New Song–Text Over Music This Time.
Hi there, how have you been?
A couple weeks ago I listened to an interview with the Brazillian songwriter Djavan and it was shocking to hear about his composition process. He said that as the voice usually is the last thing to be recorded in an album he makes all the instrumental work first; and WHILE the songs are being recorded he starts writing the lyrics. O.O
That’s an absurd due to how high Djavan sets the bar for his lyrics… and for showing how confident he is when it comes to his creativity. 
Anyway I tried something like that as an exercise for me–without the pressure, the deadlines, of course lol–and came up with this:
The lyrics are much better in Portuguese but I’ll translate ‘em anyway. 
See ya, have an awesome week!
Lost and Found To know: The "Lost and Found" bill includes a dress and what would be a pair of gloves (if it's the case of the other hand appears). - Couple's hammock; - Cups (three all the same); - An ambergris censer. Yet to be found: A record player; a bookmark; a curtain; a glass jar; and a mother-of-pearl'd jewel case (heart-shaped). - Pics of Paris; - Letters (a chest); Useless things.
Daft Punk and the New Soundtrack For TRON
This weekend I watched the recent TRON rehash while giving the soundtrack some deserved attention… And I must say I liked that Daft Punk work a lot.
In my opinion what’s most interesting about this OST is they managed to drink in some practically unavoidable sci-fi references–mostly from Blade Runner, indisputably–while not losing their personal touch and making it more… modern. (If I can say such a thing of some futuristic music. lol)
Let’s take a look at some of those peculiar features. 
1) The tribute to the past is paid mostly through the timbers. Synths, fake strings and retro blips get that part of the job easily done.
2) The tension is kept up by the usage of some “echoing” tricks, just like Vangelis did with Blade Runner’s main theme. That can be done with plain delays or with more “filling” in the strings strikes, for example… Even when the tempo is slow that will work it out.
3) Being modern by being punchy. This is what differs this work from any other old-school futuristic theme: the ability of being concise. Or… modern.
That’s it for the week, enjoy the music and let me know: do you think this OST can become a classic 20 years from now?
See ya, have an awesome week!
Ben Harper – A Lewis Marnell Tribute
Ben Harper is helping to raise money for the family of Australian pro skateboarder Lewis Marnell, whose untimely death in January at the age of 30 left his family in dire financial straights.
A lifelong skateboarding enthusiast and friend to skaters around the world, Harper has reunited with the Innocent Criminals for the first time since 2007 to re-record the song “Jah Work” from his 1997 album, “The Will to Live.” The song will be available on iTunes tomorrow, with all proceeds going to the family memorial fund.
Share it, it’s beautiful as hell.
See ya!
A New Prayer In Form of Music. :)
Hi there, how have you been?
Once again I want to share a recording that came out almost without me noticing it… After meeting a friend who is facing a tough family issue I grabbed my acoustic guitar and recorded this. So take a listen and take my best wishes of strenght for those in need–if that’s your case feel free to call it yours as well.
Enjoy, see ya!
28 Great Movie Scores Written by Rock, Pop & Hip-Hop Artists
Great content from the Paste Magazine. Enjoy!
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/04/15.html?p=1
6 Ways to Dress Up a Simple Chord Progression
Download “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 6-eBook Bundle, and get back to the basics of why hit songs sell.
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I'm a big fan of keeping things relatively simple with regard to chord progressions in the pop genre. That's certainly not to say that I don't like complexity - I do!
The Cure’s Formula.
Hi there, how have you been?
The band The Cure is going to play here in São Paulo next Saturday and hopefully I’ll be there… In the mean time I’m here to share an article by me for my Brazillian blog
Robert Smith by Gabriela Andrade. (Click it to go to her Flickr)
In the preparations for the show that’s going to happen here in São Paulo next Saturday I’ve been listening to all The Cure albums again… And finally, as an almost-old man , I seemed to have figured out what makes the band special.
The “A” side (at least for the band itself and the fans, since it’s the most… regular way for them to make music) is easier to understand/analyze: a the Doors rehash 10 years later, a… liquid melancholy that drenches their music through the guitar layers, the draggin’ vocals, delays & reverbs, the odd synths, the never-ending intros, the minor tones, the non-definite conclusions… I mean, in the end of the day the song (technically speaking) doesn’t matter that much; the structure, the lyrics, everything else is surpassed by a certain mood. When it comes to this “side” a regular Cure fan can set a random playlist of pretty much any album and be happy (? lol) with any sample of that feeling coming out.
(Example: “The Forest”, from their 2nd album: “Seventeen Seconds, 1980.)
But… That would only make The Cure a band among others. For the good or the bad this “mood” in not a Cure’s exclusive. Joy Division has it, Siouxie and the Banshees has it… Late 70s was favorable for such sounds to flourish, it seems.
(Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, 1980; Siouxies’s “Metal Postcard”, 1978)
Proceeding… lol What makes those guys unique is their “B” side–curiously the “A” side for the media because those tracks are easier to listen to… And they’re only easier because they SOUND (wrongly) happier! lol A more upbeat rhythm, major chords, a more melodic riff/lick… Strangely you can sing pretty much anything disguised that way. lol
(Super-nasty, absurd thematic disguised as pop-song: Oingo Boingo’s “Little Girls”, 1981.)
What’s good about all this in the “Cure case” is how naturally those particular songs fit into their repertory. They’re just another perpective of the same thing instead of being completely new stories… The Smiths has reached that later too; and Belle & Sebastian ultimately got the bottom line in the matter. But in both cases the transition from one side to another is smoother, not so polarized as it happens to be with The Cure.
(Smiths’ “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side”, 1985. Belle & Sebastian’s “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying”, 1996.)
It’s all the same, I concede. But the idea–aware or not–is awesome. And knowing all that may help you to realize if what you like is the furry surface or the cold interior.
(B/A sides: “Boys Don’t Cry”, 1979; “In Between Days” and my favorite one “Close to Me”, 1985.)
