Sufjan Stevens - ursa major, 2020

"Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from most of the Northern Hemisphere, and appears circumpolar above the mid-northern latitudes. From southern temperate latitudes, the main asterism is invisible, but the southern parts of the constellation can still be viewed."

Slowdive - catch the breeze, 1991

"Just for a Day is Slowdive's first album, and it shows; when one listens to the magnificent sound of Souvlaki or the brilliant experimentation of Pygmalion, it becomes clear that Just for a Day was only a step toward the greatness they would later achieve."

Bear's Den - above the clouds of pompeii, 2014

Bears Den · Above The Clouds Of Pompeii

"'Above The Clouds Of Pompeii' is a song we first started playing in the back of a VW camper van on our first ever tour and we've played it live at every show we've ever played since. We're really excited to finally be able to share this song with people as it's one of the first songs we as a band all connected with and the song that our audiences have most connected with."

The Beatles - it won't be long, 1963

"the song marked the beginning of the Beatles reaching a broader audience beyond their original youthful fanbase from their Liverpool club days."

Fait-divers on attitude

Stay grounded, keep breathing, observe the experience, don’t take it literally, and don’t get too attached to it.

Fait-divers by Sylvia Plath

“Farm work is one of the best jobs for getting to know people as they really are” (Sylvia Plath)

Fait-divers on depression and sadness

The difference between sadness and depression is that sad people don't smile.

Far Caspian - first day, 2025

"A nostalgic and heartfelt love song, “First Day” opens up with bright, rhythmic guitars alongside a simple and steady drumbeat, all accompanied by a music video featuring a fish-eye lens view of residential houses, flat blocks, building construction and rainy parks."

Isobel Campbell And Mark Lanegan - it's hard to kill a bad thing, 2006

"Ballad of the Broken Seas is an album by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, their first collaboration. It made the shortlist for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize and was one of NME's top one hundred albums of the decade. The Mercury nomination provoked some criticism, as Lanegan was American and the award is for British and Irish artists only. However, Campbell wrote most of the tracks and produced the album. Campbell had written the music and some of the lyrics before sending it to Lanegan."

Bear's Den - isaac live, 2014

“It’s great to be playing in Cambridge again”, lead singer Andrew Davie tells the audience. I bet he says that to all the cities. An unfortunate tale unfolds about their last show at a different venue here in 2012, when a sound technician let the band get through a significant portion of their first song before switching the house sound on."

The Mountain Goats - cry for judas, 2012

"It's a song about the shame that you carry within you throughout the world and that you can never seem to shrug yourself free of. You will get free of it someday, but I personally can't tell you how because I don't know."

The Moody Blues - tuesday afternoon live, 2000

"Hall of Fame is a live album by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was recorded at a concert performed at the Royal Albert Hall, which included backing by a live orchestra. The album was released on 8 August 2000. It is the second Moody Blues live album to feature a live orchestra, with the first being A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. This is the last live release to feature Ray Thomas."

Fait-divers: meditation

Don't underestimate the healing power of these three things: music, the ocean, and the stars.

Fait-divers: meditation by Thomas Merton

We have what we seek. It is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us. (Thomas Merton)

Pet Shop Boys - always on my mind seven version cover, 1987

"In 1987, the Pet Shop Boys performed a synth-pop version of "Always on My Mind" in Love Me Tender, a television special produced by Central Independent Television for ITV in the United Kingdom. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, the programme featured various popular acts of the time performing cover versions of his songs. The Pet Shop Boys' performance was so well-received that the duo decided to record the song and release it as a single."

Sufjan Stevens - landslide, 2020

"Absolutely loving the album, but I do wish there were some more tracks like it throughout. It comes as a respite from the overwhelming sadness and droning, while still staying true to the sound of the album. Also, the guitar solo is amazing."

Bear's Den - isaac, 2013

"I believe Bear’s Den is so amazing because after listening to their songs on repeat for a few days, as one does when they discover new music that they love, I started finding connections between a few of their songs. Their songs are a bit ambiguous so I could just be making up connections and shaping them to fit with the music but if not, this band has managed to tell a complete story through at least four different songs which is so cool."

The Durutti Column - the rest of my life, 1994

"Despite being issued additionally on CDRom (in a sandpaper sleeve again) and garnering favourable reviews, the album sank without trace. I think it is one of DCs best 5 albums, but in an age of Brit-pop, Blur and Oasis, no-one cared. Many songs remain the equal of his key early material - "The Rest of My Life" and "Beautiful Lies" being the stand-outs. Also once again, the instrumental tracks strengthened Reilly's reputation as a masterly guitarist - "Blue Period", "My Irascible Friend" and "For Colette" are all utterly wonderful and still timeless."

Fait-divers on dreaming

Dare to dream. You will wake up, but at least you got some sleep.

Black Marigolds quoted in Cannery Row of John Steinbeck

When the record had
finished, Doc wiped his hands and turned it off. He saw a book lying half
under his bed and picked it up and he sat down on the bed. For a moment he
read to himself but then his lips began to move and in a moment he read
aloud—slowly, pausing at the end of each line.
Even now
I mind the coming and talking of wise men from
towers
Where they had thought away their youth. And I,
listening,
Found not the salt of the whispers of my girl,
Murmur of confused colors, as we lay near sleep;
Little wise words and little witty words,
Wanton as water, honied with eagerness.
In the sink the high white foam cooled and ticked as the bubbles burst.
Under the piers it was very high tide and the waves splashed on rocks they
had not reached in a long time.
Even now
I mind that I loved cypress and roses, clear,
The great blue mountains and the small gray hills,
The sounding of the sea. Upon a day
I saw strange eyes and hands like butterflies;
For me at morning larks flew from the thyme
And children came to bathe in little streams.
Doc closed the book. He could hear the waves beat under the piles and he
could hear the scampering of white rats against the wire. He went into the
kitchen and felt the cooling water in the sink. He ran hot water into it. He
spoke aloud to the sink and the white rats, and to himself:
Even now,
I know that I have savored the hot taste of life
Lifting green cups and gold at the great feast.
Just for a small and a forgotten time
I have had full in my eyes from off my girl
The whitest pouring of eternal light—
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. And the white rats
scampered and scrambled in their cages. And behind the glass the
rattlesnakes lay still and stared into space with their dusty frowning eyes.

Fait-divers on books

Finishing a good book feels like losing a friend. Finishing a great book feels like gaining one for life.

Fait-divers on metaphors by Susanne Katherina Langer

"a metaphor is apt to be more revealing than a literal statement... In the history of language, in the growth of human understanding, the principle of metaphorical expression plays a vastly greater role than most people realize. For it is the natural instrument of our greatest mental achievement — abstract thinking." (Susanne Katherina Langer)

Neil Young - the emperor of wyoming, 1969

"Being the opening track on Neil Young's self-titled solo debut album, "The Emperor of Wyoming" is in some ways the song that first introduced the general public to Neil Young as a solo artist (he'd already achieved a degree of notoriety with Buffalo Springfield)."

Club 8 - staying alive, 2025

"Since Club 8 began submitting their music to us, we have eagerly covered their work on a regular basis. They have become one of my favorite discoveries on the blog in recent years, despite the fact that they have been a significant part of the Swedish music scene for much longer. Their songs always transport me back to the times when I was captivated by the dreamy, hazy sounds of Radio Dept., with that enchanting blend of shoegaze and indie pop that is so hard to define yet so easy to fall in love with."

Sufjan Stevens - goodbye to all that, 2020

"He takes us on a sonic journey through anxiety, questioning his steadfast embracement of religion, and, in total Stevens fashion, death, and though none of it is particularly joyful, it’s beautiful from start to finish."

Saint Etienne - alone together, 2024

"For an amazingly long time, Saint Etienne have deftly blended and updated the cool bits of past forms with the sounds of now. Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs have made music that's danceable, joyous, peppy, and sometimes mournful. Now, in 2024, they've turned their sights on years gone by, with a release that is heavy with a sense of time spent, and regrets weighed and assessed. That said, it's also quite possibly their loveliest record to date."

Fait-divers by Jean Baudrillard on information and meaning

"We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning." (Jean Baudrillard)

Fait-divers

Life is dark. Enjoy the stars.

Outros olhares: Bruxelas, Dezembro de 2016

Bear's Den - agape, 2013

"The opening title track tells of the horror of contemplating life without this 'agape'."

Fazerdaze - last to sleep, 2017

"Side one kicks off with ‘Last to Sleep’, which sets the bar inordinately high. It begins with a deceptively simple drum, bass, guitar construction with Amelia trademark vocal stamping its mark from the outset. It is a vocal style at once relaxed but emphatic, laid back but precise, relaxed but urgent. The song has its own precise internal momentum and builds as keyboard layers are added."

Beach House - space song, 2015

"I don't need to analyze it because I'm grateful for it. I don’t think it's just that song, but if that is the gateway, then I'm happy about it. We both feel lucky that younger people keep discovering us and we're able to keep making records."

Fait-divers on attitude

Dear humans: You are all born of and will end up as star stuff. There's no need to be cruel to each other during the transition.

Fait-divers on parables by Yann Martel

“A parable is an allegory in the form of a simple story. It is a suitcase that we open and unpack to see its contents.” (Yann Martel)

REM - every day is yours to win, 2011

"I feel like this song is about trying to make someone understand that despite the many struggles they’ll have to face in their life, the world is theirs to make great and everyday is theirs to win. It’s about being hopeful and optimistic for the future. The title of the song is also the message of the song. It’s advice that I’m sure a lot of parents give to their children." 

Such a great song!

The Moody Blues - the land of make believe, 1972

"It sounds like people who have a feeling of happiness, are very optimistic and only see the good things in life. Still, it feels a bit sad for me."

My Morning Jacket - x-mas curtain, 2001

"That song was about a time when we were very poor and our old drummer and myself would go into various departments stores and steal things [laughs] and give 'em to people, kind of in a Robin Hood way. Give 'em to people including ourselves, 'cause we didn't have any money and we thought it was okay to steal [laughs] like VCRs and stuff from [more laughs] departments stores. We thought we were being like vigilantes for justice. Uhm, we'd take like a VCR and a couple of Walkmens and some batteries and stuff and put them on the bottom of the cart and then put a big bag on dog food on top of 'em all and then have the cashier woman scan the dog food and usually they wouldn't see all the [laughs] hundreds of dollars of electronics underneath. That's why the song kind of references being a criminal that doesn't break the law at Christmas time."

The Smiths - oscillate wildly, 1987

"Initially the very notion of instrumentals was motivated by me. I suggested that 'Oscillate Wildly' should be an instrumental; up until that point Johnny had very little interest in non-vocal tracks. There was never any political heave-hoing about should we - shouldn't we have an instrumental and it was never a battle of powers between Johnny and myself. The very assumption that a Smiths instrumental track left Morrissey upstairs in his bedroom stamping his feet and kicking the furniture was untrue! I totally approved but, obviously, I didn't physically contribute."

Fait-divers by John Rawls

The best way to measure a just society is whether you'd be willing to be thrown into it at random. (John Rawls)

Fait-divers on fake news

Outrage about "fake news" comes from the wrong assumption that readers base their opinions on the news and not the news on their opinions.

Fait-divers on hologram

"Space-time and the matter within it are treated as a hologram that arises from an underlying network of quantum bits"

Sintra, pôr do sol, ontem, 26 de Maio de 2025

Outros olhares: Madrid, Espanha, pôr do sol, ontem, 26 de Maio de 2025

The Cranberries - they long to be close to you cover, 2002

"when "Close To You" just dominated the summer of 1970 was how different it was from everything it was surrounded"

Beach Fossils - birthday, 2013

"The New York City dream pop band's second album sees them introduce a darker, more socially aware edge, though it trades their former instrumental rigidity for amiable, mid-fi college rock jangle."

Sufjan Stevens - the ascension, 2020

"The big moment, the big climax that the album has been leading up to since the offer given to Sufjan at the very beginning. And this is gonna be long. So let's just the key concepts out of the way first: change, moving on, self reflection, religious self doubt, the list goes on."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - happy when it rains, 1987

"Happy When It Rains" is a song by Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain, released as the second single from their second studio album, Darklands."

The Moody Blues - our guessing game, 1971

"Based in a typical Moody Blues motif, this piece has both folk and progressive rock elements to it. It gets more involved and intense as it continues."

REM - walk it back, 2011

"This ballad was written during studio sessions in New Orleans, the city clearly inspiring the hymnal tones of the song's piano. Instead of following their usual procedure of penning a batch of tunes and recording them in one long session, R.E.M. laid down Collapse Into Now in three different cities — Berlin, Nashville and New Orleans — with breaks in between for writing sessions."

The Go-Betweens - old mexico, 2003

"Even the Velvets inspired ‘Mrs Morgan’ has a muted sparkle to it. Forster’s ‘In Her Diary’ is particularly outstanding, the guitar lines and orchestration having a great resonance, while ‘Too Much of One Thing’ has quite a rush to it. The sound has rounded out, exemplified by ‘Old Mexico’ with its spiky guitar and keyboard intro together with its chorus’s melodic shift and Pickavance’s backing vocals adding an extra layer. ‘Something For Myself’ has Forster’s most enigmatic and unlikely observation, “want to get out folk and get into rare groove."

Fait-divers on attitude by Pope Francis

“Beneath rigidity there is something else, there is often wickedness” (Pope Francis)

Fait-divers on silence by Thomas Merton

There is a greater comfort in the substance of silence than in the answer to a question. (Thomas Merton)

The Lightning Seeds - like you do, 1996

"Perhaps best representing the sunny, joyous elements of the album, though, is Like You Do."

My Morning Jacket - golden, 2003

"Golden" has all the touchstones of the Jim James school of songwriting. There is a pure love song tucked between the cracks, but "Golden" is also a sort of Yim Yamesian universal love song – a song about the meaning and mysteries of life."

Fait-divers on Love by Thomas Merton

To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that Love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. (Thomas Merton)

Fait-divers on Love by the Dalai Lama"

"What is Love? Love is the absence of judgement." (Dalai Lama)

Portico Quartet - ruins, 2011

"an album which grabs the zeitgeist but still stays true to its roots: callipygously shuffling, painlessly segueing, mingling the darkest rags ‘n’ bones of dubstep, d ‘n’b and off-kilter jazz, all the while interweaving heck loads of new-found textures and electronics. It’s a forward-thinking game-change which feels rich, warm and – quite simply – astounding”.

Fait-divers on attitude by Lao Tzu

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.” (Lao Tzu)

Fait-divers on narcissism

Despair is the worst form of narcissism because it seems entirely justified.

Saint Etienne - slow down at the castle, 2005

"The exact setting of the stories told by the album's setting is somewhat amorphous. The real Turnpike House is a high-rise block of flats in Goswell Road, EC1, an area of ex-council blocks between Clerkenwell and Upper Street. The band had spent a lot of time in Turnpike House, as filmmaker Paul Kelly lived there during the period in which they were collaborating on What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?. However, Sarah Cracknell has said that the building imagined in the album is "not nearly as smart" as the real Turnpike House. Bob Stanley has said that he imagined the album's setting to be more suburban, "probably somewhere like Croydon or possibly Ponders End". Pete Wiggs has said that his experience of living in Croydon was the inspiration for "Side Streets" and "Slow Down at the Castle" (the Castle is a water tower in Park Hill Recreation Ground). However, the title of "The Birdman of EC1" refers to the postal district in which the real Turnpike House is located."

Electronic - how long, 1996

"By the time Electronic's long-delayed second album appeared in 1996, the zeitgeist in Britain had completely shifted from its members' parent bands to a new generation of groups, with Oasis, who shared management with Sumner and Marr's project, standing forth out of a horde of newer Brit-pop acts. Electronic itself chose not to try and compete, following its own low-key path while working with a variety of guest musicians, including returning singer Denise Johnson. The intriguing surprise came courtesy of an additional keyboardist - none other than Kraftwerk veteran Karl Bartos, who also co-wrote nearly half the release with Sumner and Marr. In the same way that the group's debut promised more than it delivered, though, Raise the Pressure - theoretically a dream collaboration between key members of three groundbreaking bands - ends up being more pleasant than necessary."

The Moody Blues - the best way to travel, 1968

"Keyboard player Mike Pinder’s (Thinking is) The Best Way to Travel on the In Search of a Lost Chord album is one of the great “show me the universe and get me home for tea” acid songs, and that quintet of late 60s albums is liberally peppered with memorable psychedelic moments."

Fait-divers on decoherence

decoherence: things that might have happened, but didn’t, might still affect the future (https://aeon.co/essays/does-knowledge-of-the-past-and-present-determine-the-future)

Fait-divers: a story with a meaning

"The friends nodded appreciatively, for they liked a story with a meaning." (John Steinbeck, "Tortilla Flat")

Bill Ryder-Jones - wild roses live, 2016

"During End of the Road Festival this year, the English songwriter took up the piano and played a short secret set for the punters that happened to walk past."

Fait-divers on Gratitude

The antidote to entitlement is the constant demonstration of gratitude. (Vala Afshar)

Fait-divers on criticism

The worst criticism seeks to have the last word and leave the rest of us in silence.

The Go-Betweens - make her day, 2003

"It's not every day that a reunion becomes a full-blown second phase for a band's career, but that seems to be what's happening with this old Australian outfit, even if principle songwriters Grant McLennan and Robert Forster are the only original members back in the fold. 2000's Friends of Rachel Worth found the duo picking up pretty much where the Go-Betweens left off in 1988, back when they were a steady five-piece operating far from their Brisbane home, in London, to massive critical acclaim and microscopic album sales. The post-punk charge that found its way into some of the band's early recordings is all but gone; the band focuses almost all of Bright Yellow Bright Orange (their eighth full-length) on their acoustic, folk-inflected side."