The Moody Blues - evening, 1967

"It's really about, if you can achieve something every day, it doesn't matter how small it is, it just gives you that energy to carry on and have an enjoyable life. Concerning "The Sun Set" and "Twilight Time", Lodge remembers, "We were trying to make sure that every song on the album had a different aspect. That was the most important thing. That every song on the album, no one could say, 'Oh, that sounds like that.'"

Saint Etienne - shower scene, 2002

"Saint Etienne have always believed in having an aesthetic. On their 1991 debut, Foxbase Alpha, the trio finessed 1960s pop, 1990s dance and an encyclopaedia's worth of cultural references into a celebratory vision of Englishness three years before Britpop. Though that vision later became blurred, their sixth album, titled after a recently renamed outpost of the shipping forecast, revisits Foxbase Alpha's terrain, a decade older, wiser and angrier. On the single, Action, singer Sarah Cracknell is once again the bored suburbanite looking for the in-crowd but this time she fears she may not find it. On the title track, Cosmetique's Sarah Churchill defiantly restates Saint Etienne's manifesto, from muso battleline-drawing ("Donovan over Dylan") to poignant urban utopianism ("this house believes in skyscrapers") while Cracknell breathes "tear it down and start again" like the world's most mild-mannered revolutionary. The familiar soft-focus genre-blending, now with added electro, is peppered with deadpan aphorisms from actor Michael Jayston; though hit-and-miss, they enhance the peculiarly English ambience. Finisterre is the work of a band who have remembered what they're here for."

Moby - natural blues, 2000

"Natural Blues" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released on March 6, 2000, as the fifth single from his fifth studio album, Play (1999). The song is built around vocals sampled from "Trouble So Hard" by American folk singer Vera Hall (1937). "Natural Blues" was one of several songs on Play produced by Moby based on samples obtained from albums of American folk music originally compiled by field collector Alan Lomax. In the United Kingdom, "Natural Blues" peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. In Iceland, it peaked at number one."

Pet Shop Boys - a face like that, 2012

"a Chris-dominated, techno/dance-oriented, largely instrumental affair, with only the occasional vocal interjection by Neil."

Coldplay - swallowed in the sea, 2005

"Coldplay has a knack for weaving poignancy into melodies, and ‘Swallowed in the Sea’ from their 2005 album ‘X&Y’ is no exception. At first listen, this track seems like a beautiful, yet straightforward love lament. However, a deeper dive suggests a multifaceted tapestry of emotions, entwining loss, redemption, self-realization, and an ephemeral hope that hovers over the sometimes tragic human condition."

Saint Motel - fine wine, 2023

"Like a punch in the gut and a slap on the back at the same time. Find peace in the chaos, see beauty in the impermanence, and cherish these moments that slip through your fingers like sand. Life’s a bottle you keep coming back to, savoring the taste of joy and heartache, knowing damn well it won’t last, but you keep raisin’ that glass anyway. Embrace the mess, ’cause it’s all we got.”

Elton John - blessed, 1995

"The first listening of Elton John's 32nd album, ``Made in England,'' makes this writer feel that he's heard a piece of every new song once before. That's not bad. In fact, it's good. I like what I've heard before, and I'm not alone."

Alvvays - many mirrors, 2022

"The whole album is fantastic, but the song ‘Many Mirrors’ had a pure, adventurous energy to it that really resonated with me."

REM - electrolite, 1996

"Mulholland represents to me the iconic 'from on high' vantage point looking down at L.A. and the valley at night when the lights are all sparkling and the city looks, like it does from a plane, like a blanket of fine lights all shimmering and solid. I really wanted to write a farewell song to the 20th century...And nowhere seemed more perfect than the city that came into its own throughout the 20th century, but always looking forward and driven by ideas of a greater future, at whatever cost."

Superocean - best thing, 2023

"It's an incorporation of indie rock, shoegaze, and Far East dance music; beautifully woven into one elegantly flowing track. If you've ever awoken from a deep sleep, unable to tell if you were still dreaming or awake – that's the feeling you'll get from listening to Superocean. Kind of like being pulled simultaneously between two different planes of consciousness."

Neil Young - i'm the ocean live from coastal, 2025

“Coastal offers a glimpse behind the curtain of this unguarded iconoclast, as he navigates a return to the stage post-Covid — from his everyday observations on the bus to his candid, wry banter with his audience,” a description of the video reads. “The illuminating film also features songs rarely, if ever played live, performed in breathtakingly beautiful theaters.”

Barry Ryan - eloise, 1968

"Eloise" is a song first released in 1968 on the MGM label. It was sung by Barry Ryan, and written by his twin brother Paul Ryan. Running for over five minutes, it features strong orchestration, melodramatic vocals, and a brief slow interlude. It sold three million copies worldwide, and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart as published by Record Retailer, but hit No. 1 in the NME and Melody Maker charts. It topped the chart in 17 countries, including Italy, the Netherlands and Australia."

Sparklehorse - listening to the higsons cover, 2023

"From the time that Mark began working on these songs to the record’s imminent release, 14 years have passed, a long time for a collection of tracks that were already well advanced at the time of Mark’s death. But there’s something too in the album’s long and complex gestation - the chaos of old tapes, the love and care that Mark’s family and his close musician friends have shown to every detail - that makes this so distinctively a Sparklehorse record."

Half Moon Run - everyone's moving out east, 2023

"While making this record, it felt as if we were boiling down a huge cauldron of musical ideas, trying to reduce it to something elemental. What we were left with was Salt”

Saturday Looks Good To Me - ambulance, 2000

"Saturday Looks Good To Me's self-released debut album from 2000 was a lo-fi four track take on reinterpreting Motown and oldies radio through a murky crust of noise. Though the recording finds the project in it's most experimental larval stages, the sparkle and excitement of these earliest basement incantations comes through loud and clear, and many of the songs here became fan favorites as the band grew."

REM - the ascent of man, 2004

"This always felt like a bridge type of song to me, a way to get from one part of an album to another, but here it's just trying to get to the end. For this album the song could be considered a strong closer, but on its own it's an easy song to overlook. In fact, when I started this album I wouldn't have been able to hum it to you if asked - which is a shame because it's a lovely song. The literary references spill over to the structure of the song which is has a bookend style verse, an allusion to unrequited love because of metaphors--all very cool, plus the overlapping verse is so well done."

The Project - flags, 2023

"In today's musical climate, people aren't required to be masters of an instrument; if you have a decent computer and a keyboard, you can make something wonderful. (That's not a bad thing - it's just an observant fact.) Long gone are the days of one-track recordings and having vocals with perfect pitch, but there are some who've still got it. The duo that makes up The Project , Michael Glen Bell and Duane W.H. Arnold, are an example of artists that truly do have skill intact; and with their latest release, Mystic Chapel , it is justly on display."

Metric - nothing is perfect, 2023

“Nothing Is Perfect” stands out on Formentera II as the lone track that is carried by only acoustic guitar and vocals. We explored many renditions of this song during the recording process, but in the end found that everything we tried adding seemed to detract from the essence of it."

Joan Baez - hello in there cover, 1975

 

"I delivered to a Baptist old people’s home where we’d have to go room-to-room... and some of the patients would kind of pretend that you were a grandchild or nephew that had come to visit, instead of the guy delivering papers. That always stuck in my head."

Wild Nothing - headlights on, 2023

"You might not think it to listen to it but "Headlights On," the euphoric new single from Wild Nothing, was written during a particularly delicate moment in Jack Tatum's life. The birth of their first child had left Tatum and his wife both sleep-deprived and distant from one another."

Barry Manilow - mandy cover, 1974

"Brandy", later called "Mandy", is a song written by Scott English and Richard Kerr. It was originally recorded by English in 1971 and reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. "Brandy" was recorded by New Zealand singer Bunny Walters in 1972, but achieved greater success when released in the United States in 1974 by Barry Manilow. For Manilow's recording, the title changed from "Brandy" to "Mandy" to avoid confusion with Looking Glass's "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)". His version reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100. Later, it was recorded by many other artists. The song was a UK number one hit in 2003 for Irish boyband Westlife."

Sufjan Stevens - so you are tired, 2023

"He sings about regret, lost connection, spirituality and death within a context of self – reflection and searching for a larger truth. What makes the track so special is that the music builds as Stevens lyrically dives deeper and deeper into his own fears, insecurities and grief. As he learns more about himself and comes to grips with years of unprocessed emotional weight the music brings you to this higher place, which reinforces his own larger understanding. The way the music and the lyrics bounce off each other is transcendent."

The sentence that best defined Pope Francis (the day before he died)

“Every time I visit a prison, I ask: why them and not me?”

A frase que melhor definiu o Papa Francisco (um dia antes de morrer)

“Cada vez que vou visitar uma prisão, pergunto: porquê eles e não eu?”

Fait-divers: Outline of an Essential Moral Theory: Altruistic Cognitive Dissonance as a Moral Precept

All people except me are not to blame for the wrong decisions they have made: they are the product of determinism; however, when they make the right decisions, they do so using their responsibility (free will). On the contrary, when I make good decisions, I am merely the product of determinism (grace?): I have no merit in them; however, when I make wrong decisions, I am solely responsible for them (free will).

Fait-divers: Esboço de uma teoria moral essencial: dissonância cognitiva altruísta enquanto preceito moral

Todas as pessoas, exceto eu, não são culpadas pelas decisões erradas que tomaram: são o produto do determinismo; no entanto, quando tomam as decisões certas, fazem-nas no uso da sua responsabilidade (livre arbítrio). Pelo contrário, eu, quando tomo decisões acertadas, sou apenas o produto do determinismo (graça?): não tenho qualquer mérito nelas; no entanto, quando tomo decisões erradas, sou o único responsável por elas (livre arbítrio).

The Beatles - ticket to ride live at wembley, 1965

"The Beatles played "Ticket to Ride" throughout their June–July 1965 European tour. A live performance from the 1 August 1965 broadcast of Blackpool Night Out was included on the Anthology 2 compilation and shown during The Beatles Anthology documentary. On 14 August, the group recorded a live performance of the song for The Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast the following month. "Ticket to Ride" was also included in the set list for the Beatles' 1965 US tour and their UK tour at the end of the year. The 15 August performance at Shea Stadium appears in the 1966 documentary The Beatles at Shea Stadium, although the audio for the song was re-recorded in London prior to release. The group's 29 August performance at the Hollywood Bowl was chosen for the 1977 album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl."

The Irrepressibles - self love, 2023

"So that's the Irrepressibles: baroque, avant garde, sincere, politically motivated – and with a magical quality that, McDermott believes, makes them accessible. "People love to watch a fairground opener, they love Tim Burton, they are fascinated by the strange things we put to the side as we get older, like music boxes. The Irrepressibles live in that world: we communicate to the child in people."

The National - once upon a poolside, 2023

"Work on a ninth National album was initially stalled while Berninger navigated "a very dark spot where I couldn't come up with lyrics or melodies at all. Even though we'd always been anxious whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end."

The Golden Filter - drive cover, 2022

"The Golden Filter is an American/Australian electronic music duo from New York City, formed in 2008, now based in London. The band consists of Penelope Trappes and Stephen Hindman."

Club 8 - whatever you want, 2007

"Whatever You Want" is a track from Club 8’s 2007 album, The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming. It’s a quintessential indie pop song, blending dreamy melodies with the duo’s signature melancholic yet catchy vibe. Karolina Komstedt’s soft, breathy vocals float over Johan Angergård’s jangly guitar and subtle electronic touches, creating a wistful, nostalgic atmosphere. The lyrics lean into themes of longing and emotional surrender, fitting the band’s knack for introspective storytelling. Fans on platforms like Last.fm praise its emotional depth and polished production, with some calling it a standout from the album for its infectious hooks."

The Marvelettes - please mister postman, 1961

"In April 1961, the Marvelettes (then known as the Marvels) arranged an audition for Berry Gordy's Tamla label. Marvels' original lead singer Georgia Dobbins needed an original song for their audition and got a blues song from her friend William Garrett, which she then reworked for the group. Dobbins left the group after the audition and was replaced. Gordy renamed the group and hired "Brianbert" – Brian Holland and Robert Bateman's songwriting partnership – to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, himself a Detroit postman and another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team) was also involved in the final reworking."

Bear's Den - hiding bottles live, 2019

“Alcoholism explained as temporary or manageable, which created a strange dichotomy within those homes – two versions of the same family, one fighting to keep everything ‘normal’ and another private version, out of control."

Slowdive - the slab, 2023

"This latest track “the slab” harkens back to early Slowdive, with an oceanic or river-like current to the melody. The song is as layered as it is deep, reminiscent of “Avalyn” and singles from the Just For a Day era like “Catch the Breeze,” as well as a touch of the cacophony of “Souvlaki Space Station.” The vocals from both Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead here are used as their own sparse accents and instrumentation, drowning themselves within a sea of delay and reverb. Halstead describes “the slab” as “the heaviest on the record,” adding that the band “wanted it to feel very dense.” In this Slowdive succeeds."

Outros olhares: Ferringhi Beach, Penang, Malaysia, 28 de Abril de 2025

Outros olhares: St. George's Church, Penang, Malaysia, 30 de Abril de 2025

Outros olhares: St. Paul's Church, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, 29 de Abril de 2025

The Beatles - i'm so tired, 1968

"At the very end of the song, what seems to be nonsensical mumbling can be heard in the background. The mumbling, if played backwards can be imagined as something along the lines of "Paul is a dead man. Miss him. Miss him. Miss him." This only adds to the many supposed references to the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theory scattered throughout the White album. Mark Lewisohn has said that the mumbling is actually Lennon muttering, "Monsieur, monsieur, how about another one?"

Fait-divers on grace and soul

"The AA movement itself is not a religion. It doesn’t carry any religious affiliation, but it is a real spirituality. On the occasions that I’ve been to 12 Steps or AA meetings, I felt grace very powerfully present there in that group of addicts. All of them must at least have got to the 1st Step of the 12 Steps. They admitted their problem. They knew what their addiction was, and they confessed it. They could admit it and they could speak about it. And they knew that that addiction was stronger than they were. That split in their soul was too great for them to heal by themselves. They couldn’t get themselves back together by themselves. They were powerless – it’s the word used in the 1st Step. And that is a very spiritual moment. That’s the moment where you realize that you are not in complete control of your life, that you don’t know where you come from and you don’t know where you are going but you know that in some way your very existence, your very being is a gift. And it’s interesting that it should be when we are powerless that we are most likely to experience that and realize that. That is a moment where grace can begin to squeeze in." (Spirituality in a Secular Age, Laurence Freeman OSB)

Slowdive - alife, 2023

"There are trademark washes of guitar noise and echo, and songs that judiciously sculpt Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead’s quiet voices on the precipice between melancholy and ecstasy."

Justin Hayward - the actor live, 1998

"Late at night, the road outside in Bayswater, quiet for a while, all alone in the world (for a bit), being in love but struggling with relationships."

Beirut - so many plans, 2023

“During my time in Hadsel, I worked hard on the music, lost in a trance and stumbling blindly through my own mental collapse that I had been pushing aside since I was a teenager”

The Motors - airport, 1978

"The Motors' entry in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music notes that "Airport" has become a stock piece of music often accompanying footage of aeroplane or airports. The encyclopedia suggests that the song's popularity did nothing to extend the life of the band, whose membership changed by the end of the year."

Fanfarlo - ghosts, 2009

"I was going through this obsession with lakes, and in particular with artificial lakes. There are some many interesting aspects to the whole idea of constructing a lake. Actually originally I wanted to make a whole album about a reservoir but the only song that made it to the album from that idea is one of the older songs, which is called “Ghosts” and is a ghost story about a reservoir."

Woods - day moving on, 2023

"The concept for Perennial grew from a bed of guitar, keyboard, and drum loops by band member Jimmy Earl. Soon after, bandmates Jarvis Taveniere and John Andrews convened at Panoramic House to build songs and jam out with various instruments. The name for the album was derived from perennial plants, a classic example of nature’s loops. This notion mimics itself in Woods’ music, which is teeming with cyclic lyrics and instruments. Woods carries the idea of repetition and constants throughout the planes of folk and psychedelic rock they experiment with."

The Durutti Column - never known, 1981

"The Durutti Column, led by Vini Reilly, never quite fit in with any punk or rock movement. His life to this very day has always been a constant struggle. In the old days, in the time of 1981’s masterpiece LC, his fragile-sounding music held together by the tender fingerpicked sound of his electric guitar displayed a strength through opposition. In real life, constant struggles with anorexia nervosa and depression had always taken a toll on his body and mind. Running against the current of the powerful and powerfully abrasive music of his time, somehow Vini’s introspective electric folk music found common experience in dedications to characters some real (or imagined), environments, and questions left unanswered. Something, bracing and serene in his music belied a feeling he needed to hold in order to appreciate living his day to day life. Its as if he knew his whole life was going to be a struggle and rather than fight back with venom and anger, or succumb to it, he did the most punk thing ever, he presented he stepped back and saw the bigger picture."

David Gilmour - yes i have ghosts, 2020

“I was working on this song just as we went in to lockdown and had to cancel a session with backing singers but, as it turned out, the solution was right here and I couldn’t be happier with the way Romany’s voice blends with mine and her beautiful harp playing has been another revelation.”

Fait-divers on Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard: the inability to pause and pay attention as our greatest source of unhappiness.

Sintra, há uns segundos atrás, pôr-do-sol, dia 27 de Abril de 2025

Beirut - guyamas sonora, 2007

"Condon and his collaborators (which include Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, who even sings on the lovely "Cliquot") have not forgotten the kind of jocularity and community inherent in the folk traditions they pull from, so even as violins, organs, and harpsichords play dramatic and acute melodies and the vocals ascend to a feverish intensity, that feeling of being in the back of some tavern, passing around dishes and glasses and singing aloud with your compatriots, is present, and keeps things grounded, more real. "In the Mausoleum" balances syncopated piano with minor melodies and an ominous upright bass, while both "Guyamas Sonora" and the title track use dramatic horns to convey a kind of triumph in the prosperity of the tradition. It's thoughtful and fun and sophisticated, utterly alluring, another fantastic success by Zach Condon."

Club 8 - don't be gone, 1996

"Club 8 consists of Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård, formed in 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden. Their early sound, as heard in Nouvelle, blends anorak pop with influences from bands like The Smiths and Sarah Records artists. The song "Don't Be Gone" reflects their signature dreamy, melancholic style, with introspective lyrics about honesty and emotional support in relationships. Nouvelle is noted for its 13 tracks, including other songs like "Blue Skies" and "Me Too"

REM - photograph, 1993

“Photograph” was written for Automatic For The People, but for whatever reason, it was abandoned and completed later on with Natalie Merchant for inclusion on the pro-choice benefit album Born To Choose. (This was a pretty nice record, by the way — it also featured a spirited live recording of the Beatles’ “She Said, She Said” by Matthew Sweet, and “Greenlander,” one of Pavement’s all-time best non-album tracks.) Stylistically, it’s more or less exactly what a somewhat cynical person might expect of R.E.M. in the early ’90s: Mid-tempo yet perky, and almost a bit too tasteful in its arrangement. The song is very well crafted and incredibly ingratiating, but it’s not hard to understand why it was cast aside — it’s a bit too neutral in tone for Automatic For The People, and it’s perhaps one step too far into inoffensive, toothless coffee shop pop."

Trace Mountains - lost in the country, 2020

"What if the worries that keep you awake at night — fear of commitment, awareness of mortality, the inevitability of loss — could, instead, motivate you during the day? That is the gist of Trace Mountains’ Lost in the Country, a brisk indie rock record that bluntly addresses our deepest concerns and transmutes them into 10 winning anthems about persevering."

Outros olhares: Convent Church (closed), Tanah Rata, Malaysia, hoje, 27 de Abril de 2025

Outros olhares: Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Catholic Church), Tanah Rata, Malaysia, hoje, 27 de Abril de 2025

Nation Of Language - sightseer, 2023

"Devaney and Sue-Poi were both members of the Static Jacks, but the band became inactive after the release of their second album. Devaney was inspired to start a new project after hearing "Electricity" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in his father's car, a track he listened to in his childhood. What started out as Devaney "fooling around" on a keyboard later evolved into Nation of Language, with the addition of Devaney's partner Noell and former Static Jacks bandmate Sue-Poi. Current bassist Alex MacKay joined the band in 2022."