Tag: GBU

The Good, the Bad, and the Undiscovered #3.0

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Every week Spotify produces a list of numbers I probably like, but don’t really know (read: haven’t played so far). This goes under the title Discover Weekly. So far: thank you Spotify!

In this blog I pick three suggestions from this list every week: the good, the bad, and the undiscovered. A great song; one that I do not really like (why is it in this list?); and one that is completely unexpected.

The Good,

“Yeah yeah we’re the Monkees”, I sang when I was eight years old. The Monkees were a failed American effort to challenge the Beatles. The first prefab pop group resting heavily on a sitcom. It was only years later that Michael Nesmith was honored as a talented songwriter. This song Rio proves his talent. Laid back, a bit corny, but a great song. And in the end it proves Nesmith’s sense of Monkee-humor with a Monty Python like epilogue:

Reno? Why Reno?
Not Reno, dummy.
Rio, Rio de Janeiro.

The Bad,

I like music, no, I love it, but Sergio Mendes is way out of my comfort zone, and Brasil 66 even more. I become irritated almost physically. It reminds me of easy listening radio programs, musical intermezzos in an adult-oriented cultural information show. Always what to me is an obnoxious rhythm. Some people think cilantro/coriander tastes like soap, I don’t like (most of) Latin music. Sorry, Spotify. Lesson #1, no up-tempo Latin music for Mr. Hagemann! Not even if the song has a promising title such as Chelsea Morning.

& The Undiscovered

Judy Henske, Judy Who… is that a new R&B diamond in the rough? No this record is from 1965. Why haven’t I ever heard it??? This song made me stop working immediately last monday when I first listened to the list. A voice, almost like Nina Simone’s. Judy Henske does totally right to this heart-wrecking Billie Holiday song Till the real thing comes along. Heart-wrecking for sure but with a small nudge:

I’d lie for you
I’d cry for you
I’d lay my body down and die for you
If that isn’t love, it will have to do
Until the real thing comes along

The Good, the Bad, and the Undiscovered #2.0

carlosmediablogLeave a comment

Every week Spotify produces a list of numbers I probably like, but don’t really know (read: have played so far). This goes under the title Discover Weekly. So far: thank you Spotify!

In this blog I pick three suggestions from this list every week: the good, the bad, and the undiscovered. A great song; one that I do not really like (why is it in this list?); and one that is completely unexpected.

The Good,

This week’s good is a bit of cheating. Of course a lot of songs in the Discover list are good, and sometimes really good. But this weeks Good record is sung by Gretchen Peters, and of course, the fact that Gretchen sang in Merleyn in Nijmegen on May 3rd has helped Arguing with Ghosts to become The Good for this week. What a voice, what a song, what an atmosphere! And some lyrics:

The years go by like days
Sometimes the days go by like years
And I don’t know which one I hate the most
At this same old kitchen table
In this same old busted chair
I’m drinking coffee and arguing with ghosts
Arguing with ghosts

The Bad,

Why is Old Hannah’s – The Way Light Falls Upon Water in the Discover Weekly list? It has every element in it that I dislike: whisper singing, an ambient flute, synthetic drums, and above all: autotune (it should be forbidden, like doping in sports). Of course… Old Hannah is said to be an Irish folk group. However it sounds like the Irish folksy, ambient sound of Enya, more than the rootsy Irish folk I may prefer.

& The Undiscovered

How can the Everly Brothers ever be undiscovered? Well, I was really surprised by the sound of The Cactus Blossoms, and their song Traveler’s Paradise. You might call it a cheap imitation of Don and Phil, but these brothers (yes, they are brothers) make no secret of their admiration for the Everly’s. And what’s wrong with a good copy (without becoming a tribute band…)?

The Good, the Bad, and the Undiscovered #2

carlosmediablogLeave a comment

Iedere week selecteert Spotify voor een afspeellijst nummer die ik waarschijnlijk wel leuk vind, maar niet ken (lees: nog niet heb afgespeeld). De lijst heet Discover Weekly. Dus: Dank je Spotify!

In deze blog kies ik drie suggesties die ik deze week heb gekregen: the good, the bad, and… the undiscovered. Een fantastisch nummer; een die niet echt ‘mijn ding’ is; en een die ik totaal niet verwachtte, maar die wel iets heeft.

The Good,

Gretchen Peters – Arguing with ghosts

The Good van deze week heeft zichzelf naar voren geduwd. Ik heb Gretchen Peters gezien en gehoord op 3 mei jongstleden in Merleyn in Nijmegen. En dat heeft geholpen. Maar daarnaast is Arguing with Ghosts een prachtig nummer: wat een lied, wat een stem, want een sfeer! En wat een tekst:

The years go by like days
Sometimes the days go by like years
And I don’t know which one I hate the most
At this same old kitchen table
In this same old busted chair
I’m drinking coffee and arguing with ghosts
Arguing with ghosts

The Bad,

Old Hannah – The Way Light Falls Upon Water

Hoe is The Way Light Falls Upon Water van Old Hannah eigenlijk in mijn Discover Weekly list terechtgekomen. Het nummer heeft alle muzikale elementen waar ik een hekel aan heb: fluisterend zingen, een fluit die vooral ambient, synthetische drums en vooral: autotune (dat moeten ze verbieden. Net als doping in de sport). Natuurlijk, Old Hannah komt uit Ierland en doet iets met folk music. Maar het zijn de ambient, folksy geluiden van Enya, en dus niet het authentieke Ierse geluid dat ik liever heb.

& The Undiscovered

The Cactus Blossoms – Travelers Paradise

Wat? The Everly Brothers in mijn Discover Weekly? Wat is daar nog aan te discoveren? Maar de verrassing voor mij was dat dit The Cactus Blossoms zijn. Je kunt het afdoen als een goedkope imitatie van Don and Phil, maar deze broers (ja, het zijn broers), maken er geen geheim van dat ze gek zijn op de Everly’s. En wat is er mis met een goede re-make (zonder dat het een tribute band wordt…)?