#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!

We float - PJ Harvey

We float - PJ Harvey

Sometimes you need to take a few days more slowly, take your breath, and maybe you let a whole week pass by without posting... well, it didn't go so slow after all I guess! Then you have great Friday nights and Saturday nights when... well, let's say your mood swings, to use a euphemism. Letting people in is what makes your life better, but also what makes you vulnerable and sometimes make you feel like shit willy-nilly. Add stress onto it, and the picture is complete. Thanks goodness destiny sends to your path other people , that can help you get it out in a better way than you could do by yourself. Words are powerful. Remembering what is important is important. Cyclical relationship. We float. Take life as it comes.

The orange monkey - PJ Harvey

The orange monkey - PJ Harvey

Today I finally have been able to open the swimming season at my grandmother's pool, where I spent a big chunk of my past summers. I can hardly remember later openings than the 22nd of June, except maybe for the shitty 2014 summer, which I hope won't repeated this year, even if this June has not been far from the one of two years ago so far. Today the weather has been perfect and I enjoyed a really, really good day there. Then I came back home to enjoy a little bit of football (Euro 2016), a couple nice matches in the late afternoon and then with my parents we went at some friends' house to watch the Italy match together. Disappointing (and meaningless) output of that match, not that I care as I am no strong Italy supporter! Closing my day with music, after a couple of Game of Thrones older episodes, I am sharing with you the latest single off PJ's new album. Good night!

The ministry of social affairs - PJ Harvey

The ministry of social affairs - PJ Harvey

Not being in love (yet) with PJ's new album, I found this song ringing in my mind for a short while yesterday (or was it today?) and I think it really works well with the environment I am surrounded by: in the end it's PJ Harvey, and what is more British than her? Rain, wind and cold. Yep, that's exactly what I'm talking about, what I've found here in Riga. Besides a potentially quite nice city, if only I got the chance to see it with a hint of a blue sky in the background. Maybe next time, if there's gonna be a next time. Let's just roll with the music for now!

The ministry of defence - PJ Harvey

The ministry of defence - Pj Harvey

The first song off PJ's new album that make me feel something strong was this one, and it's probably been (and still is) acting as the (first) key to open the lock so that I can access the whole album. I suggest you give a careful listen to it, you won't regret it! What else can I tell you? I have already finished GoT's first season, as I was already telling you I understood a whole lot of things about it that I really didn't get the first time; I am eating like a pig and I really can't understand how it is that I am not getting fat, sitting down all day long... mysteries of life!

The community of hope - PJ Harvey

The community of hope - PJ Harvey

One of the... well, probably THE most anticipated 2016 album (by me) was for sure PJ's new work, which was actually supposed to be released last year. Five years after her last work, 'Let England shake', which I didn't immediately fall in love with but which has grown a lot inside of me over the years, I was expecting something special. PJ is usually an artist who, over the course of her career, has made consecutive albums that were often quite different from one another, so I was quite surprised to listen to 'The hope six demolition project' and to find out that it sounded like 'Let England Shake' 2. I haven't been particularly positively struck by it for now, but given that it really sounds similar to its predecessor, especially in terms of sounds and concept, I am waiting for it to walk the same path. In the meanwhile, this is the second single (if such things still exists) released off it, which I have started to greatly enjoy lately! I hope you like it too!

#sundayrevival Somebody's down somebody's name - PJ Harvey

Somebody's down somebody's name -
PJ Harvey

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!

#sundayrevival A perfect day Elise - PJ Harvey

A perfect day Elise - PJ Harvey

I am not usually a hater (ok, that's a lie), but today I am particularly bored and tired of seeing 'Happy easter' wishes everywhere... I'm getting old and grumpy, I know, but I can't change the way I feel...! Easter has always been a weird holiday for me: I was born on an easter Sunday, then I spent most of my last 5-6 easters away from home for one reason or another, and there were all pretty good ones (one in Central Park NYC, one in Toronto, one in London...). This year we had one couple of grandparents at home for lunch (which is eventful, as it's always us going there usually), a very placid meal and now I just wish to go back to sleep, not a particularly special day. Still, even not special days can be perfect in their own way... let's get it over with and try not to exaggerate with the chocolate!!

#liveweek Satisfaction (live @ Brit Awards) - Björk & PJ Harvey

Satisfaction (live @ Brit Awards) - Björk & PJ Harvey

By now we're in the second half of this #liveweek, which has been going quite well up to now! Yet I wanna take it to the next level with these last few posts. This is a song that immediately came to my mind when I thought about the whole idea of a set of blogposts about live performances and I feel I cannot leave it out. So, the recipe is quite simple: take a great and underestimated singer/songwriter from England; take a crazy singer/songwriter from Iceland who is ages ahead her current time; take a glorious rock song by the Rolling Stones; mix it all together and... voilà! I dare you to find a 4-minute music video more powerful than this one in its simplicity!

#liveweek The darker days of me and him (live 2004) - PJ Harvey

The darker days of me and him (live 2004) - PJ Harvey

It's always the same story... whenever I get to be at home for a period of time without any compelling work (or else) events, I end up having even less time for my usual activities: between meals at grandparents', video gaming, courses to carry out downtown and any other business, I neglect the blog, I neglect my Japanese study and everything. But here I am finally! Last week  told you I wanted to do something special, which I ended up not doing, so after missing a sunday post, I will start it now (late, as it's already been Tuesday for two hours, but whateeeever)! What I want to do is to post live performances of music I love for one week, so how could this be called, you might ask... well, #liveweek of course!
I might allow myself to post tunes that have already seen the light on the blog, but this time I will share them as live performances. For this opening post though, I chose a song that has not been featured here yet, and it's one of my absolute favourite PJ Harvey tracks. 'The darker days of me and him' tells the story of a girl who has been burned by (unfulfilled) promises and who dreams about "a land where no man was ever born, with no neurosis, no psychosis, no psychoanalysis and no sadness". It's a beautiful, beautiful song and this version is absolutely great, so don't miss out and stay tuned for more great live music!!

#sundayrevival This is love - PJ Harvey

This is love - PJ Harvey

Hello my dear people, here I am back again. Another tough trip back home and a tough weekend brought me to Milan, ready to wake up quite early tomorrow in the morning because I have to go back to Veneto. I am dead tired, plane travels and getting back home and having to drive there again... gosh, I don't know how I'm gonna make it. This whole working thing is getting it quite harsh on me, please take me back to university!
I meant to post this song last sunday, but I didn't get to write a post as (guess what?!) I was busy travelling! I'm gonna do it now: as last week (the one before this one that is ending) I got to listen to old, 2010 playlists, I ended up listening to a lot of PJ Harvey, as 2010 was the year when I got to know her and starting loving her music. So it seemed natural to just post a song of hers, and not just one random song of hers... I've been listening to her 'Stories from the city, stories from the sea' album quite a lot recently, and I'm falling more and more in love with the lyrics of many songs on the album, so meaningful for me right now, so true, I really feel a connection with them... so I hope you can enjoy this great music too!

"I can't believe life's so complex when I just wanna sit here and watch you undress."

"Does it have to be a life full of dread? I wanna chase you round the table, wanna touch your head."

#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...!)

A place called home - PJ Harvey

A place called home - PJ Harvey

Today I left Barcelona and came back. I'm specifically not saying back home because in all likelihood I'm gonna be moving again from here on Friday, back home, two weeks on transfer and then who-knows-where. Not that I was feeling particularly at home here in the residence where I spent the last month and a half, but after almost two months of running from one B&B to the next, it came as close to being a home as could be in this time of my life. It's peculiar, because in these last few days I spent in Barcelona I really felt at home, a local more than a tourist. Getting to the music: this song means the world to me, it's one of my overall favourite songs and the only one whose lyrics  ever considered tattooing (the idea came back to me strongly today). Now more than ever I need and would love to have a place called home, both literally and metaphorically. I hope things are going to settle soon, in the meanwhile I'll keep on running around Veneto until the right time comes (which I hope is going to happen before the summer!!) and be waiting for the one day when there'll be a place for us. A place called home.

Let England shake - PJ Harvey

Let England shake - PJ Harvey

There is one, big necessity when you undertake the challenging effort of writing one blog post everyday, and that is constantly finding inspiration for new music! Inspiration can come from all kinds of sources: songs that come to your mind for many different reasons, new music that is released, songs that get played randomly... and most importantly talking with people and just living your daily life! Office life can be quite useful in that sense: when I was an intern last year we had an office playlist and I kept on finding out about new great music. This time around I'm not as lucky under a musical point of view; nevertheless you never know when and how it can happen! Today I added a few colleagues on LinkedIn and I was talking with one of them after when he mentioned he read on my profile that I have this blog and we started talking a bit about music, Arcade Fire and then PJ Harvey and... voilà, here I am singing Let England shake in my head, and now sharing it with you! Hope you enjoy!

Send his love to me - PJ Harvey

Send his love to me - PJ Harvey

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!!

The garden - PJ Harvey

"There was trouble taking place.

Trouble taking place."

The garden - PJ Harvey

I woke up this morning with this lyric in my head and I knew instantly that it had to be the song I would post today! My temperature has (hopefully) gone, even though my throat is still sore. I think I can say that also because after sleeping from about 2 AM to past 2 PM and from about 5 PM to past 10.30 PM yesterday, last night I couldn't fall asleep, it took me quite a long time, thus further messing out my sleep-wake cycle but (methinks) showing that I didn't need anymore healing sleep. So here I am, getting through the late phases of this brief sickness in this sunny winter day with PJ Harvey, listening to music, watching TV series and reading books...! What else would you wanna do on the 29th of December?!

To bring you my love - PJ Harvey

To bring you my love - PJ Harvey

Ok, it's time for another great great song. I know this post won't be popular, and I'm sorry, but it is the music I love and the whole point of this blog is for me to share the music I love! I've got to know PJ Harvey thanks to the guys of the Italian Alanis Morissette forum, who also got me close to Tori Amos (goodness bless them for your influence)! I have approached PJ in 2010 and something happened with her that doesn't normally happen when I approach new music: I liked her debut album instantly. She's the one I started to approach with a rigorous chronological order and I think this helped me appreciate her even more, given the great difference that exists between her albums... seeing her evolutionary path really helps you get the best out of her music. Together with her debut, Dry, my most favourite album of her is the one titled after this song. I've been growing a special link with this album, as I always (and I mean always) use it as soundtrack when I'm practicing yoga with Wii Fit: today I started doing yoga again after more than one year, and I also started to listen to this awesome album again. Most people don't like it, I know, and I wouldn't expect anyone to understand how it fits with yoga (I don't understand it myself), but... here it is, and I enjoy it immensely and that's what matters!

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

We float (live) - Tori Amos

We float (PJ Harvey cover) - Tori Amos

My goodness, so many things to post today! I woke up with a song in mind, than I listened to another one by the same singer that made sense too, then I found out about this one I'm posting and in the late afternoon I gave the first listen to an album by a singer I already knew and I went back to listen to a song of hers I knew already and wanted to post that one too! Anyway, hopefully the other girls are gonna find room in the next few days, but now I have to post the song that made my day!
First of all, happy birthday to Tori Amos, who turned 51 today (22 August, which is still in the US). Second of all, congrats to PJ Harvey for being awarded a honorary degree by Goldsmiths University, the ceremony will take place on the next 10th of September. And congrats to both for contributing to this awesomeness that took place during Tori's Lizard Lounge (her "cover set within the setlist" of this tour) in Durham!

Instrumental #3 - PJ Harvey

I promise I'll be back in full form starting tomorrow! This is just to let you know that I am alive and well and that I took a few days of vacation from the blog in this dead period of the year! I'll be back with you tomorrow for a more hefty post! Good night (or whatever part of day is now where you are)!

PS: This is one of my favourite (instrumental) songs ever, so powerful, love it a lot!

Instrumental #3