Saturday, June 21, 2025

The Beatles - all my loving live, 1964

“Nobody ever made it in America, and we were dying to be the first.” This statement by John Lennon in September of 1964 puts in a nutshell how The Beatles felt about conquering the United States. They had truly taken over Britain and had made inroads in numerous other countries by 1963, but the US was their ultimate goal. They knew, though, that no foreign act had ever made more than a fleeting impact in the states."

The Moody Blues - a simple game justin hayward vocal mix, 2008

"A Simple Game (Justin Hayward Vocal Mix)" is a version of the song by The Moody Blues, originally written and sung by Mike Pinder as a non-album B-side to "Ride My See-Saw" from their 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord. This mix, featuring Justin Hayward on lead vocals, was released as a bonus track on reissues of the album, notably the 2008 and 2018 editions (In Search of the Lost Chord: 50th Anniversary Edition / Deluxe). The song was produced by Tony Clarke and arranged by Arthur Greenslade, with a duration of approximately 3:32 minutes."

Etienne Daho - duel au soleil, 1986

"Let’s just get something straight here: Étienne Daho is very cool. He’s cooler than the coolest popstar you have at the top scale of cool. Better still, his voice is so good it makes every song it graces sound like the coolest song you’ve ever heard. All those styles from synthpop to surf rock, Étienne can do it all. In fact, he has done it all. But then he’s been around since the ’80s, wowing his native France, always dressed in the most effortlessly chic styles. For most popstars, new phases in their careers are greeted by a wardrobe overall. Étienne doesn’t need to do that. Leather jackets, jeans, over-sized coats, suit blazers and a smoldering cigarette has endured throughout the years, because he knows that cool is never out of style. An outsider who managed to conquer France’s mainstream, he started off his musical journey in London, back when punk was breaking. Apparently, he had to see it for himself. He felt it too, and would later jump at the chance of working with The Stinky Toys on his debut album. A great collaborator, Étienne would later appear in Saint Etienne’s He’s On The Phone, which is a repurposed version of an earlier hit Weekend A Rome. The ‘He’ the song is about? Étienne, most likely."

Friday, June 20, 2025

The Beatles - a hard day's night live, 1964

"Although the songs were recorded ahead of broadcast, allowing for retakes and occasional overdubbing, they are essentially "live in studio" performances. Most of the songs are cover versions of material from the late 1950s and early 1960s, reflecting the stage set they developed before Beatlemania."

Sintra, pôr do sol de 20 de Junho de 2025 a seis horas do solstício de Verão que vai ser a 21 de Junho de 2025, às 03h42m

The Go-Betweens - quiet heart live acoustic radio session, 1988

"At their peak, the Brisbane group featured Robert Forster, Grant McLennan, Lindy Morrison, Amanda Brown and Robert Vickers. Albums like Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane are a sample of the band's brilliance."

Stevie Wonder - superstition, 1972

"Superstition" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder. It was released on October 24, 1972, as the lead single from his fifteenth studio album, Talking Book (1972), by Tamla. The lyrics describe popular superstitions and their negative effects."

Fleet Foxes - wading in waist-high water, 2020

"From the opening chords, the album is a return to the sunny west coast breezy form after the brooding, moody political “Crack Up,” in 2017, which was the first Fleet Foxes album after drummer Josh Tillman went on to form Father John Misty."

The Style Council - shout to the top live, 1986

"The Style Council is rock’s most underrated band of all-time. Many of you will be scratching your heads at that statement. How in the heck can a man who grew up in Central Indiana, spent four short years in Southwestern Ohio, then moved back to his hometown, the one in which our said hero claimed to which he would never return, to raise his family, ever hear of the UK-centric and generally altogether European artist The Style Council?"

Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Beatles - thank you girl live, 1963

"The writing of “Thank You Girl” can easily be narrowed down to February of 1963 during their British nationwide tour with Helen Shapiro. Since February 11th, 1963 was the date for recording of their first British album “Please Please Me,” and the song did not appear on that album, it obviously didn’t exist yet since they would have premiered the song on that day if it had. And since Lennon later confirmed in 1980, as detailed in David Sheff's book "All We Are Saying," that the song “was one of our efforts at writing a single that didn’t work,” it had to have been written before February 28th, 1963, since this was the confirmed date when their next single “From Me To You” was written. Since “Thank You Girl” ended up as the b-side to that British single, it had to have been written sometime between February 11th and 28th of 1963, using the working title "Thank You Little Girl."

Lullatone - race against the sunset, 2013

"Race Against the Sunset" is a song by Lullatone, a Nagoya, Japan-based music group known for their whimsical "pajama-pop" style, blending twee pop, indie pop, and electronica. Released on June 11, 2013, as part of the Summer Songs - EP, the track is 2:48 long and features a playful, lo-fi sound with ukulele and piano, often described as catchy and fun to sing along to."

My Morning Jacket - bermuda hwy live, 2004

"Early Recordings is a compilation album series by Louisville, Kentucky rock band My Morning Jacket. It was released in 2004 on Darla Records. The two constituent albums, called chapters, are called The Sandworm Cometh and Learning respectively. Danny Cash created the graphic design to both albums and played bass and keyboard on the second. J. Glenn performed drums for the series and Johnny Quaid played guitar. "Two-Tone" Tommy played bass for the first album, but Quaid took over for the second."

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Moby - in this world, 2002

"I absolutely love the song In This World by Moby, and the video that goes with it. There’s just so much that you can take from the video and many elements that I feel that I can identify with quite a bit, and of course those aliens are super cute!"

The Style Council - walls come tumbling down live, 1986

"One song that I heard probably for the first time in 20 years was 'Walls Come Tumbling Down' (1985) by The Style Council. The Style Council lasted 1983-9, having 16 Top 40 hits but no No.1s. Interestingly they combined a somewhat at times overly polished, self-consciously snappy image with songs that were either almost like easy-listening, notably, 'Long Hot Summer' (1983), almost 'power' pop songs like 'Shout To The Top' (1984) to those like 'Walls Come Tumbling Down' which were very political. The most prominent member of the group was Paul Weller (1958-) who also wrote 'Walls Come Tumbling Down'. By the time he did, he was already very successful from his career with The Jam (1972-82; recording from 1977; 18 Top 40 hits including No. 1s in the UK) who had had a Mod style with a support for Britishness but also often challenging lyrics to social and political issues. The strength of many of their songs was carried on into some of The Style Council's work with almost classic styling that seemed to refer back to music of the 1960s referenced by The Jam's style. Saying this, the 'Sound Affects' (1980) album had almost psychaedelic elements, almost as if, like The Beatles, The Jam had evolved into this phase. The politics of The Style Council was far more apparent than even in songs like 'Eton Rifles' (1979) and 'Town Called Malice' (1982). I have been tempted however, to write how relevant I feel those songs remain recalling 1980s problems now we face so many of them again in the 2010s."

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

The The - slow emotion replayed, 2025

"Matt Johnson has a penchant for covering and reinventing his own songs as with ‘This Is The Day’, ‘Infected’, ‘Armageddon Days’ and others. The original version of ‘Slow Emotion Replay’, appeared on Dusk, released in 1993. This new version, ‘Slow Emotion Replayed’ was recorded in Studio Cinéola, London, featuring Matt Johnson on Omnichord and vocals, Barrie Cadogan on electric guitar and backing vocals, James Eller on bass and Gillian Glover also providing backing vocals. The B-side of this single is entitles ‘Crow Commotion Displayed’."

Sintra, 17 de Junho de 2025 a quatro dias do solstício de Verão

Nation Of Language - i'm not ready for the change, 2025

"Nation Of Language recorded Dance Called Memory with past producer Nick Millhiser, of Holy Ghost! and the current LCD Soundsystem touring lineup. “Inept Apollo” is on the album, and so is new single “I’m Not Ready For The Change.” It’s a blinky synth track with a rickety drum-machine beat and a whole lot of dreamy effects on the vocals and guitars. I’d say it fulls up a room quite pleasantly."

The Beatles - across the universe, 1970

"On 4 February 2008, at 00:00 UTC, NASA transmitted the Interstellar Message "Across the Universe" in the direction of the star Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. The transmission was made using a 70-metre antenna in the Deep Space Network's Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, located outside of Madrid, Spain. It was done with an "X band" transmitter, radiating into the antenna at 18 kW. This was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song's recording, the 45th anniversary of the Deep Space Network (DSN), and the 50th anniversary of NASA. The idea was hatched by Beatles historian Martin Lewis, who encouraged all Beatles fans to play the track as it was beamed to the distant star. The event marked the first time a song had ever been intentionally transmitted into deep space, and was approved by McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Apple Corps."

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Suede - trance state, 2025

"Later this year, the glammy Britpop greats Suede will release their album Antidepressants, which they recorded with longtime producer Ed Butler. Suede’s music has been remarkably consistently strong over the years, and it sure seems like they’ll keep the streak going with this new record."

Fait-divers by Thomas Merton

The direct existential grasp of reality in itself can be presented in a parable, a fable, or a funny story. (Thomas Merton)

Fait-divers on happiness

Suffering was temporary until we started trying to make happiness permanent.

Fait-divers on the internet

The biggest trick the internet ever played is convincing people that humor is a substitute for argument.

Fait-divers on books again and again

Communists tried to dumb down people by banning books. Capitalism, however, lets you buy them so that you put off reading them forever.

Fait-divers on books again

You read a good book, but a great book reads you.

Fait-divers on books

If you read for the purpose of education and not pleasure you'll end up with neither.

Fait-divers by Vala Afshar on time

Time doesn't wait for anyone, so don't wait for it. (Vala Afshar)

Brian Wilson - good vibrations, 2004

"As a solo artist, Wilson rerecorded "Good Vibrations" as the closing track on his 2004 album Brian Wilson Presents Smile. This extended version included lyrics by Tony Asher and a different bridge section, both originally written in 1966."
OSZAR »