"To be loved like that makes all the difference. It does not lessen the terror of the fall, but it gives a new perspective on what that terror means. I had jumped off the edge, and then, at the very last moment, something reached out and caught me in midair. That something is what I define as love. It is the one thing that can stop a man from falling, the one thing powerful enough to negate the laws of gravity." Paul Auster (Moon Palace)

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Poolside - harvest moon satin jackets remix, 2022

"Satin Jackets is the brainchild of German producer, Tim Bernhardt. Who teamed up with his friend, Den Ishu, as lead performer. Collaborations with highly demanded vocalists, as well as top-ranked remixing work, turned the project into a very recognisable brand name. Lush Indie Dance tunes with a pop appeal and a four-to-the-floor groove. They have toured three continents with over thirty gigs in the past years."

The The - the beaten generation live, 2021

"An amazing release, top to bottom very well done."

Wild Nothing - through windows, 2018

"I think when I started messing around with the idea for this song, really I just wanted another vehicle for saxophone. So I started writing this song with the intention that sax would be playing a pivotal part in this song. It’s the only song on the record where the sax isn’t necessarily a featured instrument. It’s more running throughout the song in a way."

AC Newman - thunderbolts, 2009

"Songs like Thunderbolts or The Collected Works, upon first listening, may confound you with their halting, stop & start nature and may seem at first an impossible beat, but once you "get" them, once you've heard them a few times, you will no doubt be unable to get them out of your head."

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Neil Young - i’m the ocean acoustic live, 2023

"Before and After is a live album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. It was released on December 8, 2023, through Reprise. Consisting of 13 tracks, the album features solo acoustic re-recordings of some of his past songs. The album tracks were recorded during Young's 2023 Coastal Tour."

Tame Impala - the moment, 2015

"I was listening to Currents for the second or third time, and it wasn’t until “The Moment” came on as I was passing through Escondido that reality started to sink in. This move was actually happening, and I had no way of knowing how it would all work out, or if I would end up regretting it. It was a moment of pure anxiety bordering on terror. But it was already too late to turn back, and I took a strange sense of comfort from that fact. And as the song continued on, I realized that psychedelic genius Kevin Parker was right: I couldn’t just spend my whole lifetime wondering. I’d have to trust in the moment and in myself."

Azure Ray - if you fall, 2003

"Azure Ray’s unique sound is highlighted by Taylor and Fink’s exquisite lead singing, combined harmony vocals, and delicate guitar playing; their lush and atmospheric music; and their tender and evocative lyrics."

Franz Ferdinand - the dark of the matinée live, 2013

"The song is about walking home from Bearsden Academy fantasising about a better life in the future, telling Terry Wogan about it on UK national television, then being shaken from the fantasy as its own ridiculousness shatters its very existence."

Sufjan Stevens - star of wonder, 2006

"Sufjan Steven’s breathtaking anthem, “Star of Wonder,” begins from a place of amazement. It leads you through the galaxy soaring past the clouds, comets, planets, and stars. Its one-minute intro serves as a tour guide through the solar system that allows the listener to view the celestial bodies from up close. The song is about people who are lost and in search of an answer. Some guided spirit that can lead them in the right direction, however as the song begins, it becomes evident that it’s not coming from the perspective of anyone on Earth, but from someplace above."

Monday, December 23, 2024

The Velvet Underground - oh sweet nuthin, 1970

"On Loaded there was a big push to produce a hit single, there was that mentality, which one of these is a single, how does it sound when we cut it down to 3.5 minutes, so that was a major topic for the group at that point. And I think that the third album to a great extent shows a lot of that in that a lot of those songs were designed as singles and if you listen to them you can hear the derivation, like this is sort of a Phil Spector-ish kind of song, or this is that type of person song."

Darksoft - yesteryear, 2023

"love this song"

EELS - christmas why you gotta do me like this, 2023

"Unafraid to try and break into the Christmas market, this is Eels’ third Xmas tune, with E himself stating, ‘Everyone should have at least three Christmas songs in their catalog. I’m sorry it took me so long.’"

Beirut - east harlem, 2011

"The song was chosen upon release as Pitchfork Media's "Best New Track". Marc Hogan stated that, "East Harlem looks poised to undergo a similar sort of ripening as it becomes more and more familiar. The lyrics are sparse and rooted in classic, instantly communicative tropes: "Another rose wilts in East Harlem," Condon croons, as he wastes no words in vividly describing an intra-Manhattan relationship that feels like it's separated by "a thousand miles" (have you tried getting from downtown to East Harlem lately?)." Hogan continues by saying, "the stately backing is what we've come to expect from Beirut, with swaying accordion, rich brass, lively piano, and trebly strums, all in all more like a 2010 Williamsburg performance. By the time Condon switches things up, repeating, "Oh, the sound will bring me home again," over wordless backing vocals, he might as well be describing the warm, cozy but still distinctive feeling "East Harlem" has achieved."

Hazel English - real life, 2023

“I don't really ever write with the intention of knowing where it's going to go. It's important not to think about that stuff in the moment.”

Arlo Parks - last christmas cover, 2020

"Covering a Christmas classic as beloved as Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ can be difficult. However, when Arlo Parks was in a festive mood back in 2020, the singer-songwriter rose to the challenge with aplomb and put a cosy spin on the holiday favourite."

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Pink Floyd - the show must go on, 1979

"As with the other songs on The Wall, "The Show Must Go On" tells a segment of the story of Pink, the story's protagonist. This song leads into "In the Flesh", where the show is performed by Pink as he begins to mentally unravel and hallucinate that he is a fascist dictator."

The New Pornographers - sing me spanish techno, 2005

"The band’s third album is their best, adding a layer of sophistication to their energetic power-pop. The main attraction on ‘Sing Me Spanish Techno’ is the beautifully harmonised bridge – ‘Traveling at godspeed/Over the hills and trails”.

The Innocence Mission - cloud to cloud, 2024

"the captivating acoustic arpeggios of “Cloud to Cloud”, where the melodies seem especially colorful and melancholy, and even if the whole experience is starting to feel a bit like Groundhog’s Day, at least it’s one of those beautiful winter days where the sun peeks out between the clouds and offers the promise of spring amidst the hush of a chilly Pennsylvania winter."

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The Doors - unhappy girl, 1967

"The band explored musique concrète techniques during the album's recording sessions. While recording "Unhappy Girl" for example, keyboardist Ray Manzarek played his keyboard introduction backwards, and the corresponding overdubs were later made."

Fanfarlo - tunguska, 2012

"In this song they are singing about mysterious event in 1908 that destroyed 80 million trees in Siberia with a force 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima."

The KVB - happy xmas war is over cover, 2024

"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was the culmination of more than two years of peace activism"

Saint Etienne - last orders for gary stead, 2005

"After a somewhat deceptive, slow piano intro, “Last Orders For Gary Stead” suddenly locks into a two-chord glam rock groove, complete with electric guitar, pounding piano and Cracknell sounding like the love child of David Bowie and Dusty Springfield."

Tom McRae - wonderful christmastime cover, 2004

"a cover version of "Wonderful Christmastime" to a Christmas compilation album: Maybe This Christmas Tree released in 2004."

The Smashing Pumpkins - appels oranjes, 1998

"Appels + Oranjes" has the distinction of being the first song written for Adore, demoed out during a session with Matt Walker, as other music was being put together for what became the Ransom Soundtrack. And here lies another story, as the famed composer I was to share the album's cover with had me summarily kicked off it. Why? Because he claimed the work I'd done was not 'music,' and he would not be sullied by it. To him, and to you, I say it is better to make original noise than luke-warm, adopted themes trolled from the greats. To he, I dedicate this hymn. For what if his shining, erstwhile baton refused to shudder at our collective rebellion?"

Friday, December 20, 2024

Bad Lieutenant - this is home, 2009

"It's all rather strange actually as Bad Lieutenant' are essentially just New Order without Peter Hook. I suppose it's less about what's technically been lost and rather something more esoteric."

Scorpions - wind of change, 1991

"Wind of Change" is a song by German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album Crazy World (1990). A power ballad, it was composed and written by the band's lead singer, Klaus Meine, and produced by Keith Olsen and the band. The lyrics were composed by Meine following the band's visit to the Soviet Union at the height of perestroika, when the enmity between the communist and capitalist blocs subsided concurrently with the promulgation of large-scale socioeconomic reforms in the Soviet Union."

Pet Shop Boys - you choose, 2002

"Neil has himself noted that this song expresses the exact opposite philosophy from that of "Love Comes Quickly." That is, the earlier song maintains that love happens to people unwillingly, without their consent. It's not a matter of choice. "You Choose," by contrast, states matter-of-factly that people do choose to fall in love. As a result, those who fall in love must accept responsibility for the measure of pain and sorrow that almost inevitably comes with it. "Choosing to love is risking a lot.… You take a chance and see it through."

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

The Rolling Stones - under my thumb, 1966

"It's never about a real woman, but simply about this instrument that the guitarist has to tame, which probably gets him into trouble at first, but which he finally manages to dominate with his fingertips—under his thumb!"

Wishy - spinning, 2023

“Spinning” is a warm, shimmery dream-pop jam driven by a propulsive breakbeat and some incandescent, reverb-heavy vocals from Nina Pitchkites, who also wrote the track. In a press release, she says, “This song is purely about self-discovery and letting yourself have fun even in the midst of uncertainty. I wrote it during a time of confusion in my early 20s. I was very inspired by the jangle-pop nature of the Sundays, which is a band that inspires a lot of my songwriting.”

The Flaming Lips - waitin for a superman remix, 1999

"When the Flaming Lips first appeared in the mid-80s, there was little indication of the stunning sonic masterworks that lay ahead."

Wim Mertens - no testament, 1989

"Welcome to the select and intimate world of Belgian minimalism. Never heard of Belgian minimalism? This is not entirely surprising, since Wim Mertens has long been its lone representative and one-man pioneer."

AC Newman - the heartbreak rides, 2009

"To listen to the music of A. C. Newman is to be invited into an imaginary world. Not your typical sort of imaginary world with dragons and sorcerors or robots and spaceships, but the kind where words themselves are pulled and stretched, chosen more for the value of their alliteration or rhyme rather than their meaning in logically constructed sentences."

Del Amitri - buttons on my clothes, 2002

"check out “buttons on my clothes” by the oft underrated del amitri which is my unofficial theme song"

Travis - why does it always rain on me, 1999

"Fran Healy started writing the song while on holiday in Eilat, Israel. According to Healy, he was looking for some winter sun when his accountant suggested Eilat, which is known for its hot weather even during winter time. However, on the way to the hotel, it began to rain, which lasted until he left a week later."

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Windows 96 - apartments, 2024

"Apartments is incredible"

Club 8 - something's wrong in my head, 2024

"Club 8 have long been the kind of restless band not content to keep making the same record over and over. Unlike many groups who strike out when they attempt new things, the duo of Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård pretty much knock the cover off the ball every time they take a swing. Previous albums have taken on trip-hop, African pop, sample-based electronic, and synth pop, to name a few. 2025's A Year with Club 8 delves into fuzzy punk-pop with big hooks, guitars that jangle and crash, and tempos that inspire dancing around the room with abandon -- or staring moodily into space on the slower numbers."

Moscow Olympics - second trace, 2007

"Born in the sticky Philippines summer of 2006, the five-piece known as Moscow Olympics produce music that has been described by Alistair Fitchett (on his Unpopular blog) as "Blueboy leaping from the clouds and snogging The Wake in the sunset whilst drifting down over the Oresund bridge." Indeed, the band's fuzzy, dreamy pop is deliciously reminiscent of our most favourite bands of past decades, but they have a genuine just-for-the-love-of-music spirit/sound that's uniquely their own."

Keane - silenced by the night, 2012

"Silenced by the Night" is a song by English rock band Keane from their fourth studio album Strangeland."

Voxtrot - raised by wolves, 2005

"a pleasant and breezy introduction to a group for which indie pop fans should have high hopes."

Tame Impala - eventually, 2015

"Eventually" is a song by Australian psychedelic music project Tame Impala. It is the fifth track on the 2015 album Currents"

Enya - book of days, 1992

"With her trademark understated drama in full flow many other places, especially on the wonderful "Book of Days" (replaced on later pressings with an English language version done for the film Far and Away), Enya shows herself to still have it, to grand effect."

The Radio Dept - in america, 2010

"I discovered them from the Marie Antoinette soundtrack and fell in love pretty hard with these guys. A year later I found myself at the actual Versailles and all I cared about was touring the grounds and listening to their music."

The Legends - no way out, 2004

"One of the most consistent independent labels in recent years has been Labrador. Initially formed in Stockholm by Bengt Rahm at the tail end of 1998, its first couple of releases being compilation seven-inch singles showcasing Swedish bands of the time. One of those bands were Acid House Kings, and it was through their involvement that main mouthpiece and songwriter Johan Angergård became involved with the label. Running his own label (Summersound) at the time, it was this merging of ideas with Rahm that built the foundations from which Labrador has grown ever since. Having been responsible for releases by the likes of The Radio Dept., The Mary Onettes, Sambassadeur, Club 8, The Legends, The Sound Of Arrows and Pelle Carlberg among a host of others, the label celebrated its tenth birthday in 2008 by releasing the 'Labrador 100: A Complete History Of Popular Music' boxset. Encompassing artists and songs from those first ten years, it also signified the label's 100th release."

Mike Oldfield - celtic rain, 1996

"The music on this album is the most overtly Celtic music Mike Oldfield has produced. The album was originally recorded using only acoustic hand-played instruments. After the daughter of a Warner Music exec said it sounded boring, Oldfield added synthesizers and more instruments to the album."

Monday, December 16, 2024

Pink Floyd - wot’s uh the deal, 1972

"Wot's... Uh the Deal?" is a song from Pink Floyd's 1972 album, Obscured by Clouds. The song features multi-tracked vocals by David Gilmour, who also wrote the music, and lyrics by Roger Waters that describe taking advantage of certain opportunities life gives and how they affect a person later on."

The Lumineers - ho hey, 2012

"That song was an effort to get under people's skin at shows in Brooklyn, where everyone is pretty indifferent"

Rádio Macau - há dias assim, 1986

"In the age of innocence, a group of friends lived in a house in Algueirão, municipality of Sintra. The boys in their late teens. The girl a little younger. Everyone aspired to be something, it remained to know what."

The Cranberries - shattered, 1999

"The actual songs found on Bury the Hatchet, however, vary in terms of quality. On one hand, you have excellent cuts which include the likes of the blistering singe Promises; the upbeat Loud and Clear; Just My Imagination, a softer song which reminds me of the band's No Need to Argue album; and the laidback Shattered."

Pet Shop Boys - flamboyant, 2003

"The second previously unreleased track on PopArt, "Flamboyant" was the follow-up single to "Miracles." Co-produced by the German producer/remixer Tomcraft (Thomas Brückner), who generally works in an "electro" style, it's an uptempo, techno-oriented dance track"

Saint Etienne - milk bottle symphony, 2005

"Choosing a highlight from a concept album is always tricky. It could have been 'Relocate', in which Ms Cracknell and one David Essex argue about whether leaving London is leaving life itself. Having just done that very thing, my ears burned. But not as hotly as they did throughout 'Teenage Winter', where 'middle youth' is forced to accept that it's just middle-aged, and the local pub jukebox has been replaced by 'Aussie bar staff playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers'. But the vote goes to 'Milk Bottle Symphony', partly because it's the only pop anthem I own that stars the milk company Unigate, but mainly because it has the most fabulous melody of the year. The song simply introduces the album's central characters by waking them up and having them deliver and drink milk. That's it. But the symphony is the sum of all the melodies they are whistling and humming, making the morning bearable, transforming the mundane into the hope contained in every new day. It conjures memories of the early Seventies, when there was only one pop radio station and everyone emerged from their homes singing the same song in a silly symphony of human joy. Except, of course, that that never happened. Which is what this album is really all about, and what this song does its damnedest to redress."

AC Newman - there are maybe ten or twelve, 2009

"If you aren't familiar with the man's work, then I'd both urge you to make yourself so and also tell you that his work (particularly his solo work) sounds kind of like a mix between mid-period Kinks/Ray Davies (the sensibility), Randy Newman (the melodies), pre-Wild Honey Beach Boys (the harmonies), The Go-Betweens, and whatever other super-crisp power-pop records of which you can think. Maybe The Smithereens, from time to time? Lots of lazer (with a "z") guitars, lots of start-and-stop vocal melody lines, infrequent bouts of ornate and lush orchestration, etc.."

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Fanfarlo - life in the sky, 2014

"Though seemingly complicated in theme, the London band, led by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar, makes it all eminently palatable with hook-laden choruses and a relaxed delivery. This strange but pleasing amalgam of sounds"

Lee Scratch Perry - dyon anaswa, 1978

"Lee "Scratch Perry" was never quite one of us mortals. Every word that came from his mouth was a spiritual or linguistic riddle or game and you’d be hard pressed to find any human being on the face of the earth who dressed more outlandishly cool for so long. When I first discovered his music I’d try to turn all my friends onto him by saying something trite like, “he’s the Sun Ra of reggae” or some such stuff."

New Order - mr disco, 1989

"platinum leftfield electronic pop, full of cool riffs & melodies, seamless production, and thumpingly good beats and bass. Being so spoiled for choice is a measure of the band’s (and indeed Technique’s) greatness. Mr Disco brings the groove on the album’s side-B trilogy of bliss, and there’s little left in the tank at the end. It’s a textbook example of top drawer late-’80s New Order electronica: wistful verse and punchy chorus vocals, over rolling layers of synth & rock bass, lush synths, bells & strings, plus superlative drum programming (i.e unlike most house/acid at the time, which was necessarily simplistic and repetitious)."

Everything But The Girl - twenty-fifth december, 1994

"the penultimate “25th December” is the album’s true centerpiece. Again, the music’s sparse—mostly gently chiming guitars (including an guest solo from Richard Thompson, another Fairport Convention member) backing Watt’s introspective, vulnerable, undeniably personal lyrics. The first verse reflects on how “my old man plays the piano for Christmas,” being surrounded once again by family for this most celebrated and often melancholy of holidays."

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Black Sabbath - changes, 1972

"Changes" was not recorded with a real string ensemble. Instead, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi used a Mellotron to create the sound of an orchestra. The ballad is generally an outlier in the band’s discography as it does not feature guitar or drums. To alleviate concerns about the band departing their well-known heavy sound, Osbourne promised in a 1972 interview "We're certainly not going to get any less heavy, we will probably do 'Changes' on stage with a Mellotron, but we'll never take strings on stage with us or anything like that."

Pet Shop Boys - the survivors, 1996

"With this track Neil and Chris responded to recurring rumors that one or both of them have AIDS. In essence, they simply express how they feel as "survivors" of the epidemic (which by 1996 seemed to have peaked since more effective treatments had recently become available), being able to continue and flourish while so many others, including close friends, sicken and die. They're grateful for their good fortune, yet saddened by the losses around them. They feel the best thing they—or anyone—can do to commemorate those who have passed on is indeed to survive, carrying on in their stead. "Somehow we'll survive."

The Jesus And Mary Chain - till it shines, 1994

"Anyone who has ever written a song is a romantic. A song isn't life - it's supposed to depict a part of life. Anything that isn't real life is romanticism. Anything that's under the heading of art is romanticism. Art exists to make us feel exalted and above bunny rabbits."

Wim Mertens - houfnice, 1991

"I'd never heard anything like it before. Mertens seemingly played on some kind of electronic piano and sang along in his falsetto voice without lyrics. The staccato introduction was instantly arresting. Tension pulled as the music built up. Suddenly it paused. A soothing melody then caressed the rippling rhythm. When the vocal entered, I had some heavenly images in my head."

The Shins - the past and pending, 2001

"At this time of the year, I usually feel a sense of anticipatory loss over the passing of summer, but this year feels slightly different. Maybe I’m growing into a state of being more appreciative of the present moment, instead of dreading each one being over. Time will tell. I look forward to what’s next."

Elton John - nikita, 1985

"Nikita" is a song by English musician Elton John from his 19th studio album, Ice on Fire (1985). It was released as the album's lead single on 4 October 1985, charting at number three on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number seven in the United States, and reaching the top 10 worldwide, topping the charts of eight countries. The song features George Michael on backing vocals and Nik Kershaw on guitar."

Seapony - blue star, 2011

"Seattle’s Seapony make a dreamy bliss pop that is so easy and enjoyable to listen to that I don’t quite understand why it isn’t on every blog in the whole wide world."

Saint Etienne - le ballade de saint etienne, 2001

"Saint Etienne have deftly escaped the clutches of obscurity. Mainmen Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have nipped and tucked their once dancefloor-tailored sound over the years."

Friday, December 13, 2024

Neil Young - like a hurricane unplugged, 1993

"no doubt in my mind that this song is a classic, and the unplugged version might even be better than the original."

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - we love you, 1986

"AllMusic critic Dave Thompson later wrote that "We Love You" had "all the makings of a smash [hit]", while praising its instrumentation and "splendidly anthemic chorus". He also observed "barely veiled lyrics with anti-militaristic intent".

Arco-íris caindo no telhado do Palácio da Vila de Sintra, hoje, 13 de Dezembro de 2024, há poucos minutos

Art Garfunkel - scissors cut, 1981

"Laurie was the greatest thing I ever knew in my life, now I've lost it."

Renaissance - let it grow, 1973

"It felt so good to relax and have fun and a few glasses of wine... I do have footage of me dancing during the evening, but not sure if I will share that LOL’s. I wasn’t expecting to ‘sing’ so luckily I wasn’t legless hahahahaha. The Brazilian band had learned our song ‘Let it Grow’ ahead of time. This song was a huge hit in Brazil in the 70’s, but that was still not enough for us to be able to tour."

AC Newman - the cloud prayer, 2004

"We would join a formless consciousness. If we were looking, we could find the ones we love and share consciousness. Makes as much sense as living on a cloud."

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Beirut - the rip tide live seattle, 2012

"a significant homecoming for Condon, the seeker who rejected his hometown and travelled in search of romantic sounds; as if, having seen the world, he can see his home in a new, more mature light."

Girls In Hawaii - this farm will end up in fire, 2008

"It was basically a song about escaping Belgian weather and in a broader way escaping «who» or «where» we were at that time..."

The Shadows - good vibrations cover, 1973

"Good, good, good, good vibrations." He started telling me the story about his mother. ... He said he'd always thought that it would be fun to write a song about vibes and picking them up from other people. ... So as we started to work, he played this little rhythmic pattern—a riff on the piano, the thing that goes under the chorus."

Pet Shop Boys - young offender, 1993

"the music has a distinctly "techno" feel that includes "beeping" sounds common to computer games, highly appropriate to the scenario described in the lyrics of the younger man playing a computer game while the older man looks on somewhat bemusedly"

James - sometimes lester piggott, 1993

"Sometimes is track two on the 1993 James Laid album and was released as the first single from the album. The amusing sub-title is a reference to the racing beat of the song and carries on the band’s obsession with the tax-dodging jockey which first surfaced at the end of the original Sit Down. Tim often tells the story of Brian Eno being in tears the first time they played it live in the studio and how he told them it was one of the highlights of his musical life."

Violens - spectator and pupil, 2010

"Violens was an American synth-pop band. Jorge Elbrecht and Iddo Arad formed the band in 2007 while living in Brooklyn, New York, and Myles Matheny joined them in 2009. In 2008, the band released their self-titled extended play under the Deadly People record label. Their debut album Amoral was released in 2010, later followed by the second album True, released in 2012."

Club 8 - late nights, 2015

"Swedish indie pop pioneers Club 8 celebrated 20 years as a musical couple (which included several years as an actual couple) in 2015. That experience and chemistry are easy to track on the veteran band’s release of Pleasure, a new eight-song LP that Johan Angergård called the band’s “most focused work to date.”

AC Newman - on the table, 2004

"‘On The Table’ sounds like an outtake from The Electric Version"

Echo And The Bunnymen - jimmy brown, 2003

"Incidentally, the 25th Anniversary Expanded & RemasteredRe-Issue of that cd features ‘Jimmy Brown’ a much tougher, early version of ‘Dancing Horses’ which sounds closer to ‘Over Your Shoulder’."

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

The Beatles - she loves you, 1963

"the initial idea for the song began with Bobby Rydell's hit "Forget Him" with its call and response pattern, and that "as often happens, you think of one song when you write another ... I'd planned an 'answering song' where a couple of us would sing 'she loves you' and the other ones would answer 'yeah yeah'. We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called 'She Loves You'. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it – John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars." Like many early Beatles songs, the title of "She Loves You" was framed around the use of personal pronouns. But unusually for a love song, the lyrics are not about the narrator's love for someone else; instead the narrator functions as a helpful go-between for estranged lovers"

Sintra hoje, 11 de Dezembro de 2024, há poucos minutos

Palma Violets - all the garden birds, 2013

"Palma Violets write perfectly catchy hooks, and know how to get people moving, but is their sound really built to last? Only time will tell, I suppose."

Acid House Kings - do what you wanna do, 2005

"The first time I heard “Do What You Wanna Do,” I thought it was the latest single by The Legends. The song features hand claps and a consistent tambourine–you can almost hear the producer telling the group I gotta have more hand claps like Bruce Dickinson to Gene Frenkle with the cowbell. While the Bruce and Gene sketch warrants a laugh, “Do What You Wanna Do” warrants applause as I gave it the runner-up position to Best Song of 2005, second only to Voxtrot’s “The Start of Something.”

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Neil Young - tell me why, 1970

"Musically, the song marks a shift from the hard rock of 1969's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and bears more folk and country influences, which would continue onto 1972's Harvest. The only instruments are two acoustic guitars, played by Young and Nils Lofgren. He is, however, backed by the vocal harmonies of Crazy Horse during the choruses. 'Tell Me Why' has a simple lyrical structure, with two verses each followed by a bridge then chorus, and one final bridge and chorus before a short instrumental outro. The chorus line "Tell me why, tell me why/Is it hard to make arrangements with yourself/When you're old enough to repay/but young enough to sell?" is the most famous line from the song, typifying the introspective and melancholic nature of not just this song, but the whole album."

Saint Etienne - carnt sleep, 1991

"The drowsy, heartsick ballad "Carnt Sleep" sounds like a humid summer spent spinning Sarah Records 7"s back to back with Sade, slick soul secretly slid into an indie-friendly sleeve."

Okkervil River - plus ones, 2007

"Perhaps the most ingenious part of this song is in its title. It has not one, but three meanings that are prevalent throughout the song. As a whole, The Stage Names (and its spiritual successor, The Stand Ins) permeate with criticism of pop culture, and the lives of those who fall victim to its celebrity. Plus Ones is no exception."

Girls In Hawaii - sun of the sons, 2008

"Girls in Hawaii is a Belgian indie pop band. Girls in Hawaii's first release was Found in the Ground: The Winter EP in early 2003, after which the band toured Belgium and France. In the meantime they started recording what would become their first LP. From Here To There was released in November 2003 in Belgium and in early 2004 in Europe. It was well-received across Europe, where the band went on a promotional tour through Belgium, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The record was later released in Japan and, in October 2005, China Shop Music released it in the United States. The band started a short tour of the West Coast of the United States in April 2006. Their second full-length album, Plan Your Escape, was released in February 2008 in Europe. It was recorded in old houses in the Ardennes Forest by producer Jean Lamoot (who has worked with French artists such as Noir Désir and Alain Bashung). The album, more complex and eclectic than the previous, contains twelve songs; the first single was called "This Farm Will End Up in Fire". The band toured Europe promoting the album during 2008. In February 2009 Not Here, a documentary relating the life of the band during that tour, was released on DVD. On 30 May 2010, 28 year-old drummer Denis Wielemans died in a car accident in Brussels. In 2012 they started working on their third album, Everest. The album was released on 2 September 2013. In the summer of 2014, they released a new EP, Refuge. In October 2014, they released a live album, Hello Strange, which revisits old songs in an acoustic and/or electronic way. In September 2017, they released Nocturne, their fourth album."

Wim Mertens - hufhuf, 1991

"Anyone who doesn't know Wim Mertens, should."

A-ha - dragonfly, 2002

"Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. Also known by his stage name Mags, he is the keyboardist of the synth-pop band A-ha and co-wrote hits such as "Take On Me", "Stay on These Roads", "Manhattan Skyline", "Cry Wolf", "Forever Not Yours", "Analogue (All I Want)", "Minor Earth Major Sky", "Touchy!", "You Are the One", "Move To Memphis" and "Foot of the Mountain". A-ha has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success."

Monday, December 9, 2024

Seapony - dreaming, 2011

"All initial sings point to the kind of hazy electro-pop we've heard so much of these last couple of years, yet when you actually press "play" on this Seattle indie rock trio's new single, you get something quite different and ultimately much more direct. This breezy, guitar-driven gem is compact and tuneful, getting by more on clear and simple statements than fuzzy allusions."

Barclay James Harvest - love is like a violin, 1977

"Love Is Like A Violin is a marvellously beautiful track"

Electronic - dark angel, 1996

"Dark Angel is a pleasant inclusion. Honestly I think it sounded pretty dated when it came out, and now it definitely belongs in another era, but it’s a strong song. This time, the middle section is nothing short of brilliant."

Lana Del Rey - let the light in, 2023

"Let the Light In" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey featuring fellow American singer-songwriter Father John Misty from her ninth studio album, Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd"

Slade - everyday, 1974

"The idea for "Everyday" came out of an evening at Lea's house where he was entertaining friends. Responding to the question of how he wrote songs, Lea said "easy, anyone can do it" and each person then attempted to come up with their idea for a song on the spot. Lea's wife Louise had come up with an idea, which formed the basis of "Everyday"'s verse. Lea later developed her idea further to become a Slade song. Once he had finished the music and some more of the lyrics, Holder finished the final lyrics off. During the recording of the song, guitarist Dave Hill was abroad on his honeymoon so Lea played the guitar solo."

Kevin Max - stay, 2005

 

In this song there is a reference to Sintra that can be interpreted as alluding to the often rainy character of Sintra:
"Oh the English rain
Seems to follow me again
All the way from Sintra Portugal
It's where I met you just one year ago."
Sintra has in fact a microclimate that makes it unique in the Portuguese climate. It is often sunny everywhere and it only rains in Sintra.