Oh, Morrissey... how I love thee.

AUTUMN CALLS FOR A CERTAIN TYPE OF MUSIC, NO?

I just want to go for a hard, long, fabulous run! House music really fits an Autumn atmosphere... the leaves changing, the smells in the air...

The Fabulous Cocteau Twins

Don't try to figure out the lyrics, cause there ain't any! But one night, a long time ago, while still at university, a friend (Dan Cull) and I had a few drinks and did come up with some. Here are the first few lines:

I'm saying, I say, well you listen now...
Did he love her? Did he feel sad?
I saw him on the Leeden's porch, he's so mean to us.

Called it a game, called loooove,
He denounced sanity... so, go ahead.

We really don't intend to, 
We hardly speak, yeah.
We really don't intend to, 
We really don't intend to.

Did this one make it to America??

Dutch singer sings in English. She won Pop Idol or something like that, whatever, great song.

From an otherwise painful soundtrack:

Great song. Builds up from slow and mellow to something else, I love that.

Languagesnl>en YahooCE

too

More music!!

Been awhile (December last year!) Here's a Dutch song I recently heard on the local Heemstede station Branding Radio. I guess it came out about a year ago, I missed it completely. Love it!



And you can laugh all you like, but this song is beautiful (the rest of their stuff stinks though). PS - the lyrics are pretty off, I realize that, but did not make this little video:

Hold On to Yer Frickin' Hat!!

These roughly 6 1/2 minutes justified me sitting through Tristan and Isolde twice in one year (that's about 7 hours of Wagner). NO ONE, but no one sings the Liebestod better than Birget Nilsson.

Tomorrow is my birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday, so as a present to you I offer one of my favorite songs (by Danish band, Mew). There is something that I really love about songs that start slow/quiet then build themselves up... actually, I should post some examples of this in a couple of days. Anyhow, this particular song adds layer upon layer upon layer and I feel like I can run marathons when I hear it (and for once I will recommend watching the video).

Can you trust me on this one? Turn up the volume! GIVE IT NINE MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE!

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

Unusual Dance track sampled from Colombian group Toto y su Momposina

Am I in a Latin mood or what??

Brasil, eu te amo para sempre!

Gilberto Gil



Maria Bethania



Bebel Gilberto

She played in Haarlem

An American singer (Marissa Nadler) who played at a local cafe in Haarlem last year. Beautiful tune:



And now, get your running shoes on...

Happy Happy Happy

Smooth and Mellow

Smooth and mellow:



Very SERIOUSLY smooth and mellow:



Italian, smooth and mellow:



LISTEN LIVE TO MY LOCAL: This is Branding Radio, the "Easy Listening" station here in Heemstede, the Netherlands. It's not pure easy listening (one minute they're playing the theme to Laverne and Shirley, the next it's Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (seriously... in fact at this VERY MOMENT they are playing "Menomena" by the Muppets). But there are a lot of good tunes here (and you never have to hear the same ol' same ol' crap they're playing on "popular" stations. Have fun!!

PS - One more highly recommended site (since we're on this kind of subject): http://lpcoverlover.com WARNING: Not for those people easily offended by well-formed boobies.

AND HERE ARE SOME NOTES I MADE SOME TIME AGO (2006 I think it was):

• HENRY MANCINI - Lujon (whatever your tastes are, this song is a masterpiece. Click HERE to hear it - be patient while it loads!)
• JOHN BARRY - Theme: Somewhere in Time (feel like a good cry?)
• PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA - Theme from A Summer Palace
• PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA - Theme for Young Lovers
• RAY CONNIFF - Strangers in Paradise
• BILLY VAUGHN - Wheels
• JAMES LAST - Arrivederci Roma
• Anything you can get your hands on by MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA - especially if you have never seen or don't remember One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• NANCY SINATRA - James Bond, You Only Live Twice Theme
• HERB ALBERT & the TIJUANA BRASS (enough information!)
• ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK - Quando, Quando, Quando
• ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK - After the Lovin'
• JULIO IGLESIAS (a genius) - Me Va, Me Va, Me Va
• JULIO IGLESIAS - Begin The Beguine
• HANS ZIMMER - Chevaliers De Sangreal (this song alone made the 8 euros I paid to see the Da Vinci code worth it)

For more see this link: EASY LISTENING MUSIC

Gracie's Favorite Sleepy Sleep Song

First the original by Vera Lynn:



And now the version Gracie likes: 
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 

And here's another Favorite Gracie Lullaby:

So beautiful it hurts

Whitest Boy Alive - Figures... Fantastic!

HELLO!! I LOVE THIS SONG! Total indy artist.

My love knows no boundaries...

I never get tired of these two. ** NEVER **
(Please LISTEN to the music and disregard the video, perhaps minimize your browser while it plays or look out the window.)

A strange song to remind me

I listened to this song over and over when my sister passed away, I don't know why. It is irrevocably linked to her now. The video below is silly, but I guess that's a good thing considering (though again, I suggest we all ignore the videos completely and just listen, i.e. minimize your browser).

José González: Hints

They play this song in a Dutch ad for funeral insurance, and despite the depressing subject matter I always really enjoy those 30 seconds. So I finally looked it up. Really nice tune, great lyrics.

And today's song is...

Dionne Farris, Passion. I really LOVE this song! I bought this CD in 1993 or 1994 (geez!) when I lived in Atlanta. It's from her first solo album (Wild Seed) after singing with Arrested Development. Fantastic!

Radio stations STINK! Let's get that straight right away. They're going to stuff the same Britney Spears song down your throat until you choke. And you can forget about them ever playing a song in a foreign language - which also stinks because there is so much good music in the world. In the next few days I will try to post a few great songs, some of which might be considered mainstream here in Europe, but will never make it to the USA. Some of them are American, but you most likely wouldn't know about them unless someone pointed them out to you (like me).

I'm just saying, if I were you I would want to hear them. If you would like translations for any Dutch or German songs I can help - but if the music is nice I don't think it matters if you can understand the lyrics (except perhaps for this one exception.) I hope you like my new blog! 

Now say Hello to Peter Fox and the song Haus am See (German lyrics here): 

Below a gorgeous song by Nina Nordenstam. I bought this *cassette tape* in Nepal and listened to it on the 10 hour bus rides from A to B to C. It's so deeply ingrained that when I listen to it a part of me goes right back to the Himalayas.

And last, a Dutch song by the popular group Blof. A very happy little song.

A little collection of great Dutch songs

YOU DO NOT have to know what they are singing about to find these songs fabulous. Trust me though, they're great lyrics.