"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, May 1, 2025

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."

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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

Tuesday, April 29, 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”

Monday, April 28, 2025

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."

Sunday, April 27, 2025

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."

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Billy Idol - eyes without a face, 1983

"The music plays against the dark tone of the lyrics with a ballad-styled melody comprised of yearning verses that slowly build emotion and a quietly wrenching chorus that relieves the emotional tension in a cathartic manner."

The Triffids - wide open road live, 1987

"This song has a specific meaning, a specific narrative and at the same time a universal story. It could be set, if you think about it, anywhere."

Moaning - connect the dots, 2020

“Connect The Dots,” the song that gave rise to Uneasy Laughter’s title, is “about realizing you need help and being brave enough to ask for it,” singer Sean Solomon explains. “It’s a misconception that asking for help is a sign of weakness. In reality it’s one of the hardest things you can do.”

Sufjan Stevens - the transfiguration live, 2009

"The song “The Transfiguration” relates the event in Christ’s life known by the same name. Musically, it begins with Sufjan’s voice and the strumming of a banjo, and as the song progresses, more and more instruments chime in. As do more voices: “Lost in the cloud, a sign: Son of man! Turn your ear!” The layers wash over you until you have the sense that what began as simple narration has turned into a revelation."

A Beacon School - alone, 2023

"his latest single from the new release hews closer to the wispy atmospherics of Air and the jangly, light-shoegaze tones of The Radio Dept., only with that latter band’s melancholy vocals swapped for something notably upbeat. “‘Alone’ is about the moment when you feel like your luck is finally turning,” Smith shares of the new track. “Nothing’s been going your way, so when you catch the faintest glimmer of hope you grab on to it as tight as you can.”

Wild Nothing - suburban solutions, 2023

"On the heels of a move back to his birthplace of Virginia from the bright lights of Los Angeles, Jack Tatum, the leader at the front of Captured Tracks indie heroes Wild Nothing, came to a realization. Incessant advertising and content is everywhere, so why not “embrace sweet oblivion” and lean into it? It’s a satirical thought, of course, but it captures the in-the-know sensibility Tatum has cultivated since Wild Nothing began picking up blog buzz in the late ‘aughts. Tatum’s music falls right in line with other Captured Tracks acts of the era, like Beach Fossils, which rely on waves of fuzzy guitars and alternating splashes of synth pop. “Suburban Solutions” fuses the two seamlessly, and Wild Nothing tracks have a rich sense of texture and in this case, a vibrant sonic backbone that calls to mind ‘80s nostalgia."

Prefab Sprout - appetite, 1985

"Paddy McAloon wrote "Appetite" in 1984. It was one of the first songs he had composed on a keyboard and was written using a "hip-hop-type groove" on a drum machine. The song's lyric is about "a pregnant girl so in love with her child that she wants to name it after all the good things in her life".

Slowdive - chained to a cloud, 2023

"A group characterized as a staple shoegaze band, Slowdive has long been praised for their dreamy, ambient, fuzzy and lively sound that blasts you into outer space. Their latest album, everything is alive, pays homage to their previous works but with a refined and respected mannerism. With this record, the band takes a step back from the high-gain, heavily distorted guitars and approaches the listener with an airier sound. This was a refreshing aspect of this album in general, but their new touches are especially prevalent on “chained to a cloud.” While I was immediately drawn in by the overall production and ambiance of the song, what interested me further were the emotional lyrics and build that effectively created a mood of anticipation. It is one thing to have a well-produced, beautiful song, but it is another thing to create one that provokes emotion in the listener. This provided a very three-dimensional outlook within the song."

Outros olhares: Roman Catholic Church of St Anthony, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, há uns dias atrás (Abril de 2025)

Outros olhares: Christ Church, Malacca, Malaysia, há uns dias atrás (Abril de 2025)

Chumbawamba - tubthumping live, 1997

"Tubthumping" is a song by British rock band Chumbawamba, released in August 1997 by EMI, Universal and Republic Records as the first single from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper (1997). It is the band's most successful single, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Tubthumping" was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single. It sold 880,000 copies in the UK."

REM - world leader pretend, 1988

"Green marks the departure of the jangle pop and college rock styling of the band's previous albums. In a 1988 interview, Peter Buck described Green as an album that didn't feature any typical R.E.M. songs. Describing the band's standard output as "Minor key, mid-tempo, enigmatic, semi-folk-rock-balladish things", the guitarist noted that for Green, "We wrote major key rock songs and switched instruments." Singer Michael Stipe had reportedly told his bandmates to "not write any more R.E.M.-type songs".

Emma Anderson - clusters, 2023

"Clusters is the second single from Emma Anderson’s debut solo album Pearlies, which is due out later this month. It’s a real grower, its initially intimate tones expanding into a charming motorik groove somewhere between Melody’s Echo Chamber and Stereolab."

Blonde Redhead - snowman, 2023

"‘Snowman’ is about how it can be a blessing or a curse to be invisible and undetectable, and how it’s something we all feel and desire at times.”

Friday, April 25, 2025

The Stranglers - always the sun live, 1986

"Lead vocalist, and lead guitarist Hugh Cornwell mentioned in his book The Stranglers Song by Song that he thought it could have been as big as "Golden Brown".

Stars - fourteen forever, 2008

"The band that makes the records you clutch to your chest like a prep-school misfit in a 1980s movie, the band that cuts out the construction-paper heart you wear on your sleeve. They make records that get down on their knees and beg to get quoted in someone's yearbook."

Beach House - all the years, 2008

"With Devotion, Beach House prove once again that they're one of the more strangely named bands around. Their music is so lonely, so haunting, that the only beach house it evokes is a deserted one, stranded on a winter night so desolate that summer isn't even a memory. Then again, that atmosphere is precisely what made Beach House's self-titled debut so striking, and Devotion is even more so, since Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally bring more focus, depth, and warmth to their unmistakable sound."

Texas - say what you want all day every day, 1998

"In 1998, Texas collaborated with Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man and RZA to remix the song as "Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)". This version features Method Man and RZA on vocals and was released as a single in March 1998, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 in Iceland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Both versions of the song are included on Texas's 2000 compilation album The Greatest Hits."

REM - the worst joke ever, 2004

"The song has grown on me and maybe its brevity coupled with the resurrection of the track during the Dublin sessions make me think of it in a different way. By this point in the album though, there is a malaise - could this song have picked up the pace and plugged in a little it might've started sounding like ACCELERATE. Maybe."

Brian Wilson - god only knows live, 2020

"The first time I heard it, Brian played it for me at the piano. And I went, "Oh my god, he's talking about God in a record." It was pretty daring to me. And it was another time I thought to myself, "Oh, boy, he's really taking a chance." I thought it was almost too religious. Too square."

Dido - white flag, 2003

"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album, Life for Rent (2003). The song was first released to US radio on 7 July 2003 and was issued in the United Kingdom as a physical single on 1 September 2003. The song performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100."

Saint Etienne - spring, 1991

"Stanley in many ways is essentially a nostalgist. Foxbase Alpha is full of sepia tinted nostalgia for an English childhood of the Sixties and Seventies. The album is superbly presented. An Indie girl in artfully tilted cap, t-shirt and skirt carrying a banner bearing the album title on the cover. An inner sleeve with pictures of heroes set up to resemble the stickers you used to buy in childhood days in those lost decades."

Fazerdaze - bigger, 2023

"Singer, songwriter and producer Fazerdaze - otherwise known as Amelia Murray - has been a touchstone figure in the musical landscape of Aotearoa, New Zealand, for nearly a decade now, her output an intricate combination of both deeply personal and widely relatable. This autumn she returned to share new single ‘Bigger’ - a synth-laden, alt-rock offering that examines the pressures of international touring on the human psyche and interpersonal relationships. Candidly explaining more about the new cut, Amelia has said that she’s “often felt that ambition and being in the public eye can be a point of tension in my romantic relationships. I think this song is me trying to explore and overcome that with someone I cared about. For the production, I was exploring writing an anti-chorus. The synths do all the work and the vocal melody drops into a talk. I wanted to experiment with strange bendy synths and lean into a cinematic night time world.”

Teenage Fanclub - foreign land, 2023

"With distinctive rich vocal harmonies and warm guitars, the veteran Scottish indie alt-rock band return with a single from their 13th studio album, Nothing Lasts Forever out in September on PeMa and Merge. Still with original co-lead vocalists and guitarists Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley, the lineup since 2019 now also includes Welsh musician Euros Childs from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci on keyboards and vocals."

The Lightning Seeds - pure, 1989

"Pure" is a song by British music group the Lightning Seeds from their debut album, Cloudcuckooland. Released in June 1989, the song peaked at No. 16 in the UK. The track is the band's sole entry on the US Billboard Hot 100's top 40, peaking at No. 31, and was the first hit for the band on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at No. 8 in May 1990. It was later featured prominently in the movie "What Happens Later" (2023)."

Fait-divers on the essential

“The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches...
They have witnessed far more sincere kisses than those in airports...
It is in hospitals that you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor.
A privileged doctor saving the life of a beggar...
In intensive care, you see a Jew taking care of a racist...
A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care...
A wealthy patient waiting for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ from a poor donor...
It is in these moments, when the hospital touches the wounds of people, that different worlds intersect according to a divine design. And in this communion of destinies, we realize that alone, we are nothing.
The absolute truth of people, most of the time, only reveals itself in moments of pain or in the real threat of an irreversible loss.
A hospital is a place where human beings remove their masks and show themselves as they truly are, in their purest essence.
This life will pass quickly, so do not waste it fighting with people.
Do not criticize your body too much.
Do not complain excessively.
Do not lose sleep over bills.
Make sure to hug your loved ones.
Do not worry too much about keeping the house spotless.
Material goods must be earned by each person—do not dedicate yourself to accumulating an inheritance.
You are waiting for too much: Christmas, Friday, next year, when you have money, when love arrives, when everything is perfect...
Listen, perfection does not exist.
A human being cannot attain it because we are simply not made to be fulfilled here.
Here, we are given an opportunity to learn.
So, make the most of this trial of life—and do it now.
Respect yourself, respect others. Walk your own path, and let go of the path others have chosen for you.
Respect: do not comment, do not judge, do not interfere.
Love more, forgive more, embrace more, live more intensely!
And leave the rest in the hands of the Creator.”

Matt Berninger - breaking into acting, 2025

"‘Breaking Into Acting’ features vocals from Meg Duffy of LA band Hand Habits and touches on the malleability of performance. “Sometimes you have to fake forgiveness before you can actually forgive,” explains Berninger on the song. The new track follows the first single off the album, 'Bonnet of Pins', in which Berninger confronts grief and the unexpected humour it can bring."

Mike Oldfield - daydream, 2002

"The musician/composer once again spins carefully layered guitar and keyboard performances into a seemingly endless stream of space-age lullabies supported by the faintest of beats"

Thursday, April 24, 2025

D4RKSTAR - friendly fire, 2023

"Gothenburg-based Dark Electronic /Shoegaze musician, singer and composer Andreas Lind returns under his moniker D4RKSTAR with the Official Video, directed by Andreas Häggström, for “Friendly Fire” taken from last July’s double A-side single “End of Days / Friendly Fire” mixed and produced by Stefan Eriksson (Brotherhood, Sister Electra, Fenix, etc). Wrapped in a deeply emotional somber aura, “Friendly Fire” layers hypnotic, plodding drum beats, rippling buzzing low-end, elongated glowing synth drifts and twinkly stacking wistful chords, to resound with distorted stirring poignancy alongside nostalgic heartfelt vocal agony, begging a loved one to take it easy for a while, lest his fragile heart breaks."

Jackson Browne - jamaica say you will, 1972

"Browne wrote "Jamaica Say You Will" in the fall of 1969. In February 1970 he recorded a demo of the song, with Glenn Frey, Ned Doheny and JD Souther backing him. This demo led to David Geffen signing Browne as a client. The song was first released by The Byrds on their Byrdmaniax album the year before Browne's version came out, so many people were familiar with it before ever hearing Browne's recording."

Dark En Ciel - i'm still free the sound of everything cover, 2016

"Spain are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and led by singer/bassist Josh Haden."

Fait-divers on perspective

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Max Planck

Fait-divers on sincerity and authenticity

The huge difference between sincerity and authenticity. Sincerity, while it's lovely, is necessary but insufficient, because you can be sincere with just one zone of your heart awakened.

The Cure - last dance, 1989

"Last Dance" is a song by The Cure, released in 1989 as a B-side to the single "Lullaby" and later included on the album Disintegration (deluxe editions). It’s a melancholic track with introspective lyrics, driven by Robert Smith’s emotive vocals, shimmering guitars, and atmospheric synths, capturing the band’s signature gothic post-punk sound. The song reflects themes of longing and fleeting moments, often interpreted as a meditation on love or mortality."

Ride - only now, 1994

"Credit Ride for using only their own creative radar, completely ignoring all outside expectations for their third LP. Listeners could tell they had a love for the likes of the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, but admiring the Black Crowes was practically out of the question for the scene that birthed them."

Outros olhares: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, com a cruz ao longe (Roman Catholic Church of St Anthony), dia 24 de Abril de 2025, há uns minutos atrás

Saint Etienne - soft like me, 2002

"Soft Like Me" is a track by Saint Etienne from their 2002 album Finisterre. It’s a dreamy, electronic-pop song with a melancholic edge, featuring Sarah Cracknell’s delicate vocals over a lush, synth-driven soundscape. The lyrics explore themes of vulnerability and emotional fragility, fitting the band’s signature blend of introspective and danceable vibes."

The National - laugh track, 2023

"Letting go of notions of how to make songs and allowing for some loose, unstructured approaches to come into it. Also, some songs literally came from just improvising on stage during soundcheck. Maybe it's having come through a really hard time and nearly not surviving as a band. We came back together and we felt healthy."

Sufjan Stevens - i walked, 2010

"You emerge from the other side of it glad not just that Stevens continued to make music, but that he chose to follow his muse to such a radical, potentially divisive place."

Genesis - eleventh earl of mar, 1976

"Eleventh Earl of Mar" refers to the historical figure of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, a Scottish Jacobite. Its working title was "Scottish". The first line of the song, "The sun had been up for a couple of hours", is the opening line of the novel The Flight of the Heron by D. K. Broster. Rutherford, who wrote the song's lyrics, got the idea after reading a "history book about a failed Scottish rising ... around 1715". Hackett wrote the music and lyrics to the song's bridge, which was originally a section of a different song."

Fait-divers on world randomness

Time itself started to seem like a slow-moving natural disaster, imperceptibly shaking everything apart. Maybe nothing in our world is durable or stable. Maybe everything runs on pure chance.

Fait-divers on randomness and grace

"Random" means "I don't know what happened, I don't know how and what variables play to give this result." At the same time, even if it is not a very scientific concept, "random" is a wonderful concept, like "light" or "grace".

Guillemots - made-up lovesong forty-three live, 2006

"It's one of those melodies that you dream about being able to write and sing, but not even this can prepare you for the elegantly controlled ascent that builds and climbs and works its way into every single part of your being."

Sea Glass - nintendo love, 2023

"Sea Glass builds melodies that never disappoint. He soothes senses no matter if it’s a ballad or an upbeat piece bringing freshness and nostalgia to the table. Inspired to release music after the birth of his first child, Sea Glass’s music taps into universal emotions around growing up and dreaming."

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

It's Immaterial - summer rain, 2020

"The Wait is Over: The Third It’s Immaterial Album, “House For Sale” Is Available"

Lala Lala - hit me where it hurts, 2023

"HIT ME WHERE IT HURTS,” is about destruction and impatience. I wanted the song to sound blown out and desperate"

Three Quarter Skies - on fire, 2023

"Three Quarter Skies – the band formed by Simon Scott of Slowdive"

Seablite - pot of boiling water, 2023

"Whether on accident or luck, some bands just hit all the right notes with certain songs"

Fait-divers on fear

"Fear is a difficult opponent. It promotes a battle not only against the body, but advances powerfully over the soul, and when the soul is captured, it no longer gives us peace of mind." Tolentino Mendonça (free translation)

Fait-divers on randomness

Genuine, verifiable randomness — think of it as the property possessed by a sequence of numbers that makes it impossible to predict the next number in the sequence — is extremely hard to come by.

The Cure - alone four tet remix, 2025

“Just after Christmas I was sent a couple of unsolicited remixes of Songs of a Lost World tracks and I really loved them. The Cure has a colourful history with all kinds of dance music, and I was curious as to how the whole album would sound entirely reinterpreted by others. This curiosity resulted in a fabulous trip through all eight songs by 24 wonderful artists and remixers and is way beyond anything I could have hoped for. Giving our recording royalties from the project to War Child helps make Mixes of a Lost World an even more special release.”

REM - gardening at night live, 1985

"We were driving at night after a show (I don't remember where), and I was at the wheel of our old car, with a rental trailer in tow. One of my three passengers aimed a directive at me. Rather than inform me of his desire to evacuate his bladder, he instead suggested that I pull over so that he might engage in the task of roadside 'night gardening.' To four guys in their early twenties this was a glaring catalyst for a new song."

The Lightning Seeds - permanent danger, 2022

"This intoxicating 10 track collection will kick start a soundtrack to summer with the feel good warmth of ‘Sunshine’. Most of the songs are written by Ian Broudie. One of the album highlights, ‘Emily Smiles’, was co-written with Terry Hall while ‘Great to Be Alive’ is a co-write with James Skelly (the Coral)."

Soft Science - sadness, 2023

"Sacramento’s Soft Science have announced details of their forthcoming fourth album, which is their first since 2018’s Maps. Titled Lines it features ten tracks and is due to be released on September 08 2023. The band have also lifted the first single from the album, in the shape of Sadness. It’s a guitar lead song that swirls and jangles amongst shoegaze and dreampop influences. Heavenly stuff!"

Duo Movida - bachata calingue, 2014

"Bachata is a genre of music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century. It contains elements of European (mainly Spanish music), indigenous Taino and African musical elements, representing the cultural diversity of the Dominican population. A form of dance, bachata, also developed with the music."

REM - bittersweet me, 1996

"Bittersweet Me" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from their 10th studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996). Like much of the album, the song originated while the band were on the road for the Monster tour, although the song was only ever soundchecked and has never been played live as part of a concert.[1] The song was a bigger hit in the United States than the first single from the album, "E-Bow the Letter", except on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where the first single's number-two peak bested the number-six peak of "Bittersweet Me".

Pet Shop Boys - the only one, 1999

"The best thing, in fact, about this track is its superb, imaginative production. Just listen to the way Neil and Chris slink their way into it with soft, subtle electronic squiggles and burps"

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Patti Smith - these are the words, 2018

"Tonight before sleeping I am contemplating the last twelve years with Pope Francis. Though not a Catholic I was drawn to this kind, openminded and staunch humanitarian. I felt safer knowing he was among us, doing his best to follow and preach Christ’s teachings. It is fitting that his last words to the public should strongly focus on Peace. May he ascend to a loving place visited by the doves of the air. Below is a song I wrote with Tony Shanahan for Wim Wender’s documentary film, A Man of his Word on Pope Francis. Now I must seek sleep, saddened that we will begin a new day without him."

Beach Vacation - it soothes me, 2022

"The track captures a sun-soaked lush dreamy rock sound that has a bit of early Beach Fossils in it, with some gorgeous sounds that feel like the best summer with your friends that you wish you could turn the back towards this very instant."

Tears For Fears - advice for the young at heart, 1989

"Advice for the Young at Heart" is a song by the English band Tears for Fears, taken from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love. It was released as the third single from the album in February 1990. The song was written by Roland Orzabal and keyboardist/singer Nicky Holland. The lead vocal was sung by Curt Smith (the only track on The Seeds of Love album that he sang solo lead vocals on)."

Midlake And John Grant - roadrunner blues, 2023

"We became like brothers during that time. I don’t get to see them often enough. I don’t think I want to live in Texas at this point in my life, but I often think about that time in Denton and the incredible people I know now because of it, and sometimes I am very tempted to go back there just so I can be around them. I had a blast doing these songs with them as I knew I would and I hope we get to do more in the future.”

Isaac Hayes - theme from shaft, 1971

"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Shaft. The theme was released as a single (shortened and edited from the longer album version) two months after the movie's soundtrack by Stax Records' Enterprise label. "Theme from Shaft" went to number two on the Billboard Soul Singles chart (behind "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" by Marvin Gaye) and to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in November 1971, and number one in Canada in December. The song was also well received by adult audiences, reaching number six on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and number four in Canada. The song is considered by some to be one of the first disco songs."

Emma Anderson - the presence, 2023

“It’s one of the album’s catchiest moments and also the one that possibly/probably sounds most like my previous bands thanks to the layers of guitars.”

The Durutti Column - detail for paul, 1981

"LC, or Lotta Continua (Italian for Continuous Struggle) is the group’s masterpiece. Recorded on a four track in chief songwriter Vini Reilly’s home in 1981, the album could be considered the first ever “bedroom lo-fi” record to be released in the professional sphere. Despite the intentional limitations put in place by Reilly’s decision to record with a four track, the album itself is a sonic triumph. Cosmically cascading Latin guitars echo from the inside of some distant black hole, saturated by copious amounts of reverb and tape delay manipulation. Keir Stewart’s basslines politely bounce around in the back of the mix, not to take away from the brilliance of Reilly’s guitar work, while Bruce Mitchell’s tribal-jazz fusion rhythms keep everything somewhat grounded to Earth."

Monday, April 21, 2025

Pope Francis

It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.

Morreu o Santo Papa Francisco

Que notícia mais triste. Morreu um Santo, talvez o maior Santo que a Igreja Católica alguma vez teve!

Sunday, April 20, 2025

The Smiths - there is a light that never goes out live, 1986

"a testament"

Easter

"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone. The world is full of dark derelicts. The better way - the Marulli of that old Rome would have known it - there comes a time for decent, honorable retirement, not dramatic, not punishment of self or family - just good-by, a warm bath and an opened vein, a warm sea and a razor blade. The ground swell on the rising tide whished into the Place and raised my legs and hips and swung them to the side and carried my wet folded raincoat out with it. I rolled on one hip and reached in my side pocket for my razor blades and I felt the lump. Then in wonder I remembered the caressing, stroking hands of the light-bearer. For a moment it resisted coming out of my wet pocket. Then in my hand it gathered every bit of light there was and seemed red - dark red. A surge of wave pushed me against the very back of the Place. And the tempo of the sea speeded up. I had to fight the water to get out, and I had to get out. I rolled and scrambled and splashed chest deep in the surf and the brisking waves pushed me against the old sea wall. I had to get back - had to return the talisman to its new owner. Else another light might go out." - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"