Homegrown - Neil Young

Homegrown - Neil Young

Hello my dears, sorry for being away once again, I am trying to enjoy my summer time at best and I've been having some trouble accessing the Internet at home too (and not only that, also Pokemon GO has been a big deal of trouble, but more on that some other time). Today I came to Padua to visit my dear wife and we took a trip to the sea (if you can call it that). Last night I've been to Neil Young (+ Promise of the Real) concert in Milan and I've enjoyed it quite a bit, it's been 3 hours straight of music and it felt like he was 26 years old and I was the one in his 70s, not the opposite! The band came back for an encore and quite surprisingly they played this song, which I've been having on my mind for quite a while for no reason (call it destiny or coincidence), so I'm sharing it with you now!

Bleeding out - Imagine Dragons

Bleeding out - Imagine Dragons

Back I am to my dear blog in this hard and difficult time for me! But let's get to the good things first: Imagine Dragons were awesome in Milan two nights ago! Really nice gig, I enjoyed it with my friends! 'I'm so sorry' was the absolute highlight, but I kinda expected it, as I already used to scream it at the top of my voice while listening to it in the car... doing it while Dan Reynolds was singing it live has been even better I must confess! It's just a pity that they did a medley of some songs I would have loved to hear in full (this being one of them), but still... better than nothing! My friends enjoyed the gig too, so all good! And I also had a full couple of days in Milan, a full, packed schedule from Sunday night to last night, concert included. And it's been super nice, as I've had a good chance to spend some time with friends that I hadn't seen much in the last months, but I think that I asked myself a little bit too much: I probably hadn't recovered from my flu completely and I think that now it's getting worse again, also because of the frreezing cold that I took while walking through the streets of my University city. I've also been having an annoying headache in the last couple of days, which is quite unusual for me... Today I got back to Veneto (for the last time, oh yeah!), but I fear that I'll be sick again... I already had been missing from work for a whole week adding up sick leave and days off, it kinda looks like I'm trying to avoid coming here now that I have to go and I really don't like giving that impression, as I think it's quite unprofessional... unfortunately when sickness comes, there's not much I can do to fight it... 10 more days anyway, and then hopefully I'll be able to rest for a while and stop bleeding out!

#sundayrevival Discoverer - R.E.M.

Discoverer - R.E.M.

This week's sundayrevival is not a very old song, but given that R.E.M. have disbanded a few years ago already (feels like yesterday!), it still makes sense. I have felt a sudden bond to this song in the last few days I spent in Milan. I ended up listening to it because it was right after yesterday's song (Coldplay's Paradise) on the soundtrack of the photo slideshow I created with all my pictures from my exchange semester in Montréal and well... this weekend back in Milan felt a bit like a new exchange, a new table-turning time of my life; even if it's been just a few days seeing people and places from the past (although Milan has been completely transforming itself since I left it and, well... I met new, nice people too!), it felt so refreshing and fostering personal growth, unlike the time I'm spending here working in Veneto, which is leaving me somehow stuck under a personal growth point of view. The ironic thing is that I realized more and more that I am not a good discoverer at all, I actually feel impaired by the fear of taking steps towards the uncertain, of letting in the possibility of letting people in, of running a risk and this makes me sad, because I wish I were better able to try and take advantage of the chances that present themselves in front of my nose. Well, I hope tables will be turning soon, taking me to new, beautiful places, meeting great people, bonding even better with the people that already is in my life and especially learning how to live more fully and letting it go, giving me chances to go on discovering!

"I didn’t have to be afraid


I didn’t have to feel so stupid


I can see myself"

Paradise - Coldplay

Paradise - Coldplay

What a great afternoon I spent in Milan today, it was one of these moments you would like to stop the time to and stay embedded in, like in an earthly paradise, a time of perfection even if perfection is not of this world! Planned meetings, unexpected and fate-bound meetings, great awesome weather, people around, lots of people, nice and weird the way I like it... I couldn't ask for anything more! So it is not even necessary for me to explain why I'm posting this song, which I fell in love with when I was taking an easter trip to Toronto (from Montréal, when I was doing my exchange sememster abroad) about two years ago. Same feeling, different circumstances, the other side of the world. Well... these are the days which life is worth living for!

Back in black - Anastacia

Back in black - Anastacia

Mood of the day! Oh yeah! Sorry for the short posts but I've got my hands full, so many people to meet and so many celebrations and parties!! I'm back, and I'll be back on the blog real soon too!!!

Waking up - OneRepublic

Waking up - OneRepublic

I'm back. Oh god, if I'm back!! I'm so back it almost hurts. Of happiness. Milan, Milan, how I missed you!!! I'm just picking one song out of an album that reminds me of one of the best nights in Milan (i.e. OneRepublic's first concert in 2010) and, in turn, of the splendid 5 years I spent here. Oh god, IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE BACK! (Even if just for a while!)
Aweeeesome weekend on the way!!! Can't wait!!

Evolution - Anastacia

Evolution - Anastacia

You might have noticed that I recently have been to a couple Anastacia gigs (well, it was one, but then it was postponed even if she kind-of performed but had almost no voice left due to a cold), and this is probably the one song out of her latest album, Resurrection, that I enjoyed the most, especially the first time. Besides me liking the concept of evolution and the song itself before, the liking got to a whole new level when she made us perform the "back-up vocals" in the live concert, divided into two groups (one singing "evolution, evolution" and the other "no one stays the same, everyone must change", if you listen to the song you'll understand)! I really enjoyed that part, and since then, especially since the latest concert, the song kind of lingered in my mind and today it came back out strongly, so it seemed legit to post it! Hope you enjoy it!

Paid my dues - Anastacia

Paid my dues - Anastacia

Here I am, just back from my Anastacia concert in Milan (take 2). Some of you might recall that she had no voice during her performance in November and to compensate her deficiency, she performed another show for free for all of us who had come to the previous gig! This time she rocked the house with her super powerful voice at its best, but I must confess I liked a couple of songs better the other time, even with her difficulties...! This is not one of them, and I'm very glad that she actually paid her dues to us all, she did it beautifully! And now, ready to board on a couple of planes tomorrow, I'll give you more news when I get there!

Spectrum - Florence + the Machine

Spectrum - Florence + the Machine

I'm back home, I travelled full of luggage (two trolleys, something like 5 big paper bags and a shoulder bag) full of clothes, papers and xmas gifts, both mine and my aunt's... Yes, I started transferring back my stuff from Milan quite seriously, it made sense after living these last few days there with a nostalgic vibe. The moving has been quite tough, especially as I've been doing it alone, and the worst part is finding room at home for all the stuff I brought back, but things are slowly taking a new shape! Of course I wanted to live my 1-hour drive back home at the fullest, and my music pick has been, as you can imagine, Florence + the Machine! Overlooking the fact that my singing in the car was probably comparable to that of Britney Spears at her concerts, it's been very rewarding and moving as usual, even more than usual I'd say, given the aforementioned nostalgic vibe. Of course one of the songs which I was singing myself hoarse was this one, Spectrum, big feelings, powerful singing, I'll never forget my times with Florence in the car... just chills, nothing else!

Wake up - Arcade Fire

Somethin' filled up

my heart with nothin',

someone told me not to cry

Getting to the end of a long book or a TV series (as it is my case now, I just finished True Blood) always leaves you with a feeling of emptiness inside you when that parallel world did mean something for you, at least at one point, if it taught you any lesson, if you felt like being a part of that world...

Children wake up,

hold your mistake up,

before they turn the summer into dust

I stand here with a fixed and empty stare at the computer screen, trying to process things, tearing up with that parallel world, getting out of it once and for all, making sense of reality, of my reality once again and realising that this will be a part of it no more.

I guess we'll just have to adjust

Wake up - Arcade Fire

I am spending these days in Milan as if they were my last, I have no idea what will be of my life, but chances are I will be spending at least a bunch of time here, be it for the people who gravitate around here, be it as it is so close to my hometown, be it for the relationship I built with city, be it because it's the one place in Italy I would choose to live my life in. Yet, whatever comes next, it's not gonna be the same. Things are changing already, as I mentioned in my latest post, and I am changing too. I am slowly realising that this very relevant and long chapter of my life is ending, and I am getting some closure, I am actually willing to get some closure because behaving like this helps me get so many memories of the time I spent there, the things I've done, the places I've loved, the people I've met... but everything comes to an end, and something new starts! I guess we'll just have to adjust.

Train in vain - Annie Lennox

Train in vain - Annie Lennox

This morning I drove down to Milan with my mum, I had to come down today and she needed to be here in the morning to sign her contract as a school director, so I woke up early to make the trip together. It's always hard picking music when some relatives are in the car, but last night the Annie Lennox idea came to my mind and it seemed a good one, it indeed worked! I am also training myself on a new song with the harmonica, Eurythmics' There must be an angel, so that is probably how I got the inspiration and the Lennox-mood! I think my favourite album of her solo career is Medusa, which is actually a collection of covers. Funny fact is that I ended up knowing many of the songs as sung by the original artists in other ways! Still love Annie's versions better most of the time!

I lived - OneRepublic

I lived - OneRepublic

Sooo here I am! Nice gig last nice, but the critiques first: I know, I expected a setlist filled with songs out of Native (it's called Native tour), but this doesn't change the fact that I have been a bit disappointed with the setlist itself, as I didn't grow very fond of it, even more than one year after its release. There are a very few songs that I really like and are up to the (very, very high) standard they set with their first two albums, and I enjoyed them (a lot) during the concert. One of them is this I lived, their latest single and one of the most liked songs by the audience. Most of the other songs they played out of Native left me with a ... meeeh feeling. I mean, ok, nice, but insipid, tasteless, they didn't leave a mark on me. Apart from that, Ryan is a great great singer, the guys play greatly, so nothing to say on their qualities and on the set. Just... choose better songs next time!

Milan audience 17.11.2014

I'm outta love - Anastacia

I'm outta love - Anastacia

What a monday, what a monday!!! What a crazy, excruciating, exhausting, unforgettable monday! You guys might not know that I had Anastacia's concert tonight, as I forgot to mention it due to the overwhelming greatness of 90s music I have been posting but well... I meant to post one last great 90s song to end the week, as I started on tuesday I realised, but tonight this is more compelling, so maybe I will do the last 90s piece tomorrow. Tonight it's about one of the most wearying concerts I ever had, probably the most demanding in terms of energies. Of course the first flu of the season struck before November, more precisely yesterday, and the friend who came with me to the concert was eager to get in front, so we went there early, then I went back and forth a couple time to get my sandwich ready and rest a while at home, just to get there definitively, endured through the wait and the opening band, and then she comes and... BANG. She had a cold too! Come on, just how freaky is that? I am in synchro with Anastacia! And we both wished we got a cold in a different moment. Well, I can't say I fully enjoyed the concert, as she let us sing a lot and she couldn't reach medium-to-high notes, so she practically didn't sing any refrain and stuff. That part, it was the main part, the main dish, the thing we all wanted to experience and it has been disappointing not to have it, also given the amount we paid for the ticket. Yet it has not been a bad experience, rather... I really enjoyed her most famous hits (and also the new songs) as her die-hard fans and us (a little less die-hard, but still fans) supplied our astounding singing skills to cover up for her lack of voice! I must say it's been emotional, also to see her almost cry when we were singing her songs by heart, it's been nice. I really hope I'll get the chance to enjoy her at her best (and also at my best, goddamn flu!), but my friend and me couldn't do without rocking it also in the car with our favourites, among which this is the one favourite of mine!!!

Yr mangled heart - Gossip

Yr mangled heart - Gossip

I must thank Facebook for adding a feature that lets you check your pages directly on your home (nice thingy btw, thanks!), otherwise I would've probably forgot to post again. I'm very very busy with the last steps (hopefully) of the creation of my database(s) for my thesis, I say hopefully as I'm so into it that I can't stop and keep on adding data! Anyway now I'm almost done and this goal is quite ultimate, as I also really need to start working on my analysis of these data. I don't have much time to spend here, my database is waiting for me (yes, I know it's past 2.30 at night and tomorrow I need to go swimming before lunch, but I can't stop!). Today a vain trip around Milan as my interviewee ditched me, hope I'm gonna be able to reschedule! Great dinner with friends. Stop. Bye!
PS: Enjoy, great song!

Past in present - Feist

Past in present - Feist

This night has been a very intense one: I am a bit sad as I finished the second season of Arrow and it's gonna be another year before I can watch the next one (I like to watch episodes all together so as I don't forget what happened previously...!), it's been a very nice one and I can't wait so long for more!!! I have also being going out with friends, but this Saturday night in Milan was quite dead, not many things open, no events, no night transportation, few people... kind of a weird atmosphere in a night that ended up with me walking about 4 km to get home. A nice walk I must say, especially the last part when I was about to reach home and, in such a period of feeling drifted and rootless, I got a strong rush of familiarity through my body that made me realise once again how important is this place for me, how many memories are linked to it and how meaningful the last 5 years of my life (that I mostly spent here) have been... I'll never ever forget it, and I'm a bit sad (again) as university has practically come to an end and I still have no idea of what's gonna come next... but I have fate in my fate! And it seems like I have the perfect song for this post!

Shame - PJ Harvey

Shame - PJ Harvey

Sorry for skipping the post of yesterday, but it's been a super full day: a nice birthday at night, travelling back to Milan, the afternoon in the countryside with the (possibly) last bath of the season, my mom being called to be a school director... super eventful day, this August 27! And that's not all, I have to add that it was probably the best day of the whole season under a meteorological point of view, a nice warm sun the likes of which we have not seen often this summer! But it was not all so rosy, I also had to experience a couple of moments of unpleasantness, like when we got flurries of manure in the countryside and when I found out the lights went out in Milan and all the stuff (fish and veggies) in the freezer were rotten... not a pleasant job to clean it up, trust me! Back to music, I have been listening to PJ in these last few hours so it makes sense for me to post a song of hers! In particular I've been listening to her 2004 album Uh huh her and this is one the best tracks on it! Here you are!

Shame is the shadow of love

Someone to save you - OneRepublic

Someone to save you - OneRepublic

Here we are with the big news of today! I started writing my thesis! What? You don't care? Right, right... sorry that's not what I meant to write! Just joking, the big news coming from yesterday is that I have bought tickets for the OneRepublic gig in November, me and my bestie G. (and, who knows who else) are going to Assago on the 17th of November and I am really really excited! To celebrate this (and also the fact that I finally started writing my thingy for real) I'm posting one of my favourite OneRep's songs, out of their debut album (how's it possible that I haven't posted anything from that one yet?!) Dreaming out loud! Enjoy!

The circle married the line - Feist

The circle married the line - Feist

I'm sorry but these last few days have been a bit hectic, with my friend coming to Milan and us "milanese" carrying her around, it's been super fun and super exhausting, like being a tourist in your own city (that is a thing I love to do)! No time for me to post today, I just got back home with a bit time (I should be sleeping actually) right now, so I'm gonna share with you this pearl real quick, as it's on the only album I have (partly) listened to on my computer today, and say good night to all of you, after an amazingly sunny day (finally) in Milan!! Nighty nite!
PS: I know this post counts for the last day of June, but well... happy July to all of you!

In the springtime of his voodoo - Tori Amos

In the springtime of his voodoo -
Tori Amos

There is a song I've been waiting to post for ages and the video has come out today, so it would have been a great time BUT... I have to post something else today! I have to talk a little bit about last night's concert, because Tori, the 50 year-old Tori that seemed to have exhausted her artistic energy in the last few years ROCKED IT! It's been my best concert of her so far, I've been super happy to finally get Cornflake Girl at my 3rd attempt (it's been an unforgettable moment) and, even if the rest of the setlist has been mixed to my taste, she was in such a great shape that she rocked it all! When I got to the theatre I found out that my place was as crappy as it gets (way up to the end, with an iron structure impeding part of my vision, kind of an eagle-seat) and I spent the time just before the concert standing and I got to one of the empty seats in the area just below, at least I've been able to enjoy the concert from a decent position! And it was totally worth it!
What I'm posting now is one song I've never been strongly attached to (that is in an album I AM very much into) and that I didn't expect her to play at all and, well... it's been amazing, the whole surprise effect, the performance, the whole thing... great, just great! I wanted to share with you a quite good recording of last night's performance but I can't seem to put the video here, so you can find it here and down here you find the album version.

Man of simple pleasures - Kasabian

I'm getting the bad habit to post just after midnight, ain't I? Shame on me! Well, I must say I'm not 100% sure about today's (or, better, yesterday's) post... ok, I made up my mind. I had a curiosity about them, I got to know them thanks to a free concert they held last summer in Piazza Duomo (Milan's center) and yesterday, taking advantage from a 50% discount, I bought their last CD, which I've been seeking after (at a good price) for quite a while! Well, it was a special edition with the CD + an Italian version EP of Man of simple pleasures. They are obviously Kasabian, and this is my pick!
PS: I say hi to my friend C. who loves this one, I know!