Words about Melodies

Songs that feel like home

There aren’t many things that make me as nervous as wanting to listen to music and not knowing exactly what I need. For those awful, awful moments, I have a number of “safe songs”. You know when a song feels like home? Well, the next few songs are my home when I need it. The list is to be continued…eventually.


Maybe - N.E.R.D

I don’t know as many N.E.R.D songs as I should, but this is probably the first song that comes to my mind when I don’t know what to listen. It is an amazing bittersweet song, Pharrell does that hipnotizing thing with his voice, has he always does, he starts with that soft tone, and then goes to the higher notes, while I melt in my chair. The way he repeats “and now she’s gone”, at the end of the song, hits me everytime. “Maybe”, just like Pharrell, doesn’t age.

Oasis - Don’t Look Back In Anger (Noel Gallagher - Live from Argentina)

“Please don’t put your life in the hands of a rock and roll band” is one of my favourite lines of all time. It describes exactly the advice that I didn’t take, because, to be honest, I really couldn’t have. This version is from Noel playing solo, I know, but it is wonderful. The way that entire stadium sings together is the exact reason why we should put our lives in the hands of a rock and roll band. This always makes my day brighter.”Step outside, the summertime’s in bloom”.


Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

Sometimes, a song makes you cry not because you identify with what they’re singing, or because it reminds you of someone. Sometimes, a song makes you cry only because it’s perfect. This is one of those cases. As soon as it begins, I feel it immediatly crawling under my skin. Really good song when you want a talk with your own demons.

The Kills - The Last Goodbye

One of the most perfect heart-breaking songs from The Kills. It’s probably my favourite song from them. I saw them live last year, and this was the moment that I most wanted to see. Right after Alison began to sing, she stopped because of a fan who wasn’t well in the first row. After that, they started the song from the begining, and she cried a little. I cried a lot. I don’t think I ever cried so much at a concert. So everytime I get back to this song, I feel warm.

Kiss Me - Sixpence non the richer

“Kiss Me” is the only song that I know from Sixpence non the richer and it’s the sweetest song in the world. It reminds me of smiles, rainbows and childood sunny days. “You’ll wear the shoes, and I will wear that dress”.

Kanye West - Stronger

Kanye West meets Daft Punk. Does it get more powerful than this? Yeah, didn’t think so. This song could also be in a “soundtrack to world domination” list.

Maroon 5 - Sweetest Goodbye

Aaahh, there was a time where I really liked Maroon 5, this song is what remains from my love for them. It has such a beautiful sadness inside. You feel comfortable when you hear it. And this live version kicks some serious ass.

Ground control to Major Tom

It was revealed today the first music video shot in space. The song was “Space Oddity”, it couldn’t have been any other song, and the man singing it is Commander Chris Hadfield. As many other people, I was all emotional.

It’s a song about a man who gets lost floating in space and a video that makes you believe that there is still hope for earth. Space and music, there aren’t many combinations like this one to bring people together. Well done, Mr. Hadfield, and what an amazing moustache.

Pop pop pop pop musik

Never in my life I thought I would say this, but the new Selena Gomez song is really addictive, and the video is pretty good too. I love how she is making sure that she won’t be forever known as “Justin Bieber’s girlfriend”, or as just another disney girl, but she also isn’t forcing adulthood by pretending to be a “bad girl”.

Selena is taking the right steps to be taken as a serious artist, showing that sometimes you don’t need to scream who you are for people to know it. You go girl!


Obsession of the week #9

Vampire Weekend - Ya Hey

Vampire Weekend’s music makes me so happy. I know that’s the most common thing to say about bands we love, but I think I mean it more when I’m talking (or writing) about Vampire Weekend.


Everyone of their new songs sounds like pure bliss to me, but “Ya Hey” takes it to another level. It has that unique Vampire Weekend sound, so strange, and yet so familiar, making me get all emotional, smiling to strangers, loving the world. Do I love it more than “Step”? I don’t know. Does anybody care? I don’t think so.

If you didn’t like it at first, I suggest that you listen once again, you will probably become obsessed like the rest of us, but at least it will be a happy obsession, right?

About Justin Young and One Direction

Justin Young, lead singer of The Vaccines, has worked with One Direction. As expected, people were quick critizing, even if the music isn’t out yet. He told the “NME” that the critics are small-minded. He is right.

Some people who are already criticizing, considering him a “sell-out”, are probably the same who defend artistic freedom. The artists should be free, unless, of course, they want to work with a boyband, in that case they just shouldn’t do it. Also, boybands are really empty and shallow, but of course, criticizing a music that isn’t out yet, is a really deep thing to do.

The sell-out argument will always my favourite, though. We expect that bands give us all the free music they can, and then we also don’t like when they actually make money selling songs. Funny, isn’t it?

On repeat:

AlunaGeorge - Atracting Flies

This song has been in my head all day, every day for the last few months. I’m not even joking, there’s a constant “Tururu,tururu” in my brain. It’s not an obsession of the week, it’s becoming the obsession of the year. The good part is that I love it.

AlunaGeorge are one of the freshest things that happened to music and this is probably my favourite song from them. It’s addictive and has an amazing cool attitude. Look at the lyrics, I’ve never heard anyone say “You’re talking shit”, in such a beautiful way.

“Little grey fairy tales
And little white lies
Everything you exhale is attracting flies”.

Love it.

About music and unanimity

This week I’ve heard “Get Lucky”, the new Daft Punk song, everywhere, from the indiest radios to the cheesiest reality show. What is wrong with that you may ask? Absolutely nothing, I answer.

This post is about the people who say they “always suspect an unanimous artist”, or song, or person, or anything. I never understood that. Why should I decide if I like a song or not after everyone else has done it? Am I not supposed to like it if everyone does? It doesn’t make sense. If the song is good, it’s not its fault that everyone likes it. Guess what, sometimes people have good taste, and sometimes, if everyone likes someone, that person might actually be a good human being. Surprising, huh?

Have I heard “Get Lucky” on the radio almost as many times as “Gangnam Style”? Probably. Does that make them equal? No. Am I happy that everyone loves a song that I love to? Yes. I don’t like dancing alone, so lets do it together again.

Turning Film

Yesterday I saw the “Turning Film”, a documentary about Antony’s (Antony And The Johnsons) “Turning” tour. I love Antony’s music, I saw him perform with an orchestra last year and it was simply amazing, but I had no idea of what this film was about. I can say now that it was a wonderful surprise.

“Turning” was a collaborative performance between Antony and Charles Atlas, besides the band, there was a group of women on tour, who were on stage, one by one, in every show. The group included all types of women: lesbians, transsexuals, straight, old, young, androgynous, not androgynous. The film lets each one of these women tell us their story and shows how they are connected to the performance, with Antony’s ideas, but most of all it is a brilliant art piece about the feminine.

The film tells how there isn’t a right way of being a woman and it does it in a delicate, beautiful and emotional way. It messes with the concepts of gender and beauty and shows that each person is bigger than what others, especially strangers, make of them. This women’s stories aren’t screamed at us, they are told with the care that they deserve.

There is one sentence in the movie that basically resumes how I felt when I left: “Wow. There’s life on earth”.

We need music criticism because people like writing it and people like reading it. It’s as simple as that. Why do we need blogs about World of Warcraft? Why do we need people who want to talk about knitting? There’s a number of things that, if you’re outside of that culture, it seems strange or unnecessary. If you’re in it, though, it feels very necessary. They give meaning to life, they make you happy, they give you something to do.

—Author Devon Powers makes a case for music writing in her conversation with Eric Harvey about her book Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism. (via pitchfork)