In a period when I'm listening to soo much new music (one of the perks of the current life path I'm in, a thing that I just realised today and I am very grateful for), it gets harder and harder to pick good tunes for the sundayrevival! But here we are! I got to know Gossip in the period when the album featuring this song was released (hello 'Heavy cross'!), and then I went on listening to their older stuff and (then) their newer, none of which really appealed to me. I then went on to appreciate 'Standing in the way of control' last year, so I decided to give it a go again to their 2012 album, which I have in my 'Pick and catch' playlist right now. Even if I'm starting to appreciate the rest of their discography a little more, 'Music for men' still remains a few steps above all the rest, and this is one of the reasons why. Paraphrasing one of my old Facebook posts, who wouldn't want to get on a high school bus driven by Beth Ditto?!
"Up there there's a ball of fire, some call it the spirit, some call it the sun..." These are the first words that I can recall after waking up this morning. No idea where they came from and what it was that I was thinking which brought me there, but something did! A Patti Smith classic and a favourite of mine since I went through her discography, sounds like a great tune for this Sunday! Lunch is done and I'm heading downtown for some shopping and strolling around, hoping that the rays of sun and flashes of blue sky I've seen sooner will stick around a bit longer!! I really wouldn't mind enjoying the ball of fire up there, whatever you may call it!
My (not so) recent (anymore) journey in Japan has left its mark on me on many levels, and I have just started unfolding these effects. One of them is a musical inheritance I got by walking around some CD megastores, as this is a J-punk band whose latest album I found out on a shelf. I don't even remember what it looked like, but I remember I went on and listened to it (in the store itself probably) and liked it, so I noted the name of the band and looked for some of their music online! I must confess I don't really go crazy for J-punk, I mean I wouldn't listen to it all day every day, but I really do enjoy it every little now and then and this music by 'Secret 7 line' fits my taste quite a bit!
Even if this is one of my favourite PJ songs, a b-side of the 'To bring you my love' era, I never really understood the meaning of its title. What does that mean? According to the lyrics, it would seem to me like somebody has been shot down, but what is somebody's name? Or is it something like somebody going under somebody's name? Well, I am utterly confused by that, but the music and other lyrics of the songs are so enchanting that I can't help feeling totally wrapped in its guitar loops each and every single time. Well, if any of you English mother-tongues (or else) can help me figure this one out, I'd be forever grateful!
Ok, getting back to the real world from Foals' concert last night has been relatively easy because my stupid iPod wouldn't work today in the car and we couldn't play their songs again on the drive back home, so we had to listen to other music... yet I realised I still hadn't posted this song and, once again, I feel compelled to do so. I've been watching live performances of it on YouTube as, great as the album version is, I think the energy level is completely different when they perform it live. They've been using it as a show-closer for as long as I can remember, and how can I blame them?! Ending a rock concert with this crazy stuff leaves you both in medias res and also as accomplished as can be. I don't think it's a feeling I can describe with words... just take a look at this, then go listen to Foals, learn the song, go to a concert of theirs if you have the chance and you'll know just what the f I'm writing about!!! Cheers!
The time has come, I am excited, tonight I'm going to see Foals play live in Milan, same lineup as last time (with my friend A.)!! I'm really happy about it, can't wait! I am excited about it, I've been singing this song in my head (and also aloud) for days and I think it's appropriate for me to post it now.
[concert]
What an experience once again, so awesome! Will tell you more about it tomorrow, now I'll go to sleep!!
One of the most exciting F1 races of the last few years has filled up a good part of my day, with both qualifying and race in one day, plus my own "race" to get to Milan, getting ready to be utterly frustrated at my Expo visit tomorrow...! I know it's gonna be tough, but I keep feeling it's gonna be tougher than I expect, anyway I will let you know how it goes...! Now I have to finish up with my preparations, as I will wake up at dawn and get very very tired... sometimes I wonder why I do these things!! Maybe because I care about my world citizen ship! Waking up with this song in my head this morning maybe was linked to this, or maybe not! (Sometimes it's so hard to find links between the songs I post and my damn life!!!)
These three days of boredom at work have come to an end, we presented our prototypes (my colleagues did, actually) and tomorrow we're gonna have separate sessions divided by business functions, so that we will interact a little bit more hopefully, and then... heading home! The last part of today's meeting was a videoconference with the big boss in Japan on the one side and all the people in Thailand (local consultants, business and global consultants, a.k.a. us) on the other. At one point towards the end I started singing this song in my head, don't know why but I did. And so here I am posting it, right before going to the company party (i.e. a dinner with the local consultants, IT users and key users of other functions, all the people we have been interacting with in these past months). I guess that the project has finally kicked-off, but what about my future? In 40 years will I still be glorious as this album has been during its long history? Time will tell..!!
It might seem weird for me to post a song out of Foals' 2013 'Holy fire' while they have just released a new album (which I'm listening to and liking quite a lot), but that's it. They have been my soundtrack for the drive of today, at least until I took on a girl for the second half of the way. Of course I've been enjoying the music, I found myself listening to Foals quite often lately, and I'm falling mroe and more in love with their songs, if possible. Their third album, the above-mentioned 'Holy fire', is the one that keeps growing and growing inside of me, even if I love it a lot (like, a lot!) already! (I mean, it just won the Mercury prize in 2013...)! And then I've been having the lyrics "Step out, aching stepson..." ringing in my head all day, so I didn't have to think too much about what to post today! I hope your week started well!!
I'm so glad I haven't posted this song yet, as I can do it now! And today's the right day! I'm so in love with this one, even if I haven't listened to it too much so far. I can't wait for Foals' new album, as the material they released in advance is pretty good! And this one in particular, I'm in love with it and I get all turned up every time it starts playing! The video is very cool too, I suggest you should go watch it (and interact with it, most importantly)!! This song gives me a good charge, and it's just what I need on a gloomy and rainy monday that represented my going back to work after two weeks of summer vacation! I hope it can be of help to you too!
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 am in Thailand once again, I'm happy! My sore throat came back stronger than ever today, after the flight and the in-&-out of malls and subways with super freezing A/C, I'm bleeding! I am excited to be in Bangkok (happy) but the traffic jam and the chaos sometimes are just too much (bleeding). I can't wait to come back here to stay (happy) but it seems like this moments never comes (bleeding). I'm, looking forward to going somewhere to the sea over the (next) weekend, I'm happy, but the idea of travelling more kills me somehow, I'm bleeding. I wouldn't want to come back so soon (bleeding) but I would love to see all my friends and enjoy the Italian summer at grandma's in the countryside (happy). People make you happy (h), but they also make you sad, angry, disappointed, longing... (b).
Life is not white or black. Life is white AND black. And you can't be happy without bleeding (even if you can bleed without being happy). ((So life can be black? Or is white? Anyway, whatever...!)
I introduced you to Elli on the blog last week, after I really enjoyed her opening act at a festival in Padua and after I bought her debut album on iTunes (the first time in I-don't-know-how-many-years) that I bought something on Apple's platform! I don't know what else to add about her, apart from again suggesting you give a try to her music (if you haven't already) to enjoy this very good mix of blues, rock, folk, punk and more!
Unfortunately I couldn't find any video with the song on YouTube, but if you click on the link below the picture hereunder, you'll be redirected to a page where you can stream it for free! It's just 2 minutes of your time, not such a big investment, is it?
Hello my dear readers (or should I say sa-wad-dee-krap?), this year my sicknees feels like it's never going away, and I'm almost tired of feeling pissed, I'm moving towards resignation... I really don't know what's wrong with me and my getting temperatures all over the place when I travel by plane, I understand that the air in an aeroplane is not the best and healthiest around, but come on...! Yesterday I almost fainted during a factory visit, today I decided to stay in the hotel and rest, and even if my fever is not strong (in the mid 37s°C), I have been feeling an annoying headache and diffused malaise. I still don't know what I'm gonna be doing tomorrow, but I hope I can muster up my strength and go to work, as it is a pity to travel so far away and then waste time in the hotel... anyway, apart from my problems, I want to share with you the brand new song that Foals just released in anticipation of their new, coming album! What went down... for the time being, I went down! I hope that soon enough it's gonna be my illness to go down!
Hello my dear followers!! I am in Bangkok again, and oh my my, what a... I don't even know how many hours it has been! On saturday I have taken a super intense and super rewarding trip around Veneto: first I climbed up Monte Grappa, the worst road I've ever driven, to reach the cemetery-like monument that lays at the top to remember the soldiers who died during World War 1. It's an amazing place, with an immense power, totally worth the harsh way there! Then I went to Bassano del Grappa, a very nice town at the foot of the mount with a famous wooden bridge. I stopped in a very very nice bar close to the bridge to eat a couple of small sandwiches, and then on the road again to Possagno, to visit the Gipsoteca of the famous sculptor Antonio Canova, where you can visit his home and his study, with a collection of the stamps of his most renowned works of art, an amazing place too! Final stop has been Asolo, another nice little town at the top of a hill/mount (again), hard to reach, but very nice to roam around in. The highlight of the town is an old fortress at the very top of a mountain, which I went to with the very last energies I had left in me, and it has been very rewarding, as you can see from the picture I am attaching to this post. Finally I drove to Treviso to collect a colleague of mine and to Venice airport to catch a flight to Abu Dhabi, and finally to here! Notwithstanding everything, I'm very happy about my bad habit of going to the end of one thing when I'm determined to do it, not minding what all the people say: it's the time when the adventures happen and when the stories to tell are built! Now I just wanna sleep, pity that I have to wake up in about 7 hours already, I don't know how I'm gonna make it!! Wish me luck!!
I'm sorry I've been away from the blog for a couple of days, travelling back from Thailand has been quite hectic and I didn't have any internet connection available, then yesterday I meant to post but I was at home so tired that I end up forgetting about it. Pity, because I had a song I really wanted to post, but I will do it now with a few hours of delay! I don't remember if I shared with you my latest TV series, but in the past few months I've been watching Shameless (the UK version): it's the story of a big family living in Machester's outskirts in a pretty degraded situation, but it's pretty nice and at times quite funny! At the end of the 6th Season, which is where I got to now, one of the main characters dies and the whole thing is very emotional, with this song playing in the background at the end of the episode, so it felt right to share it with you!
I've had this song in store for you since yesterday, so this post would exist even if I stayed in bed all day today, but what a nice day today has been instead! I woke up and decided to abort my trip to the Sacrario del Monte Grappa, which was my main trip plan for the past week and has instead been postponed (you can enjoy this beautiful picture of it anyway!) because I wanted to take it easy today and not spend 3 hours in the car to go back and forth, especially given that I had other things to do! So I went to the mall/supermarket and bought a few (nice) things to eat, then got back and for the nth have been struggling with my old mac charger, which (I decided) has finally failed me. So here we go, on the road again to give a win to my parents and go buy an original replacement, and in the meanwhile I also bouth a CD (U2's Joshua Tree, which I've been looking for at a decent price for a long time) and a t-shirt I really like! And this second trip, in the car, singing loud and being kissed by the sun, really boosted my mood, plus my purchases added on that and well... even if my driver didn't even start in today's F1 Gran Prix, I'm happy anyway!!
I already had a couple of songs queueing up for being posted here, but well... when inspiration calls you can't say no! Today's been kind of a harsh day, my sore throat has worsened and I've been feeling a bit of temperature at times... it's so bad, I've been carrying this around since xmas, with ups and downs but it still hasn't left me! Well, it's not been a totally bad day, as we also had good news concerning the project I'm involved in and my future in the next months. I know, I've teased you enough, but I don't wanna disclose anything until I'm sure it's gonna be for real! The only thing I can tell you is that it's about... moving abroad!! Once again! I really really can't wait! But, well... let's stop to today for the time being! I was driving to work with my Argentinean colleagues this morning, they got a new rental car which is pretty cool, with a last generation on-board-computer and stuff! They were playing some music by the Cure methinks, but one of the songs really reminded me of this one by Foals, so I went on to listen to them and well... to share them with you!
Posting 'Easter' (the song) on easter (the day) seemed a bit excessive and redundant to me, especially because I'm not a huge fan of Patti's song itself. The same cannot be said for the homonymous album, which I greatly love. One of the masterpieces on it is in my opinion this 'Ghost dance', a classic Patti Smith song I never get wary of! I hope you all got a chance to spend your easter at best, be it with your families, with your loved ones, alone, travelling, at home or wherever you wanted to be!
Thanks to Tom Breihan for reminding us that today is a very special day in terms of music anniversaries, i.e. one of PJ Harvey's most acclaimed and loved albums (my personal favourite!) turns 20 years old! To bring you my love is... well, as the very good article by Tom (read it here on Stereogum) points out, the album is unique in its genre, I couldn't think of anything to compare it with neither could I easily find adjectives to describe it. Well, I'll try. The first one that comes to my mind is 'intense', as the feelings it generates are... well, intense! The music is also intense, both when it is fast-paced, more "rocky" and when it is more subtle, "floated and sighed" to quote the article. This song, 'Send his love to me', which is probably my favourite (another point I share with Tom) together with the title track, is the perfect example of this, I can't do without dancing every time it plays when I'm alone in the house. Well, another word that could be used is 'alone', let me explain: personally I mostly enjoy listening to this album when I'm alone, both because none of the people close to me seem to like PJ and because... it's very personal to me, it's music that looks inside, that aims within. The third thing that I associate with TBYML, and it might not make any sense but that's how it is, is 'yoga', as this is the album I always, always listen to when I'm practicing yoga with the Wii Fit. Don't ask me why, but I seem to find my own balance better when I listen to it.
Well, I could go on forever praising this album; unfortunately I haven't been doing a very good job so far, as I haven't converted anyone to 'PJism' yet, but I'm not losing hope!! Anyway, happy birthday to one of the best and most underrated albums of the 90s decade!!
