"When I See You Cry..."

Nothing better than a day after the other.

Guys, you know, I'm human. You also know that I love that Lily Allen song. Dude, that's all that has been buzzing in my mind ever since I learned what I learned tonight.

So, TheCC was in our usual hang out and I was in my usual flirting mode with you know who. Until I learned what I learned [I don't think it's a good thing to say it here since it's personal stuff, but if you're clever enough to put two and two together, you can get a picture]... then I stoped a while, but of course I carried on later. Thing is: I have this stupid silly grin on my face. First because I finally said things I wished I'd said two months ago. Second we're talking about repeated history here people! Tables have turned and I'm not rejoicing on his pain, but I'm glad that he knows how it feels.

As I said on the previous post, most of my fantasies have died with time and I'm clever enough to not let them come out into the sun again, when I learned to live without them. I do believe things are better because there's cleary no hard feelings anymore. So, I do "feel bad for while but then I just smile, I go ahead and smile."

[Song: Smile - Lily Allen]

Soft Like Me

Hey, do you wanna be

And don't you wanna be

Soft like me?

The best part of flirting is when you are totally cool about it. You know, you flirt you make your passes but fuck it if anything happens. Most of the times, I'm like that; last night I was like that. But instead of flirting around I foccused my aim in one target only. That, my friends, is testifying defeat. Well, sometimes not, but mostly you lead yourself to disappointments and deceptions.

Now's the shocking part: I'm not like that!!! Okay, I won't lie I'm a bit excited to make things work; but mostly I'm alright! Last night in Conquista I simply drove around town with my friends in the [unsuccessful] search of a nice party. However we had an awesome time; I was joyous and soft, simply moving from one thing to another with the only disposition of hanging out. Comment Guy was there and let's be honest here guys, I was thrilled that he was. Suddenly you know what I've been talking about.

Am I entering a very dangerous zone? Oh hell yeah of course! I cannot deny the moody days after February; but I believe that now I'm cooler about it, since most of my fantasies were torn two months ago I can say my eyes are more open now. But yes, it's a path filled with ambiguity and blasé moods. Count me in!!!!

[Song: Soft Like Me - Saint Etienne]

Stayin' Alive!

Ha! Totally loved this! Lisa Kudrow and Hellen Mirren are G-d!

And can someone please tell those Pawtrol, Gellar, Knightley and Blunt women to stop being gorgeous, or I'll end up becoming straight.

And Hugh Grant! Meet me in the red room...

Realizing Woody Allen

As I watched Scoop last Sunday it firstly didn't come to my mind how much I loved Allen. Now I realize that and I believe I've seen enough [Annie Hall, Mighty Afrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, Match Point and "Scoop"] to raise him as my favorite director. I am very aware that there is a lot more to see, but Scoop [which some says is disposable to his career] made me laugh in a way I haven't in the theatres in a long time.

His screen presence is so stunning [stealing each and every scene he's in] it makes us miss him even if the rest of the cast is just as marvelous. He plays the magician Splendini and I realized how the part fits Allen perfectly.

When I first watched "Everyone Says I Love You", every sequence gave me if not big fat laughs, huge and silly grins. And by the end, as if it weren't enough the man simply made Goldie Hawn float as she danced! Pure cinematic magic!! In "Annie Hall" I delighted myself with those scenes I had seen a million times before in other movies and even Brazillian novelas, realizing it was a recent-still-vivid pop culture icon I was dealing with. The Greek drama inspired "Mighty Afrodite" made me cum in a moment of my life I was studying those literary classics. And in "Match Point" he was able to turn Scarlett Johansson into an even more desireable woman, as if her herself wasn't enough.

The reality in his characters is so adorable as it is tangible; maybe because he taps to the psychotic aspect of human behavior and treats it with such a fine and witty dark humor; maybe because his self-deprecatory auter-egos are simply lovely by essence; the thing is: the more fucked up the character is the more close to ourselves it seems to be. Allen and Johansson's chemistry in "Scoop" is delicious; they seem the most natural you can get in a movie, making it looks like they're doing nothing most of the times. Maybe that's why everyone wants to work with him; it must surely be very challenging to look that laid back.

As for me, I only wish to be a quarter of the genius he is. Pretentious? Maybe. But can't a kid dream?

[Song: A Good Thing - Saint Etienne]

Marie Antoinette!!!

As I left the room, that makes me feel like in a dugeon, from the Geologic Museum's cinema I ran straight to the WC. My bladder had screamed for attention for almost an hour and my thoughts were in uproar because of its tantrums. At the restroom, someone says: "I can't tell if I liked it; I didn't feel much of the era; I thought it'd talk more about the French Revolution." If he were beside me he'd see my look of disgust at his comment.

Sofia Coppola was commented a lot last year with her Marie Antoinette biopic; she was booed in Cannes [a very quirky audience, let's face it], divided the critic opnion all over the world for a long while and the general public seemed to had developed a hate against her. So, back to the creature at the restroom, I can't say that I did not expect such reaction; the room - filled with adults on their 30's, some on their 60's and other few on their 20's - didn't seem as much excited as I was at the end of the session. When the guy from the toilet said that, something clicked in my head and I couldn't help saying: "maybe because it's a movie about Marie Antoinette and not about the French Revolution."

A while ago, as I chatted with my dad about the infamous queen, I realized that much of what we know about Anoinette is from the story told by the winners, the revolutionaries [including the famous and blasé line about the cakes]. Coppola's film, as Cinema itself, isn't worried in educating about French History. During the movie's two hours we dive into that young Austrian's universe, that as arriving in Versailles spent most of the time facing in silence the ridiculous protocols and the French nobleness' gossips. Until the moment she became queen and finally fit in, even if not as expected: Marie Antoinette - according to Sofia Coppola - reinvented the Versailles's court.

As a young woman trapped in that noble boredom, she just seeked for fun. As I watched Sofia's film I could not help amazing myself with her anachronisms. From the delicious soundtrack to one of the most anticipated [by me] sequences of the movie: a series of marvelous dresses and shoes is paraded, till suddenly, almost imperceptibly, comes a beautiful and blue pair of Converses! My laugh echoed in the silent room, that was probably unaware of the anachronism or its geniality.

Frivolity was the only subterfuge Antoinette found to keep herself busy among a bunch of people who much less cared about the rest of France's population. However, that's not this movie's intention. Although we're in perfect harmony with the heroine's mind and spirits [when she's in ecstasy, we're too, when she's bored, we're too], it's impossible to feel for a moment impelled to judge her, her actions and attitudes, based on the historical facts we know. Excusing myself for the frankness, imbecile is that who seeked historical accuracy in this movie. Actually, imbecile is that who seeks historical accuracy in any film; you can even come across something, but in the moment Cinema becomes a History lecture I'll simply stop going to the movies.

This was one of last year's most anticipated by me. The waiting lasted several tedious months, being entertained only by a sadistic deity and a strong woman hunted by her mother's spirit [there also was the woman ahead of her time, but she wasn't exactly from last year]; when the film finally opened in Brasil, in March, I still had to wait another eternity until this weekend and it, once more, fixed Sofia Coppola's place at my altar.

[Song: Ceremony - New Order]

Life In Portuguese

Well, you know I'm from Brasil. Therefore my natural language is Portuguese; but since I'm an americanized unpatriot bitch I'd rather write in English or any other language.

But now in the search of new linguistics horizons [yeah right!] I decided to write in Port as well! Nope, Life's A Bitch will remain as it is but now, Portuguese speakers lazy enough to read in English or if you wanna learn some good Portuguese, just go to my new blog: Cigarettes And Dance Floors. It's Life's A Bitch, but in Port.

The blogs will be independent from each other, but of course that sometimes there will be some thematic links between one another.

[Song: Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me) - Sophie Ellis-Bextor]

The Soundtrack Of My Biopic: Cigarettes And Dance Floors

OH of course, silly little me forgot to link-back, the lovely bitch JMC, from where I took this.

QUESTION: If your life is a movie, what songs are on the soundtrack?

Here's how it works:
1. Open iTunes (or whatever ya got)
2. Put it on shuffle and press play
3. For every question, type the song that's playing
4. Make up a Title and choose your Cast

Cigarettes And Dance Floors

It will be a musical, of course.

Cast:

Jamie Bell as Me [he's cute, awesome actor and I bet he can sing - aka perfect]

Lou Taylor Pucci as Mr. Hottie [love him ever since I saw Thumbsucker]

James McAvoy as The Ho [it'll be a beeeeautiful movie to watch!]

Lindsay Lohan as Alais [did you really think I'd let Lohan out of this movie?]

Keira Knightley as Nina [and Keira?]

featuring: Nicole Kidman as Mum and Hugh Jackman as Dad [lol... suddenly this becomes Happy Feet]

directed by Julie Taymor [remember Frida? I want those colors]

Opening Credits (and DVD Menu): "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" by Saint Etienne

Well, perfect! It's a great song to start the film: genius beats with uplifting synths and lovely lyrics; cheerful enough to make people hook up to the movie and sing along. Besides it's a lot like me, "only love can break your heart" indeed and all the implications that come along with it. AND: an opening act by Kidman and Jackman! *cums*

Waking Up: "Thief Of Hearts" by Madonna

LOL! Maybe it'll be a revenge movie about me slashing some back-stabbing bastard disguised as friend who stole my boyfriend. Nah... it'll be Lucas singing in front of the mirror with his usual daily dose self-depreciation.

First Day At School: "Physical Attraction" by Madonna

Aww... I can already see the scene: boy [Me] meets boy [Mr. Hottie] at the campus and they flirt wildy while singing the song. "You say you wanna stay the night/But you'll leave me tomorrow, I don't care." And sure sure, since it's me this movie's talking about we'll just hide behind some bushes or whatever and shag before the song ends.

Falling In Love: "Garden In The Rain" by Diana Krall

Then we'd realize there's more to us than physical attraction and we'll have a nice cute chat in our way back home [yeah, he lives nearby]. Very New York, very romantic. "Surely here was charm beyond/Compare to view/Maybe it was just that/I was there with you" Lover-ly!

Fight Song: "Temptation" by New Order

Awesome! Genius tune combine with gloomy lyrics. "Each way I turn, I know I'll always try/To break this circle that's been placed around me." Surely it'll be a classy fight but like everything else in my life, ready to just go down on the dance floor.

Breaking Up: "The Rubber Room" by Porter Wagoner

First really melancholic song of the movie. I'm surely hurt and just want a moment by myself; Mr. Hottie is hurt too... we loved each other okay!! But of course he cheated. [Hey, it's my movie I'm the good guy!]

Prom: "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" by Madonna

LOL! Oookay... party's up but I'm heartbroken.

Note to self: don't hire Windows Media Player to select the songs from your movie.

Life: "Alarm Call" by Björk

And back to the dance floor! Life goes on and I move on again from my obsession. A very uplifting song with optimistic lyrics and a cool selfless tone. Great for the small-guy/big-dreams moment.

Mental Breakdown: "William, It Was Really Nothing" by The Smiths

Ooookay... let's say William is the imaginary friend The Ho keeps saying I have. However this is a very cute song and could fit in such scene considering it's a mental breakdown, maybe it doesn't have to make much sense anyway.

Instrumental Intermission (two): "Murder On A Dance Floor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor; "Cherish" by Madonna

Ha! Dance floor film, dance floor song! Perfect!

Lola and Rocco and Dave will be even more rich due to royalties the studio will have to pay so this movie can be out. However, this song is cute... prolly things will get better for the hero at second half of the movie.

Driving: "The Loco-Motion" by Kylie Minogue

Ohh yeees! After a time in rehab I decide to get life on track. More joyous than this? "It even makes you happy when you're feeling blue." Nah...

Flashback: "They Can't Take That Away From Me" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

As I walk down the charming streets of New York after another unsuccessful audition I bump into Mr. Hottie! And G-d he's still hot... and single!! We sit for a coffee [he pays, I'm broke of course] and then comes the flashback.

Wedding: "Alfie" by Lily Allen

This song is awesome for The Ho's wedding! Funny and cheerful.

Birth of Child: "Miedo" by Belanova

Birth of Child!! Yes yes fear indeed!! Whose child I don't know, me and Mr. Hottie just got back together, no time to think of adoption... maybe it's Alais's or The Hosie's.

Final Battle: "The Night We Called It A Day" by Diana Krall

Uhh... really dude! Don't hire WMP!! Whatever this scene will mean in the movie I don't think this song will fit in it. Lol.

Death Scene: "Impressive Instant" by Madonna

Whoever dies, it was someone no one liked so we party!! "I'm in a traaaance..." Maybe the baby... joking!

Funeral Song: "[Somewhere] Over The Rainbow" by Kylie Minogue

Since no one cared about the other person who died, here we sing for someone we cared about who died on the dance floor. Fuck, it could be me... it'd be the gayest funeral in the world, but okay.

End Credits: "Put Yourself In My Place" by Kylie Minogue

Awww... luved it luved it! It'd be a very dramatic end, so a very dramatic song.

End Credits (Secondary): "Burned" by Hilary Duff

Uhh... let's say that when this movie was being produced she was rotten and forgetten and crazy to have a comeback so she begged [aka fucked] someone from the studio and they had to shove it somewhere. It's a good song, though.

I tag my co-stars that would never be out of my crazy musical: The Ho, Alais and Nina.

Fashion Hot

In my search for good music to daydream about my DJ kicks I of course found myself drawned to the oldies. So, I downloaded Sophie Ellis-Bextor's solo debut 2001/2's Read My Lips [RML]. Man, I hate myself for being so late in the music field! I'm fucking six years late!! I of course knew Sophie's most known singles like Murder On The Dancefloor and Take Me Home, but I never cared to know more about her.

So I downloaded RML. It's not a perfect album, some songs [read ballads] feel out of place, but it's a great Dance Music piece that handles the task of keeping you up most of the time. I'm in love with Take Me Home all over again and Get Over You. Looking her up on YouTube I came across the devilish funny Murder video and the stunning one from TMH.

It's a simple very pop concept, but ugh that cinematography!! And those clothes!!! Everything's perfect in it, even Sophie's ears. Well, see it for yourselves.

Did you notice the Vogue-ish dance moves by the end?

Sou/adoro Sophie Ellis-Bextor!!!!!!!!

[Song: Take Me Home - Sophie Ellis-Bextor]

Top 5 Björk Love Songs

It's more than official: I'm beyond addicted to Björk. So with that self-explanatory title I'll cut straightly to the list.

Memorable mentions:

- All Is Full Of Love - if there is always something we're looking for it is love; we wait for it to knock on our doors or even chase it till the last moment; but we never seem to reach it or are satisfied with it. So in this ode to the main subject of ours Björk kick our arses by saying "you just ain't receiving/your phone is off the hook/your doors are all shut".

- It's Oh So Quiet - although she banned the song, her performance of it is simply perfect and honest; not to mention the video [scroll down].

Top 5:

5. Who Is It? [from Medúlla]

In this Björk seems to be describing faith. Like in "All Is Full Of Love" where she tells us we must trust Who Is It? [WII] seems like the description of it. I believe that to have faith in something is to love it so much you believe in it, in a way it never lets you down, even when you don't get from it what you exactly wished. Sometimes I connect this with the Light, always giving us good despite we think it is or not; but it could be anything. As for the song it is a trip; Medúlla is closely my favorite of all Björk's solo albums I've listened so far; it was the first I ever heard and those eccentric vocal arrangements grabbed me by the balls at the first listening. WII's complicated and marvelous beats are all beatboxing [recorded in one take with no editing] and this is one of the happiest songs in the album that is mostly darkish.

4. Violently Happy [from Debut]

Obsession! Speak out if you never found yourself so crazy about someone you couldn't define your feelings anymore? *silence* What I most love about this song is that it's a massive ingenious dance track. Love makes you happy and gets so hype in a state you feel like you took Ecstasy... but the after-trip is never as pleaseant as the hightime.

3. Jóga [from Homogenic]

There's a little similarity between "It's Oh So Quiet" and this. In the former, the moment you fall in love you get in a state of emergency, that in Jóga is described with words instead of the wacko all over the place and lovely horn orchestra from the former. I love Jóga's classical solemn strings combined with the heavy ellectronic industrial-like beats; the beats feel catastrophic like the state of emergency while the strings makes you feel suspended, flying above all the mess and destruction, above reality: isn't it like being in love? You suddenly see mesmerizing emotional landscapes sided by a wish of lucidity, but still "it's where I want to be..."

2. Isobel [from Post]

"Maried to myself." Ever since I heard this song for the first time I saw myself in its lyrics. It is funny because the darky environment the melody creates hides the optmistic one the lyrics give. Isobel lives by herself always in the most unreachable places; but that's how she is, that's how she likes to be; it's her choice. Why do I consider this a love song, you might be asking. I always believed that to love one must firstly love himself. Isobel and I have no problem in living by ourselves, only having our own images and thoughts to love. Yes it's a bit egocentric and narcissistic, but as I said I believe it's the first step to get to loving anything else.

1. Possibly Maybe [from Post]

It is a bit of cliché to name it my favorite Björk love song; it's a love song without hope, fated to disappointment and heartbreak, and since I'm always an optimistic and hopeful romantic it makes no sense for me to elect this my favorite one. Yeah right! The suspense is a familiarly hated aspect of love and the things you hate the most are sometimes the ones that fascinate you. "Uncerainty excites me." What I most love about this song is the reality in it; it's like Isobel falling in love and stumbling directly to Hyper-Ballad's cliff: "As much as I definitely enjoy solitude/I wouldn't mind, perhaps/spending little time with you/sometimes, sometimes." And all of a sudden you're putting yourself to harm, loving electric shocks and destruction ["Mon petit vulcan...I keep calm /admiring your lava/I keep calm"]. Oh, the thrill! It's obvious it is not healthy ["I'm exhausted!"] but it's exciting, "who knows what's going to happen!"... we still tap ourselves to the bullying desire to know what's to come. The song is constructed in a way that transmits exactly this suspense; a downtempo ballad that feels like slow motion, the bassline is like the act of looking at the clock a million times in a one-minute interval, waiting for a phone call that will never come, facing the probabilities and the maybes. And to top it all it's scary!! The whispered possibly-maybes by the end sound like a little nightmare in which bleeding children chase you to death; and when you wake up, you still intentionaly think of them: "Since we broke up/I'm using lipstick again/I'll suck my tongue/in remembrance of you."

Let Your Body Go With The Flow

What to do in a day you're practically sleeping in front of the teacher?

Today my cigarettes finished by noon and I had no time to buy a new pack before levaing to college, so as my nicotine craving grew along the afternoon I had to do something to calm my disturbed spirits: I ate. So instead of having cancer now I'm fat.

But all these craps: the sleep, the cig desire, the food, they just ended being part of one more day in my routine. As the weekend approaches I get all excited about going to cool places and doing fun stuff that my daily life often seems miles away even for myself. Let me see if I can explain better: sometimes it feels like I sleep throughout the week to just wake up on the Friday night.

At the end of last night however I had my first piece of stress concerned to school. As dawn slowly and unwantedly rose at the other side of the window I realized the paper I had to hand in the afternoon wasn't quite ready yet. I tuned myself to the always helpful and cute Rufus [seriously, Go Or Go Ahead aches sometimes] and quickly finished the thing that was inicially neglected for a whole day wasted online [not exactly because two lovely and uncommented posts were written] and a whole night with Bridget Jones [a whole BJ raving coming later this week]. I went to bed after 5am, so on Monday I was nobody.

However today was a fun day. No deep philosophical epiphanies but little fun in an environment I usually take for granted. When I got home I didn't feel the usual bone-tired I always do and despite the sleep I was okay. Got me thinking of how simple it is to actually study when I want to; maybe I'll be trying a little harder to do it.

And to finish the random thoughts of the night I again got me daydreaming about the one person who will make me feel and behave like this:

Yeah Mr. Right you suck ass badly!! Where the fuck are you? I wanna dance on the streets like Björk!

Begosteodioparvida!!!

[Song: Vogue - Madonna]

Top 5 Sambas

Continuing my lazy-sleezy-got-nothing-to-do posts I now will do a musical top 5.

There are still nowadays controversies about the origin of the word samba. However it's clear that it's a very popular and known Brazillian rhythm; actually the style is kind of a metonymy to my country; grigos erroneously think we all down here walk around naked dancing to samba in a daily-basis. I, in the other hand, ignored the rhythm for long; like the American Jazz, Samba originated many other rhythms that are part of Brasil's culture, and some of them are just mostly crap [neo-pagode], but just as it's stupid for the gringos to assume Brazillians only dress up with the Carnaval costumes [or not], it's stupid for me to overlook such a rich and traditional style just because of a disliked branch. Alright, this introduction is already dang long so if you got all the way to this point and want to know a bit more about samba here's the link. However, the best way to know it is listening to it.

5. Samba do Ernesto

Alright, I'm aware that most of the songs here are totally unknown by you; that's why I'm providing downloading links, click on the song's titles if you feel curious to know them. "Samba do Ernesto" is a samba by one of the greatest sambistas of all time Adoniran Barbosa. He wrote many sambas chronicling the Brazillian poor suburbia; the lyrics are written in poor Portuguese dialect, spoken wrongly; this style was known as "paulista samba" because the poor people on the free markets from São Paulo speak like that. Back then Adoniran, as much as many other sambistas, were neglected by the prejudiceful cultural elite, nowadays not only he but his "Samba do Ernesto" are praised academically, especially because his songs are perfect social depictions, being studied by sociologists, philosophers and even linguists; for me, "Samba do Ernesto" reminds me of my childhood when I used to seat on the backseat of my parents car listening to it on the radio and laughing my ass off with the wrong pronunciation of the words. For you Portuguese illiterates, just tap to the cool groove of this marvel.

4. Corcovado (Quiet Night Of Quiet Stars)

Of course you all know the marvelous Bossa Nova. What I believe that few of you know is that Bossa Nova is a branch of Samba; João Gilberto [G-d], Tom Jobim [G-d] and Vinicius de Moraes [G-d] one day created a different way to do samba, with complex harmony and less/slower percussion. The first Bossa song was Chega De Saudade, recorded by Elizete Cardoso. Of course the rhythm was firstly banned from the upper class balls for being considered too "popular-esque", until of course the gringos fell in love with it. Corcovado is by Tom Jobim inspired by the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro; many artists recorded this song but it's with Astrud Gilberto's [pic] version [the one for download up there] that my eyes wells teary waters. The marvelous saxophone crying all over the song, plus Astrud's mellow vocals put me in a trance; I imagine myself dancing slowly at a piano bar by the sea, in Rio of course. At the same time, Corcovado follows the Bossa delicious minimalist mood: it feels cozy and cute. For its imaginative pushes, this song is one of my favorite songs in the whole world.

3. A Vizinha Do Lado

This song is by baiano music bestman Dorival Caymmi [pic]. This old dude, known by his laidback and bohemian life style is author of some of the best songs ever written in this country. "A Vizinha do Lado" is simply cute, a song about a hot neighbor à lá Edie Brit who drives the borough's men crazy. Roberta Sá [unfarily] finished the 2nd season from the reality show Fama [Star Academy] at #2, but was able later to deliver one of the best albums from 2005, Braseiro. In it she mixes classic sambas with new compositions creating a fresh and exciting enviroment. In "A Vizinha" her sweet vocals enchant whoever's listening [even if you get nothing from the lyrics], add the marvelous sax and the lovely beats and you'll be surely on the way to a joyride. DO download this song!!

2. Tive Sim

Cartola [right]. He's the man! His lyrics are known for perfect use of the cult dialect of Portuguese and he never had higher level of education. He's considered by many the main sambista of the country and is praised among musicians, intellectuals or simply music lovers. Tive Sim [here sung by the heaven sent performer Ney Matogrosso - left] is a cute song about sincerity; in it Cartola's tells his love something that we don't often imagine telling our boy/girlfriends: he admits he's loved another woman before. I love this thing because of it, of its unconventional way of describing love and relationships.

1. Pelas Tabelas
This one is by one of the the top 3 best Brazillian composers alive [considred by many the best]: Chico Buarque. The song is perfectly constructed both lyrically and musically, sounding endless it could play repeatedly like a plot-samba from a samba school. The lyrics go about a man desperatedly in love, losing his head to the woman ["pelas tabelas" could be translated literally "on the table"; in Portuguese that means "to lose the mind"]. Here again you'll have Roberta Sá singing it with a full and increasing arrangement. I've been totally addicted to it because of this sense of loop the song has, as if I cannot stop listening to it. And I can't! I totally love it!

Other adorable sambas:

- Ah, Se Eu Vou - Roberta Sá

- Desde Que O Samba é Samba - Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil [written by Caetano Veloso]

- Canto De Ossanha (Let Go) - Astrud Gilberto [written by Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powel]

- Berimbau - Astrud Gilberto [written by Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powel]

- Samba E Amor - Caetano Veloso [written by Caetano Veloso]

Greta Garbo

Today, seventeen years ago, died one of the most incredible women that ever lived: Greta Garbo. Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, she was ranked by the American Film Institute the fifth best female film star. This chamaleonic G-d was known by her reclusive life, never appearing much outside the movies ["Expect at the very beginning of her career, she granted no interviews, signed no autographs, attended no premieres, and answered no fan mail."]. Onscreen she did iconic characters like Mata Hari, Anna Karenina and Marguerite Gautier [Camille], plus the lovely Ninotchka [my favorite so far]. In her 1932 movie, Grand Hotel, she played the melancholic ballerina Grusinskaya who fell in love with a con man [John Barrymore]; Grusinskaya had a line that was considered Garbo's byline: "I want to be alone!" The only Oscar she received was a 1995 Honorary Oscar "for her unforgettable screen performances." In Hollywood she became a star still in the silent era; Anna Christie, her transition movie to the talkies was publicized with the slogan "Garbo Talks"; the movie was a hit of course, even if she claimed to hate her performance on it.

Lesbian, Garbo remained single during most of her life. Her most famous heterosexual relationship though, was with actor John Gilbert, who co-starred with her the 1926 silent classic Flesh And The Devil. In 1927 she failed to show up at their marriage ceremony.

In her 1990 [six months before garbo's death] classic hit Madonna homages Garbo on the celebrity names rap. Garbo was beautiful! The camera loved her and her serious countenance looked perfect in any makeup and characterizantion. Her mysterious personality and glamour were mesmerizing, her eyes "filled with look and emotions". It's said that Garbo completely ignored Madonna and some even say she despised Madge's desire for attention-crave in the 80's.

Garbo died from end stage renal disease and pneoumonia.

Rocks

As we took our positions at the closest spots to the stage we were booed from the people behind us who were sit. They wanted us to sit... and the show haven't even started yet! Do you think we sat? Well, they later threw paper and beer on us.

Caetano Veloso delivered tonight a show beyond expectations: techinically perfect and uhg who am I kidding with this talk? Everything was perfect including the companies, so cool and hype. The man has such a charisma and presence! He's humble and snob altogether but always close to the public, sometimes dancing always making us cheer. The repertoire was a well balanced mix of the rocks from the latest album Cê and samba [electrified by psychodelic guitar and bass]. And fuck the man can rock! In a less effusive and classier Mick Jagger style he fronted a band that shone with him throughout the show. I danced, sang-along, waved hands did everything I needed to extravasate the joy that music was bringing. When he played the classic Sampa as a rock I simply died; and when Rocks was played Nine and I danced widly as people gathered on the front to do the same. At the encore he played Transa's You Don't Know Me... fuck! the whole place went down, singing and dancing madly!!

We noticed the old people didn't seem much to be into the vibe as if not getting Caetano's latest reinvention. Which is something really stupid; Caetano is a pure example of a totally free artist, he never ever cared to please anyone doing what he likes and that way gathering fans and admirors all over his more than 20-year-old career. This time he came with a fresh and raw experimental rock album that resembles the indie rock being done nowadays. Some loved [meeeee!!], some rock geeks despised, some Caetano fans too.. but fuck these last two, they missed to enjoy a marvelous reinvention plus concert.

Caetano is Rock! Caetano is Art!

Click on the links to download the songs and/or additional info on the mentioned albums. That's necessary!

[Song: Deusa Urbana - Caetano Veloso]

Caêêêêêêê!!!

Caêêêêêêê!!!
Caêêêêêêê!!!
Caêêêêêêê!!!
I'm leaving to his show in 5.
Plan: get him by the back!!
Caetano venimiiiiim!!
Wish me luck! riseeees...
[Song: Rocks - Caetano Veloso]

Top 6 Canadian Women

Yes, I have absolutely nothing more interesting to do! But whatever, I woke up today with Diana Krall's version of the American classic Cry Me A River and realized she's a Canadian doing American music; also came to my mind that some of the best examples of American music [being that Jazz, Blues, Rock etc] artists are not American, i. e. The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Pamela Anderson [yes, I'm joking]. Okay this is nonsensical, but fuck it, I got me thinking of Canada this morning as I listened to Diana's voice, also when remembered Mitchell's A Case Of You ["On the back of a cartoon coaster/In the blue tv screen light/I drew a map of Canada/Oh Canada/And your face sketched on it twice"], so as aforementioned I have nothing better to do, I decided to do a list of my current favorite Canadians.

6. Kim Cattrall

Alright, you know I'm talking about Samantha Jones! Cattrall was actually born in Widnes in England, however her family emigrated to Courtenay [British Columbia - Canada] and truth be told I know nothing else of her besides Miss Jones. [Hmm... I did watch Crossroads but we'll all just ignore that]. Oui oui shame on me, but who cares?! I mean, Samantha Jones is G-d! She's the dream of liberation of every modern woman and queer I know. Cattrall's screen presence is so strong that even the prudest of viewers couldn't help adoring Samantha's charm and sass. As for me: I worship her and Cattrall could not fail to be here for giving life to such a wonderful character.

5. Rachel McAdams
This London [Ontario] born actress got me by surprise in her stellar turn in 2004's Mean Girls. My main goal in watching the movie was to see Lindsay Lohan's first critic praised role, but on my first screening of the movie, even loving Lohan's job it was McAdams and her wonderful Regina George who got me. McAdams gave us a character so diabolically funny that you could not not love her; Regina's meanness always felt real and tangible even when the film got goofy and over-the-top and Rachel ended up creating an icon. You felt like Cady, hating that horrible bitch but at the same time desiring to be around her. Later I totally fell in love with the woman: I rented The Notebook - meh movie wonderful performances, - ran crazily to the movies to see her captivating and heartpounding job in Red Eye and absolutely loved her sarcasm in The Family Stone. Things I didn't know: she was considered for the role of Andrea Sachs in Prada and turned down MI3 [good girl!] and Cassino Royale [she's forgiven, Eva Green was perfect].

4. Sarah McLachlan

When I became an Alanis Morissette freak and started a downloading spree I came across the name of the Halifax [Nova Scotia] born Sarah McLachlan. I remember being kinda intrigued because back then I didn't know how to pronounce her name. A while later Alais introduced me to her music and I had a beautiful surprise when I discovered she was the writer and performer of a song that for a while had been touching my emotions and bullying my curiosity [to know who sung it]: Angel. This now overplayed tune caught me crying the very first time I heard it, on an Alias 1st season episode. As I dived into McLachlan's discography, she became the woman of heartfelt and beautiful lyrics and touching and stunning performances. It's common sense that her voice presents a beautiful sorrow that it is hard not to be awed by it; even the ho cried with Wintersong!

3. Diana Krall

When I first saw Diana Krall [Nanaimo - British Columbia] I must confess that my first reaction was: "whaaa... she ain't black!" It was no racist remark of mine, maybe a bit prejudiceful, but not racist. I said that because when I 1st heard Krall [before knowing her face] I pictured a woman in the likes of India.Arie, or Des'ree, and suddenly I was facing a blonde chick with an imperative presence and a groove that white people don't often have. But really, what's much to say of Krall? Everyone seems to love her but not in a pejorative-hyped way [like The Black Eyed Peas]; her public goes from new and young jazz listeners, getting in touch with the art, to mothers who loves a romantic [almost] suggary love song. She performed in Brasil last year; do I hate myself for missing it? Whadda think?

2. Alanis Morissette

One of the most overplayed and hyped artists from the late 90's, the Ottawa born Alanis Morissette totally deserved [almost] everything she got with her adult career [for those who don't know, Morissette was a teen star back in the 80's in Canada]. Recently I said I don't longer consider her as a main G-d from my polytheistic pop culture religion, but I guess I was overreacting. Nowadays I still don't feel like listening to her songs, but I've recently been in contact with her geniusness with her latest MadTv appearance [video bellow]. And coming to think of it she's a helluva an artist! She's always delivered somehow beautiful pop/rock gems; her lyrics are true descriptive poetry [doubters, if there's any: listen to Ironic, I Was Hoping, Joining You, Flinch and 21 Things I Want In A Lover] and her attitude's always been appealing and charming. My favorite album of hers is Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie [SFIJ], her sophomore [post 90's]; the 17-song gem is filled with exciting and beautiful arrangements but are the lyrics that shine throughout it. Most of them, even if came from Alanis's deep and imaginative mind, sound personal and autobiographical - but in a way that you relate yourself to them, making them even more powerful. Lately she's been accused of losing her creativity by repeating herself. Bullshit! Alright, her last album, So-Called Chaos, was a lot inferior to her previous ones, sometimes sounding like an Under Rug Swept's leftover; but still you can find the beautifuly written lyrics and some songs are really cool ["Excuses"]. Then she re-released her 1st international hit Jagged Little Pill [JLP] in acoustic form - some called repetitive exploitation, I called reinvention; in my opinion JLP got an even nicer and pleasing sound as an acoustic album, not to mention that her voice was way better than back in 1995. Aside all the controversy, it's common sense that Morissette is an icon from the 90's; she's been inspiring a great deal of people who love music, lyrics and artists with intelligent and deep kicks.

1. Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado. She was the first Canadian [Victoria - British Columbia] I fell in love with; at least the first that I knew who was Canadian. When I'm Like A Bird hit Brasil I instantly fell; there was a restlessness and eager desire on those raspery vocals, and such a honesty into those shining blue eyes! Most of the people I knew hated her acute vocals and didn't get her quirky creativity [mud/feijoada dance? Bring it on!] but for me she was a ride of joy. I remember back then two things that most excited me about her was a) that she was half Portuguese and knew a lot of Brazillian music and culture and b) my dad loved her! She then came to Brasil with her Burning In the Spotlight Tour and of course I couldn't see her live, but stayed awake in a week day till late like a silly fan waiting for her interview on a Brazillian late nite talk show. But it was Furtado's sophomore album that firmed me as a die-hard fan. The woman simply reinvented herself completely! After motherhood she assumed a darker and more mature tone and image; of course that the change didn't please me as much as I wanted, but her work was still charming and amazingly produced. Then, last year she did [imo] the coolest move in her career: she grew up for real! She became a hot woman who wasn't afraid to tell everyone she wants to have fun and that she has a sexuality; she was no longer a grown-up wannabe like Folklore felt sometimes. For all these reasons, I praise this woman shamelessly; her creativity is a great mixture of artistic freedom and accessibility; some might've thought Loose a desperate turn to make money, but not everyone can notice a good reinvention when showed. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Happy Bday Hooooooooo

Simply because he's the man of my life and today's he's birthday.

Hosie, I wish you all I wished you in the email, plus loaaaaaaaaaaaaads of Madge and Kylie and Caetano and Saint Etienne and Sophia Coppola's movies and Almodóvar ones too and Woody Allen's as well, loads of Meryl, Kate, Keira, sober and good acting LiLo, Scarlett and all those we love and rave on!

[Song: Hung Up - Madonna (our song forever)]

Music To Turn The Repeat On

Even though none of the songs from this album will be performed on Saturday's concert, the prospect of seeing Caetano Veloso again - this time in his "man at work" mode - gave me a whole nostalgia about this man. Good because my Justin Timberlake/Björk full mode obsession was starting to tire me out, so I got hooked again in an album that touched me deeply when I reunited with it a couple years ago.

In his 1994's work Caetano goes Spanish recording classic songs from alternate Latin American countries [there are songs from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba etc]. However the man does something that is itself enough to get me curious: he reinvents the songs, giving them new and sometimes surprising arrangements. My longtime favorite and adored Pecado, from an Argentinean tango goes to a heartfelt and gloomy bolero; another more-than-exciting moment is the Peruvian title track Fina Estampa filled with a genius string section making you feel all-over-the-placely happy. The Paraguayan Recuerdos de Ypacaraí has a mysterious and dramatic basslined aura, sounding like a perfect soundtrack for an Almodóvar moment. [Caetano, as most of you must know, performed Cucurrucucú Paloma on Almodóvar's 2002 masterpiece Hable Con Ella.] He transforms the overplayed, mostly corny and sometimes assassinated Contigo En La Distancia into a lovely understated and bossa nova-esque rendition. He simply takes these classic songs and make them his own, filling them with classical erudite arrangements and mood that sound enourmous but as frequently cozy.

Another favorite thing about this album is that despite the showy [in a good sense] arrangement, it's Caetano's voice that outshines here. His performances are perfect pitched sounding times gleeful [Rumba Azul, Capullito de Alelí, Mi Cocodrilo Verde] and times melancholic [the aforementioned Pecado and Recuerdo de Ypacaraí], emotionally introspective [Lamento Borincano] and excitingly romantic [Vete De Mí and Un Vestido Y Un Amor - the latter's lyrics are pure poetry in service of "future filmmaking"]. It is a Music City's user comment that best describes Caetano's voice in this work: "With his high, pure voice, which has a lovely, subtle vibrato, Caetano sings like a smooth caress, in a style that is at once sophisticated and sweet."

Below, you can see his performance on Almodóvar's movie.

And here a bad pic, but still proof, that I met the man and played the silly fan.[Song: Pecado - Caetano Veloso]

Estilo Drunk

Well I'm drunk.

The coolest part of everything is that I've been leading the life I've wanted for long. Here I am in a city I adore, where there's so much to see and experience, so many places to go and to know . I've also got the luck of knowing a lot of cool people, people whom make these experiences even more worth while.

Tonight I went out with Nina and Monique; just hangout, talk and drink, what else do we need? I mean, I don't mean to do drunk bullshit here but seriously, life's so simple; we're generally so worried in making the most of it that we forget to make the most of it. We're often so worried in going to THE perfect party, knowing THE perfect guy that we simply overlook the really meaningful things. Lately I've put my alcoholic [in a non-patholigical way] mode on and have simply gone out to chat and have drinks. I must admit I kind of miss the hype parties, but I'm satisfied with the hanging-out style.

The girls and I talked about everything, from global warming to music; just going with the stream of consciousness and having our beers. And now while I have my last beer and listen to the freaking please-do-me hot Justin Timberlake and write this I realize life is good. Do I miss a romantic affair? Of course I do; but blasé life is awesome as well. That's it people, just get drunk and let go. Life's friggin' cool that way.

[Song: My Love - Justin Timberlake]

Auditory Memory

I had an aunt who said that buying soundtracks was stupid: once the movie's momentum was gone so would the interest for its music. My dad once said that movie music belongs to movies and that they have no way of fitting on our daily lives: our connection with it lasts while the film lasts. At first I was too coy to debate with them, but now having seen as much movies as I have seen and having heard as much movie soundtracks/original scores as I have heard I can fully disagree with them.

On early March I went to the best party I've attended to date: the Nave. Among the all-time favorites that were played by the party's DJs were two from Quentin Tarantino's 2003 masterpiece Kill Bill Vol. 1's soundtrack: a crazy remix of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and The 5, 6, 7, 8's Woo Hoo was played twice. These songs are my irrefutable proofs that movie music can transcend the celluloid.

When my relatives said those things they took for granted two powerful arts: filmmaking and music. It's known that a lot of a film's emotion would be hard to be transmited without a score and/or a soundtrack. Music is such a grand art that most of the songs contained on films soundtracks weren't written for the motion picture, but there they are molding themselves to the plot's spirit setting the mood for the public's catharsis. The art of filmmaking got as grand status in this sense especially for being able to mold an older and more independent art [despite of MTV music doesn't need video] to its designs. A recent example is the use of dancefloor classic Vogue on modern-already-classic The Devil Wears Prada. The song got a glamourous and even more iconic turn bathed in all those Channel's, Prada's, Gucci's etc etc. Nowadays I can't help feeling at a Dolce & Gabbana runway when I listen to Madonna's masterpiece.

Last night as I listened to the two Kill Bills' soundtracks I was struck by another confirmation of these arts' power: the feelings those songs imprint to one's emotional memory. While Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood got me holding my Hattori Hanzo, I before rode the town with my ultra-cool yellow outfit and motorbike at the sound of the Green Hornet theme. But Tarantino's music taste goes beyond filmy experiences. His last two epics transformed cult songs into mainstream gems [everybody heard-till-got-sick-of Carolina Márquez's The Killer Song with Bernard Herrmann's Twisted Nerve ill-used sample]; they also got my first contact with Ennio Morricone's genius music and I bet that everyone in the party I mentioned above felt like wacko Japs dancing at The House Of Blue Leaves whenever Woo Hoo was played, I at least did.

In addition, listening to a movie's soundtrack or score can bring back the feelings the movie brought upon you. One might say that way we limit the music to one thing, but that's what we do all the time isn't it? We can't feel everything when we do something, so we connect the situation to one sensation. Whenever I listen Dario Marianelli's tunes for 2005 literature adaptation Pride & Prejudice I feel connected to Lizzie Bennet's wit and vivacity and Mr. Darcy's charm and presence. When Isabelle Hupert sings Françoise Hardy's hit A Message Personnel or Fanny Ardant does the incredible bossa rendition of the wild French disco hit that is Nicoletta's A Quoi Sert De Vivre Libre both from the 2002 François Orzon's film 8 Femmes I feel the colors and the joi de vivre from those marvelous women.

Music and films is a match made in heaven, because for me film music is a way to keep vivid in my memory the awesomeness of the motion picture. The same way we lose momentum from a film and consequently its score we lose momentum from all kinds of artists and music. It's the moment that counts, whenever it is.

So, which is the soundtrack piece that rocks your socks?

[Song: The Secret Life Of Daydreams - Dario Marianelli]

The Link Life

Since I have nothing to do but listen to music and read stuff, and Dorian Gray's been boring me like hell lately, and nothing better than creating lame "The __ Life" posts either here are the stuff I'm reading on the web.

-Glenn's hilarious When Bad Poster Strike series at Stale Popcorn got me wondering what I've been doing that I haven't read those things before. His Fracture's dialogue is genius.

-Nathaniel's [The Film Experience] Fundraiser posts are filled with cool and cinematically informative anecdotes.

-Three of my favorite actresses are united in a still dubious [for me] movie: IMDb has stills from Georgia Rule.

-Emma and I agree about the last Harry Potter covers. And she ravishes on The Shawshank Redemption's screenplay, one of my favorite movies ever, that I haven't seen in a great while.

-After Madge and her oh-so-cool-that-makes-me-wish-I-were-a-woman line M by Madonna, Kylie Minogue's fashion creativity is set to hit H&M's stores on northern summer. About it she goes "to me it is all about summer indulgence, effortless chic and lots of fun." That's why we love you K! And she's working with hype Swedish producers Bloodshy and Avant for the next album!

-And OMG! But meh it doesn't surprise me much, who hasn't had one of those nowadays?

[Song: Kids - Kylie Minogue and Bono]

The Single Life

As much as I enjoy this new life of mine I'm starting to get a bit freaked out. I usually see people but to return to an empty home. I guess I'm starting to feel the single life badly. Maybe I miss my dad who always provided good conversation and quality time in doors, maybe I miss a house with sounds, sounds that don't concern to myself one and only. Maybe I'm missing Alais, the thought she's not exactly reachable anymore kind of hurts.

Thankfully next week I'm going to travel with my dad to the town where my cousin lives, Inhambupe. There'll be kids, maybe I'll feel okay for a while. But fucksake I'm just trying to blindfold; thing is I must occupy myself, I've been a week doing nothing; time to go back to school and keep my mind busy and out of drinks. Alcolism is only cool on celebrities.

[Song: Breathe - Kylie Minogue]