De contemplat pe muzica asta – Pink Martini, Lullaby…

Ogni anno me ne vengo fuori con una compilation estiva per i miei conoscenti, una sorta di tradizione che continua dai tempi del liceo. Le compilation sono piccole creature d’amore, veri e propri omaggi a quegli artisti la cui musica diventa, giorno dopo giorno, ascolto dopo ascolto, la colonna sonora delle nostre vite.

Grazie a queta pratica (fare compilation, cassette, cd o anche semplici playlist) attraverso gli anni ho fatto conoscere moltissimi artisti a svariate persone, che poi si sono trovate anche a comprare dischi o ad andare ai concerti di questi musicisti. Di nuovo la domanda sorge spontanea; quanto realmente danneggia un musicista la cultura del file-sharing?

E comunque bisogna sempre guardare avanti, come ci dice Chris in questo brillante intervento su youtube. La grande opportunitá per gli artisti di slegarsi dalle logiche di mercato e dalle regole imposte dall’industria discografica sta proprio nel trovare alternative alla vendita del prodotto/disco.

Anche i Radiohead, che in una recente intervista affermavano che non avrebbero piú rilasciato un disco, non hanno annunciato la loro fine ma un nuovo inizio, come poi ha spiegato Colin Greenwood in un susseguente intervento. Gli artisti devono pensare le loro opere all’interno delle nuove culture tecnologiche e sociali. Il formato cd é ormai obsoleto. Un musicista oggi ha l’opportunitá di presentare i propri lavori sotto moltissime nuove forme, grazie soprattutto a internet.

Questa qui sotto é la mia compilation proposta per l’inverno. La tracklist é un semplice consiglio d’ascolto, ma guarda caso sono riuscito a trovarla da qualche parte in rete, perció se vi va di scaricarla, accomodatevi: http://is.gd/52rS9

Buon ascolto a tutti!!

THE COLONY COMPILATION
Winter 2010

01 – BIG ELF – Money is pure evil
02 – WOLFMOTHER – New Moon Rising
03 – PORCUPINE TREE – Time Flies
04 – DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA – Balrog Boogie
05 – JOHN ZORN – Miller’s Crake
06 – THE MARS VOLTA – Copernicus
07 – PINK MARTINI – And Then You’re Gone
08 – THE DEAR HUNTER – The Poison Woman
09 – NORAH JONES – Even Though
10 – TRANSATLANTIC – The wind blew them all away
11 – JULLIETTE LEWIS – Fantasy Bar
12 – TORI AMOS – Snow Angel
13 – BEARDFISH – Destined_solitaire
14 – ALICE – Island

Picture by Willoclick

FONTE: http://colonyofslippermen.wordpress.com/

Ogni anno me ne vengo fuori con una compilation estiva per i miei conoscenti, una sorta di tradizione che continua dai tempi del liceo. Le compilation sono piccole creature d’amore, veri e propri omaggi a quegli artisti la cui musica diventa, giorno dopo giorno, ascolto dopo ascolto, la colonna sonora delle nostre vite.

Grazie a queta pratica (fare compilation, cassette, cd o anche semplici playlist) attraverso gli anni ho fatto conoscere moltissimi artisti a svariate persone, che poi si sono trovate anche a comprare dischi o ad andare ai concerti di questi musicisti. Di nuovo la domanda sorge spontanea; quanto realmente danneggia un musicista la cultura del file-sharing?

E comunque bisogna sempre guardare avanti, come ci dice Chris in questo brillante intervento su youtube. La grande opportunitá per gli artisti di slegarsi dalle logiche di mercato e dalle regole imposte dall’industria discografica sta proprio nel trovare alternative alla vendita del prodotto/disco.

Anche i Radiohead, che in una recente intervista affermavano che non avrebbero piú rilasciato un disco, non hanno annunciato la loro fine ma un nuovo inizio, come poi ha spiegato Colin Greenwood in un susseguente intervento. Gli artisti devono pensare le loro opere all’interno delle nuove culture tecnologiche e sociali. Il formato cd é ormai obsoleto. Un musicista oggi ha l’opportunitá di presentare i propri lavori sotto moltissime nuove forme, grazie soprattutto a internet.

Questa qui sotto é la mia compilation proposta per l’inverno. La tracklist é un semplice consiglio d’ascolto, ma guarda caso sono riuscito a trovarla da qualche parte in rete, perció se vi va di scaricarla, accomodatevi: http://is.gd/52rS9

Buon ascolto a tutti!!

THE COLONY COMPILATION
Winter 2010

01 – BIG ELF – Money is pure evil
02 – WOLFMOTHER – New Moon Rising
03 – PORCUPINE TREE – Time Flies
04 – DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA – Balrog Boogie
05 – JOHN ZORN – Miller’s Crake
06 – THE MARS VOLTA – Copernicus
07 – PINK MARTINI – And Then You’re Gone
08 – THE DEAR HUNTER – The Poison Woman
09 – NORAH JONES – Even Though
10 – TRANSATLANTIC – The wind blew them all away
11 – JULLIETTE LEWIS – Fantasy Bar
12 – TORI AMOS – Snow Angel
13 – BEARDFISH – Destined_solitaire
14 – ALICE – Island

Picture by Willoclick

Exam is over. There’s finally time to do random things & I’ve been listening to Edith Piaf’s ‘Pink Martini’ for the millionth time, it makes me happy. Speaking of that, I’m craving for Lychee Martini. I heart Edith Piaf & Coco Chanel, they have somewhat similar fate, both are French legendary icons who lost their only true love to accidents & they’re beyond amazing. I strongly recommend ‘La Vie En Rose’, a film about the life of Edith Piaf although it’s mostly tragic.

P.S. Schedule ahead. Working till the end of Nov. Packing on 1-2 Dec, flying back on the 3rd, attend the pre-placement briefing on the 4th, meet-up with friends on the 5th, attend memorial on the 6th & start working on the 7th. Oh yea… I’m already worn out.  Spending my post-exam weekends in The Moon & Brisbane bar. Cannot wait.

]]> http://thoroughlygood.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/music-pink-martini-hammersmith-apollo/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:13:39 +0000 Thoroughly Good http://thoroughlygood.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/music-pink-martini-hammersmith-apollo/ http://portraitsofstrangers.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/experimenting-with-video-recordings/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:40:01 +0000 natalieeet http://portraitsofstrangers.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/experimenting-with-video-recordings/

A very good idea, I think, is to create a sketchbook composed of drawings other people make under my given circumstances.  All the better if people claim they can’t draw.  I need to think of a way to monitor their growth.  Under the PoS conditions I wrote about in a previous post, you can train your eye to become stronger (the eye is a muscle after all), as well as attain better motor and personal social skills.

In other news, I have begun video recording just a couple of my drawings.  Here is a video recording of myself in the CFA computer lab at BU executing a continuous contour line drawing of the class in session.  Musical credit to Mark Mothersbaugh from The Life Aquatic.

And follow THIS link to see how I filled a concerto-style sketchbook with continuous, contour line drawings of strangers who I approached, engaged in conversation, and had them autograph their portrait. This performance is based around color. I taped the sketchbook onto my bedroom wall, and then filmed myself creating blocks of shapes from the very long, loopy single line. Musical credit to Pink Martini’s “Ohayoo Ohio”!

sweetly lyrical— like a screenplay to a moody, parisian short film

he looks at her… she looks at him…
for a moment… there is stillness in the world… turning…
turning… round….

YouTube – Pink Martini – Sunday Table.

Cada filho tem uma trilha sonora. Quando a Marina nasceu eu tinha acabado de descobrir o CD da Maria Rita e ouvia por horas e horas enquanto amamentava, brincava, dava banho… Ouvia também Rodrigo Leão (com a Adriana Calcanhoto) e Canções de Ninar do Palavra Cantada para fazer dormir. Já a Olivia tem ouvido Lily Allen e Pink Martini. Será que isso define alguma coisa na personalidade da criança? Tá explicado esse amor todo da Marina pela língua portuguesa

Para Nina

Para Lili

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBB43DLRbe0

Woooo, last-minute, quick turnaround story! Last week was full of them between two show write-ups, a big, super-exciting story TBA very soon, and this.

Pink Martini feature on Billboard.com (and in Happening Now section of the Nov. 7 issue of Billboard)

Pink Martini’s new album, Splendor in the Grass, is out now on the band’s label, Heinz Records.

Música enviada pelo Gino pra comemorar a chegada da Lili. Adorei, tem o astral dela! 

The new Pink Martini album is out! Ignorance got the best of me when I didn’t know their new album, Splendor In The Grass is out. I got to know about it when I was in a car listening to Lifegate radio. I love the review BBC wrote:

Album number four from the always delectable Portland, Oregon-based Pink Martini is, as you would expect, an impeccably crafted blend of intimacy and exuberance.

Cheeky, chic, sassy, clever and sexy in equal measure, it shows the baker’s dozen-strong outfit maturing with a sure-footed, lightly worn elegance. Marrying American irreverence with European sophistication, Splendor in the Grass offers up nine new tracks and four covers in a package that triumphantly sounds like Dean Martin in World Music mode.

Inking in the distinctively retro signature sound, it transports the salon lounge into freewheeling global musical lebensraum with songs in five languages, all dispensed with a winningly understated savoir faire. The title track sounds like Mama Cass covering Walt Whitman and Wordsworth with the soaring string melody from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 adding epic emotion to the miniature marvel.

There’s more surprising inventiveness in the sprightly leave-taking of And Then You’re Gone and its deliciously insouciant Big Band riposte, But Now I’m Back, both beguilingly built on the opening themes of Schubert’s F-minor Fantasy for four-hand piano to dreamily playful effect.

Sung in Neapolitan, Ninna Nanna is a haunting lullaby for a sleeping sailor who languidly ‘dreams in the blue’. Europe looms large elsewhere, with Oú est ma tête a witty and wistful French cha cha seductively delivered by China Forbes, and Agustin Lara classic Piensa en mi a lachrymose tribute to painter Frida Kahlo boasting a broken-voiced vocal from ex-lover and Mexican ranchera legend Chavela Vargas.

Guitarist Dan Faehnle’s jazzy instrumental Ohayoo Ohio (‘Hello Ohio’) is a love song of altogether lighter intent, the sitar-dotted cover of Rafaella Carrà’s Tuca tuca sashays with flirtatious knowingness, and New Amsterdam, with its loosely threaded jumble and sweet jangle of brass and youth choir, hymns New York with consummate aplomb.

Complete with barbershop quartet, joking brass, percussion and piano, Bitty Boppy Betty swings in every conceivable direction to sublimely comic effect while the bi-lingual take on Sing, originally written for Sesame Street and recorded by The Carpenters, counterpoints the sultry Latin croon of the programme’s Emilio Delgado (aka Luis) with a light-as-air children’s choir.

Pink Martini? Make mine a double!

Download Ohayoo Ohio here , But Now I’m Back here , Sing here and Over The Valley here .

ピンク・マティーニ、ピンク・マルティーニですか、pink martini が久しぶりに新しいアルバム、splendor in the grass を出していた。今回もいろんな国の言葉の歌を歌っているので何だか分からないものがある。頼りにしているサイトもまだ未完成。(11/23：完成していた）

まだ良く聴いてはいないけどタイトル曲の間にチャイコフスキーの曲、ピアノ協奏曲第１番の有名なパートが出てくる。古いポピュラーソングのようだけど、なかなか盛り上がって良い感じになっている。アルバムのアートワークもちょっとレトロで雰囲気が良く出ている。

なんといっても今回は日本語の変な曲が選ばれてないのがホッとする。「おはよう、オハイオ」なんてタイトルのはあるけど日本の曲じゃない。

今までのアルバムに比べるとラテン系のフレイバーが少し希薄な感じで、シングなんかが入っていることからして、あのカーペンターズが人気のあった頃を思い出す。china forbes の家からの景色に似てるらしいけど over the valley はなんか jo stafford の when the moon comes over the mountain を連想してしまった。bitty boppy betty はチャールストンでも踊り出したくなる、とは言ってもボクは踊れないけど、いかにも pink martini らしい。oú est ma tête? は sympathique のような雰囲気が伝わっているけどそれ以上というわけには行かない。

ボトムラインは、hang on little tomato、hey eugene! の方がいいかな？

Alright, so I have decided to blog more. Why, you might ask? Could it be that I have something interesting to say? No, not particularly. Perhaps I am embarking on some sort of quest/journey that could be interesting/informative? Nope. Do I plan on posting pictures of cute animals? Maybe, I can’t really say a definitive no. Is it because I have nothing else really going on in my life right now? Precisely.

So…how to begin…

I am going to borrow from one of my favorite movies of all time: High Fidelity (staring John Cusack and Jack Black, check it out). No, I am not going to display Cosby sweaters or chronicle epic breakups of my past. Rather, I am going to delve into the world of ALL TIME TOP FIVE lists. It is a pretty much epic game that is played in one form or another when getting to know a new friend/group of people/significant other/potential significant other until you find out Savage Garden is in their ALL TIME TOP FIVE musical artists.

So come along my friends, it’ll be fun, and perhaps give you a better sense of who I am (although then we’d have to discuss whether or not we are defined by our likes and dislikes, but I digress…).

**DISCLAIMER** I reserve the right at any time to change/edit any information on any and all subsequent ALL TIME TOP FIVE lists. This is helpful for new arrivals and my scattered memory. Thank you.

And so, without further ado, here is one of my most difficult lists to compile.

ALL TIME TOP FIVE MUSICAL ARTISTS (in no particular order)

• Ryan Adams
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Pink Martini
• Lyle Lovett
• TIE between Dave Matthews Band and Oasis

Alright, I cheated with the tie, but its my blog so boo. Other front runners in this category include Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon, Ray Charles, and Bon Iver, among others…

So what do y’all think? Like the new format? Yes/No? Don’t care? No one is reading? Ok, fair enough.

PLEASE feel free to comment with your own ALL TIME TOP FIVE-ers or any other ideas for lists you’d like to see.

Stay classy and thanks for stopping by.

– A N I –

And it’s not only because i didn’t have the time, but also i wasn’t in the mood…

i’ve just found out that Pink Martini will be for the second concert in Romania, on the 22 Nov..i think i might go, i like them, especially the oldie “Sympathique” (aka Je ne veux pas travailler..). anywayz, i’ve noticed that the tickets aren’t available anymore, but hope i know somebody who knows somebody else and so on..

Enjoy!

So I’m deeply entrenched  in college applications … working on essays and audition pieces like there’s no tomorrow. I’ll admit to being a bit out of the loop with the latest releases which was why when I hit itunes looking for a version of  the song ici-bas in a lower key I was completely surprised to see Lady Gaga’s newest single. I’m totally in love with ‘Bad Romance’ – it’s edgy, and flashy, and dancy … not to mention has some french in it! I must have played it 5 times in a row just singing along and dancing. I’m really hoping to get to see her perform live, her Monster Ball tour is coming to my state in Dec. – fingers crossed I can save up to get good seats.

 Also newly released is ‘Splendor in the Grass’  by Pink Martini one of my all time favorite  groups … Original is the one word that comes to mind when trying to describe this group. I really love their use of different languages and musical styles - it’s something you don’t see nowadays. On one album they’ll have English, Russian, Japanese, and Italian songs – an odd juxtaposition which most other groups would never be able to pull of so seamlessly!  Favorite tracks are “And now I’m back” and “and then you’re gone” . It’s a real treat to hear Thomas – the classically trained pianist singing for once, not that I don’t enjoy china’s vocals (that girl can sing!). At the moment it’s my choice for must have, if you’ve never had the pleasure of listening to any of their work I highly recommend them!

Rounding out this weeks releases on the other end of the spectrum is Cecillia Bartoli’s  ‘Sacrificium’. Which apparently is comprised mainly of pieces written for ‘castrati’. For those of you unfamiliar with the term castrati are men with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto - produced either by castration of the singer before puberty, or health conditions which prevent the singer from reaching sexual maturity. While the cd’s received some mixed reviews I think it has merit. All around Bartoli has a beautiful voice, she’s hands down one of the best modern opera singers around.  I don’t think it’s possible for her to have a “bad” album – that said while there are some truly great songs on this album, a few of them do tend to blend together. So I advise picking and choosing your songs – trying listening to itunes to find the songs you’d prefer to buy!

Fuente: Pink Martini

El cuarto álbum de Pink Martini es ya una realidad. La pequeña orquesta de Portland amplía su repertorio con un disco que capta el espíritu de Sympathique y de Hang on Little Tomato, los dos primeros trabajos.

Intimista, soñador, fantasioso, divertido, cachondo, seductor…Son estados de ánimo que surgen al escuchar Pink Martini. Haced la prueba: escuchad la canción ”Sympathique” (con la mítica estrofa Je ne veux pas travailler) y luego “Una notte a Napoli“. Notaréis diferencias. Eso sí, en ambas nos acompaña la mejor de las voces. Espectacular China Forbes.

He enviado un mail al departamento de prensa de la orquesta. 2 peticiones. ¿Cuándo presentan en BCN Splendor in the grass? ¿Para cuándo la versión opuesta al Je ne veux pas travailler y dedicada a nuestro país, aquel que goza de la tasa de paro más alta de toda Europa?

"Splendor" is the word for it, my friends.

Today’s Awesommolier is now available, hot off the (word)presses! In today’s post, I review the new Pink Martini album, Splendor in the Grass, which is indeed splendorous. Stop by and check it out – and while you’re there, be sure to click on the SocialVibe link to help out The Art of Elysium!

Thanks bunches!

Here are this week’s new music releases:

Asia featuring John Payne – Military Man [EP]
Awesome New Republic – Hearts
Bassnectar – Cozza Frenzy
The Blind Boys of Alabama – Duets
Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be
Mike Epps – Mike Epps
Rosie Flores – Girl of the Century
Glass Ghost – Idol Omen
Euge Groove – Sunday Morning
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family – Go Waggaloo
Brian McKnight – Evolution of a Man
Painkiller Hotel – Black Roses
Pink Martini – Splendor in the Grass
Chuck Prophet – Let Freedom Ring
Matthew Ryan – Dear Lover [MP3 download only]
The Swell Season – Strict Joy
Tainstick – 6lbs. of Sound
Tegan and Sara – Sainthood
Winger – Karma

"Splendor" is the only word for it, my friends.

If you’re one of the poor unfortunate souls who has yet to hear a Pink Martini album, I both pity and envy you. Pity, because you have been missing out on a source of serious Awesomeness; envy, because there’s nothing quite like hearing them for first time.

On the other ear, er, hand, if you’re already a fan of the best thing to come out of Portland since Sam Elliot’s elaborate mustachios, then you, like me, will squeal with glee today, the release date for their new album Splendor in the Grass.

In the words of bandleader Thomas Lauderdale, “this album is all about participating in the world…being part of it, being out in the street and finding moments of incredible breathtaking splendor in the activities and unfoldings of every day.”

In addition to China Forbes’ elegant, stirring cover of the titular song, highlights for me include: a sprightly instrumental, “Ohayoo Ohio;”  the fantastic two-song conversation between the fed-up Maria and philandering Lorenzo (“And Then You’re Gone” and “But Now I’m Back”), which is made even more exquisite by the recording debut of NPR’s own Ari Shapiro as Lorenzo;  a cover of “Sing” that elevates it far beyond its Sesame-Street roots while still evoking its happy energy; and the moving, gloriously fragile recording of “Piensa en Mi” by the nigh-deified ranchera singer Chavela Vargas (a ground-breaker in many ways, and an amazing artist and inspiration in the LGBT community).

If you’re a fan of intelligent and thoughtfully-written music accompanied by witty, charming lyrics, do yourself a favor and get this album today (There’s also an import available with a bonus DVD for my fellow completionists out there).

NB: Neophytes, while there’s nothing wrong with starting with this album, if you want to gain a deeper appreciation of a truly multicultural and powerfully moving “little orchestra,” be sure to check out their other albums as well (“Hang On Little Tomato” is where I came in, and “U Plavu Zoru” remains one of my favorite songs to this day).

While you’re listening to your new album, why not click on the Art of Elysium link at the far right? You can complete a few activities and help bring music, art and fun to kids convalescing in hospitals nationwide. It only takes a few moments of your time, but to a sick kid, it can bring hours of fun. Thanks!

What's old is new.

Um…no. Or would that be, yes? In a world where old is suddenly new, the correct answer is: Maybe.

Gordon Atkinson (Real Live Preacher) talks about Generate, a “yummy beautiful” magazine to which he actually—yes—subscribed (sounds like he purchased it with cash money, right?). Glancing through the sample pages he shows made me think, “Hmm. Yes. I want to look at that.”

And that is just the way with old stuff that comes around again with a post-modern twist. Sort of like Pink Martini, old music from my parent’s generation recast for today (or maybe tomorrow). I listen to be reminded of melodies and words long forgotten. But I also listen because I get the joke: it’s old but there is something of today happening in the connective tissue of the music. And I listen because no one sings like China Forbes.

In the writing classes I teach at Northwestern College, we’ve been talking about how old communication vehicles can suddenly become extremely effective when composed today with a vigorous nod to today’s aesthetic. Pamphlets are finding their way back as a short form of communication. Brochures and Slim Jims can be repurposed so they suddenly don’t fit the category you thought they did when you picked them up—possibly resulting in not a small amount of delight. And who can keep from actually reading through a personal letter delivered by the postman (I don’t mean that generically—ours really is a guy).

Starting a magazine when most are dying doesn’t sound like a winning endeavor. On the other hand, one of the lessons of social media is that audiences can be found and they can find our project if it is repurposed to become ”yummy beautiful.”

 ###

P.E.R.S.T è l’acronimo di una splendida collezione di 5 fonts:

• Pink Martini
• Eye Catching
• Roller Baby BV
• Shimmer
• Taroca

Leggi tutto l’articolo e fai il donwload di P.E.R.S.T. Fonts Collection.