a week off...

Hey everybody...

I'll be back in the new year... My thoughts and deepest sentiments are with the people of Southeast Asia, who are coping with a tragedy that few can comprehend. As we come to the end of the year, the events truly put everything in perspective, particularly as we take time to spend with family and friends. The beautiful thing is that the global response has been inspiring to watch. Ok, not much else I feel entitled to say right now. I look forward to the new year.

-Ari

a vida aquatica com estevie zissou

Seu Jorge, Carolina: Em Nagoya Ey Vi Eriko and Mangueira

It's hard to talk about your artistic tastes (some would say impossible) without divulging information about your personality... That being said, I love Wes Anderson films. Rushmore remains at the top of my favorites, while The Royal Tenenbaums holds a special place in my heart because it's the only movie in recent memory with a lead character named Ari. Bottle Rocket... well, there's always the other two.

I've been following the developments of the newest Wes Anderson Joint for the last two years or so, eagerly anticipating its finishing and release... What I didn't count on was one of my favorite Brazilian musicians doing most of Ziggy Stardust as the soundtrack for the film.

The many hats of Seu Jorge: musician, actor, civil rights activist. Seu Jorge's film debut (as we know it) came in 2002's City of God, the stellar look at the lighter and darker sides of Rio's favelas. He played Knockout Ned, the unassailably cool busdriver who Rocket can't bear to rob one night. Little did we know at the time that City of God would propel him into an American acting career, as Pele in the Life Aquatic.

I spent months trying to track down Seu Jorge's latest disc in Brazil, Carolina, and it was until my last couple of weeks, while in Rio (at Modern Sound, the most ridiculous music store in the country) that I finally found it. Of course, with the popularity of this movie, I imagine his CD will be all over the place in the States, so pick up a copy.

Seu Jorge's musical background mainly consists of a long stint as the lead singer and songwriter of the band Farofa Carioca, a funk band from Rio whose live shows are a thing to behold. I saw them accidentally one night in Rio, back in July, and the show was incredible. My friend invited me to go to a nightclub, and not realizing that there would be live music, I decided to tag along anyway. Little did I know that I would see some of the funkiest sh*t ever... Finding their cd, Moro no Brasil, was no easy task either.

Jorge breaks out on his solo debut, with a funk epic of Brazilian proportions. Covering Jorge Ben Jor (I finally got the story behind the move from Jorge Ben->Jorge Ben Jor... coming soon) while adding most of his own flavor, this album is a solid dance disc all the way through. So in honor of everyone over at Team Zissour, I give you... Seu Jorge.

UPDATE: Poll is up! Vote for your favorite trax thus far...

Feliz Natal da Bahia

Novos Baianos, Acabou Chorare: Misterio do Planeta

After a few posts, I've begun to realize that some of this music is not so new, so I guess I will remove some of my self-imposed rules and stop being so self-conscious of my postings... Let's just say it's music you might not have had access to, or known about. It's December 23rd, so it's reasonable to say that I'm going to take a few days off to celebrate the holidays with the fam.

Os Novos Baianos... The New Bahians (hailing from, you guessed it, Bahia, though not so new anymore...). Moraes Moreira, Pepeu Gomes, and Baby Consuelo (turned Baby Brazil) fronted this talented supergroup from the post-Tropicalia era of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira... also, I'd like to apologize for not using accents... they're a pain in the ass to put in, and I'm having enough problems as it is trying to make Mozilla work with blogger).

You can definitely hear the Tropicalista influence on their tunes... The sophisticated arrangements, the rockin' out, the definitive Brazilian sound. In retrospect, it reminds me a lot of Os Mutantes stuff from the '70's, without the copious amounts of acid (though I suppose there was a fair bit of that going on... Os Novos Baianos lived together on a farm outside Rio during a four or five year period I believe). Like I was saying, post-Tropicalia. Though these guys had the benefit of Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, and the early 70's.

Misterio do Planeta is probably my favorite cut from this disc, which is a real lost classic in the annels of MPB. If you can find it, I highly recomment picking up the whole album. Other stuff, after Moreira left the band, is a bit more questionable though that's on a case by case basis... It seemed like Moraes really mellowed the rest of the band out, because when he left to pursue a solo career, Pepeu took over the compositions and everything became cracked out (musically speaking, of course). They started playing a lot of frevo (a really fast style of Samba) and trio electrico stuff which is crrrrazay. That being said, it's totally open to interpretation.

Incidentally, the Novos Baianos reunited last year or the year before and recorded a live album of the concert. It's definitely not as solid as the original stuff, but hey, if you're into reunions then by all means. Also, Davi Moraes, Moreira's son, is a talented musician in his own right, married to super-Axe-diva Ivete Sangalo, whose song "Boa Sorte" you have certainly heard if you've traveled to Brazil in the last year or so.

Ok, I'm gonna put up a poll soon about the best trax so far... This site has passed the "100 visitors in a day" milestone, so I want to thank everybody that is checking out the music. Tell your friends (virtual or otherwise)! Also, if you think I should be checking anything out (not just Brazilian... some day I'll post a complete list of my likes and dislikes up here), feel free to drop me a comment or an e-mail.

i am... in love

mylene, _mylene: pipoca contemporanea
caetano veloso, joia joia: pipoca moderna

I found this record while browsing at one of my favorite record stores in all of Brazil, Desafinado in Fortaleza, CE. It's a really great family run store that I highly recommend if you happen to be in the northeast travelling around. The staff is highly personable, and they had CD's that it seemed no one else in Brazil carried, ironically enough.

Mylene's self-titled debut is no exception. After grabbing a stack of about 25 cds to listen to (by the way, a great idea that should be adopted here more often), this disc... well, to be honest, the cover... caught my eye. I popped it in, and heard one of the brightest underground talents in Brazil that literally no one has ever heard of.

Afte a little bit of research on the internet, it turns out that this CD has been released on an American label, Fast Horse Recordings, and has actually had quite a bit of attention over here, leading me to believe that this CD is marketed more towards the "chill-Brazilian" crowd in the states than it is to Brazilians. But don't let that dissuade you (that is, if it would dissuade you). This is one solidly-crafted album, and Mylene has made a more intelligent album than perhaps her genre would indicate.

She hails from Rio, and it's definitely got some of your typical chill-Brazilian production sensibilities. But underneath there is far more going on... This song, Pipoca Contemporanea, or Contemporary Popcorn is a take off on the Caetano song of the post-Tropicalia period, Pipoca Moderna, or Modern Popcorn. Interlaced with a few Chomsky soundbites, this album is decidedly political, as is much of the underground music coming from Brazil. I put up the Caetano song for comparison, so I hope you dig these holiday gems.

Culture Czar

Gilberto Gil, Refavela: Era Nova and Refavela

Well, I was going to try and stick to new Brazilian music, but occasionally I'm going to stray. If you were directed to this site, you most likely know all about Gil (Minister of Culture and all-around mackdaddy of Brazilian music). However, this track, Era Nova, is off of a little-heard album from the mid-70's entitled Refavela.I met the producer while working on an independent research project on Tropicalia in Bahia, which was really exciting considering this is probably my favorite album that Gil recorded in his career.

The title Era Nova is a clever wordplay on the phrase "it was new" which is sometimes substituted with "nova era" during the song, meaning "new era." The album was recorded after Gil and others made a trip to Nigeria. You can hear the heavy afro-pop influence on the style of the album, which is really solid all-around.

Refavela comes from an architectural movement of the time, very much influenced by the make-shift constructions in Brazilian favelas, or shantytowns (bringing to mind the whole Derelict thing from the movie Zoolander, except without the comedy). It was meant as an ironic statement concerning the appropriation (and really exploitation) of the favelas without any returning of the favor.The album was slammed by the press when released in 1974, as being "over-political." The song "Que bloco e esse?" (recorded under the title Ile Aiye on the album) was dedicated to the afro-bloc Ile Aiye, a really phenomenal organization from Bahia that combats racism through its songs and dance. More about them later... for now, enjoy these two cuts.

as if Brazilians needed more incentive to get freaky

Jair Oliveira, Outro: Dor de Ressaca

Jair Oliveira, son of legendary Brazilian soul singer Jair Rodriguez, is a talented composer, singer and producer. After studying at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, he returned to Brazil and started recording albums for the Trama Label. This song, Dor de Ressaca, or Pain of a Hangover (thanks Mike D.!), is a mellow samba/r&b groove. The production would remind anybody of Babyface or any other sort of mid-90's r&b production, but the Brazilian influence adds a freshness to the sound that doesn't make it sound antiquated. Dig.

For those of you who have been digging the music and been looking for more, Trama Records is a great place to start. An artist run label, Trama is the biggest and best-known independent label in Brazil. They distribute Matador Records in Brazil, which should tell you indie rockers out there how money this label is. Many of Brazil's most innovative artists are on the Trama label, and with any luck they'll become wider-known here as well. If you want to check out some free Trama .mp3's, look no further than http://www.tramavirtual.com.br, where you'll be able to find huge numbers of slammin' trax to download.

Again, I wanna put in a request for comments. It helps keep me inspired to keep putting tracks up every few days or so if I know what people like and what they don't like.

painting the country red

Frank Rich, in today's New York Times:

"Kinsey" is an almost uncannily helpful guide to how these old cultural fault lines have re-emerged from their tomb, virtually unchanged. Among Kinsey's on-screen antagonists is a university hygiene instructor who states with absolute certitude that abstinence is the only cure needed to stop syphilis. Sound familiar? In tune with the "moral values" crusaders, the Web site for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has obscured and downplayed the important information that condoms are overwhelmingly effective in preventing sexually transmitted diseases. (A nonprofit organization supporting comprehensive sex education, Advocates for Youth, publicized this subterfuge and has been rewarded with three government audits of its finances in eight months.) Elsewhere in "Kinsey," we watch desperate students pepper their professor with a series of uninformed questions: "Can too much sex cause cancer? Does suppressing sex lead to stuttering? Does too much masturbation cause premature ejaculation?" Though that sequence takes place in 1939, you can turn on CNN in December 2004 and watch Genevieve Wood of the Family Research Council repeatedly refuse - five times, according to the transcript - to disown the idea that masturbation can cause pregnancy.

Lenine, not that one...

Lenine, A Falange Canibal: Sonhei

It occurs to me that I posted the wrong track from Vanessa da Mata last week (i.e.: not the track I wanted to post). That's been corrected, and in addition you get this track from Brazil's most talented contemporary songwriter, in every sense of the phrase. His albums are phenomenally well-produced, his writing is original, and his lyrics are political. What more could you ask for, other than a copy of Falange Canibal for Chanukkah or Christmas?

Lenine follows in the tradition of Chico Science (see previous post about Mundo Livre S/A), hailing musically from the musically vibrant northeastern state of Pernambuco. Check out the mix of Radioheadish production techniques, regional flava, and beautiful instrumentation. Not to mention having Ani diFranco, Steve Turre, Yerba Buena and others on your album... Dig.