Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 38 - A good day

Today was a good day. Made some progress around the apartment, worked on my new project, laughed at my 1 year-old nephew's blueberry-covered face in Sweden while my 4 year-old niece tried teach their dog tricks (or rather the dog was teaching her), listened to some good music. Not bad for a Monday! Thankfully it's a holiday Monday! 😎

Saturday's announcement that the government is studying the possibility of letting children out to play for a little bit each day in a week has started up the meme machines again. 

"Child for rent"

"Who do you want to go out with? Daddy or Mommy" "Do you understand me now?"

That second one reminds me I haven't shared my favorite canine memes yet! Coming soon! (or past, I still have a few catch-up posts pending)

Another thing that popped up today which brought a huge smile on my face and got my feet moving, was a quarantine edition of an old song I love, by Spanish Celtic Rock band Celtas Cortos.  The song is supposed to be a letter written on April 20th 1990, so today would be its 30th anniversary. The band have recorded a new video from their homes, joined in by staff in essential services (including first responders, health professionals, cleaning services, supermarkets, transporters, teachers, researchers and farmers), other musicians and actors in Spain, as part of a fundraising effort for Médecins Sans Frontières. It's a blast!

As for that new project? I'm launching a new blog! (yes another one, whoops!..) Have been working on the layout, inaugural post and my own story all weekend... Will share more once it's ready, hopefully any day now!

#stayhome #quedateencasa #restecheztoi

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 13 - Life goes on... online!

So nothing for days 11 & 12 simply because I was angry and in a foul mood on Tuesday, and yesterday just so, so tired...

Much better today! I guess we're all going to have our ups and downs while being locked up, more than normal. To be expected.

I wanted something cheerful today... to celebrate that tomorrow's Friday so it's almost the weekend! Need to find ways to mark the different days of the week other than work yes/no. So I'm planning a "movie night" with the friends I usually go to the cinema with. If it works out I'll report back.

We've all be finding ways to do things with other people online. The simplest is work related. I'm spending the mornings all this week (and half of next) in lengthy Skype meetings with my colleagues in Vietnam to see what the situation is like in their universities, and to talk about how our project is going and how we can continue moving forward (within the Covid19 limitations).

Movie Madness: the intensity of BlacKkKlansman and Bohemian Rhapsody

Oh wow! I mean... WOW!!!

I just got back from seeing the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody and man... they weren't kidding when they said "we will rock you"! I'm not sure there are words to describe the intensity of that film... of the music of Queen and their creation process. And those final 15' at Live Aid? DAMN!!!

The film's reviews might be kind of "meh" or "it's pretty tame, they took the 'safe' route in telling Freddie Mercury's story". IGNORE IT! Doesn't matter! Could there have been a more in-depth look at the band's hard partying life? At the choices Freddie makes? Sure, of course. But ultimately the music is what matters. And they are pretty damn insane! Their creative process is unbelievable. And their musical style, abilities for interpreting it, vocal range... you name it, they've got it! 

So go watch it, and I dare you to walk out at the end and not want to walk right back in to another screening... (I might go back on Sunday!) Oh, and someone give Rami Malek the Oscar for best actor right now and be done with it. 

And the thing is... that's not the only awesome movie I've seen this week. Yesterday my dad and I (he also came tonight) went to see Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and we were equally (but differently) blown away by it! 

I remember going in thinking "ok, how is a black cop going to infiltrate the Klan?!" and came out going "with the help of a Jewish cop?!?!?" The story is so surreal, it could only be believable when you remember it's TRUE!!! Pretty insane! The whole film keeps the tension so tight you could cut it with a butter knife before the end, and yet at the same time it has some absolutely hilarious moments! We couldn't help cracking up laughing time and again (starting with that absurd phone call to the KKK's recruitment number that's shown in the trailer). I'm not surprised this took the Grand Prix du Public at Cannes last Spring!

After a couple of months of movie-drought, I've been blown away several times this past month (these, A Star is Born...). If the awards season is starting out this strong, I can't wait to see what comes next! And am happy I don't have to vote to choose a "best" from among them. 😜

Movie Magic - A Star is Born (2018)

So I just got back from watching the latest iteration of A Star is Born... and it was simply brilliant! I've known for a while that Bradley Cooper can act, but I didn't know he could sing so well! And vice-versa for Lady Gaga, wow! Both of them simply blew me away with their performances, and the music was simply amazing! Although I'm with Cooper's character Jackson Maine who clearly thinks Gaga's Ally is much truer to herself earlier on, her new manager is leading her in a direction (look, style etc.) that seem to hide her more than reveal her... Or maybe it's just that I'm more of a rock than a pop girl. 😉

I hadn't realized this was actually the fourth version of this story, I thought Judy Garland's 1954 movie was the first (follow by Barbra Streisand's in 1976 - haven't seen that one yet). Looks like I'll have to dig up from somewhere the 1937 original! The movies all follow an almost identical plot (aging, almost washed out star "discovers" a young woman with immense talent and ushers her into the business, her success parallels his decline) and have progressed from being about actors, to musical actors, to musicians... and we've correspondingly switched from the big prize being an Oscar to a Grammy. Come to think of it, I'd say 2011's The Artist follows this storyline quite closely as well (except the original star's decline is not self-inflicted, but a change in the industry itself - silent film to talkies). It's a story that could be retold in each generation as the media of film or music keep evolving. And as long as they take good care of the script and choose good actors who have chemistry with each other, it will continue to be a successful story.

In the meantime, GO WATCH THIS ONE!

Now I'm going to go load the soundtrack on iTunes and listen to it on a loop. 😎

Alicante is SWINGING!

So apparently there's a festival going on in Alicante this week called "Eat My Soul" (8th edition, a week dedicated to "Black Music"), starting this weekend, and going all out next weekend with a series of concerts, showings of movies/documentaries, a New Orleans food market and much more (which I'll miss out, out of town!)

I headed into town this morning to catch some of the action, and boy was it a blast!!! Swinging their way through the streets of the old part of town to the tune of "El Refugio Swing Band" (I didn't even know you could play a bass while moving it around!) and watching the people from "Alicante Lindy Hop" swing dancing (wish I could do that! Might sign up for classes in the Fall!). Check out these photos and videos! 

Here are the musicians:

Swinging their way through Alicante!

And here are the dancers!

Alicante Lindy Hop takes to the streets of Alicante!

That last video got cut a bit abruptly as I ran out of space of the phone... Unfortunate 'cause I LOVE that song! 

I've been moving to the rhythm all day... even once back at home! ;o)

PS: And yes this means I'm hopefully back on the Blog(s)! (fingers crossed!)

A Musical Smile from a Galaxy Far, Far, Away

One of my favourite restaurants in the neighbourhood (Ghetto Vecchio), has local bands come in to play a set the first Sunday of every month. This Sunday was a Swing and Jazz band called "Petit Comité" that had a good rythm, a singer with a great voice (albeit not so great accent when singing in English, but oh well, this is Spain!) and a fabulous clarinet. We really enjoyed their set, and that always puts me in a good mood, but what put a huge grin on my face was when they said they were going to take us on a little trip, to a cantina on some backwater planet with two suns in a galaxy far, far away... I couldn't stop myself from quickly pulling out my cellphone to make this video!

Want to see the actual smile? here:

Well, technically that's the smile from the very beginning of the set... since I'm usually the photographer there are no pictures of me during the set, I was too busy enjoying the music! :o)

Musical ode to an octopod

Another little musical moment... this one I discovered via i09, a homage to an inquisitive octopus! I dare you not to smile! ;o)

Joyous Classical Flashmob

I don't know if I've shared this one with you guys before... it's 6 months old. But a friend just linked to it on Facebook and I was reminded of how much I enjoyed it... so here you go! Done in a small town just next to Barcelona, organised by the local bank (now a biggie in the country) to celebrate its 130th anniversary.

Here comes the sun...

Just wanted to share this original Flashmob from an Unemployment Office somewhere in Spain (could be Madrid)...

Sunny day in Alicante today, lots of people need more Sun in their lives these days! Here's to them, here's to us.

Lovely Valentine

Have you seen this music video? Paul McCartney's latest song "My Valentine" featuring Johnny Depp on the guitar and Nathalie Portman interpreting the lyrics in sign language... it's quite beautiful! :o)

I'm afraid I've once again been rather absent on the blogs... some of you whom I visit regularly will have noticed my lack of comments lately. I'm really sorry! I'm afraid I'm a bit swamped with my classes and trying to find a more regular job that would give me some financial stability (if such a thing even exists these days). Plus with the Easter holidays some of my friends have finally had some free time to get together! Other than catching up on blog reading, I still have a hike pending for here, a couple new Semana Santa posts for my other blog, half-started book reports for this one, and trying to re-start the "Fishy Fridays" and "Come Dive With Me" series (the latter of which I had hope to do before the diving season started up again... too late I'm heading out under the waves next Saturday!). Oh, and start getting things ready for World Oceans Day! (I'm helping to translate their website to Spanish) And I could show you some scary photos of how much organising I need to do around the house... :p

Some days I look at everything that needs to get done (the "real" stuff) and it's just so overwhelming I hide on the sofa and watch TV instead of facing it... which of course makes it all worse the next day... *sigh* Must. Get. Organised! I used to be so organised once upon a time... whatever happened to me? ;(

Sharing some music

I just want to say thanks to one of the blogs I follow - e-clecticism - for bringing a fabulous little music video to my attention! It's a brief history of the world (from the Big Bang to the Space Age and beyond) in stop-motion animation, and it's the music video for the song "Thick as Thieves" by Canadian Kalle Mattson, a group I've never heard of before... but I'm listening to the album this song is from right now (Anchors) and I'm loving it! Added bonus to a new (for me) musical discovery? Well they've got the album available for free download right now on their website! :o)

So here's the video, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! ;o)

And here's an interview I found with the group's lead singer-songwriter Kalle Wainio.

A Musical Haircut

So, I was at the hair dresser's the other day getting a trim etc. and it turned out to be quite an interesting afternoon! Seemingly out of no where these guys waltz into the salon and start playing their instruments and serenading one of the clients, the hair stylists and then walking all over the place stopping for a bit in front of each of the clients!

Allow me to introduce you to La Cuarentuna de Cartagena:

What's a Cuarentuna? Well it's a "older" ("cuaren" as in cuarenta = 40) Tuna. And no, I don't mean the fish!!! :p

The Tuna (similar groups in Latin America are known as "Estudiantinas") is a musical tradition in Spanish universities dating back to the Middle Ages and is present in all (as far as I know) Universities, usually one in every "school" (Science, Medicine, Law etc.). They're easily recognisable by their laid-back attitudes (some of these guys take a bit long to finish college) and their Renaissance inspired outfits (pantaloons, doublets, hose etc.). To get in one must not only have a good voice and know how to play an instrument, but also pass a "practical joke" exam to determine if the candidate is of good cheer (and knows both how to take and give a joke).  Mostly guys, although there are a few female Tunas out there... They know how to have a good time and travel around a lot for competitions etc. My mom once ran into the Tuna de la Facultad de Ciencias de Alicante (so the one associated to my school at Uni) in Vienna, and then in Budapest the next day!

A quaint old tradition. Some people don't like it, I think it's fun!

Discombobulate

This is fun!

I'll have to remember to keep an eye out for this soundtrack when prices go down. Why is it that there are never special deals on soundtracks but yes on most other music? Why is it that the soundtracks on cd usually cost more than the movie itself on dvd?! Used to be I'd buy a couple of soundtracks per year, haven't bought one in ages... :o(

Oscars coming up soon!!! ;o)

Gracias a la Vida

A friend just posted this on his Facebook and I wanted to share it... this is such a beautiful song! One of the ones I grew up with, a friend of ours in Mexico used to sing it (accompanying herself with the guitar) quite frequently. It brings back fond memories. I have a version on my ipod that's a duet with Joan Baez...

Gracias a la Vida by Violeta Parra performed by Mercedes Sosa:

Here's a translation for the final verse:

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

Thanks to life which has given me so much

Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto

It has given me laughter and tears

Asi yo distingo dicha de quebranto

So I can distinguish happyness from sadness

Los dos materiales que forman mi canto

The two materials that compose my song

Y el canto de ustedes que es mi mismo canto

And your song which is the same as mine

End of an era...

First thing that appeared on my screen when I turned the computer and opened up Firefox... major unpleasant surprise!

Oh my, Michael Jackson R.I.P.?!

Of the many famous musicians, actors and other celebrities you hear about when they die, this is the first one that kind of hits close to home... not because I was a major fan of the "King of Pop" (I enjoyed his music but didn't like his figure and crazyness), but because he sort of represents my childhood. Thriller and Beat It are the first pop songs I remember hearing (along with my parents' Abba albums), learning the lyrics to, singing along with... and the Thriller music video... *shivers* it had me spooked as a kid! I hear beats of those songs and it sends me back to a childhood in Saudi Arabia with the desert and the heat and the swimming pool (where I learnt to swim) and the markets...

It unfortunately can't be embedded, but here's a link to the Thriller video on YouTube (I just realised I haven't seen the whole thing in years! I just hope the werewolf transformations in New Moon are done better, lol!) for those who want to take a trip down memory lane or discover this short "musical horror film" for the first time. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8

Music Maestro!

Woah! A friend just linked me to a page with a podcast from my Choir's concert last Friday, sweet! And since it's got a video that can be embeded I think I'll share it here! ;o)

Just a one minute fragment from our Baroque Concert. We sang works by Bach, Purcell, Zipolli and Buxtehude (a bit of which is in the video), accompanied by a string quartet and a clavecin (dunno the name in English). Hmmm... hearing oneself sing isn't always such a good idea though, I'm picking out all the little mistakes we made! :p
Still, not at all bad for a University Choir, all amateurs (except for the director). :o)

Looks like we got a good review on Alicante musical website Alicantissimo as well! They're the ones who provide the video btw, so here goes!

Coral Universitaria de Alicante cantando Jesu, meine Freude de Buxtehude:

BSG countdown: 2 days to go...

Oops, am a bit late with this, as it's after midnight will appear as on the 19th instead of 18th! :p
What's next on my BSG list? The music!!! Wow, what a soundtrack!!! It adds to the show's soul, helps looks, reactions, gestures convey emotions without the words... and to top it off sometimes gives me goosebumps! ;o)

Richard Gibbs started it off with the music for the mini-series, but what I find myself frequently listening to on i-tunes are Bear McCreary's (photographed with a viper above, from his website) melodies from the series itself. Ranges from haunting melodies, to jigs and lullabies, and to a very interesting version of "All Along the Watchtower" as a key melody with some special meaning we don't fully comprehend yet (but hope to by the end of the finale! or else...).

I had a hell of a time choosing a few pieces (via youtube) to share here, particularly as I wanted to keep them short (Battlestar Sonatica and Passacaglia are beautiful, but at 8 minutes I'm not sure you'd stick around in from of my blog to listen to them!). You can listen to a few more tracks on his website, go to "online demo" and choose scifi and then check out "The Temple of Five" and "Heeding the Call" (try and recognise "Watchtower" in there!) from season 3, "Gina Escapes" from season 2 or "Scar" from season 1.

So here's "Adama Falls" from season 3 (illustrated with stills from the series), followed by an "official" promo for the music of Bear McCreary (with sequences from the series), and finally "All Along the Watchtower" (first just the melody as it slowly appears in bits and pieces in the final episode of season 3, then the full song). Enjoy!

PaGAGnini!!!

WHOA!!!



Virtuoso violonists taking the stage and running away with it... that's kind of what watching the show put together by Yllana and Ara Malikian feels like. Actually it's a bit of an understatement!

Yllana is a comedic theatre production company (specializing in slapstick and physical humour), that together with violonisit Ara Malikian and three other virtuosos (Thomas Potiron, Eduardo Ortega y Gartxot) have put together one hell of a show: PaGAGnini! It's quite a different take on your "usual" classical music concert. A way of introducing classical music to an audience who might otherwise avoid it... They take some well-known pieces (for example Pachelbel's Canon) and give them one hell of an original twist! Either speeding them up, slowing them down, changing the style and rythm to give them an air of rock'n'roll or blues... all the while acting out all over stage! Jumping up and down, somersaults and lots of other physical gags, and not skipping a beat!... including bringing in two members of the public to complete a sextet for a parody of "modern" music (they have one of them ringing a cow bell, the other with a squeaky toy!).

My face still hurts from the smiling, my eyes are red from the tears due to the laughing, and I'm so juiced up I have to idea how I'm ever going to fall asleep tonight!

So keep your eyes open, coming soon to a town near you (all over Spain and France the next 6 months)! A MUST see!!! ;o)

Introduction from their website, followed by two sequences from the concert, courtesy of Yllana's Youtube channel:
"PAGAGNINI combines classical music, the playing of virtuoso violinist Ara Malikian and Yllana’s slapstick humour all in one show. The result is an amusing and surprising “Des-Concierto” (a Dis-Concert), which reviews some of the pinnacle moments in the history of classical music by ingeniously combing them with more popular tunes.
This mixture of styles leads to the creation of a medley of emotions, a concert where the serious and solemness of music is combined wonderfully with moments of subtle humour. This quirky perspective of the world of concertos, added to the elegant and virtuoso interpretation of these four outstanding musicians, has proven capable of fascinating even the most erudite spectators, as well as exalting and inspiring audiences of all ages from around the world."