"And the only solution was to stand and fight"

Line of fire - Junip

Line of fire - Junip

As I've told you many times lately, I've been listening to a lot of new music in the last few weeks/months, but undoubtedly the best music, which has quickly entered the olympus of my favourite music (if such thing even exists), is Junip's. Some magic has happened, the right music coming at the right time, or maybe it's just great music that I was lucky enough to find out now. I don't know... it didn't happen often that some artist's lyrics really seem to speak your mind, and it mostly happened with Florence + the Machine and maybe Tori Amos to me (but I already told you that methinks), and it happened again with Junip, with a few songs of theirs, especially out of their latest album, released in 2013. This is the opening track of it, a track I've immediately grown fond of and that has already become one of my favourites. Give it a chance, and it will enter your own personal olympus too!!

Move your body - Sia

Move your body - Sia

Hello guys! It's Saturday night (well, it's Sunday already technically...) and it's time to move your body! For some of you at least...! I've been mainly been smoking sheesha and then eating sushi all-you-can-eat until.... well less than a couple hours ago. It's been long. It's been tough. I'm still incredibly full and would really, really need to move my body, but whatever...! I'm gonna share with you this beautiful, new song by Sia, which is featured in her latest album. When I first listened to the album in its entirety, this song was the one that immediately struck me and became my favourite, even if some of them had already been pre-released and I had the chance to listen to them quite a lot. I don't know why, but there's something magic in it and I really connected with it instantly. I think it still is my favourite off 'This is acting' after a few weeks of listening, so please treat it well!!

After all is said and done - Junip

After all is said and done - Junip

When you have to close something, to put an end to something that's not making you feel good, you just gotta do it. Try to be fair and square, honest but resolute, and hopefully things will go better for all of the parties involved. I've had to say "that's enough" to things quite often in the last dew months and it's never an easy choice, realising (first) and then accepting that something is not making you better off and is not likely to even in the long term, taking the decision and (the hardest part), making it effective. That's the most difficult part when there are other people involved, but you gotta do what you gotta do, be it leaving a job, ending a relationship, saying goodbye to a place or else. Goodbyes and adieus are sad but inevitable, and even when you immediately feel happier and more relaxed, there's always this kind of melancholy that makes you sad for things not going the way you hoped for. That's exactly what this song is to me, the feeling it talks about and evokes.

a

#sundayrevival I'm no angel - Dido

I'm no angel - Dido

In the last couple of days life has hit back on me, I already knew that 2016 had started too well and that karma was about to hit back, and so it did. Thanks goodness I booked my tickets to Japan, which helped me feel way better, as pretty much everything else is going so and so. First of all I have a few (minor but annoying) health problems, including the usual winter cold that makes you feel like a van has run over you, some pretty painful mouth lesions that make eating a nightmare, while one of them also hits me at rest and I've been living with the non-stop pain for a couple of days now... Moreover today my dear computer decided it doesn't want to boot anymore! Yeah, exactly. Right now. After I've been praising it for days and after I ordered on Amazon a bigger RAM and a new battery. Oh yeah, that's the freaking right time! I've been struggling for the whole day and I still haven't been able to solve the problem, guess I'm gonna have to take it to some Apple centre. To write the blog I dug out my old Sony Vaio from my wardrobe and I'm trying to live with it, hoping that at least this one is going to keep it up for a little more!
Getting to the music, it's (been) Sunday so it's time for a sundayrevival! I had another Dido song on my mind, but I realised I had posted it already, so I chose this one instead. 'I'm no angel' has never been one of my favourites on this album that I've been listening to since I was a child, but lately it has outgrown many other songs on the album and, well... I must revise my judgement and say that it has indeed entered the pool of my favourite Dido songs! I'm sure you're gonna take a liking for it too, if you give it time! I hope your week  (and mine too) is gonna start better than the way I am ending this one. Cheers!

#sundayrevival Blue - R.E.M. feat. Patti Smith

Blue - R.E.M. feat. Patti Smith

I've made a relatively big change in my appearance (upper body) that is related to blue: I've been thinking of doing this for years and now the time has come, I feel great about it, more myself than I've ever felt methinks. My mother told me that I should've done it before Florence + the Machine's concert (given that their latest album is called 'How big, how blue, how beautiful'), and it occured to me that she's quite right! I still have another chance for the next concert in April, but in the meantime I prepared a playlist called 'Blue' that features some of my favourite songs that are centered around what is one of my favourite colours. This is an absolute masterpiece included in it, probably R.E.M.'s final song (the last one of their last studio album) and legacy, a beautiful collaboration with Patti Smith that fits perfectly this sundayrevival post!

#sundayrevival Sand in my shoes - Dido

Sand in my shoes - Dido

Right after relieving my soreness with some eye drops, here I am, once again in front of the computer ready to perform my last couple of tasks of this long, long day. A long long day that started with our "usual" Abu Dhabi routine: walking to the beach, relaxing, eating out at night... then we packed our luggage and after sleeping some 1.5 hours we got up and left for the airport, our flight leaving at 6.25 local time (3.25 in Italy). After a Doha stopover, I slept another 1.5 hours on the plane and got here, enjoyed at best the little part of my day that was left, tried to rest a little bit more, had dinner and after looking for a few things (why do I always leave stuff around?) that I mostly found, I am posting this. I am posting one of the favourite songs of my teenage years, off what has probably been the album that has had the biggest impact on my teenage years in music, this being Dido's 'Life for rent', the first album I ever bought (as a xmas gift for my father, even if I ended up listening to it waaaaay more than he ever did). I cannot think of a better moment to post this lovely song than now: I literally still have sand in my shoes, I am back to wintery Italy after a glimpse of summer, I am dead tired and I am here in need to understand what to do with my life, a thought I could easily avoid on holiday.

"Two weeks away it feels like the world should've changed but I'm home now and things still look the same. I think I'll leave it till tomorrow to unpack, try to forget for one more night that I'm back in my flat on the road where the cars never stop going through the night, to real life where I can't watch sunset. I don't have time. I don't have time."

PS: I already unpacked, first thing when at home! Aha!

Talula - Tori Amos

Talula - Tori Amos

Today is the 22nd of January, not a particularly special day for many of us, but a very particular day for one of what I believe is one of the best albums of the 1990s, i.e. Tori Amos's 'Boys for Pele' who turns 20 today! I personally wouldn't say it's my favourite album of hers, but I think it's the most powerful one, the one that goes deepest and darkest, the one I immediately go back to when I'm feeling down and depressed. Don't mistake me, many of the songs are enjoyable even when you're not feeling that bad and it still is a great album, but personally I have been able to feel it most strongly during the darkest times of my life. Talula has always been one of my favourite songs off it and is one of those you can enjoy even if you're feeling happy, as I am now!