misery is over

I am finally glad to announce that misery is over.And I don't mean Summer of course!It's just that whenever I come back from super,great, incredible holidays I feel miserable.

Tonight is the first night of fall in this little hot country I live.The first night I can hear the rain falling outside and it actually feels nice just being inside.

I have so many things to write about my summer,it's just that I never write when I 'm having fun.

It's weird,I actually write more while I am bored.But that isn't such a clever thing to do in a blog.I would prefer reading about exciting things and not about staying in and cooking..

But anyway...

I was lucky enough to go to the greatest tiny festival : indietracks!In Derbyshire , UK , where I saw among others allo darling,the smittens ,pains of being pure at heart, white town, stars of aviation, the pooh sticks, mexican kids at home who played in a train carriage,slow club and the ultimate surprise,cineplexx!

After that I flew with the boy (he likes it when I call him that...) to Zurich,Switzerland.
We spent ten perfect days there, just walking around and visiting many weird places.(did you know that the most dangerous street in Europe is in clean and calm Zurich?Well we should know cause we were walking there and we thought we were going to get murdered..)

Then we took the train to Paris, where we stayed for 3 days and saw Jens Lekman playing live . We also met two friends there who live in Barcelona .Europe really is a big city after all.
We followed Jens in a small but beautiful bar where he was djing,where we managed to enter after a misunderstanding  with the security guard who was offended  because we couldn't understand his English ...Well I tried to speak his language and he was so touched that he finally let us in..

And that's how i met Jens Lekman!He is a charming man.

Ok, where were we?We left Paris,went back to Zurich for a good night's rest  and the next morning headed to Venice!Spent almost two days there and then back here..

But i had more time so I spent more than two weeks in the islands.And I have to admit that's the place anyone should be during summer..

After that came the studying...But not much to say about it.

Two days ago my best friend left to London...again.I can't wait to visit her.


hopefully I 'll be bored enough from now on so I will post more often.

favourite artist and video of the day

Dent May and his magnificent ukulele.



His music makes my day. His videos as well...

I'm also addicted to this song:



I like those "woo hoo" sounds.It reminds me of early Serge Gainsbourg songs.

surf!

I have noticed recently that bands who play surf pop are so popular right now!And I couldn't be more satisfied!Days here are beautiful and sunny and sometimes I think I can even smell summer in the air(you know,this smell of salt combined with sunscreen:it's enough to make you dream of sunny beaches.)and what's a better soundtrack for these days than songs about surfing and long nights on a beach around the fire.

bands to listen to so that you can achieve this beautiful feeling:surfer blood,suckers,real estate,girls(of course!),drums and many many more.As time goes by more of these bands will appear!

surprise hotel

today's favourite song is by fool's gold.



Luke Top ,who is the lead singer of this fantastic afro pop group was born and raised in Israel and he sings in hebrew.He made me love this language!

Also,this band elists former members of We Are Scientists, The Fall and members of Foreign Born and Glasser.So many different influences always have a good result.

#2

album of the year(2009)

Andrew Bird-Noble Beast



Obviously!There's nothing that would prevent this record to be in the first place except for my enormous love for the band in the first place.(You'll find out tomorrow).

I met a boy from England who was lucky enough to see him playing live.He was there with his mother and his little sister.They were so touched by his performance they couldn't help but burst into tears.


album of the decade 2000-2009

Benoît Pioulard-Précis



Aka Thomas Meluch.I simply love his music.I don't know why so much!It's the typical late afternoon emotional charging music that somehow always expresses me.But at the same time ,even if his sounds are quite experimental and "icelandic" ,his melodies are so pop and well structured and romantic and"catchy".So,catchy melodies with beautiful sounds-that he's been recording since he was 14 years old-from forests,rivers,mountains and trains.Add an extremely charming voice,childlike sweet but also mature.All these by a 24 year old man(who is quite handsome fyi...).




This album came out in 2006 in kranky(I really trust this record company)

#3

album of the year(2009)

girls-album



Yeah they are not actually girls.But they sing about girls!They are from San Francisco and they play kind of indie pop but the singer looks as if he's playing in a grunge band.

I read somewhere that he grew up in the childrens of god cult where they don't believe in medicine and that's how he lost his brother in a young age.His father left him and his mother was forced by the cult to prostitute herself.Then a local millionaire took Owens under his wing, and Owens moved from Texas to San Francisco.That's how the simple lyrics of lust for life make real sense:
"Oh i wish I had a boyfriend,I wish I had a loving man in my life,I wish I had a father and maybe then I would have turned alright.But now I'm just crazy,and totally mad,I am just crazy and fucked in the head".

But enough about the personal stuff.Let's talk about music!But really,I don't know what to say...I can admit that maybe they don't deserve the 3rd place in this list because this is not "the masterpiece"of the year technically and musically.I am not sure if they bring anything new to the music.Maybe you will think you've heard them before.You can understand their influences by the first listen of the album(I really love this Buddy Holly-like hiccupy thing he does with his voice).

BUT (I don't know how to make this "but" look bigger but imagine it is.It is a rrrreally big BUT.)These songs about heartbreaks sang with his simple, playful way are so powerful even if they are just classic break up songs.And they have this enormous ability to stick in your head for a long time(i've been singing inside my head the song lust for life for the past week).

So this is the video for this absolutely fantastic song.Enjoy !



But it's not over.Guess what,there's another video made by the same director made by all the scenes that couldn't make it to the original video(gay porn,boobs,drugs etc)
WATCH IT NOW HERE!!!!!!!!!!!



album of the decade 2000-2009

Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand



I would be insane and with absolutely no taste in music and no gratitude if I didn't put this album in this place.What a piece of art!Every single song was a hit!I am so proud of my 16 year old self that I was so obsessed with this band.

#4

album of the year(2009)

Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion



Some obvious choices like this one don't need any words to come along.Their 8th and their greatest (and longest)record.


album of the decade 2000-2009

Mulatu Astatke-Inspiration Information



It was released in 2009 but is definitely in the top of the whole decade.

Born in 1943 in western Ethiopia, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston, where he was the first African student at Berklee College of Music.
He has even worked with Duke Ellington in the 70s.

Today,being 67 years old,he is still productive and surprisingly innovative.He has managed to combine jazz with traditional ethiopian music and he does it sooo good!

#12

album of the year(2009)

The Drums-Summertime! EP



A feel good EP which helps overcome this it's winter already depression.I found out about them not a long time ago but I can't stop listening to Let's Go Surfing.It has a great video btw.




album of the decade 2000-2009

Múm-Finally We Are No One



2002.It was recorded in a lighthouse.You can tell...Their music is so gloomy.

#13

album of the year(2009)

The Postmarks-Memoirs at the End of the World



I really love her voice.So charming and innocent.

album of the decade 2000-2009

Architecture in Helsinki-In Case We Die



just watch this:

#16 album of the decade 2000-2009

Gonzales-solo piano




Gonzales aka Jason Charles Beck,has been in the music industry since 1990.He has made rap music and he had developed a popular stage persona as a Jewish supervillain MC.But also he has been a producer for Peaches and for his friend Feist.

And then,out of nowhere, in 2004 he comes out with this album entirely made up of instrumental material.His work in this record has been even compared to that of Erik Satie(what an honour!) and it remains Gonzales's best-selling album to date.

It's the best soundtrack for a sit-in winter afternoon.I can say no more.
Just watch him performing "gogol"

#17 album of the year(2009)

Alessi's Ark-Notes From The Treehouse



She sounds like Bjork singing pop folk.

#17 album of the decade 2000-2009

Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning



"I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" was released in 2005 by Saddle Creek Records along with another album,quite different "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn".The first one is more acoustic while the second is more electronic but both received very positive reviews.As i 'm an "acoustic type of person" I chose this one to be in my list.
Almost 5 years have passed since it came out and I'm still not bored of these songs.

first day of my life Directed by John Cameron Mitchell(the director of shortbus).And one of the most optimistic videos ever made.

#18 album of the decade 2000-2009

Feist-Let it Die



It was recorded in Paris during 2002 and 2003 and released in 2004.The album was diveded into original compositions on the first half and cover versions on the second.
Influenced by many musical genres such as jazz,doo wop,bossa nova but with indie and electro elements(Gonzales, who will be mentioned in this list later helped her as he is the best in mixing genres so successfully) it is an album I will always listen to without ever being bored.

#19 album of the year(2009)

The Dodos-Time to Die



Simply beacause it is almost impossible to pick a favourite song from the album.

#19 album of the decade 2000-2009

Decemberists-Picaresque



It was released in 2005 on the Kill Rock Stars record label and was produced by Chris Walla.I'm not sure if it's considered by anyone else as one of the top 20 albums of the decade but I'm trying to be subjective here and I really loved this record.I have played it a million times since the day I bought it(yes,I was still bying cds back in 2005).
The Mariner's Revenge Song that is included in the album is one of my favourite songs of all time.Listen to it and especially if you pay attention to the lyrics I bet it will become yours too.