I am also currently reading the Iliad, translated by Emily Wilson. I've really enjoyed the general introduction and translator's note so far which give great context to the poem and help with understanding. I am a few books at the moment and am finding it both accessible and really interesting, something well worth reading for sure.
Below is my currently reading shelf on goodreads.
The last track I listened to on Spotify was ... by ..., ....
Song of the week
To see the archive of previous songs of the week, see here.Well it's been a while hasn't it. I guess I've been caught up in all the uni work (and other bits), that I just haven't really had the time or mental space to write a song of the week. That, however, does not mean that I haven't been listening to new and fun music. So let's dive into some stuff that I've been listening to.
Bossa Nova
After seeing João Gilberto show up on catfishing recently. I figured I might as well look a bit deeper into the genre of Bossa Nova. Mainly this meant I looked up some introductory albums and listened to those. These included
- Getz/Gilberto - João Gilberto and Stan Getz,
- Amoroso - João Gilberto, and
- Elis & Tom - Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
It is perhaps a short list, but I've really made my worth of them. If you have more suggestions I would love to hear them!
Getz/Gilberto
I think album really leans into the jazz side of bossa nova, not least because Stan Getz comes from the jazz world. His saxophone combine with João's classic vocals to make for some really lovely songs. My favourite is probably Só Danço Samba.
I also wanted to add a little snippet about this album from wikipedia that I found quite funny:
During one session, Gilberto, who did not speak English, and impatient with Getz's rhythmic style, told Antônio Carlos Jobim: "Tell this gringo he is an idiot". Jobim then translated: "Stan, João is saying that his dream always was to record with you".
Amoroso
Perhaps my favourite of the three albums I listened to. I really like Tin Tin Por Tin Tin, it's just so incredibly catchy to me. I think it's really interesting to hear what, to me, sounds like a more classical influence on the later songs and not just a jazz influence. It makes for a really fun blend into the samba style.Elis & Tom
One that I really enjoyed, and actually was familiar with one of the songs already, thanks to Sof! It's fun to see not just a musical collaboration, but a vocal one, the way Elis and Tom play back and forth between lyrics is so fun. My favourites have to be Brigas Nunca Mais and Fotografia.Racing Mount Pleasant
I was recently watching a concert review of Geese by Professor Skye (a channel recommended by webring friend Imaan), when he mentioned the support. This was a band called "Racing Mount Pleasant", that I hadn't heard of before, but he described as "an American Black Country, New Road".
I've been caught by their self-titled album ever since. It's so hard to not just listen to it on repeat and all the way through every time. Each song leads into the other so smoothly I only know the first song because it's the one I press on to start the album. Listening through now and picking up the songs I really enjoy, I have to pick out Emily and Call it Easy, because you can just feel the emotions oozing out of them. Wanting to be absorbed, to crawl inside of you and be.
The Regrettes
Ok this one isn't new, in fact I listened to them way back in 2020 and the band broke up two years ago. But it's been a nice rediscovery. I've been listening to their album "How Do You Love?" on repeat for the last week. It's so incredibly catchy to me, but the lyrics are also really interesting to listen to as they explore the story of a relationship. I've been listening to Stop and Go loads, because the chorus is so so fun to sing along to. Some classics that I used to listen to back in the day include Pumpkin and I Dare You.The song of the week
To be honest this is a really hard pick. From all these different genres and albums it's hard to single one out, especially when they are hard to compare. I think if I had to pick a song that I wanted to listen to this week and wanted to represent it, maybe it would be "Your New Place", from Racing Mount Pleasant. It has this rising optimism and hope in it, which I want to embrace in the week to come. I have a really nice break coming and I'm currently working through the tasks to do PhD applications.
To see an archive of the songs I have previously added, see here:- Gilmore Girls
- The Wheel of Time
- Interview with the Vampire
- Taskmaster