Thanks...

Dad and aunt travelled to Salvador yesterday and I'm home alone for the first time in a very long time in Conquista. And needless to say how alleviated I feel, having the house only for me with no worries of sound volume or where to smoke [as long as I carry an incense along]. The mood is so sweet that I'm even enjoying my introspection at my utmost, avoiding people's presence and all.

Last night Purki and some others came over, but I still felt so on my own and as they blabbered around I watched Björk in my room; I didn't even mind to sleep in the middle of Pan's Labyrinth. I remembered a question the ho did me a while ago: "how do you handle always being around people?" And at that moment I didn't have an exact reply for that, because the fact was that I've been needing a time by myself...

Just to listen to anything I want without hearing complaints, write peacefully without no one asking me things and crap. So at this time I wanna thank some entities for making my days:

- Nessa Carlton - for having the coolest and sweetest songs to sing along;

- Feist - for giving me the best of introspective songs;

- my aunt - for going with my father...

- Norah Jones - for inviting me to come away with her;

- Keira Knightley - for making me cum and cry at the same time with her beauty;

- Dario Marianelli - for writing such beautiful scores;

- Julia Roberts - for showing everyone how to light up a screen;

- Björk - for always fulfilling the gaps and silent spaces; and,

- dear leisure - for just existing and allowing me to write such useless post without feeling guilty.

[Song: Come Away With Me - Norah Jones]

The Songs Of 2007

2007 itself was really crappy in music. Obviously I didn’t ignore music this year, I just wasn’t tapped into current music when most of the music that hooked me was released before 2007, which made my pre-lists very rich. So, although it wasn’t so hard to know which artists and songs would make it, it was hard for me to restrict them to only ten songs; then I decided to do a top 20. Last year I divided the list in fields but now I’m just too lazy for that and just separated them in two: the first part with brief comments and the second with longer and more elaborated ones. There are ties, which yeah ho was a way for me to shove more songs into the list; but what can I do, I dig on ‘em!

I have Samba and a lot of Indie stuff here, like a Canadian belle with the smoothest of voices, an androgynous Brit with one of the most wonderful voices and a filmstar turned rockstar with a fun-to-hear voice; alongside with the good’ol’ mainstream Pop. Dance music makes itself very present with a firmed G-d and a new Diva [to me], and a new G-d is raised on my altar, even though she’s not so keen on G-d.

The Bubbling-Under:
20. "Like A Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae
The song of lonely moments...
19. "Crippled And The Starfish" by Antony And The Johnsons
I have pleasure to say I’ve seen him playing it live!!!
18. "Tema de Não Quero Ver Você Triste" by Erasmo Carlos e Marisa Monte
One of the most romantic songs you will ever hear.
17. "20 Year Old Lover" by Juliette And The Licks
The monologue by the end makes me cum a million cums.
16. "Ever Fallen In Love" by Nouvelle Vague
Foreign Bossa Nova/Samba – you can be sure I’ll gladly listen.
15. "Amado" by Vanessa Da Mata
One of the most romantic songs you will ever hear – part deux.
14. "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)" by Britney Spears
Delicious self-indulgent songs from Tinseltown’s ex-Pop Princess and now promising stripper. YAAAAY!! And LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!!!
13. "Divine Gosa" by Bonde Do Rolê
Crazy and funny lyrics combined with Carioca funk and Eletronic and Rock elements. Count me in!!
12. "Os Novos Yorkinos" by Bebel Gilberto
Me and my friends’ theme. We turn this small shitty town [Conquista] into New York.
11. "Don’t Look Back" by Télépopmusik
A perfect trip hop love song. Angela McCluskey’s voice is beyond lovely.

Top 10:

10. "Don’t Stop The Music" by Rihanna
I still think her voice is awful, but man, what awesome music this woman made this year!! From the Micheal Jackson sample to the exciting background claps.
- "Friday Night" by Lily Allen
Allen’s drunken nights and fights in clubs really made my fun early in the year.

9. "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse
Early in the year this was a fever, I loved it to death; now it bores me. But I chose it to the top 10 because it’s a good picture of this decade’s culture. I mean, it was released last year but it was still all over the place in early 2007; but now, it feels like it’s a hundred years old. Things are very ephemeral lately; every week is a new technology, a new fashion, the best rock band of all times… kinda boring right?

8. "HeadTurner" by Joss Stone
The songs from Stone's third album swayed my early year; HeadTurner, the slut song – as the ho and I call it, - is my favorite from the album, because it makes me feel like a natural ho. Another song from her album that made me cum this year was Bruised But Not Broken – but I chose “Turner” instead because of the not depressive tone.

7. "Wuthering Heights" by The Puppini Sisters
The Puppini Sisters were my ultimate gay delight… okay there was Rihanna, but you know what I mean: three beautiful women playing vintage music and wearing 1930’s looks – and one of them is Italian, hello!!
Playing Jazzed Pop hits they are all I love about artists: fun, competent and poser. And the things they did to the songs are wonderful, listen to their I Will Survive and The Smiths’s Panic. But to feature here is their mesmerizing version of Kate Bush’s classic, Wuthering Heights. The harmonized vocals, the theatrical performance, the arrangements make me shudder with excitement as I behold delicious reinventions.

6. "Hands On Me" by Vanessa Carlton
I’ve always loved Nessa Carlton and suddenly one day I woke up with this song’s demo version on my mind and remembered her third album was to be released. The album was reviewed here a while ago, but this is definitely my favorite song.
It's so romantic in a kind of bitter way, having a Carlton singing about an obsessive behavior towards a romance. Sounds familiar? Lol.
There they go climbing Tibetan mountains and crossing deep oceans, when they actually never met yet. And in the end when you think it's obsession enough, she goes and begs “just put your hands on me!” This desperation is both sweet and funny; and considering how Carlton has always been very centered on her love songs, I can't help loving such sarcasm.

5. "One Evening" by Feist
“When we started, both brokenhearted. Not believing, could begin and end in one evening.” Isn’t it the dream of everyone who ventures in dates and one-night-stands? The delicious thing of the song, however, is the fact she keeps herself very grounded on the following verses.

Feist became an instant sensation on my playlists; the same happened with Saint Etienne last year and Feist’s folk quality brings a sort of cynical Indie aura to me. The whole Indie movement is kind of a bore, especially because most Indies think they’re better than anyone because they love unmainstreamed things [even if they’re now the mainstream]. But Feist is thrilling with her soothing voice and wonderful way of arranging music. She’s nomed as Best New Artist from the Grammies, for this year’s The Reminder; but her solo career start is dated from 1999… that was so Indie of me. *hehehe*

4. "Belo Estranho Dia De Amanhã" by Roberta Sá
Although she's the only Brazilian Music representative on the top 10, for a period this year I have been addicted to samba and MPB. Roberta Sá was the main star of that phase; early in the year I got addicted to her first album and a while later her sophomore was released and what a marvel it is.
Bringing samba to a closer and more modern reality, on the Que Belo Estranho Dia Pra Se Ter Alegria album she proved herself as an exquisite performer and musician by showing she knows how to choose a repertoire. In both of her albums she sang songs by unknown artists releasing new composers on the market, or songs by already firmed writers but that are so rare that are practically new.
The song I chose is a delicious love song about forgetting all life’s troubles and stress and tapping to the simple and serene side of everything. By listening to it I long for such a love, one that makes me smile; better yet, it brings me hope that one day it’ll come along.

3. "In My Arms" by Kylie Minogue
The other day the ho and I came to the conclusion that we were never let down by Miss Minogue. Ever since I became a fan there was nothing from this woman’s creative and delicious mind that made me stick up my nose.
This year, after a delightful treat with White Diamond and the Showgirl Homecoming we had the excitement of having leaked some tracks from the new studio album. In My Arms came to me like a thunderbolt full of joy and hope. No longer kicking depression with dancing, this time she was coming filled with self-assurance and happiness.
Although it’s become tacky [but still is very common] mentioning her cancer every time she’s the subject, I can’t help saying that probably what she went through put her in a happier line in what it comes to her lyrics. Another track from her latest album, The One, is beyond romantic but in the end she goes and says “I’m the one, love me”, instead of “why’d you leave to find yourself, I can’t dance with no one else.”
Kylie’s top 5:
a. In My Arms
b. Please Stay
c. The One
d. Sensitized
e. Disco Down

2. "Today The Sun’s On Us" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
One morning in Salvador I woke up with Murder On The Dancefloor pumping into my head and had an epiphany: “hey, I don’t know much about Sophie Ellis-Bextor!” Nah it was not so theatrical, I simply got up and decided to download her discography after I saw a comment about Catch You on a blog. From the moment I started listening to her music and studying her career I knew I was a fool for having neglected such wonderful and genius artist.
With elaborate and joyous beats Ellis-Bextor has a Minogue quality when she comes with dark lyrics combined with ingenious dance hooks and layers [give a try on Move This Mountain from her debut album, or The Walls Keep Saying Your Name from her sophomore]. But when she gets optimistic as in Today The Sun's On Us she's heartwarming and bright. I lost track of how many times this song lifted me up from depressive moods and dark times.
Sophie’s top 5:
a. Today’s The Sun’s On Us
b. If I Can’t Dance
c. The Walls Keep Saying Your Name
d. I Won’t Change You
e. New York City Lights

1. "Wanderlust" by Björk
Despite the fact that she’s the most ubiquitous artist of my year [just check out my last.fm] and that this was the year I became a die-hard fan, it’s this track from her latest studio effort, Volta, that best defines my life and behavior in 2007. I last year moved to Conquista in the high hopes to move to Salvador; and after six unhappy months in Salvador I returned to Conquista. And engaging myself in planed or last-hour trips I’ve come to know places and have a bunch of experiences that fulfilled me in ways that were very new to me.
This song, with its sometimes scary brass section became a hymn to my new desire during my trip to Rio de Janeiro. Sometimes putting comfort aside and following intuition, I’ve come to see and feel things that pushed my own nature and brought self-awareness and reinvention. This song is definitely the best way to describe a fully colourful 2007.
Björk’s top 6*:
a. Wanderlust
b. Bachelorette
c. Unravel
d. Isobel
e. Possibly Maybe
f. Dull Flame Of Desire [with Antony]
*because I couldn’t help it.

Honorable [very late] mentions:
- Once Soundtrack
The one movie this year that touched me to the core. Every and each song of its soundtrack makes me teary eyed, but indisputably romantically hopeful. Highlights are: Falling Slowly, When Your Mind’s Made Up and Lies.
- "No One" by Alicia Keys
For me “No One” felt like a one-day wonder, one morning more specifically.
- "What Goes Around… Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake
Justin “Hot” Timberlake was very present early in March – but what comes around…
- "Thinking About You" by Norah Jones
Somehow she’s always around during my year.
- "Lenda" by CéU
Genius experimental Brazilian music. CéU has the voice of an angel combined with fierceness of a woman not afraid to try new things.
- "Grace Kelly" by Mika
Alright, he is beyond annoying now, but I really enjoyed him back in May.

The Songs Of 2005
The Songs Of 2006

Coming Home

It would be way too foolish of me to say Vanessa Carlton's new album is genius; even if I'm completely in love with it.
If Be Not Nobody was gloomy like Winter and Harmonium was luminous like Summer, Heroes & Thieves feel content with the moment. The first difference I noticed in H&T is that instead of a collection of songs, it feels more like a body of work, a story being told; that isn't notable only by the lyrics, but the melodies and arrangements feel like such - as if Carlton spent more time constructing music that feels like chapters in one's life. The best part is that it isn't anyone specific, so the connection with it isn't so difficult.
Nolita Fairytale feels right from the start as a wake up call. The literary feature of the song gets even cuter if you consider the fact Nolita is the neighborhood where Carlton has been living for at least the past two years, the period of time she describes in the song. But as I said, it's not only the lyrics that remit you to a moment of epiphany: the song with it's cheerful drums and piano and sharp percussion feels like a morning reverie.
So sweet that when you get to the second track, the amazing Hands On Me, you already feel it as first thoughts in bed. The magnanimous string section combined with the down-to-earth and urban-esque piano and percussion transmits you to a feeling of seriousness that matches with the fierce emphasis she imposes on the lyrics.
Then Spring Streets comes about a mother-daughter relationship, but in general it's about growing up and learning about life with life. And that's, in my opinion, the beauty of Carlton's songs. 27-year-old is almost the end of the second decade of one's life, but it's like the begining of adulthood, especially in today's world where people seem to grow up faster, but mature later. So, Carlton's song feel like songs made for people in their 20's done by someone in her 20's. All that in a humbleness that is part of Carlton's charisma; there's no patronizing in her lyrics and messages. And at the same time, it's lovely how the melodies and arrangements transmit the maturity she already has.
There's a charisma in Carlton's songs that goes beyond the innovative; in her three musical installments she had delivered songs that somehow feel similar in the pop piano aspect, but are able to bring different feelings to the listener. The other highlights for me are Come Undone, the country-ish The One (with Stevie Nicks), the title track Heroes & Thieves and Home.
[Song: More Than This - Vanessa Carlton.]

Current Favorite Music Ladies Top 6

With a gloomy and cloudy day outside I suddenly woke up with a feeling I didn't have in a long time: introspection. Ever since I moved, most of my days were filled with nothing or not-exactly-fulfilling activities, but outside in the hype of the streets and between my lovely eloquent friends; today I don't feel like going out, apart from the Cinema Week that is going on in town.

So this moodiness made me feel like writing anything again; go beyond the thematic and just write about anything I want. And since I'm always writing about music here, here goes the list of the top 6 artists I'm listening the most. Not so surprisingly they're all women.

6. Juliette And The Licks

There's an awesome aura of coolness around Juliette Lewis and her band that they inspire me. I had to buy ribbons to imitate the lead-Lick's indian style. Plus her raspery voice and delicious posture as a rockstar makes me want to have my own band. *giggles* My favorite songs are 20 Year Old Lover, Bullshit King, American Boy and Hot Kiss. "Lover" and "King"'s dialogues by the end of the songs thrill me to the bone with its sass and rhythm, showing an attitude that is mesmerizing.

5. Britney Spears

"It's Britney, bitch!" Okay, I only have one thing to comment about this: who'd ever thought that in the worst moment of her career and life, Miss Spears would manage to release such a great and genius album?! Say what you want about the vocals, but this album has amazing beats and hooks... who cares about the lyrics? Radar and Get Naked are pure delight!

4. Kylie Minogue

There's this woman in Brasil called Erika Palomino who is told to be Brazillian's Anna Wintour; she's the best fashion reviewer, the one who all the models and designers want to be protogé of, the one who's the trend spreader... anyways, one day she was invited to a chat on a website and somebody quentioned her why wasn't she talking so much about Madonna anymore. Palomino replied that Madonna now was in another area in which her personal life was more important and she wouldn't become The Sun and publish every little thing Madonna said or did, "besides, it's Kylie Minogue's momentum!"

I couldn't agree more. Ever since the Showgirl Homecoming Kylie has been heating up the vaults of anticipation with her upcoming album. Early in the year several songs leaked and we had the pleasure of knowing the marvelous In My Arms; now 2 Hearts is everywhere and soon we'll have the full album in our hands. It's already leaked... but while I wait for The Ho to finally sending me everything, I feed my addictions to the following top 3 ladies.

3. Vanessa Carlton

Heroes & Thieves is such a singular and sweet piece that it could not be done by anyone else than Miss Carlton. Its body is more than the collection of songs that Carlton's previous albums felt like, and though at first you might twist your nose and think that it's more of the same, you'll be totally wrong if you stick to that idea. In H&T Vanessa is in her best shape as a songwriter and arranger, bringing songs filled with breezy percussions and drums always sided by her sweet and inspired piano. The lyrics are other joys to notice; her poetry is filled with even more honesty and imagery. My favorite ones are Hands On Me, My Best, Come Undone and More Than This.

2. Björk

Uhhh... is there anything to say about my complete fascination and addiction to this woman? After the concert I attended I have been unable to write freely about my experience, as if it's too overwhelming. But it's coming out, especially now that I'm discovering even more genius stuff by this G-d. Whoever uploads me the whole Family Tree collection I'll owe sexual favors forever!

1. Feist

[That's my favorite pic of Feist's, I'll definitielly imitate it.] If I'd known Feist before the Tim Festival I would've undoubtedly bought tickets to her concert and stayed beyond pissed when she cancelled her gigs due to labyrinthitis. Her sweet and somewhat hoarse vocals are enough to charm you and make you feel like you're in love. Some of the lyrics are pretty melancholic, but are arranged so beautifuly and yet very minimalistically that it's impressive. Right now I'm beyond addicted to her sophomore album, Let It Die, which features marvelous self-penned songs such as Gatekeeper, One Evening, Mushaboom, Leisure Suite and the tittle track, plus wonderful covers like Inside And Out and When I Was A Young Girl. I'm getting into her latest album as well, The Reminder; Sea Lion Woman is my favorite - one of the best arrangements ever done!

Welcome Back!!

...and this comeback sounds so lovely!

Indie Pop Descontrol

Okay, I like indie pop; not as much as I like the mainstream, but I like it. So, indie music got hyped and mainstreamed here in Brasil; I blame MTV of course, but since I sometimes tend to look after the underdogs, I'm kinda ignoring the whole indie rock scene and hooking up to the pop side of indie, the one that tends to be overlooked.

Today I got this urge to revisit an artist that had a big hit in 2002 but after some quite successful singles she fell into media ostracism: Vanessa Carlton. Everyone knows that A Thousand Miles song and the cute road movie-ish video. But few people know how genius and beautiful are her two albums. I name them The Winter Album [Be Not Nobody - 2002] and The Summer Album [Harmonium - 2004]. Her debut has a pretty shiny art work but an attentive listen to it you realize there's nothing shiny about it. Lyrics like Rinse's and Sway's or even A Thousand Miles itself are full with heartbreak and sorrow; even the sweet ballad Pretty Baby or the wonderful Ordinary Day are somehow pinched by sadness and a reclusive behavior similar to winter [my favorite season, I must say], when animals go hibernating. The orchestra, arranged and conducted by the pop mogul Ron Fair [who produced hypes like Aguilera, Ashlee Simpson and The Black Eyed Peas], is present all over the album in a piercing and heartbreaking fashion, transmiting with perfection the deep tone from the songs.
Her sophomore is no less than deep either. However in a reprised paradox that I much love about her two works, Harmonium that has a rather dark art has more hopeful and shinier songs. Already on the first single, the lead track White Houses, we can already see Carlton went more lightful. The song, about being adolescent and breaking out on the world making the mistakes required for growing up but never regreting them, has an apparently clumsy piano that along the song gets bigger and more mature. Noted the song inner metaphor? Later we have a collection of songs that sounds perfect for being played on summer vacations, while you are with your friends at this beautiful kind of decadent summer house, having fun and first experiences. Who's To Say has a wonderful look at overcoming love, Afterglow talks about regret free souls and Private Radio is pure fun.

Then there's Nelly Furtado. You may ask what's indie about her, but that is because you probably only know her current reinvention. But before her turn into a [as stupid haters say] pop whore she was a restless and eager girl wearing baggy jeans and big bright smiles. But I'll talk about her unfairly underrated sophomore album. I confess it's my least favorite of hers, but it's no less genius like everything she does.

Furtado in Folklore goes darker. I think the album fails in taking itself too seriously, but I can't help praising the beautiful mix of cultures she and producers Track & Field do in it. Here there's no hip hop abundance like in her debut; instead there's an interesting and [this word again] overlooked collage of Portuguese folkloric elements and pop music. The Kronos Quartet featured One-Trick Pony is a beautiful set-the-mood intro that leads to the empowering and sassy Powerless (Say What You Want). The album later presents other interesting fusions like the Samba rap in Explode, the cheery fado in the masterpiece Força, the Blues-y Picture Perfect that is about imigrant life, the main subject of the album, also present in other delicious tracks like Try, Fresh Off The Boat and the Tonada De La Luna Llena sampled and Caetano Veloso featured Island Of Wonder.

Maybe this mix of not so largely known cultural references were the reason of Folklore's flop; Furtado seemed to be obviously doing an album for her own pleasure, not thinking at all on general public's reaction and charts. I absolutely have nothing against that but that's not exactly what pop labels really look for. But in the end, the nostalgia is so well constructed in the album that you find yourself missing a bunch of things, even if you can't exactly define what they are [saudade again folks].

My third piece of indie pop from today is actually very hyped right now. Everyone loves Mika [excpet the ho of course]. There's nothing much to be said about this guy; the Life In Cartoon Motion album is sheer fun, a cute pastiche of Elton John and the Scissors Sisters filled with sassy lyrics and tunes. I absolutely love the Love Today and Lollipop songs, but it's [surely] the sorrowful Happy Ending [click to download] that's been on my mind lately. I wonder why.

[Song: Annie - Vanessa Carlton]