Après les versions de Katie Melua et Dinosaur Jr, précédemment … celle de The Cure …

En plus, je trouve que Robert Smith vieilli bien. Le maquillage lui va mieux à cinquante ans et les kilos en plus (selon lui, ça serait son épouse qui le préfère ainsi).

On retrouve Porl Thompson, son beauf, à la guitare, et Simon Gallup, le beauf de ce dernier, à la basse. Ils vieillissent bien, eux aussi. Tout le contraire des “vieux beaux” qui essaient de rester “jeunes” et toniques.

To cover more songs from The Cure has been a desire long overdue. So when the opportunity presented itself, we were more than happy to indulge. The pop sensibility of the 80’s icon has influenced my songwriting for more than a decade – in doses big and small – but not as heavily as The Smiths and The Beatles.

It was an awesome event.  The place was packed and everyone was looking forward to each band’s rendition of a Cure classic. We were favored to cover “Just Like Heaven” while I personally chose “A Letter To Elise” – one of my all time favorite Cure single. Here is a clip our friend Antonette manage to acquire with her digital camera. Please excuse the audio and video quality. First time we ever jammed “A Letter To Elise.”

I read in wiki that Letters to Felice by Kafka was a huge influence when Robert Smith wrote the lyrics of the track. Franz Kafka is a Jewish-Bohemian major fiction writer and “Letters To Felice” is a book collecting some of Kafka’s letters to Felice Bauer from 1912 to 1917. During the correspondence they were engaged twice. Must be something worth reading.

"A Letter to Elise" is the third and final single taken from the album Wish from The Cure in 1992.

To listen to the original track of “Letter To Elise:, click Here.
Below is our minimal live performance of “Just Like Heaven” from the same night. It would’ve been nicer having an electric guitarist to session. It’s fun to spin around with.

The group largely wrote the song during recording sessions in Southern France in 1987.  Robert Smith  drew inspiration from a past trip to the sea shore with his future wife. Do not be fooled to thinking that “Just Like Heaven” is a happy heartwarming song. Beneath the sunny-day-holding-hands-together-on-grassy-fields trance the music exude lies an incredibly sad ending. Wait till you hear the third verse. Click Here to watch the music video.

"Just Like Heaven" was the third single released from the band's 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me.

Never mind the big, towering hair and smeared lipstick on their faces (a signature look) the musical styling is great and offers a mix of records wallowing in melancholia to ear-candy-pop madness.

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The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by Robert Smith, Lawrence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and New Wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s, the band’s increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.

After the release of Pornography (1982), the band’s future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single “Let’s Go to Bed” Smith began to inject more of a pop sensibility into the band’s music. The Cure’s popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs “Just Like Heaven“, “Lovesong” and “Friday I’m in Love” entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world. The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004. The Cure have released thirteen studio albums and over thirty singles during the course of their career. (source: Wikipedia)

“Show me how you do that trick”…

… demandait Mary Poole à Robert Smith lorsque ce dernier réalisait des tours de magie, sur une plage du sud de l’Angleterre, pendant leur vacances d’ados.

La décennie suivante, en 1987, juste avant d’épouser Mary, alors sa compagne, Smith se souvient de cet épisode et écrit la chanson “Just Like Heaven“. Celle-ci commencera par “Show me, show me, how you do that trick” cette fois-ci dans le sens, “Par quel magie, m’as-tu séduite ?”

En 2009, à cinquante ans, Mary Poole et Robert Smith sont toujours mariés. Et The Cure fonctionne toujours en famille.

Le guitariste Porl Thompson (guitare lead et rythmique), présent par intermittence dans le groupe depuis 1976 est marié avec la sœur cadette de Robert Smith (chant + guitare lead et rythmique), Janet.

Quand au bassiste, Simon Gallup, il marié avec la sœur de Porl Thompson.

Pour l’anecdote, les images de bord de mer que l’on aperçoit dans clip de Just Like Heaven (à voir ici) proviennent justement de cette plage où Robert Smith et Mary Poole jouaient, ados. Cette dernière apparaît même dans le clip – l’apparition fantomatique en blanc.

Ci-dessous deux reprises très différentes de Just Like Heaven.

D’abord la  version de Katie Muela.
Attention, elle peut provoquer des somnolences. Donc à éviter d’écouter en conduisant.
Mais finalement je l’aime bien. Elle fait ressortir le romantisme de la chanson.

Puis la version de Dinosaur Jr, dont Robert Smith lui-même considère qu’il s’agit de la meilleure reprise de Just Like Heaven.

“Show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream” she said
“The one that makes me laugh” she said
And threw her arms around my neck
“Show me how you do it
And I promise you I promise that
I’ll run away with you
I’ll run away with you”

Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow
“Why are you so far away?” she said
“Why won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you
That I’m in love with you”

You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You’re just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me

You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Just like heaven

Piesa asta e euforie pură, jur. E zâmbet-tâmp-stupid-face-hug-a-tree-fuck-that-hug-everyone-happy. E mersul pe jos până la metrou într-o dimineaţă însorită de primăvară cu căştile-n urechi şi mâinile-n buzunar. E trezitul fresh cu două minute înainte să sune infectul de ceas. E privirea caldă a unui om cu care tocmai te-ai întâlnit. E ţârâitul soneriei de pauză din liceu. E just like heaven.

Davey always inspires me.

“Why are you so far away?” she said,
“Why won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you,
That I’m in love with you.”

Como hoje eu queria postar alguma coisa aqui, não tenho nada na cabeça, minha vida é uma eterna rotína cíclica e hoje é aniversário da Isis, tive a genial idéia de falar da Isis. Por tres motivos: eu gosto dela, é aniversário dela e eu escrevo sobre o que eu quiser.

Primeiro tenho que dizer que não dou a mínima pra aniversários, a menos que a pessoa seja importante pra mim e/ou o dê importancia pra essa data. Falando de Isis, ela preenche o primeiro quesito, não tenho certeza do segundo. O título do texto é Just Like Heaven pois toda vez que escuto essa música me lembro dela fazendo um bicão e inflando as bochechas pra dizer: “noooooossa essa música é muito boa, aquele barulhinho da introdução é demais, você gosta tambééééém??? Não bate aí então, bate aí!” E graças À música me lembrei pela segunda vez que hoje é aniversário dela.
O que gosto da Isis é que ela é a Isis, não tem outra igual. Tipo, ela anda com muita gente, conhece quase todas as pessoas da faculdade e nenhuma é igual a ela, pra falar a verdade eu até inventei o estereótipo Isis. Algumas pessoas parecem nisso ou naquilo, mas nenhuma chega aos pés de tal personalidade e tal figura que a Isis original.

Ela influênciou no meu imenso vocabulário com duas palavras, que ainda me esforço pra colocá-las apropriadamente nas situações, são elas: “bafão, bafão” sim ela é falada duplamente, que acho que é usada na seguinte situação: “bafão, bafão (em voz silenciosa) o aluno tal beijou o aluno tal” a outra é: “CLIMÃO” deve ser falada, com a voz um pouco mais alta que o normal com os olhos levemente regalados e dar uma pequena mexida com a cabeça que seria usada na presente situação: “CLIMÃO, a namorada do aluno tal viu que ele beijou tal homem”. Agora ela me ensinou duas novas palavras, com inflência de sua fase de twitter, na verdade as mesmas palavras após ganharem após sofrerem um combo: Bafão-bafão.com quando a coisa é mais que um bafão e também CLIMÃO.com quando a coisa é mais que um climão. Outra coisa que a Isis me ensinou foi a beijar no ar, sabe quando mandamos beijo pra outra pessoa e faz aquele barulho? Então, também devo isso à ela.
Uma coisa que não pode faltar é o cumprimento dela, arrebenta minha mão procurando fazer aquele barulhão que faz quando dois caras másculos se cumprimentam.

Ah… não quero escrever mais nada, quando a encontrar eu dou os parabéns, bato na mão dela fazendo barulhão, e tenho falar algo pra ela qeu tenha bafão-bafão e CLIMÃO.
Beijos I5is. Parabéns

Vídeo pra Isis

Because I feel as though I’m coming down with a stomach bug you aren’t going to get any well thought out post from me today just a video.

This is Damion Suomi and David Fountain doing a cover of the classic Cure song “Just Like Heaven”. The mandolin adds a very nice touch to the song.

Dinosaur Jr. performs at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, OH. Photo Ben French

Distorted, Fedback and sustained strings

rattled the Newport Music Hall  through over 240 inches in speaker surface area from J. Mascis’ Marshall stacks when Dinosaur Jr. finished their set on Saturday, October 10.  Not to mention the feedback from Lou Barlow’s bass stack to add to the beautiful shrieking noise.  The guitar techs artistically tripped the pedals eventually bringing the auditorium back to silence before their encore. How cool do you have to be to create such a loud and annoying sound of feedback, but at the same time so creative and unique that people will stay and beg for more?

The band hailing from Amherst, Massachusetts, formed in 1984 and became innovators in alternative rock music with high gain and overuse of  feedback and distortion. The trio of Mascis, Barlow and Murph on drums influenced many bands of the 90s rock scene including Nirvana. And they also seem to have a heavy influence on many local rock bands right here in Columbus, OH.  The group disbanded in 1997 with a reunion tour beginning in 2005 which relit the spark and produced two more albums.

The band is on tour in support of their new album Farm. And the stage was set with a backdrop of Middle Earth with Ents from the cover.  According to their online forum, Freak Scene, many fans were disappointed in the lack of songs from their new album, but as a first-timer I was happy to hear their popular hits like Feel the Pain, Freak Scene and their cover of Just Like Heaven by The Cure. Fans also came from all over to Columbus to see them, including as far as Poland.  They were also rather disappointed in the lackluster crowd in Columbus.

We missed the opening act of Lou Barlow and the Missing Men showing up late with fellow concert-goer Todd Sheraw. But, I really enjoyed the show, being somewhat of a fan, I thought that J Mascis’ melodically distorted guitar solos on top of Barlow and Murph’s enthusiastic rhythm playing was inspiring. And the music was LOUD. Just the way I like it.

Setlist

J Mascis and his 24 ten inch speakers. Photo Ben French

Thumb
Budge
Imagination Blind
Get Me
Pieces
Crumble
Out There 
Over It
Feel The Pain
The Lung
Freak Scene
Gargoyle

Encore

Been There All The Time
Just Like Heaven

Şuie Paparude a staţionat pe Locul 1 în topul oficial Guerrilla Radio timp de şase săptămâni, intrând direct pe Locul 1 în 21 aprilie 2009. cu Cea mai bună zi. Ascultă atent ritmul piesei:

Posibile surse de inspiraţie?

ritmul de la Just Like Heaven. The Cure. 1987.

…

ritm şi imagine de clip de la Sometimes. James. 1993.

…

ritmul de la Blue Monday. New Order. 1989.

…

M-am întâlnit aseară la Sala Sporturilor cu Şuie Paparude şi l-am întrebat pe Michi părerea lui desore această temă delicată…

Da. Ni s-a mai spus că am împrumutat idei de la The Cure, James, New Order … lucrăm cu ritmuri asemănătoare unui anumit gen de muzică cu care noi acuma ne simţim în largul nostru. O să mai facem piese asemănătoare din acest gen New Wave Electronica că ne place sound-ul. Lumea la noi nu este obişnuită cu această idee; ideea că mai multe trupe pot avea un sound asemănător, în ideea de curent artistic.

…

Care este părerea ta? Comentează mai jos.

Jeg hadde Just like heaven på replay og satt og så en film av landskap fare forbi utenfor vinduet mitt ved sete 37. Norge er egentlig et vakkert land tenkte jeg, da jeg så på trær, fosser, himmel og daler. Ved siden av meg satt Evy Jeanett, og vi var på veg til Oslo. Høstferien var etterlengtet!

Hovedstaden er stor, og jeg føler meg liten. Jeg traff mange nye fine mennesker, drakk mye kaffe, beviste at jeg ikke er særlig flink i Wii, og slanket lommeboka mi drastisk. Det var fine dager, med latter og smil. Selv om jeg gjerne kunne vært der lenger var senga mi god å komme hjem til.

Siluetter er fine, og det er fint å være turister på operaen. Jeg tror jeg poster flere bilder i morgen jeg, i mellom øvelseskjøringen og matteleksene.

Hva skjer for tiden? (:

Enjoy!

When I were younger, the first movies I were exposed to, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio were Titanic and Romeo + Juliet. It’s due to those two movies, that I think my preconceived notion of him developed. For years and years and years after this preconceived notion manifested, I could not watch a movie with DiCaprio in it and think his acting good… Until today.

Yes, today marks a momentous occasion, the day I can finally love some of his acting (Gangs of New York being the only exception). I introduce you to Shutter Island, an upcoming thriller film, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese who also worked with DiCaprio on Gangs of New York (See a pattern?). Other actors include: Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Collateral, Just Like Heaven), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Anne Frank: The Whole Story, Lucky Number Slevin) and Michelle Williams (Imaginary Heroes, Brokeback Mountain, Deception)

The film itself revolves around a Massachusetts island set in 1954, in a hospital for the criminally insane (an asylum), where a patient has gone missing, DiCaprio plays the part of the films protagonist, the first of two U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance. On a seperate note, this is a film I cannot wait to see in cinemas (Mid-February 2010 realease), and will probably go and see it AT the cinema. Judging from the trailer, I recommend it.

This song–the original one, by The Cure–never fails to make me dream of all kinds of beauty.  When Last.fm played me this cover by The Watson Twins this morning, it kind of made me believe in love again for a few minutes.  Silly Holly.  Lovely song.

Plagios, copias, tributos, influencias que afloran subconscientemente… El mundo de la música está repleto de canciones con un más que sospechoso parecido a otras anteriormente ya escritas, poniendo la credibilidad artística de sus autores en entredicho. A continuación algunos de los casos más que más suspicacias han levantado. 

Amaral. Más de un parecido sospechoso...

-Amaral Vs. PJ Harvey
A los actuales reyes de la radiofórmula en nuestro país hay que reconocerles una cosa, cuando se ponen a hablar de sus influencias musicales, la pareja nombra a artistas totalmente recomendables. Otra cosa es que luego sepan plasmar dignamente sus enseñanzas en sus canciones. De todos modos, revisando a fondo el catálogo de Amaral no es demasiado complicado reconocer ramalazos de genios como Bowie, más que nada porque el dúo no tiene pudor en recrear sin complejos compases enteros de temas de sus ídolos musicales. De entre todos los plagios, o tributos, perpetrados por Amaral, el más descarado y denunciable es el realizado en el tema ‘Te Necesito’, donde no se cortan un pelo y fusilan vilmente el ‘That’s My Veil’, tema del disco que PJ Harvey grabó junto a John Parish, Dance Hall At Louse Point. Lo más curioso de todo es que pese a que sus robos son totalmente descarados, los chicos por el momento han salido indemnes de sus tropelías. 

Beach Boys. Surferos estafados

-Beach Boys Vs. Chuck Berry
 Si hiciéramos una encuesta preguntando por el tema más popular de los Beach Boys, seguramente la canción más votada sería ‘Surfin’ USA’, sin embargo, si tenéis algún disco suyo por casa en el que parezca el mentado tema, si miráis en los títulos de crédito veréis que su autor es Chuck Berry. Editado como single el 4 de marzo de 1963, las primeras copias acreditaban a Brian Wilson como su autor, sin embargo tan pronto llegó a las tiendas, Chuck Berry empezó una campaña para denunciar que ‘Surfin’ USA’ no era más que una fotocopia de su tema ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’. Para apaciguar los ánimos del siempre impredecible Chuck Berry, Murry Wilson, padre de Brian Wilson y manager de los Beach Boys, llegó un acuerdo con Berry, a quien cedió los créditos de la canción, con todos los ingresos por royalties que ello conlleva. Lo más asombroso de este asunto es que el atormentado Brian Wilson no supo nada de este acuerdo hasta más de veinticinco años después. 

Tenía la moto estropeada y la inspiración también.

-Bruce Springsteen Vs. Manolo Tena
 Tres años después de convertirse en el  “working class hero” norteamericano tras la publicación en 1984 del archifamoso Born In The USA, Bruce Springsteen volvía al ruedo musical con Tunnel Of Love, un álbum introspectivo marcado por la separación de la que hasta entonces había sido su mujer, Julianne Phillips, y por no contar con el respaldo de su E Street Band (aunque algunos de sus miembros colaboren en ciertos temas). De los doce cortes incluidos aquí destacan piezas como ‘Tougher Than The Rest’, ‘Brilliant Disguise’, la propia ‘Tunne Of Love’ o ‘All That Heaven Will Allow’. Ahora nos situamos en el año 1992, el artista madrileño Manolo Tena edita su segundo disco en solitario, Sangre Española, cuyo single más famoso fue ‘Qué Te Pasa’, que no se parece, sino que es calcado a ‘All That Heaven Will Allow’ de Springsteen, algo que el jeta de Tena siempre ha negado. De todos modos, copiar burdamente no fue lo peor que realizó el exmiembro de Cucharada. Al amigo Manolo se le debería prohibir coger de por vida un boli para que no volviera a escribir versos como “tengo una radio estropeada y tengo un loro que no habla…”. 

Coldplay. Se les acumulan las demandas.

-Creaky Broads Vs. Coldplay
Otros que no se han librado de ser acusados de copiones son los ingleses Coldplay, a quienes una desconocida banda de Brooklyn llamada Creaky Boards acusan de apropiarse sin derecho de una de sus composiciones. Por lo que parece esta historia empieza el día en el que los Creaky Boards dan un concierto en Nueva York y entre el público creen ver al cantante de Coldplay, Chris Martin. Meses más tarde los británicos editan su nuevo disco Viva La Vida, y los miembros de Creaky Borads perciben que la canción que da título al disco se asemeja, siempre según ellos, a una de las piezas que interpretaron la noche en la que Chris Martin estaba entre su audiencia, lo más irónico de todo es que el tema de los Creaky Boards lleva por título ‘The Songs I Didn’t Write’ (‘Las Canciones Que No Escribí’). La verdad es que ambas canciones tienen cierto parecido, pero sería excesivo tildar ‘Viva La Vida’ de plagio. Sin embargo no lo cree así el cantante de Creaky Boards, Andrew Hoepfner, quien ha iniciado en Youtube una campaña de denunciando lo sucedido. Otro que ha demandado a Coldplay de plagio es el guitarrista Joe Satriani, quien asegura que el tema, una vez mas, ‘Viva La Vida’ incorpora “porciones originales sustanciales” de su canción instrumental ‘If I Could Fly’ incluida en el álbum Is there love in Space? y lo cierto es que la semejanza existe.

New Order-The Cure. Una vida copiándose

-The Cure Vs. New Order
 La historia de copias y plagios entre estos dos titanes del pop británico resulta sumamente curiosa. Trasladémonos hasta el 7 de marzo de 1983. Ese día New Order editaban el single ‘Blue Monday’, a la postre el mayor éxito de su carrera. Cuatro meses más tarde The Cure publicaban el single ‘The Walk’, una canción que si bien no plagiaba, si que se dejó influenciar más de lo debido por la canción de los antiguos miembros de Joy Division. La historia vuelve a repetirse dos años después, cuando la banda de Robert Smith saca el álbum The Head On The Door, disco en el que se encuentra el pelotazo ‘In Between Days’, un tema con un parecido más que razonable con ‘Dreams Never End’, pieza de New Order incluida en su LP Movement. Imaginamos que hartos de ver cómo The Cure les robaban ritmos y melodías, New Order contraatacaron en 1989, año en el que apareció su disco Technique. En él hayamos una canción titulada ‘All The Way’, que no es otra cosa que su particular adaptación, por no decir directamente copia, del ‘Just Like heaven de The Cure. Eso sí, ambos grupos dicen admirarse mucho mutuamente. 

Hauptkampflinie. Amistades peligrosas.

-El Canto Del Loco Vs. Hauptkampflinie
No sabemos como una banda de indeseables como los alemanes Huaptkamflinie, grupo alemán de música oi! de ideología nacionalsocialista, llegó a descubrir la música de El Canto Del Loco, pero si escucháis su canción ‘Worvärst Über Laichen’ (‘Adelante, Por Encima De Los Cadáveres’), descubriréis con facilidad que se trata de un plagio del tema de El Canto De El Loco ‘Volverá’, con lo que los amigos de Huaptkamflinie, no sólo tienen un cociente intelectual que debe de rozar lo negativo, sino que además sus gustos musicales son igual de nefastos. Cuando acontecieron estos hechos, tanto la empresa editorial de los temas de El Canto Del Loco, como su agencia de management, anunciaron la posibilidad de emprender actos legales contra Huaptkamflinie, aunque desde entonces no se ha vuelto a saber nada más del tema.

Una víctima de los Hare Krishna.

-George Harrison Vs. The Chiffons
De entre todos los casos de plagio, seguramente el más conocido fue el protagonizado por el Beatle George Harrison. El 27 de noviembre de 1970 Harrison editaba su primer disco en solitario, el imprescindible All Things Must Pass, cuyo primer single fue ‘My Sweet Lord’, una canción dedicada a Krishna e inspirada en el popular tema de góspel ‘Oh Happy Day’. No lo vieron así The Chiffons, cuarteto femenino de pop al estilo Motown, que en 1963 habían alcanzado el número uno de las listas norteamericanas con su tema ‘He’s So Fine’, pieza, ciertamente, con cierto parecido con el ‘My Sweet Lord’ de Harrison. En 1976, Bright Tunes Music, compañía que tenía los derechos de ‘He’s So Fine’ interpuso una demanda contra Harrison, quien hallado culpable de plagio “subconsciente” fue condenado a pagar a dicha empresa 587.000 dólares. Tras el juicio The Chiffons grabarían una versión de ‘My Sweet Lord’ para sacar más tajada aún de lo sucedido.

Hombres G y el sonido del silencio

-Hombres G Vs. Simon & Garfunkel
Cuando uno llega a cierta edad, como es mi caso, no le importa reconocer abiertamente ciertas cosas, y, como dirían los americanos, los Hombres G serían mi “guilty pleasure”, pero hay cosas que son imposibles de defender, y por muy grandes que hayan sido este cuarteto es de justicia reconocer que en sus inicios tomaron prestadas sin permiso de sus autores unas cuantas melodías. Ya en su primer álbum, el que contenía las imperecederas ‘Venecia’ y ‘Sufre Mamón’, nos encontramos con un tema como ‘Dejad Que Las Chicas Se Acerquen A Mí’, una composición que es calcada al ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ de los Beach Boys. Como nadie les llevó frente a los tribunales, el grupo capitaneado por David Summers repitió la jugada en su segundo disco, La Cagaste Burt Lancaster. En este caso los expoliados fueron el dúo Simon Y Garfunkel, de quienes los Hombres G toman íntegramente el estribillo de su ‘At The Zoo’, para recrearlo, eso sí algo más acelerado, en su famoso ‘Marta Tiene Un Marcapasos’. Una vez más, Simon y Garfunkel o ni se enteraron de lo sucedido, o simplemente pasaron del tema.

El hombre que se copia a sí mismo

-John Fogerty Vs. John Fogerty
Sin lugar a dudas la historia del que fuera cantante de los legendarios Creedance Clearwater Revival es la más estrambótica en lo que a temas de plagio se refiere, pues es el único músico al que se le ha llevado a juicio por plagiarse a sí mismo. Debemos empezar esta historia explicando que, como injustamente suele suceder en muchos casos en el mundo de la música, John Fogerty no dispuso de los derechos de las canciones que había escrito en su etapa al frente de Creedance Clearwater Revival hasta el año 2005, éstos eran propiedad de Fantasy Records, sello que editaba sus obras. Es de este modo como en 1994, Saul Zaentz, propietario de la mentada discográfica y sanguijuela sin escrúpulos, denunció a Fogerty por plagio, ya que consideraba que su tema en solitario ‘Old Man On The Road’ era una copia del tema de la Creedance ‘Run Through The Jungle’. Por suerte, la justicia que es ciega pero no sorda, dictaminó que ningún artista puede autoplagiarse a sí mismo, dando la razón al gran Fogerty.

No hase falta que dises nada más!!!

-Lightning Seeds Vs. Mikel Erentxun
La integridad artística de Mikel Erentxun siempre ha estado en entre dicho, y no porque capitaneara Ducan Dhu, cosas peores se han visto en esta vida, sino por su mala costumbre de firmar como suyas canciones que en realidad ya han escrito otros con anterioridad. Rastreando la discográfica de Mikel encontraréis melodías con una similitud más que casual con temas de grupos como The Smiths o Ride, ahora bien, el caso de plagio más fragante perpetrado por Erentxun es el siguiente. En 1989 el grupo de Liverpool Lightning Seeds edita su álbum Cloudcukooland, un disco notable, en el que destacan piezas como ‘Pure’, cuyo estribillo es una auténtica delicia poppy. Quince años después, el amigo Erentxun, que debió imaginar que después de tanto tiempo nadie se acordaría ya de los ingleses, publica Éxitos, donde nos encontramos con el tema ‘Grandes Éxitos’, que bien podría haberse titulado ‘Grandes Plagios’, pues no es nada más que una copia descarada y sin disimulo del ‘Pure’ de Lightning Seeds. La cosa no acabó aquí, pues el tema supuestamente escrito por Mikel Erentxun fue posteriormente adaptado por el pelmazo de Fran Perea, quien rebautizaría la canción como ‘1+1 son 7’, que acabaría por convertirse en la sintonía de las serie de televisión Los Serrano. No sabemos si los miembros de Lightning Seeds estaban enganchados a las andanzas de Antonio Resines y compañía, pero la cuestión es que acabaron por descubrir lo ocurrido y llevaron a Erentxun frente a los tribunales.

Larga vida al rey

-Michael Jackson Vs. Al Bano
A Michael Jackson le han llovido desde siempre multitud de querellas por plagio. Entre las más sonadas se encuentra la que efectuaron el dúo de compositores belgas Danny y Eddy Van Passel, quienes consideraban que el tema de Jackson ‘You Are Not Alone’ era calcada a su canción ‘If We Can Start All Over’. Después de doce años de disputas jurídicas, un juez de de Bruselas dictaminó que Jackson debía otorgar todos los beneficios que había obtenido con ‘You Are Not Alone’ a los Van Passel. Mucho más ardua fue la batalla que el rey del pop mantuvo con el cantante italiano Al Bano. Éste sostenía que el tema ‘Will You Be There’, incluido en el disco Dangerous de 1992, se inspiraba en exceso en su canción ‘I Cigni Di Balaka’, compuesta en 1981 y publicada en 1986. Convencido de ello, Al Bano emprendió acciones legales contra el pobre Jackson, quien en un primer momento fue condenado a pagar más de dos millones de euros al italiano. Como curiosidad citar que en el juicio celebrado en Roma un musicólogo italiano declaró que ambos temas se parecen como dos gotas de agua, pero no sólo eso, ya que aseguró que la introducción de la canción de Jackson estaba robada de la Novena Sinfonía de Beethoven. Sin embargo, el recurso presentado por Jackson contra la sentencia surgió efecto, y en 2001 Michael Jackson fue absuelto de todo cargo.

Las cabezas de radio también copian

-Radiohead Vs. The Hollies
Por todos es sabida la aversión que sienten Radiohead por su primer y mayúsculo éxito ‘Creep’, un tema del que reniegan argumentando que no representa el auténtico sonido del grupo. O al menos eso es lo que ellos dicen, porque la auténtica razón de evitar tocar como sea la mentada canción puede que se encuentre en el hecho de que ‘Creep’ se parece exageradamente al tema de The Hollies ‘The Air That I Breath’. The Hollies vivieron sus mayores momentos de popularidad en la década de los sesenta, cuando formaron parte de ese pelotón de bandas británicas de pop que encabezas por los Beatles dominaron el mundo. ‘The Air That I Breathe’ un éxito tardío que editaron durante la década de los 70, y que en realidad fue escrito por Albert Hammond, el padre del guitarrista de The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr. El parecido es tán grande entre ambas piezas que a Thom Yorke no le quedó más remedió que declarar públicamente y dejar por escrito en el libreto de su álbum de debut, Pablo Honey, que ‘Creep’ era una especie de tributo hacia el tema que popularizaron los Hollies.

Yes, this post is indeed about The Cure!

What does one the greatest groups ever have to do with the drink of the Gods?  Just enough to make you blissful, ecstatic, delighted or simply content. For it is the merger of the interrelation of two arts that obviously have the power to put you in high spirits. Because both have healing effects. In fact there is no better pairing than the juxtaposed sound of Smith’s solid music accompanied by a glass of dark red merlot or a fair sauvignon blanc. Thus, I prefer a cabernet or merlot with the gloomier tunes like “Same deep water as you” or “The Promise” on foggy rainy days, and crave for a brighter and lighter tang while listening to “The Caterpillar” or “The Walk”.

For me such experience equals a spa treatment and that’s where I come to the point; Vinoterapia or Wine therapy! Referring to the latest offers in terms of well being, pampering and treatment, I stumbled over the affirmation that wine not only provokes inner but also outer benefits. Consequently taking a bath in a tub filled up with wine is an option to prevent the so far believed inexorable process of aging. The grape contains Poliphenol, a molecule with antioxidant characteristics which helps to liberate dead cells and thus effects skin regeneration. Elastic and firm skin is the result of good blood circulation and the neutralization of free radicals in our skin, responsible for aging. Applying wine from outside can accordingly help to battle wrinkles and rash spots and stop it from hanging.

The varieties used for wine therapy in Spas and Balnearios are commonly:

• Lambrusco: rich in minerals
• Sauvignon: tranquilizing, great for massages
• Merlot or Cabernet: help erasing dead skin cells
• Chianti: relaxing characteristics

This is indeed great news being discovered about the benefits of wine and it seems that there is a name and a treatment for anything out there. In this case, as great as it sounds, apart from being somehow decadent it is above all expensive. 130€ for 6 hours wine bathing at a Catalan wine resort is a very high priced cure for a rejuvenating, whether it works or not. However, those who can afford are very welcome to do so and will hopefully share their experiences with me and let me know how many years they have visually lost. Those who cannot afford it on the other hand, can go for the real Cure and for the real drink. For in the end what keeps us young is bliss; like the one you can get to feel when you drink a Arrels Montau de Sadurni Chardonnay while listening to “Just like heaven”.  Is there a better therapy than your favorite wine and your favorite track?

Call it wine therapy, music therapy, meditation, relaxation or whatever you want but what cures in the end is the simple fact that you have enjoyed a self-made heaven.

In this sense I call it Cure

Just like heaven

Have a good week-end

I wish I could write songs like Robert Smith of the Cure . . .

Week before the end of the quarter, two quarters left till graduation. I have a crazy feeling next quarter will feel like an eternity. I cant imagine how fast these last three years have gone by. Other than that, quick update on the last couple of days. I finally got some sleep today. Lakers knocked out the Magic game one of the NBA finals and I finished that paper on marriage and family. I have a  ton of errors but I”m thinking of posting it on here in the next couple of days. What I find amazing though is how stress can really take a lot out of you. Of course a lot of that has to do with procrastination and we have to blame ourselves for that. But wow, what a week its been, what a quarter. Its’ been a ride for sure. I did some things this quarter that got me in trouble  and I had a wake up call, thank God! Thank God for wordpress drafts, my computer just shut down and I recovered half of my posting. Other than I”m gonna get back to cleaning my kitchen, i’m pretty much rambling from this point on. I’ll keep yall posted tomorrow.

That's me in a suit, filming outside the church in Varese, Italy.

My good Italian friends Rachele and Paolo got married last summer in Varese, Italy and asked me if I would film their wedding. I’ve never done a wedding video before, but I gave it a whirl… taping the entire Italian ceremony and reception on a standard camcorder and turning 3 hours of footage into a romantic, funny and personal 45-minute wedding video. I put it on a DVD and gave it as a present to the happy couple.

Here is an 8-minute version I assembled from the actual video. Excuse some shakiness (it was the red wine).

Song: “Just Like Heaven” by Katie Melua

You know what I’m talking about. It’s the typical Hollywood romantic comedy, the so-called chick flick. There’s the usual woman, unlucky in love, the usual man, charming in his own right, the obvious pairing, the flickers, the chase. They are usually very, very predictable, rarely are quality tearjerkers. IMDB.com gives them 6-7 the most. Nobody admits to liking them. You never buy their dvds, but somehow end up with them, through discount bins or other means. It’s your typical Hollywood movie.

Not that I’m into darker horror flicks, but when a romcom goes too Hollywood, even I am repelled. Though I have nothing against Hollywood, I think they do their job really, really well. But that doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy Maid in Manhattan. Even I have standards. There are a couple of cheesy romcoms I like though. And here I present you three of my favorites. I can promise you I won’t go predictable with Julia Roberts flicks like Pretty Woman.

First, the one I watched yesterday, and which inspired me to write this: The Wedding Date. Of course, predictably enough, a very popular theme: weddings. In this part of the world, we like weddings. We think they are fun to plan, and they are fun to go to. You see lots of people, and possible future matches. You dance, you drink, you have fun. However, in Hollywood, that’s not the case. It’s a reason to get depressed, because you’re not the one getting married. There are too many movies about this, about every aspect of it, and this is one of them. Kat (Debra Messing) is a lady in her late 20s, and is good at her job in NYC (where else), and her sister is getting married in London. Her ex is the best man, so she doesn’t want to go there alone. So she rents Nick (Dermot Mulroney), who is an escort, for 6000 dolars and they go to London together. Nick is so, so charming that in a snap of his fingers, everyone adores him. Heck, even I adore him. He’s really, really good looking and totally charming. The movie lacks substance and stuff, but there’s a charming scene when Kat’s father quotes Nick from his anonymous interview from a magazine: “Every woman has the exact love life she wants” or something. The gist of it is that Kat is miserable because it’s her fault for still sticking to the memory of her ex. Also Nick has some other good quotes going, like “I’d rather fight with you than make love to anyone else”. I still think it’s kind of, well, disgusting to make love with a hooker (yes, he does that too, it’s in his job description), but if he was as cute as Dermot Mulroney, I’d maybe give him a chance.

The next flick is The Prince and Me. This consists of younger people, college students, and has something a good romantic comedy doesn’t always have enough of: royalty. Yum. So, Paige (Julia Stiles, of course) is a successful college student, who aspires to be a doctor. Eddie (Luke Mably) is the bored prince of Denmark. Since he’s very bored, he decides to go to USA for college and there he meets Paige. First they hate each other, since Eddie is hiding his real identity and the story continues in its general predictable direction. It’s the dream of every girl to marry a  prince, at least someone that handsome. At least it’s mine. It has some good points, though I don’t really like Paige’s character or most of her decisions. It’s still a good watch, and remember that the Danish Crown Prince Frederik married an Australian marketing consultant he met during the Sydney Olympics. A total commoner. How romantic. And he’s not bad on the eyes either.

Last of the movies we’ll be discussing today is Just Like Heaven. This movie has a more supernatural flavor, ghosts. Not ghosts actually, but a lady in a coma that appears in spirit. Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon) is a workaholic doctor who doesn’t have time for men. She always leaves it to the future, but then she has an accident and she’s put in a coma. Her family rents the room to David (Mark Ruffalo), whose wife died a while ago and he’s in constant depression ever since. He sits on the couch and drinks beer all day, until he meets Elizabeth’s ghost. He’s the only one who can see her, so he decides to help her. And this is the plot of this enchanting movie, which is the one I like most of these three. It’s so cute, and even though there isn’t anything to learn or to understand, it’s still charming. And so is Mark Ruffalo.

None of these movies are a Gone with the Wind or Lord of the Rings, but they can still spice up a boring hour or two. That’s good enough for me.