Murmuration

I know, I know I said on the last post that a blog full of videos is rather dull...but...look at it...look!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

New segment

Thought in introduce a new segment here on the blog. It will be something like "It´s Music To Your Ears", meaning a video will be the main point of the post, with just a short introduction or description of what it is about.

The idea vanished since the first time I had it because I think a blog full of videos, as sometimes happens when I embed music videos 3 or 4 posts in a row, are a bit...dull. The problem is that I don´t have ordinary [life] stories - as the blog title goes for - on a regular basis (at least blog worthy ones...and, also...I´m lazy) to keep the blog updated, which for me means write a few posts, at least, every month.

Thus, rather than only having a music segment the blog will now have an "interview" segment. The goal is, since I found a few Youtube channels who have quality interviews, bring it to the blog...so it can end up being not a music video but a video of a musician being interviewed...which will happen often I presume...and the first post will prove that. Other YT channel that might appear often is one that uploads episodes of the American talk-show Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson since I watch it every time it appears on my subscription box...which usually happens just one day after the episode originally aired on US tv and has a great host, great sidekick and great guests.

It will be called "If You Like..." Therefore, If you like...Feist:

37 minutes of Feist where she talks about radio (this is a radio interview...yes, you are watching a radio interview...so, like, futuristic right?...yeah...), about music, and on that subject, her brand new album "Metals" where she does a track-by-track analysis. It´s a great interview. Although I can´t help but feel...awkward at some parts. I know music moves people, and I´m one of them, but it´s always slightly weird for me see a journalist (which, and this is the case) also a fan, try to undress the songs and explain what do they mean in front of the artist...and sometimes I feel like the artist agrees just to be cool. A song can have different interpretations to each person and that comes from a different experience that usually people connect the song with. And sometimes I just imagine songwriters writing a song, or choosing a line or a certain word just because it sounds good...not everything needs to be metaphorical and/or literal. I think that, because if you wonder the blog you might find a few poems I wrote and despite I mean what I wrote it doesn´t mean I wrote it for a particularly someone or situation. If I meanwhile found someone to whom the poems apply? Yes. And she´s awesome!

It´s Music To Your Ears

I´ve found Lisa Hannigan probably more than a year ago via cover of one of her songs, beautifully done by this girl , which I already wrote about, here .

So, and without further ado to not lose myself in compliments, here´s Lisa.

It´s Music To Your Ears

It´s Laura Jansen and Cary Brothers singing Ryan Adams. Gotta love it!

Enjoy!

Cary Brothers & Laura Jansen » Ryan Adams from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

It´s a cover for this project >> Voice Project Check the other videos there...really cool stuff waiting for a listen.

And yes, those looks to each other during the performance are the most intimist looks you can get from someone. Specially someone you love.

Here´s some words from who recorded the performance that are on a little text besides the video on the site posted above:

"[...] the knowing looks of two people who share a life. Yeah, there's a lot of love in that room, I hope you watch this all the way through and see it/feel it for yourself. After I watched the footage for the first time I just walked outside, I guess to be with the good feeling it gave me, maybe thinking the night air would help it stay with me. It did.

— Hunter"

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On a life update: Second year of college started a few weeks ago. Everything going pretty great. Although won´t say the same in a couple of weeks as tests, paper works and presentations make their way through the awesome life of being with great people and attend a couple of classes each day. And afternoon schedules are not as bad as I thought...yes, you do get extremely sleepy in classes after lunch (a brilliant time of the day for a nap) but sleep all morning is quite pleasant too...and with the cold weather ahead nothing sounds better than a warm bed. And I can have my night owl life style.

Bed that I should have where [city] I study. It´s great be at our own bedroom at the end of each day but you miss a bit of the college atmosphere by staying at home and getting on a train every day...specially you miss those 1 or 2 hours that you could be still sleeping but you have to wake up a couple of hours before a class starts to be there on time. Yup, I love to sleep. But what I also mean is that you have to rush for buses and trains instead of just hanging out with your mates a bit more and then walk home and do something at night...

Anyway...I´m learning Italian!

Therefore, arrivederci bambini!

It´s Autumn already...

...and I wish it would thunder.

To a more literal song title one:

I´m out of luck though. Autumn here is looking like an out of place Spring after a not-that-hot Summer. Spring and Autumn are not that different here but clear skies and 30ºC are not exactly the best preparation for the cold rainy months ahead.

Cold rainy months ahead with exciting music coming up. I´m stuck at this for now:

Amazing second single of the album yet to be released. The first single is the demanding catchy one obviously.

But there´s a lot more new music this Autumn.

Besides Snow Patrol there will be new albums of Feist (already available on the internets, Diane Birch (I hope) and Marit Larsen whose last Tumblr post is the line-up of the third album. And I believe there is some more albums that might interest me coming out. Unfortunately I don´t remember any more for now but they might be mentioned here soon.

Enjoy the music while you admire the beautiful colours of the leaves falling from the trees leaving them naked. You pervs.

Review - Anna Calvi - Hard Club (Porto)

Doesn´t look like but Anna Calvi is almost 30 years old. She´s another musician showing there is no age restrictions when it comes to release your debut album. The reason, as she says, she never came up as the front girl of a band is...shyness.

Well, she now is the front girl of her own project and there´s no shyness at all when she´s holding her Fender Telecaster.

Compared by many, in barely every music magazine, to Brian Eno, Nick Cave, Jimi Hendrix and PJ Harvey she claims her influences come from all of those plus Nina Simone and David Bowie. She has, indeed, something playing on her behalf: she is unique. You won´t find anyone this days doing the music she does and if you find, please, do tell. She is a mix of all the ones mentioned already in a cocktail served shaken, not stirred.

After album promotion, a few concerts, tv appearances and a presence in many Summer festivals she is now on her first proper tour that will basically be all around Europe and also US and Canada. Not bad for a first album. A Mercury Prize Nominee album. Not bad indeed.

It´s easy to describe the audience that will receive her during this tour. They are all on their 30s - minus 10 plus 10 doesn´t make a big difference - which could all be close friends of her and who know exactly who she is and what to expect from her.

You can easily prove that knowledge when one of the singles is played as one of the first songs - which the very first is "Rider To The Sea" - which is "Blackout". Ovations echoed through the room as the first chords are beautifully played and a powerful voice fills the place. Although much, that probably never listen to her besides singing, won´t hide a certain surprise when a sweet-fragile "Thank You" comes out of her mouth at the end of every song as if it was not the same person that just sang her lungs in a flawless, effortless way.

Anna brings two companions to help her. By her left she has an incredibly talented lady who plays [approximately] 101 instruments. I can assure she plays them all, so no show-off-only, but I can almost guarantee you 99% of all the people that will watch her on this tour can correctly name them all. I can give a help and say that one is a triangle. I think.

On the back there´s the drummer. A simple guy...not more than, and I wish I could go for technical terms here, 6 pieces on his drum set. And a microphone for some back vocals. It´s a perfect fit...Anna´s guitar and his drum set.

Drum set in which my personal favourite - "Suzanne and I" - starts with a beautiful beat and goes on with the perfect guitar skills and powerful voice of the lady in charge. As Anna leads us to her album - "First We Kiss"; "Morning Light"; "The Devil" - you get the feeling that, at least live, there´s no weak songs on the recorded version of it. Which is quite right. She takes inspiration from flamenco for her style and also for her music. While to the visuals the connection is quite easy to make when it comes to the music you have to listen a few times to get there. But there´s some of it on a strong contender to "Suzanne and I" for my favourite one which is "I´ll Be Your Man".

Another single, "Desire", and "Love Won´t Be Leaving" (probably the song I would recommend for a first Anna Calvi listen) makes the crowd be sure their money was more than well spent. She comes back for the Encore after being acclaimed by an happy audience and ends the show with an Edith Piaf cover - "Jezebel". A suitable end for a great night where she can for one last time deliver that voice and [superb] guitar skills.

A shy Anna waives goodbye. You walk away commenting on how fantastic her voice is as you listen others say the same. Will always be like this at her concerts I´m afraid. Will be a night well spent.

Does not matter which Factor it is

She has it.

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For more amazing talent >> www.youtube.com/user/janetdevlin

I´m like...whoa!