"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)

Monday, April 28, 2025

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."