Slow life - Of monsters and men

Slow life - Of monsters and men

By now, thanks to 'Human', I have obtained the key to open the lock of 'Beneath and skin' and have been able to greatly enjoy it and fall in love with it! The process has not stopped of course and I am accessing the heart of other songs on the album (and they are reaching mine), and this is one of the three or four that this process of discovery took place about and has been the most successful! Given that I'm not really sure I understand what's going on with my life now and what I'm supposed to do with it, I'm trying to throw myself into what I know will help me understand it and comfort me in the process, i.e. the reason why I started writing this blog: music!

#sundayrevival Teenage dream - Katy Perry

Teenage dream - Katy Perry

This is not at all a song I would expect to find in a sundayrevival post on my blog, but here it is and here I am, and it actually makes sense for these crazy last few days I have flown/stumbled/walked through! The meaning behind this post is that lately (and in these past couple of days in particular) I've been reaaally feeling like a teenager, like being 15 again, or, better, like being 15 for the first time...! Spending all the time chatting on the phone to the point that my parents were fooling me for that, doing stupid and crazy thing, gliding over the ground one moment and falling head over heels the next one... well, I think that sooner or later there comes a time of our lives when we have to feel that way! Now it's my time, so this is for all the people around me who are making me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, be it a bittersweet one (as all teenage dreams in the end)!!

Crazy - Alanis Morissette

Crazy - Alanis Morissette

Hello my dear followers, I'm deeply sorry for disappearing in the last few days, but my life has been kind of on a roller-coaster, even if now it's back on the usual (sad) tracks.  Came back from Thailand once again, but something beautiful happened before coming back, some sparkle in the sentimental point of view, but after a couple of days flying today I fell back down on earth, back to my usual place. It's so tiring for me now, such a tiring life: not having a home, going back and forth to Veneto and to Thailand, jet lag, early wake up calls, uncertainty about the future... it felt like I could finally find some peace of mind, something to help me relieve the stress... instead it turned up as another source of stress, another mess to deal with. Well, that's the price to pay. And that's what relationships are, aren't they? They say we're never gonna survive unless we get a little crazy, but what do they say we need to do to find some happiness without paying the price for it?

Long & lost - Florence + the Machine

"Oh the queen of peace always does her best to please, is it any use? Somebody's gotta lose..."

Queen of peace / Long & lost - Florence + the Machine

I meant to post 'Long & lost' a few days ago, as I was falling deeply in love with it, but for one reason or another I had other songs to give precedence to. And it couldn't have been better!! Dear Flo just released her first video since the album came out, she posted a couple of teasers about 'Queen of peace' (which is the other song I'm utterly in love with nowadays), and well... to my (and I guess anyone else's) surprise, she just released a double video for QoP and L&L and.... oh my goodness, it's probably one her best videos to date, if not the best! Notwithstanding how much I am in love with her music, I've not been a huge fan of most of her videos to date, but this one is just amazing... you just have to watch it. It's beautiful. And amazing. I'm still trying to close my mouth as I'm still totally in awe. Do watch it, and you won't regret it! (If you're interested, there might even be some naked Flo body on top, just so...)!!!

"Without your love I'll be so long & lost, are you missing me?"

"It's been so long between the words we spoke..."

#sundayrevival Millennium - Robbie Williams

Millennium - Robbie Williams

Well, I suppose I'm scheduled to write a sundayrevival post now... I've been keeping the right song for weeks waiting to be on a Thai spot on the sea and I thought that this weekend the time would come, but it did not, so I'll have to keep keeping it! I'll need to think about something else... but first I have to recover after one of the best F1 races of the last few years, so much fun and entertaining, finally after a collection of boredom in the past few months...! Well, the sport needed a boost, and after a relaxing day spent wandering through a couple of malls close by and on the poolside, I needed one too. And maybe you also could use one! That's why I'm sharing one of my favourite Robbie songs with you (I haven't been posting anything of his since 2013!! 2013!!! That's a long time!). I don't know why, but when I chose him, this is the first song of his that came to my mind, and given that it  has always been among my favourites of his, it makes a perfect sundayrevival post! Also, don't forget to follow the blog's July playlist on Spotify!!

Someone said goodbye - Enya

Someone said goodbye - Enya

Yes yes, it's kind of an Enya period, I'm listening to her more than I usually have done, and that means more blog posts of hers! But it doesn't seem you guys are unhappy about it, rather...! This is a 10-year old song I included in my current playlist, and I hope you're gonna enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my trip to Ayutthaya today: many temples and ruins, golden and stone buddhas, elephant-riding, feet-eating fish, floating markets, food, heat, people, fun, burning sun... did I mention the heat? Well, yeah, we had it all!! I'm starting to get more and more used to Thailand!

Underneath the streetlight - Joni Mitchell

Underneath the streetlight - Joni Mitchell

This hard week of work has come to an end, but the journey is far from over yet: tomorrow another early-morning rise-up for a trip to Ayutthaya with my colleagues, and then three more weeks of visit next week... let's hope that at least on Sunday I'll be able to get some rest!! You all have a good night underneath the streetlights!

Mr. Zebra - Tori Amos

Mr. Zebra - Tori Amos

I was about to bring to the end the short cycle of the wild animals songs with the dear Joni Mitchell and the title song out of the 'Wild things run fast' album, but I just realized that I already posted this song a few days ago… this is just to let you know how poor is my understanding of what is happening around me and of what I'm doing these days… Anyway, I couldn't just bring to a close the (already) short cycle in advance, so I came up with this well-worthy substitute! Now that you know what wild things do (well, you knew that already!), I can share with you one of my favourite live videos of Tori Amos on YouTube. Mr. Zebra is a very short song, kind of like an Interlude, but it's so great that we fans love it very very much! I love this performance in particular, I think that it is the perfect example of just what a great performer Tori is! Thanks, Tori, for coming in and saving me!

Wolves without teeth - Of Monsters and Men

Wolves without teeth -
Of Monsters and Men

While creating my current playlist I have noticed that the (wild) animals theme was pretty recurring, so I thought that it would have been nice to recreate it on the blog too! In the end, you have to take your chances when they come! But today, given that it's not so late already, I wanna tell you a bit about Bangkok, some facts in random order: be careful when you go get a Thai massage, as I did for the first time today and I had muscles moved that I didn't even know were in my body, quite tough an experience but hopefully rewarding in terms of wellbeing!; Japanese manga in Thailand cost very little in Thai (about 1.5/2€ on average), about double of that in Japanese and more than 5/6 times so in English, learn the languages or pay the price!; today I got scolded by the ladies we are working with because I made the air conditioning not cold enough (there were 25°C in the room, and outside it wasn't even that hot); you can eat countless varieties of (food in general, in particular) curry and rank them clearly in order of preference!

Broad-shouldered beasts - Mumford & Sons

Broad-shouldered beasts - Mumford & Sons

It's time for some M&S tonite! Broad-shouldered beasts on your way, and I hope some good sleep is on mine...! Bangkok is awesomely energetic, but it takes away all my (few, due to fatiguing plane travels and a consistent jet lag) energies! Can't wait to be here for a bit longer! In the meanwhile, let's enjoy the music!

#sundayrevival Happy and bleeding - PJ Harvey

Happy and bleeding - PJ Harvey

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...!)

Porno - Arcade Fire

Porno - Arcade Fire

I had already started writing my post for another song, then I saw on my Fb wall that AF's Reflktor-soundtracked movie is about to be released in theatres and that they released a video out of it for Porno, and given that I hadn't posted the song yet and that Reflektor was one of my (if not the) favourite albums released in 2013, it seems like the timing for posting it is perfect!! Even more so thinking about the fact that I have been mentioning Montréal quite often lately and that a weird willingness to go back there in Canada after quite a few years already is getting stronger these days...! Who knows...?! Travelling is so easy these days! It just takes a song to start the journey already...

Which witch (demo) - Florence + the Machine

Which witch (demo) -
Florence + the Machine

Today two main things happened: first I finished reading Neon Genesis Evangelion (the manga). I had been reading it in parallel with the watching of the anime... well, it must be some 4 years ago or so, and given that now is the time it is set in, and most importantly given that now the manga has been finished (while when I was reading it there were still a couple of volumes due for release), it seemed like a good time to re-read it and take it to completion. And I'm glad I did that, it's a real work of art, very deep and philosophical, wondering about the meaning of life and the fate of humanity, with a dark and sad tone but very realistic and... I liked how it ended!
The second thing is that I bonded definitely with another song by the 'Queen of peace' (or shall I say 'Witch'? Which of the two?), that is this beautiful demo. I remember reading an article/interview where she was saying that while talking with her producer, she was very proud of this one epic song, which she had taken the vocals more than a hundred times for, etc. and then he said that he wanted to keep it simple on this album, keep her to the bare essential. And so this pearl (its demo actually) ended up (unrightfully imho) being a part of the deluxe edition, a bonus track...! Well... the song is very Florence + the Machine, very Florence Welch actually and I'm sure that all the hardcore fans can't not love it, even if (and even more because it has been left) in its rawer form.
A must listen!

Walk away - Elli de Mon

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?

Walk away - Elli de Mon 

Wild things run fast - Joni Mitchell

Wild things run fast - Joni Mitchell

The path through some artists' discography has been a blissful, continuous discovery, with me eager to get to the next album and never getting enough of the previous ones. I got quite a good strike of bands and songwriters that this happened with, but then things started to slow down and I found myself facing giants of the pop-rock music scene of the second half of last century and things have not been running so smoothly, rather... I found myself stumbling with people who were taking so many steps forward (or sidewise) and with people who have been releasing music some decades ago... be it the time lag and the fact that music and tastes have changed with time, be it that I can't connect so well with some kinds of music... anyway I am making a big effort to go on with some discographies and Joni Mitchell is a great example of that. I loved her first albums, but then her music starting getting really heavy for me, it was not a pleasure to go and listen to her albums, rather it was a pain. But I am determined to go on, because you never know, good things might be waiting for you on the way! And this 'Wild things run fast', who takes its name from the track I'm sharing with you, is one of them!! A lighter jazz, more enjoyable, like a perfect soundtrack for a sunset in front of the sea with a cocktail in your hand... it came at the right time!! So, given that it's summer and these kind of moments are not so far away from us, maybe you'll get the chance to play some lounge-fit music too and sip your Mohitos or Tequila Sunrises with more pleasure!!

#sundayrevival Smells like teen spirit - Tori Amos

Smells like teen spirit - Tori Amos

I mentioned Tori yesterday, as after listening to her I got to Dido, but this is a fresher listen, as it happened yesterday itself. Some random playing of all Tori songs (I have, which is more than 200 tunes and counting) brought me to listen to this gem, the "most viewed Tori Amos video on YouTube", a cover not loved by many not-hardcore-fans maybe because, as usual, the red-head completely overturned the original and made it a song of her own, a completely new song. Making comparisons is useless, and the very fact that an artist covers a song of someone else means that they respect their music. What doesn't happen very often is that the original songwriter himself embraces a cover in the way Kurt Cobain did, dancing at it with Courtney Love and playing it as an intro to Nirvana gigs. Well, that should be a good enough reason not to throw Tori's teen spirit on the side...! Hope you can enjoy it too!

My lover's gone - Dido

My lover's gone - Dido

I know I know, it's late, I'm late and it's sunday already, and the ironic thing is that I planned to post Dido for this week's sundayrevival, but tonite I changed my mind as I stumbled on another pearl to share with you! So here we are, saturday is gone by and maybe the fate of this post wanted it to actually be posted on sunday! Anyway, I fell victim to the alphabetical order once again... while driving here I decided to play a Tori Amos playlist in the car and when it ended, the radio moved to the next playlist, i.e. 'TuttoDido' (that would be AllDido in English). That's why and how I ended up listening to Dido these past few days, and when a singer is your favourite in your teenage years, you're never gonna forget her, nor the lyrics of her songs, nor the feelings they create in you each and every time...! My relationship with this song has been moving like a pendulum: at first it was the one I liked the least on Dido's debut album (which I adore), then I fell in love with it and it moved almost to my favs of the album, then it fell out of grace again and now... it is here, taking its rightful place on the blog! These swings took years to complete, but all in all the affection I feel for the song didn't change much over this period of time, especially as the images created by the song are pretty powerful! Try it yourselves!

Human - Of Monsters and Men

Human - Of Monsters and Men

Today I maybe hopefully had the first breakthrough with OMAM's new album, 'Beneath the skin' (the title coming from this song's lyrics), and I had it with this song actually. After the end of this (short) working week (2-day working weeks should be the rule, not the exception!) I got back to my B&B and took a walk around, as the sun was up high in the sky and there are a few green areas around here. Eating an ice-cream and then reading manga, while walking I was listening to the album and it feels like it started to get into me after a few listens...! Apart from 'Empire', I hadn't really felt a particularly strong connection with any of the songs, but now it feels like they're starting to pierce through! And usually the album I take a while to like, are the ones that I end up loving the most... let's see what's gonna happen with this one!

From eden - Hozier

From eden - Hozier

Hello my dear people, I am back to you at the end of a very tough day for me, with the alarm clock set at 6.30, a 3-hour drive and a full day at work after a night out (with my aunt and a friend of hers) at Hozier's concert in Milan!! But I'm glad I planned this as I did, the concert has been quite enjoyable, if not memorable, and of course I couldn't do without sharing a song by him today, one of the few I haven't shared with you already. The peculiar thing is that 'From eden' has been probably the one I enjoyed the least live: it was at the beginning of the concert, right after my favourite 'Angel of small death...' and it's neither an up-beat rock song nor a romantic ballad... yet I found it playing in my mind right after the gig, so I think that in some way it did leave an impression on me! Anyway, if you get a chance, go see Hozier, it's well worth it!

Ditmas - Mumford & Sons

Ditmas - Mumford & Sons

Ok, I have been strolling away from my playlists and my posts haven't collected much support lately, so let's get back on track! This is one of the few songs I liked quite soon out of M&S third album, not an unforgettable one (and not very dissimilar to the standard M&S song actually), but still pleasant to listen to. Can't write anymore as the heat is getting on me and my brain isn't working straight, so I'll be back tomorrow (or, more likely, the day after, as tomorrow it's time for another concert!!!)

Leave this town - Elli de Mon

Leave this town - Elli de Mon

While waiting for the main act (i.e. Carmen Consoli) at the festival in Padova last week, I really enjoyed the opening act, this onegirlband from Vicenza, Elli de Mon! She plays a strange mix of blues, rock, folk and something else I can't define, but all in all she reminded me a lot of PJ Harvey and also somehow of KT Tunstall. After listening to her two records on Spotify now, I can tell she reminds me A LOT of PJ Harvey and also a little bit of Patti Smith in a couple songs of her new album. Well, it's been a very pleasant discovery! Since I didn't get the chance to buy her music at the festival, I'm about to buy her first album on iTunes methinks!

#sundayrevival Fascination - Alphabeat

Fascination - Alphabeat

I have been listening to a lot of Carmen Consoli today, but I don't want to bore you with a sequence of mono-singer posts, so I'm coming up with a good #sundayrevival-summeredition song from my summer playlist (named 'Eté', the French speakers out there will understand...!) because today (and yesterday too) the temperature has been challenging (and I love, finally HOT!) and also humidity has taken its toll on us! So, this song I'm posting is from the summer of 2008, I hold it particularly dear as, besides being one of the hits of that summer, is the one that was playing in the car just before I took my driving license! It already was a favourite of mine and after that, it got a place in my heart forever! WE LIVE ON FASCINATION!! Happy summer to y'all!!

Oceani deserti - Carmen Consoli

Oceani deserti - Carmen Consoli

Sorry if I disregarded my blog for a few dozens of hours, but I did forgo most of my daily activities too in these past couple of days! Yesterday has been the usually "checking-out" day, so baggage and stuff in hand as usual (they called me "tortoise" because it's like as if I live carrying around my house!), went to work and then to the main office of my firm to hand over some papers and then ran through to Padova to attend Carmen's concert as part of a festival next to the football stadium of the city! I got there at about 7.30 and the opening act (very enjoyable, maybe you'll see her here soon) didn't start until 9, meaning the real concert kicked-off around 10 and ended around midnight; then just the time to find a couple of Blablacar travel partners and on our way to home (via Milan). All in all, got home at around 3 in the morning (which, I know, I'm also staying up to today too), left my stuff and went to (read and) sleep. And today eating lunch at grandparents' and then moving out to the other grandparents' in the countryside... well, it's been a full couple of days! And now home alone, I have just been watching some telefilms and reading some manga, and then went on to colouring if the rest was not enough, without realizing that I had to take care of my blog and of my Japanese studies too... so here I am! The concert last night has been pretty good, lots of niche songs I wasn't really ready for, but I enjoyed it anyway, Carmen is a great songwriter and performer, very inspiring! She played almost all of my favs out of the latest album, this one being one of them. The song is about a woman complaining because her man is not satisfied with just being with her, he goes on "like a pioneer looking for new frontiers of infidelity", she loves him but realises this is too much for her, she wonders why he doesn't feel the natural pulse of being just with her, what he wants and who he is... and finally says goodbye and goes. Very deep and inspiring lyrics (as usual), with a beautiful touch of irony!

Tompkins square park - Mumford & Sons

Tompkins square park - Mumford & Sons

A couple days ago Mumford & Sons played one of the most prestigious venues in Italy, the Arena di Verona, and I was not there even if it would have been great to! I imagine the concert has been great, with such an astounding venue and such a great band. Ok, I know I gave mixed ratings to their new songs featured on their just-released album, and I stand by my opinion. Nonetheless, even if they lost some of their peculiarity and musical strength, their composition keep being energetic and moving, if sometimes a little repetitive (not that I bother so much, when the underlying idea is good). This is the opening song of their new album 'Wilder mind' and one of the first songs that struck me, so hoping to get the chance to see them live soon, I share it with you!

Mother - Florence + the Machine

Mother - Florence + the Machine

In one way or another, we are all affected by the relationship we have with our mothers, oftentimes even more than we realise. I find myself quoting my own mother more often than not and I recently realised how many ways of saying and opinions I took from her.

"Mother, make me, Make me a big tall tree so I can shed my leaves and let it blow through me.

Mother, make me, Make me a big grey cloud so I can rain on you things I can't say out loud."

Mothers shape us, their influence on our character and our development is in many cases the strongest one for better or for worse, be it with their presence or absence (both physical and psychological).

"Mother, make me, Make me a bird of prey so I can rise above this, let it fall away.

Mother, make me, Make me a song so sweet, heaven trembles, fallen at our feet."

All in all mothers (and their parent-partner, whenever there is one) are the ones who make us big tall trees, big grey clouds, birds of prey and songs so sweet... and our link with them doesn't cease to be easily (even if sometimes we wish it would)! Mothers are the refuge, the pillar, the unwanted attention, the teacher, the educator, the lover, the carriers. They are big, blue and beautiful.

Sintonia imperfetta - Carmen Consoli

Sintonia imperfetta - Carmen Consolicarme

Don't hate me for that, but I would feel bad not sharing a few more songs from Carmen's new album, which I really really like! If everything goes right, I will go see her play live on friday night near Padua while driving back home, I just have to make sure I'll be able to get my hands on a ticket, but I don't think the event is sold out! I'm really thrilled at the idea, as she's one of the few Italian singers I really wish to see live, and this would be a great chance! This song I'm sharing with you, whose title could be translated in English as 'Imperfect harmony', is about a relationship of a married woman with her husband, with her singing how he just lays on the sofa, sleeping in front of football matches and she has to take care of his mother, the dog, cooking and stuff. She recalls how she was charmed by him when they first met, but she's regretting her decision, complaining with her younger self, who should've realized immediately what kind of men she was getting engaged with, the one she know is planning of leaving.

Lothlòrien - Enya

Lothlòrien - Enya

This morning I woke up at 6.15 to undertake a 4-hour drive to get to work... not the worst thing in the world, but not the best way to start a new week either. I have been feeling lousy all day, and now a little bit of headache is getting onto me. But the trip has been fine, luckily there were some clouds filtering the direct sunlight, so I didn't get too hot and sweaty in the car. Plus, I put on Enya music (as I have been doing often lately... damn stressful, adult people's life!) to soothe my head and to wake up gently. It worked once again, so that's been a good move! In the second half of the trip I moved to my current playlist to get going at full speed, and this was actually the only song I listened to twice, as it is also featured in the playlist. It's peculiar, as while listening to Enya, some Lord of the Rings movie soundtrack songs sung by her popped out and I was dancing at their epicness, so it's funny that she was already composing music inspired to Tolkien's book even before it got (even more) famous with the early 2000s movies. I hope you all, Enya's fans, LOTR's fans, music fans and bloggin fans can appreciate this post, which is number 600 for me and my blog!!

#sundayrevival The rebels - The Cranberries

The rebels - The Cranberries

After the awesome Cyndi Lauper post on Friday (new +1s record, thank you guys, I'm so happy you're as happy as I am about marriage equality!!!), I hope I'll keep it up with another good post! Today some uni friends from Milan came to visit at my grandma's in the countryside, we had an awesome time with the pool and the sun and the company and everything, so great, it's so awesome to spend time with friends, makes you forget about what you would like not to think about (like going to work on a summer Monday or trying to understand what the f* is going wrong with your damn, old body) and enjoy life at the fullest! Concerning music, I wanna go back to what I told you on Friday, so I'm posting one of my old Cranberries favourites, a song that I haven't been listening to for more than 2 years and which lyrics I still know by heart...! "Seems like yesterday we were 16, we were the rebels of the rebel scene..." I've never been a rebellious, violent or politically involved / aggressive guy, but I like to think that I've always been thinking outside the schemes, in my own way, being weird in my own way (which meant even being mainstream, maybe when the people close to me didn't think I would be), which today is quite a rebellious approach to life methinks. So this song resonates with me, it always has resonated and even more today that I started working and I somehow miss those times when I had the whole summer free to enjoy... who knows? Maybe it's gonna happen again in the future! For the time being, I'm alright with getting the most from what I've got, which is always a good thing! Have a nice new week you all!

True colors - Cyndi Lauper

True colors - Cyndi Lauper

Today it's been a pretty important day in terms of marriage freedom for gay people in America, so I felt that this fact needed celebration! I had planned to post a different song, as I have been listening to the Cranberries in these days and today in the shower I ended up listening to a few songs that (I realized later) I hadn't been listening to for more than 2 years, and I still knew the lyrics by heart!! But don't worry, they would make great sundayrevival posts so I think I will keep them on the side for a while! Today it's all about making a step forward in terms of respecting each others as human beings, valuing our differences and celebrating them instead of being scared by what's different.
I have been a bit uncertain on which song to post, but at the risk of being cliché, I wanna play it safe and choose a perfect anthem for this occasion! Happy US gay marriage day and pride week/month to you all!!

Hunger - Of Monsters and Men

Hunger - Of Monsters and Men

I find OMAM's second album very different from their debut, and I still haven't understood if it's a good thing or not...! I haven't found any hit song yet (like Little talks, for instance), the songs are more intimate, more hard to understand, to familiarize with and to interiorize, which might be a very good pro in the long term, meaning that the music is good and lasting, as it needs many listens for the listener to penetrate all the layers of interpretation (melody, lyrics, etc.) and the whole mixing up of them all. Anyway, today my friend M. came to my hometown to visit, we explored some old (for me) and new places and it's been a very pleasant day. It's just that when we are together, we are a dangerous love-for-Japan combo, and we always end up buying well too many mangas... anyway, that's one of the good things of life and I will just enjoy it. Now let me go, I have mangas to read..!

The one that got away - Katy Perry

The one that got away - Katy Perry

My car, which I am very very fond of and who's been in my family for more than 15 years now (yes, I am conscious I am personifying it, it's my little one!) has been having some "health issues" lately (I feel like we are connected by a file rouge, we are feeling sick together) and, even if I brought her to see a "car doctor" during my first trip to Thailand, her problem has not been solved, rather it has worsened since the visit, so I am having her checked again. So I went to catch my father's car at the station today and while I was connecting my ipod into its on-board computer, the radio started playing this song and given that I was about to listen to some summer songs on my playlists from last years, this one seemed pretty fit for the case! I just let it go, then started the ipod and now I added it to my 'Eté' ('Summer' in French) playlist! Do you think it's a good summer song? I think it is!

Official - Junip

Official - Junip

It's official now... I finished watching Game of Thrones season 5, I have to disagree with people who have been unsatisfied with this season, I must confess I liked less the previous one, as this year interesting pairings have been made and interesting developments have taken place. It's also been nice, after being in Dubrovnik last summer, to recognize some of the places where they shot the scenes! Ok, I understand all the people (see girls) whose hearts are torn apart because of the end of the last episode, but well... weren't we expecting it all the way? Yeah, ok, there was that little hope in (y)our hearts that things might go right, but if you like things that go right... choose another TV series to watch! Or listen to some great music, like this awesome tune by Junip.

The wolf - Mumford & Sons

The wolf - Mumford & Sons

Hey my people! I'm sorry again if I have been posting once every two days lately (and here I was thinking about changing the name of the blog into 'A song per day (or two)', it would've been a good idea!), but it's been getting down quite hard on me in the last few weeks, just know that last night I laid on my bed at 18.30 to relax for a while and I got conscious again at 4.30 in the morning, with my clothes still on...! Thanks goodness my parents convinced me to take some time off work to rest and recover from my long-lasting malaise, also to start taking some more medical tests. So I will have the chance to use this week to watch some TV series, to collect my ideas about work, to read some of the (many) manga I recently bought and of course to listen to many new albums that just came out and to older ones I am just discovering! To the former lot belongs the new work by Mumford & Sons, out of which I'm posting one of the songs they posted before releasing the album, the one that gave me back some hope after the false step of Believe!

Queen of peace - Florence + the Machine

Queen of peace - Florence + the Machine

I am back to Italy after one of the toughest weeks, in which I showed more strength of will than it was wise to, my health was not particularly bad but has never been good either, I didn't enjoy Bangkok at all as I hardly got out of my hotel room except for going to work (when I have been fit/crazy enough to), and overall I am very tried and weakened by the life-style I've been (compelled to be) taking lately, with no home and many flights and so on... I think my body was already weak, it has been since the beginning of the year, and this effort I require of it is not helping for sure... One more strain (a bit more pleasant) has been to buy the tickets for Florence's concert in Milan just before xmas, me and some friends have been tracking them and waiting for them to go on sale, but we didn't manage to get parterre tickets, it was actually even hard to get the B ring... well, whatever, we got them in the end, I hope I'll be able to go and enjoy it just as much as I did with her last one in 2012, one of the best nights of my life!! In the meanwhile I share with you another pearl out of the new album, 'How big, how blue, how beautiful'! This is 'Queen of peace', enjoy!

The memory of trees - Enya

The memory of trees - Enya

Due to the very annoying fever and general illness that has been affected me in this week in Thailand (in particular, but throughout the whole of 2015 actually), and the headaches deriving from it, I ended up listening to a lot (more) of Enya (than usual), and I must say that it works, her soothing music often helps me relax and feel less pain in my head. In turn, you have been seeing a lot of Enya on the blog, and my feeling is that for some time you're gonna keep seeing more of her! In the meanwhile let's all enjoy this beautiful instrumental piece of music, one of the first songs of Enya I loved, as it is included in her best-of 'Paint the sky with starts', her first album I started listening to! Hoping that you're feeling better than I do, I wish you a pleasant whatever-part-of-the-day-is-fitting (here in Thailand it's almost bed-time)! Cheers!

What went down - Foals

What went down - Foals

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!

Ottobre - Carmen Consoli

Ottobre - Carmen Consoli

Hey there, guess what?! I'm sick again... This time not even the air of Thailand (ok, I agree, Bangkok's air for sure is not among the best in the world) saved me from my post-plane illness. I hate being sick and I hate that this cure the specialist doctor gave me doesn't seem to be having any tangible effect for now, even if I'm taking in more meds than the average grandpa... Anyway, I have been meaning to post this a few days ago, than got carried over by the events, I will do it now: I apologise again for posting an Italian song, but I am really in love with it and actually I am really in love with Carmen's new album! This song 'Ottobre' (October) is about teenage years and spending time in Carmen's native Sicily in October, the "sweetest month". She sings a few lines that I interpret as describing a lesbian love, as two girls "got back into the scene with red cheeks and a good excuse", but it is just my own interpretation. My idea actually gets stronger with the chorus, when she sings that she would rather have chosen hell rather than the limbo if this was the price of freedom, and that heaven could wait if this was the price of freedom. A very sweet song anyway, hope you can enjoy!
PS: Ok, the Internet just gave me the final confirmation that my hypothesis is right!

Bad habit - Foals

Bad habit - Foals

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!!

Fire under my feet - Leona Lewis

Fire under my feet - Leona Lewis

Soon enough Leona is gonna be out with a new album, and I missed out her new single release while I was spending my (first) two weeks in Thailand last month. Luckily I quickly caught up and here it is, a very nice part of my current playlist! I like the turn that Leona's music has taken, with this kind of dance r&b, on the shadow of 'Forgive me', and I'm sure she's gonna have the usual (nice) ballads too on the album. Can't wait for it to be out, in the meanwhile let's enjoy a great track for the summer that has finally come!!

War - Kodaline

War - Kodaline

"There's a war between my head and my heart and I don't know which side to take..."
How often does that happen?! I think it's a daily fight between rationality and passion, between doing what's right and 'righting' what you do, between doing what the others think you want to and doing what you want to. Because yes, sometimes the others know what's best for you, and your rational part does too. But we decide to ignore it. In the end it's "just" the choice of which road will bring us the most happiness. And our own perspective about it changes all the time. And in the end maybe the best thing is the very same choice process... and listening to great pieces of music during it!!
"Life, it's just the way it is, yeah the way it always was and it's alright..."

Ain't nobody - KT Tunstall

Ain't nobody - KT Tunstall

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!!

As far as I could get - Florence + the Machine

As far as I could get - Florence + the Machine

My obsession with HBHBHB (of course) isn't over yet, rather I think it's just at the beginning! I've been pretty much taken away by 'Delilah' and the title track's demo in the past couple of weeks, but I didn't forget about this other great tune that was released as a bonus track (or a 'Ship to wreck' b-side, I still haven't understood), which was very much appreciated by me when it was released, even if it soon fell under the shadow of such masterpieces as the above-mentioned 'Delilah' and others. Nonetheless listening to it a few more time, I found myself liking it more and more, so there's no way it is not deserving of a post on the blog! I have also been updating my playlists on Spotify, you can find the June one here (with the other songs posted this month, unfortunately I couldn't find this one...): why don't you give it a chance (or two) [per day]?!

Empire - Of Monsters and Men

Empire - Of Monsters and Men

Today for the first time I travelled to work from home directly, without coming to Veneto on Sunday, and it's been a great choice: besides enjoying my Sunday much better, I quite enjoyed the trip too (though it was quite hot) and I also was, for some reason, hyper-active, very productive and very awake (and very wet)! After work I reached my B&B, which lays at the top of a hill: to reach it I had to climb a crazily steep road, but the location is quite fascinating! The worst thing is that I realised I left both of my Mac chargers home, meaning it's gonna be three (long) weeks without them! Stupid! Thanks goodness I have the work-pc that I can (supposedly) use at home!! After all of these adventures in such a long day, I'll leave you with one of the songs that are featured in my latest playlist, and I'm sure you're gonna love it as much as I do! It's the first song I'm posting out of OMAM's new album, which is going to be released very soon!!! (Or is out already?! No, it's tomorrow! Well, great timing, kudos to me!!)

#sundayrevival Until the day is done - R.E.M.

Until the day is done - R.E.M.

This weekend always holds a special meaning for me: ok, I agree, F1 has lost a lot of its appeal in the last years, but the Montréal GP always holds a special place in my heart (as do Montecarlo and SPA). The best year has been 2011 hands down: it was the 12th of June (thanks WIkipedia for a heads-up about the exact day) and I remember it being the night before a university exam early in the morning. I remember vividly my excitement in watching the GP as I already knew I would be spending a semester in Montréal starting January of the subsequent year. Then there was the whole mess at the beginning of the race, it being postponed for like 2 hours due to a crazy rainstorm. I was almost tempted to say "well, whatever..." and go to bed, but the conditions were all coming together so perfectly that I decided to keep it up. And it was worth it. Oh, if it was worth it! The best (and also longest) F1 race ever!! This year has been ok, but not nearly as great as 2011. Anyway for this sundayrevival I wanna share with you a piece of music that I was listening to at the time, and that was already kind of a revival at the time, being the album it comes from released in 2008. Hope you enjoy it!

Saving my face - KT Tunstall

Saving my face - KT Tunstall

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!

How big, how blue, how beautiful (demo) - Florence + the Machine

"Between a crucifix and a Hollywood sign we decided to get hurt..."

How big, how blue, how beautiful (demo) -
Florence + the Machine

As you might have noticed (or maybe not), I have been quite obsessed with Florence + the Machine in the past week (well, let's say for the in the last 5 years...!), meaning that I have practically only been listening to their new album HBHBHB, more in particular to two songs on it in repeat. One of them is Delilah, which I have already posted and which is likely going on to become my favourite song of the year. The other one is this beautiful (and big and blue) thing I'm posting, that is the demo version of the title track. Don't mistake me, I have been mumbling "how big, how blue, how beautiful..." since the first promo video came out in February, and I love the original/album version. Yet this demo has something in it that I can't describe but that helped me connect with it at a more immediately reachable (but not superficial) level. I don't know, maybe by being a demo it has that kind of raw and undefined strength that catches you at the beginning and (maybe) is not able to keep you caught for long. Well... I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts! Anyway I have just one thing I wanna say about this album: How Big, How Blue, How BEAUTIFUL.

PS: The first lyric of this song is just genius, it kills me every time!

Westbound - Lizzy Grant (a.k.a. May Jailer, a.k.a. Lana del Rey)

Today didn't start in the best way possible: the water plastic bottle I had in my consultant rucksack was faulty and poured a good amount of its content around. Result: flooded bag, including all the stuff that was inside (from pc to charger, from food to CDs and wires). I don't know how, but it seems like everything is working fine! Plus, I later realized I (of course) also flooded my shirt, pants and underpants with the water that was coming out from the rucksack. All of this in the small 2 minutes walk form the car to the office. Nice, ain't it? Thanks goodness I could hang all my stuff around to dry as the best housewives would, and I brought my rucksack back in the car to dry up (which worked perfectly, just to let you know how hot it is around here these days)! Anyway it looks like stuff about my future is moving up (again), now we'll have to see how long it takes for stuff to happen...! Anyway for now I'm not westbound as Lana in her song, yet I'm going to go so far away that east and west are kinda blurred, plus it isn't out the question that I'm just taking the long way west!

(To listen to the song click here or on the picture caption)

Westbound - Lizzy Grant

Love will set you free - Kodaline

Love will set you free - Kodaline

Summer has come and I'm so happy about it that it makes me forget all the other things that are not really working so well in my life! Let's just enjoy it and hope for the best to come. Because you can't not believe that when you're busy getting on with your life, lonely but not alone, still one day love will set you free!

Azaleadalen - Junip

Azaleadalen - Junip

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!

Delilah - Florence + the Machine

Delilah - Florence + the Machine

It's been so nice being back to Milan that I didn't even have got time to post yesterday!! Moreover, I didn't even have time to download Florence's new album, WHICH FINALLY CAME OUT, on my ipod!! So what's the point of pre-ordering on Amazon and getting AutoRip and stuff?! Well, I did it now and I'm finally super ready to start listening, but not before sharing with you this last unbelievably great piece of music she shared with us a few days before the release and which I'm greatly in love with already (and falling for it more and more the more I listen to it, as with all the best Florence songs). I can't wait to share with you all the greatness of HBHBHB ('How big, how blue, how beautiful'), but one step at a time!!

"Too fast for freedom, sometimes it all falls down

these chains never leave me, I keep dragging them around"