miercuri, 22 iulie 2009

Jonathan Coulton - Code Monkey

A cool and funny song, a great AMV (Anime Music Video). Too bad I'll probably never get to see the anime, though... :(

Listen to Code Monkey on YouTube

Read more about Jonathan Coulton on Wikipedia.

duminică, 22 martie 2009

Andrea Echeverri - A eme o

Aterciopelados are one of my favourite Latin rock/pop bands, and Andrea Echeverri is obviously one of the main reasons. Her voice is playful and strong, and A eme o is a good example.

This song, taken off her "solo" album, is a love letter to her unborn child (she was pregnant when she composed most of the songs), an album of lullabies and happy rhythms, so different from her work with Aterciopelados and yet so familar.

Grab a pillow, hug it, and rock yourself to sleep...

sâmbătă, 14 martie 2009

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Unretrofied

The Mastodon post led me to their label, Relapse Records, and to the discovery of another cool band - The Dillinger Escape Plan. I'm not really an extremist, but I'm open to all kinds of music, as long as it got rhythm and reason; TDEP are labelled as metalcore, a fusion of heavy metal and hardcore punk (in other words, they're a niche within two other niches...)

Still, Unretrofied is quite different - it has electro influences and a psychedelic tone. That's perhaps why it's my favourite TDEP song - it's closer to my own "mix'em and match'em" approach to music.

Watch the video on the label's official YouTube channel.

Another cool (and a lot more punk) TDEP song is Milk Lizard.

Mastodon - Blood and Thunder

I finally put my emusic.com subscription to sleep for a while, after downloading about 500 or so songs. One of the best heavy metal bands I would probably never have listened to, if it weren't for the enthusiastic reviews on emusic, is Mastodon.

Leviathan, the album today's song is taken from, is a cool take on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Some might find it too calculated; I say it's perhaps the best example of "concept metal", in other words - metal rock for thinkers :)

Watch the zany Blood and Thunder video on YouTube.

Listen to more Mastodon on MySpace.

Katy Perry - Hot 'n Cold

Everybody knows Katy Perry, whose infamous I kissed a girl was on heavy radio rotation all summer (if you don't know her, hide yourself in shame and then read the article on Wikipedia). How the *** did I manage to miss Hot 'n Cold is beyond me; it must be the all-time most popular song on my blog, with no less than 44 million viewings.

Enough already, watch the funny video on YouTube.

Or, if you feel brave, watch the "elderly remix" parody of Perry's breakthrough single here.

joi, 12 martie 2009

Polarkreis 18 - Allein Allein

I saw this one on VH1, so Polarkreis 18, a German pop band from Dresden, are probably already famous. Still, Allein Allein is damn addictive, even if I have absolutely no idea what they say. Hopefully it's not an ode to garden dwarfs; and even if it was, it's worth listening to.

Watch Allein Allein on YouTube. Try to ignore the lead vocalist's looks, if you can :)

More songs on MySpace.

marți, 10 martie 2009

Giulia - Prinzi aripi

I saw this video on TV during the week-end and, whatever that means, I couldn't get the song out of my head all morning. So, after checking out my tasks for today, I decided to spend the remaining 10 minutes before the workday officially starts by sharing this obsession with the world :)

Giulia isn't really a pop star - she's too nice and lacks the cheekiness required. Still, she had a few radio hits, the latest being Rain, a duet with some guy from a boys band called Accept... err, no, that's a Romanian gay rights organization. I think the band's name is Akcent.

Cutting to the chase, watch Prinzi aripi on YouTube.

luni, 9 martie 2009

Happy Mondays - Jellybean

It's Monday, so Happy Mondays are the perfect band to blog about. They're British, noisy, and extremely eclectic (a mixture of rock, house, funk, pop,and world music). I'm not really a fan, but Stinkin Thinking makes me smile.

Today's song is a bit more experimental, though - don't say I didn't warn you :)

Watch Jellybean in concert here.

More songs on MySpace.

vineri, 6 martie 2009

Parikrama - But it rained

If you didn't know it yet, India is huge. I should write HUGE - it's the 7th largest country in the world (roughly 14 times the size of Romania) and has the 2nd largest population (about 1 billion 200 million people).

Yet, how many Indian rock bands can you name?

This question popped in my head today, while I was chatting with the lead designer of EA Mobile's Hyderabad team. I thus went on searching - and, thanks to Wikipedia, I can now say that there are some ass-kicking bands there.

Parikrama are somewhat of an anomaly - a band founded in 1991 that didn't release a single album yet, who are happily giving their music away for free, and living off gigs.

Their web site is funny, chaotic, sincere and filled to the brim with content. I had to dig a while before finding what I think is their best song yet - But it rained. Download the video (5.2 MB) or just the music

For more songs, also visit their MySpace page.

joi, 5 martie 2009

Inugami Circus-Dan - Sen'nou

Today's video will probably reinforce the overall preconception that Japanese people are weird. After all, Inugami Circus-Dan is a gang of crazy-looking, uniform-wearing guys led by a Rubensian-shaped geisha with a horror make-up. And the drummer has long, pointy horns. And they drink their sugar with coffee !

Still, if you read the lyrics (this video is fansubbed in English) you'll find out that the apparent madness makes sense and the playful outside is just a mask for some disturbing philosophical questions.  Still, you can enjoy Sen'nou (Brainwashing) even without looking for subtleties, so watch it and have fun.

If you care, there's a lot to read about them on Wikipedia.

If you just want more music, try Honto Ni Honto Ni Gokuro-San, it's funny enough even without subtitles.

miercuri, 4 martie 2009

Myslovitz - Sound of Solitude

The best Polish band you probably never heard (although they were actually aired on MTV Romania a few years ago), Myslovitz are still trying to become famous, after 14 years and 7 studio albums. The biggest pebbles in their road are probably their overly melancholic (bordering on the depressive...) tunes; I like them, but they're not for everybody.

The fittingly titled Sound of Solitude won't make anyone reach for a razor blade, though - there's a strong positive vibe and self-assurance in both lyrics and rhythm that made me put it on repeat mode. Maybe you will, too - watch the video here.

A LOT more about them can be found on Wikipedia

La Quinta Estacion - El Sol No Regresa

An unexpected rags-to-riches story, La Quinta Estacion's rise to fame is (once again) proof of the star-making power of television.

The band was formed in Madrid in 2001; they failed to get a publishing contract there and got signed by Sony Music Mexico. They struggled to make ends meet for a few months, until one of their songs, ?Donde Iran? (Where will they go?) was chosen as a theme song for a major Mexican telenovela.  Jackpot! 

Today's song, El Sol Ne Regresa, was the first single from the band's second album. I was won over by the video's simple but effective idea - I won't tell you which is, you can see for yourselves.

More recommendations: Algo Mas and Me Muero.

If you're not really convinced yet, you might want to know they won the Latin Grammy Best Pop Album in 2006 and 2007, and also MTV Latinoamerica's Best New Artist - Mexico.

marți, 3 martie 2009

Duman - Bu Aksam

I've already described my clash with Turkish rock in the Mor Ve Otesi post; I believe I mentioned Duman and their defining song, Bu Aksam.

But Duman are just THAT good, they deserve their own song-a-day. Thus, if you haven't watched it before, watch Bu Aksam on YouTube.

Their music is a mix of grunge rock and turkish folk. If you liked Bu Aksam (meaning something like "Tonight" or "This night") you could do worse than listen to Aman Aman, Herseyi Yak or Koprualti

To find out more about them, browse a fan site, www.dumanband.com - the official one is under construction right now, as they're going to release a new album in April.

luni, 2 martie 2009

Aaron Neville - Yellow Moon

There's a Romanian tradition called "martisor" - every year on the 1st of March, boys offer girls a small token of appreciation, a lucky charm tied up with a red/white string. Being the cheap bastard I am, I decided to get out of the hook easily by sending an e-mail "martisor" - a top 5 of the best male vocalists of 2008.

Being also very busy, I decided to simply go for Neon Limelight's excellent choices: Jon McLaughlin, David Cook, David Archuleta, Ne-Yo and Gavin DeGraw are not just young and good-looking, but also have good voices. Check'em out if their names ring no bell for you; my favourite song from their list is Cook's Heroes.

You sort of can see where I'm headed, can you?

Well, Aaron Neville has, IMHO, the best R&B voice you never heard. His best known song is a Grammy-winning track from 1989, a duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Don't know much". The sound quality is good, but the video... well, it hasn't aged well.

So I had to look elsewhere for a better video. I found it on Aaron's official web page, www.aaronneville.com - and because it's Flash based, I'll have to ask you to work a bit and reach Yellow Moon by yourselves. It's in the Photo/Video section. (hint: turn off the music player first, it starts automatically and doesn't stop when the video is played)

Enjoy!

vineri, 27 februarie 2009

Down - Temptation's Wings

Last weekend I had an interesting conversation about supergroups. You know, those bands born by locking together famous people in the same room?

Thing is, I never actually liked any kind of supergroup (no, not even Cream). I wanted to like Audioslave (because I listened to Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun about a million times), tried Velvet Revolver (Fall to Pieces was OK, I guess), and, well, that's about it.

Until now.

One of the names mentioned in that conversation was Down. "System of a Down?" I asked, horrified. "No, just Down. Google it up!"

And I did. Watch Down - Temptation's Wings on YouTube. It rocks, which is normal - they're a metal supergroup gathered around the former Pantera frontman - read more here.

I also liked On March The Saints, Down's latest video.

What other supergroups do you crave?

joi, 26 februarie 2009

Miguel y Bimba Bose - Como un lobo

I found this video by exploring the Spanish national music awards aka Premios de la Musica;  it was one of the three finalists of the best video category. You already saw one of the other three - Calamaro's 5 minutos mas (here).

Miguel Bose is a Latin superstar that nobody knows in Romania, even if he won a Latin Grammy for Best Male Pop Performance in 2002. His chameleonic career spans three decades; his albums's sounds changed from romantic pop to disco to electronica, while he was keeping a consistent, while extravagant, sharp fashion style.

Watch the Latin Grammy winner for Best Video - Como un lobo, a duet with his niece, Bimba Bose.

If you like it, try another duet from his Papito album - Nena, with Paulina Rubio.

More about him on Wikipedia. (with family friends like Hemingway and Picasso, it's only natural he grew up to become a star...)

miercuri, 25 februarie 2009

Zemfira - Romashki

A Russian rock superstar, Zemfira is practically unknown in Romania (actually, most Russian music is... our airwaves are oversaturated with American / UK music).

The term "rock" is used here rather as a decoy - she's extremely eclectic and her sounds range from indie rock to electropop to latin to blues. She has a style all her own, though, which you'll recognize after listening to a larger sample of her work.

Watch Romashki (Daisies) in concert.

Read more about her on Wikipedia.

If you like her, try Iskala (Looking for you), PMML (Forgive me my love) or Hochesh (Do you want it?)

luni, 23 februarie 2009

Noir Desir - Tostaky

Noir Desir was one of the most popular French rock bands of the '90s. I first listened to them in 1993, on a scratched vinyl borrowed from the Institut Francais; the song was Aux sombres heros de l'amer, the album was Veuillez rendre l'ame (a qui elle appartient)

They were so different from the usual rock'n roll / pop / punk brews of the era that I couldn't end but charmed. I listened to all their releases, and IMHO their best period is 1989-1992,when they released Tostaky.

Watch Noir Desir - Tostaky on YouTube.

After Tostaky, they slowed down, releasing albums in 1996 (666667 Club) - and 2001 (Des visages des figures)  before stopping to a complete halt in the shocking wreck of 2003.

What happened then? Bertrand Cantat, the frontman, killed his wife, the actress Marie Trintignant. He spent 4 years in prison in-between 2003 and 2007, when the band was practically in a coma.

They're now awake, though - go and get Gagnants-Perdants et Le temps des cerises (the original song was written in 1866!) from www.noirdez.com.

Read more about them on Wikipedia.

vineri, 20 februarie 2009

Magica - Bittersweet Nightshade

I always had a soft spot for rock/power pop divas - Deborah Harry, Annie Lennox, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Bonnie Raitt, The Bangles, Marie Fredriksson and many more. That's why I wasn't surprised to discover I also liked metal bands fronted by female vocalists (obviously, Nightwish, but also Inugami Circus-Dan or Lacuna Coil)

Magica is a Romanian symphonic metal band fronted by Ana Mladinovici; they've survived for quite a long time (founded in 2002) and issued 4 albums so far (I only own one - their first two albums were already out of print when I first heard them, and I've yet to buy their 2008 album).

Bittersweet Nightshade is their first video; raw and a bit messy, but sincere and powerful. Watch it on YouTube.

To learn more about them, visit www.magicaband.com

joi, 19 februarie 2009

Tomer Yosef - Don't Fly Far From Me

Actually, my favourite song of his is Little Man, but there's no video of it, except this crazy Super Smash Brothers FMV  which keeps the game's explosions on top of the music, so I had to go for another tune.

Don't Fly Far From Me is a quirky mix of reggae, hip-hop, Balkan sounds and, obviously, Jewish folk traditions (he's from Israel). It shouldn't work, but it does. Watch the video on YouTube

Then go to Yosef's MySpace page and listen to the whole playlist. It'll take the wet winter out of you :)

miercuri, 18 februarie 2009

Sharon den Adel - In and Out of Love

This has to be the most popular song I've posted yet - over 13 million views. It might contradict a bit the purpose of this blog, which is to share weird, cool and relatively unknown music; still, Sharon den Adel was unknown to me until I've listened to this song, and if you know her, well, you're more knowledgeable than me :)

What made the video so popular is, without a doubt, the composer - it's an Armin Van Burren tune. The guy was voted the best DJ in the world in 2007 and 2008, and it's easy to hear why.

Watch In and Out of Love on YouTube.

If you like Sharon's voice, you should listen to her "other" ego - she's also the frontwoman for Within Temptation, a Dutch symphonic metal band; their coolest song is, IMHO, What Have You Done.

marți, 17 februarie 2009

Kanjani 8 - Wahaha

I feel cheerful for absolutely no reason at all today, and I feel I have to spread the joy.

Welcome Kanjani 8, a Japanese boy band, and their quirky and infectiously happy song, Wahaha (I have a feeling it's not the real name, but it fits).

The video has subtitles, but I think the translator gave it a very personal flavor :) [quote: "A word of Go for it / Making you hard again / Waai" WTF???]

Enough, go watch the thing already. 

luni, 16 februarie 2009

Les Inconnus - C'est toi que je t'aime (vachement beaucoup)

The title gives it all up - C'est toi que je t'aime (vachement beaucoup) is a hilarious, brisk, irreverent and extremely well done take on French bands of the '80s. The band members are actually a well-known French stand-up comedy gang, Les Inconnus (The Unknown)

[If you don't know French, the title is "It's you the one which I love you (a bloody lot)"]

The lyrics are here (in French; no translation seems to be available; while looking for one, I found another post on them here)

If you want to hear what real old-school French punk sounds like, try Les Beruriers Noirs, Ludwig Von 88, La Souris Deglinguee, or Oberkampf

duminică, 15 februarie 2009

Raza - Amintire cu haiduci

One of my favourite dead and buried Bucharest underground rock bands, Raza started out with a bang - their first video was aired on most TV stations, they nailed about five concerts in quick succession, and everybody in the know was talking about them in the summer-autumn of 2006.

Still, as most other underground bands, they didn't go nowhere. George Patranoiu, the lead guitarist, left in october 2006. The rest of the band opened for Uriah Heep and played some concerts in 2007 before disappearing.

Amintire cu haiduci is a cover of a folk song by Valeriu Sterian; you can laugh all you want at the video's idea (common people fed up with their crappy jobs turn into Nightwish/Evanescence-styled rock stars), I find it touching and rather well-done for such a shoestring budget.

Watch Raza's version here.

[later edit] After Google-ing for a bit, it seems they put out two more videos, a weak and bizarre rendition of one of their initial songs, Abdul, and a "Rage Against The Machine plays world music" video who left me even more WTF?, called Old Fat Frog.

I'm also wondering whether they actually turned into Electric Fence, as the YouTube user profile might suggest, or that's just a side project of the vocalist. 

vineri, 13 februarie 2009

Miranda! - Prisionero

A quite controversial video from Miranda!,  a romantic electro/pop/dance act from Argentina, Prisionero tries (and fails...) to parodize everything from glamour rock bands to '80s excesses to visual kei. The sound is interesting, though, and I found myself humming the refrain long after the song ended.

After hunting for more, I had to admit that, under the bubblegum electropop facade, Miranda! hides some real artistry. Their tunes are very diverse and shaped in regular, sometimes gothic, towering structures - put Perfecta and Uno Los Dos next to each other and you wouldn't say it's the same band.

Watch Prisionero on YouTube.

Read more about them on Wikipedia.

joi, 12 februarie 2009

Perkele - I have a heart full of pride

I haven't seen many displays of patriotism in Romania lately. That's only normal - I can hardly remember a reason to be proud of my country.

It's a beautiful country - maybe, but the Bucharest I walk every day is ugly. The beach I was on last summer was creepy and filled to the brim with rough necks. The mountain I walked for a day was spoiled with picnic waste, and the forest stunk. 

We, Romanians, are very warm and welcoming people - maybe, but lately I tend to get surrounded by ill-breds, whether I'm on the street, in the tube or in the train. Oh, and let's not forget the media - it seems all the TV channels compete to show us only the worst - the killers, the thiefs, the junk.

Perkele are Swedish, and proud of it. They sing Oi! - a working class punk subgenre frequently and unjustly associated with racism. Their energy is contagious, and - here's the connection with my long-winded introduction - so is their patriotism. The verses are simple and even sometimes amusing, as in My home (official download from their own web page)

I fly our flag for our football team
And the place where I belong, where I got my home
We got our four seasons, we got our way of life
It's the way I want to live, until the day I die

I have a lot of memories of places where I have been
But I can't remember that anything is like home

Great islands and skerries, mighty forests and fields
Drinking beer in the summer nights and looking at the views
It's a part of my life, it's a part of my heart
You can't deprive this feeling without killing me

I have a heart full of pride is perhaps the most anthem-like of their songs, and it's the one that struck home to me. Sincere, no-nonsense words, that lift my spirits when all I can see around is ugliness.

I've got a heart full of pride, and you can never take the pride away from me.
That feeling makes me full of strenght,
It makes me want to live and fight for what I am...

Listen to more songs on MySpace.

miercuri, 11 februarie 2009

La Oreja De Van Gogh - La Playa

When I feel depressed, I listen to this song and it cheers me up. Amaia Montero's voice is soothing, velvety and joyful, and I've yet to find a bad song of hers.

As you might guess, the reason I first listened to La Oreja De Van Gogh was their quirky name, and I became a fan because of the heartwarming feeling their songs give me. La Playa is my favourite, with Cuidate and Rosas close behind. 

Watch La Playa on YouTube.

Listen more LOVG songs on MySpace.

Read more about the band on Wikipedia.

marți, 10 februarie 2009

Detektivbyran - E18

One of these days, air conditioning will kill me. For now, it just sent me home earlier from work. After a half an hour session of hot tea and cold sweat, my headache is still here, but I'm ignoring it. 

I'm not sure the Swedish electrofolk trio Detektivbyran is the best medicine, but I need to keep the rhythm - at least one post a day, EVERY day.

So here it is - watch E18, a simple DIY video for a simple tune. 

Listen to more songs on MySpace.

Grab a single from their latest album, Wurmland, from http://www.detektivbyran.net/karlekensallafarjor.mp3

luni, 9 februarie 2009

Andres Calamaro - 5 minutos mas

If you've read this blog before, you've probably already met Andres Calamaro. He was one of the friends singing alongside Jaime Urrutia - the post is here.

Still, Andres is such a good singer and composer he had to have his own post.

If the music was what made me watch 5 minutos mas in the beginning, the reason I watched it again and again was the splendid acting and the smart camera work; it's one of the best video clips I ever saw, period. Fernando Gil is terrific.

Watch this labour of love on YouTube.

Read more about Andres Calamaro on Wikipedia.

I own both La Lengua Popular and Dos son Multitud, so expect more recommendations soon.
[later edit: oh, well, listen to Los Chicos and Mi Gin Tonic already!]

Leningrad Cowboys and the Red Army Choir - Kalinka

Say what you will about the Red Army, but their Alexandrov Choir is probably the best on Earth.
No further proof is needed but this rendition of the most popular Russian song, Kalinka. I couldn't find the name of the soloist, but his voice is incredible, and the reason I had to find and watch the whole of Total Balalaika Show.

The "clowns" jumping to and fro are the Leningrad Cowboys, a Finnish band born from the imagination of the Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki. They rose to prominence after this concert, who took place in June 1993, in Helsinki. They sing mostly covers, and their original songs are a mix of polka rhythms, rock ballads, punk and Russian folklore.

Watch Kalinka on YouTube.

Read more about the Cowboys on Wikipedia.

Visit www.leningradcowboys.fi

Justice - Stress

Justice's Stress is somewhat of a fake reality TV show in Parisian suburbs. Extremely violent, it's a sort of exercise in fear the same way Natural Born Killers was. Will you be disgusted, enraged, or excited? I wonder whether the primitive, natural need for violence can be excised somehow, tamed down by civilization. Maybe not - after all, there's a significant market for ero-guro in Japan, which is IMHO one of the most civilized countries on Earth.

Justice are Christians, French and noisy. There's evidence for all three in the video.

Watch Stress on YouTube.

For a good laugh, watch the parody.

Read more about them on Wikipedia.

Listen more Justice tunes on MySpace.

sâmbătă, 7 februarie 2009

Gregory Lemarchal - De temps en temps

Gregory Lemarchal was a young man like the ones in my previous posts. Except that he wasn't at all like them, for he had a purpose in life. He knew he had to have one, because he always knew he will have little time to live.

His story has no happy-end; no cure was discovered for his disease, and he died at 24.

Still, he attained his purpose - he worked hard, won the Star Academy, released a platinum album and won the Breakthrough artist of the year in 2006.

Watch "De temps en temps" on YouTube.

Read more about him on Wikipedia.

Die Arzte - Junge

Another song about being young, clueless and bored. This time it's in German, and it's a bloody good song. That's not a metaphor - there's lots of blood, guts, gore and zombies in the video.

Die Arzte are known for their smart and funny videos, melodic punk and straight-to-the-target lyrics - this is no exception. It might look gruesome on the surface, but there are lots of neat little touches, like the obvious heartbreaking scene :) - and the syncronization with the lyrics is perfect. I have to thank the guy who took the time to do the translation - it adds a lot to the experience.

Watch the video on overstream.net

Read more about Die Arzte on Wikipedia.

Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet

If it's not obvious yet, I'll state it: I have very eclectic tastes in music and I rarely miss the ocasion to listen to something I haven't heard before.

The kid on the cover of Porcupine Tree's 2007 album is creepy. That didn't stop me from putting the CD in the drive and listen to the music. The kids in the Fear of a Blank Planet video are creepy, too. That shouldn't stop you from watching the video. And before you ask, it's progressive rock with a metal edge.

Just make sure you understand the lyrics. If you don't, and even if you do, read this book.

Find out more about the band on Wikipedia.

Jaime Urrutia, Bunbury, Calamaro y Loquillo - Donde estas ?

There's no magic to the ways I explore the net - like most of you,  I browse YouTube's related videos network, I listen to deezer.com, to pandora.com (well, I USED to, because right now Pandora is off-limits for anyone outside the US), I randomly click on MySpace friends lists...

That's how I first heard Jaime Urrutia's Donde estas?. Jaime is a classic rock'n roll vocalist and most of his songs have the vibe of the 50's; still, the arrangements are a bit more sophisticated, more in-tune with today's multilayered compositions.

No information in English is available about him; www.jaimeurrutia.com is entirely in Spanish, and there's no Wikipedia entry (except in, you guessed it, Spanish)

Hopefully, the nice video on YouTube will make you look for more of his songs.

Jaime is the one opening the video; the next in the All-Stars setup is Andres Calamaro, a well-known Argentine musician who once played with Los Abuelos de la Nada; the giant with the Tintin look is Loquillo; finally, the guy with the dark sunshades is Enrique Bunbury, the former vocalist of Heroes del Silencio.

If you want more, here's Castillos en el aire, a lighthearted stroll through sunny Spain. Damn, the summer is so far away...

vineri, 6 februarie 2009

Julieta Venegas - Andar Conmigo

There's a huge distance from Julieta Venegas' earlier melancholic alt rock of Aqui and Bueninvento and 2003's  Si, where this gem of a song can be found. Julieta's voice is still as remarkable as ever, but she revealed a joie de vivre that borders the infectious.

Needless to say, I love her a lot and I own all of her albums. She's not pop diva material as Kylie or Shania, but I can't stop smiling when listening to her songs.

Andar Conmigo is perhaps the most mainstream song of this album, but Lento and Algo Esta Cambiando are both great tracks.

Watch the cool video on YouTube.

In the five years since Andar Conmigo, Julieta has released three more albums and gathered a truckload of MTV and Latin Grammy awards , including Best Pop Artist in 2007 and Best Alternative Album in 2008. Read more on Wikipedia and listen more songs on her MySpace page.

Yoshida Brothers - Rising

Low quality video, but even so you can say at a glance that these guys know their tools. 

In this case, their shamisen. I first listened to this instrument via Kitaro, 15 or so years ago; it felt a bit rigid and pretentious. Yoshida Brothers' sound is anything but.

Enjoy Rising, then go over at www.yoshidabrothers.com to listen to the rest of their Best Of.

Soft Machine - Pop2

I'm not used to psychedelic / progressive rock, so getting a link towards a Soft Machine song was, at first, a bit unsettling. Yet, it grew on me and I started to listen to more of their music - but I need to warn you this isn't as easily digested as some of my other proposals.

Oh, and this is the best Pop2 video I could find - still, the song is cut suddenly. If anybody has a better version, please shout.

Read about the tormented history of the band on Wikipedia.

Dusty Kid - Kore

I can't remember who sent me this track, but I thank him/her again here - I liked it.

After failing to find a proper video for it, I ended up using the one from Dusty Kid's own MySpace page. It's a messy shakycam product; my apologies for the lack of quality.

Watch it on MySpace Videos.

Still, the music is fantastic. I don't normally listen to techno, but this track has a hypnotic quality to it I just couldn't resist. 

Listen to the Kid's other songs on his MySpace page. Looks like he travels a lot. Lucky bastard...

Emily Loizeau - Je Suis Jalouse

I like French music. I listened to a lot of obscure chansons during my college years, when my Institut Francais card allowed me to borrow not just books, but also music. As the goal of this blog is to share relatively unknown music to the world, I won't bother you with some of my favourites: everybody knows about Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Dalida, Patricia Kaas or Mylene Farmer

Emily Loizeau is far from being as well known as these idoles - she's sympa, a bit shy, but conveniently both quirky and determined.

Watch her video on YouTube.

You might also like "L'autre Bout Du Monde".

Browse her site at www.emilyloizeau.net

Beirut - Nantes

This is one of the songs I discovered thanks to "A song a day" being originally a mail-based project: some of my colleagues at EA Romania replied with their own discoveries. You know what they say about Christmas : it's great to give, and even better to receive...

There are several versions of this song on YouTube, but this video is my favourite. A simple tune, a simple DIY video, and yet a powerful effect (on me, at least. Other people say it turns them asleep.)

Beirut - Nantes

Read about Zach and the boys on Wikipedia.

Oh, and browse their site: www.beirutband.com

Mor Ve Otesi - Cambaz

I didn't knew much about Turkish rock before 2003. That's when I spent a few summer days there, and, thanks to a rebellious young receptionist who played Duman's Bu Aksam at least twice a day, raising the hotel's sound systems' volume to the max, I left Turkey carrying two CDs with me: the aforementioned Duman's second LP, Belki Alisman Lazim, and Teoman's Red Album (whose best song is, IMHO, Resimdeki Gozyaslari - little did I know at the time that it's written by the Anatolian rock's godfather, Cem Karaca).

To make a long story short, I was simply dazzled and, over the years, I knew I had to find out more about the Turkish rock scene. (remember, that was before Fatih Akin's Crossing the Bridge came out - it's a great documentary on Istanbul's music, watch it if you can)

Mor Ve Otesi's performance at last year's Eurovision was interesting - but their signature song is, without a doubt, Cambaz, from their 2004's masterpiece, Dunya Yalan Soyluyor. Unfortunately, their newer efforts failed to reach the same heights.

Watch Cambaz on YouTube.

Read more about the band on Wikipedia.

Listen to more songs on MySpace.

Superbus - Lola

The reason why I can remember exactly when I listened to Superbus for the first time is that the whole damn week I couldn't get the damn choir out of my damn head:

Allo Lola
Comme un garçon
J'ai le coeur qui fait boum
et les cheveux longs
Allo Lola
Comme un garçon
C'est la première fois pour moi
que tes yeux me font
Boum (boum, boum... ad infinitum)

For the ones who don't understand French, here's the translation:

Hello Lola
Like a boy
I have a booming heart
and long hair (yeah, I'm not sure what it means either)
Hello Lola
Like a boy
It's my first time
that your eyes make me
Boom (boom boom... a million times)

Now, get infected on YouTube.

If you want more, watch Radio Song

Read all about Superbus on Wikipedia.

Listen to more songs on MySpace.

X-Japan - Kurenai

My favorite Japanese rockers, X-Japan are noisy, melodic, punkish and androgynous. Their peak was, no doubt about this, the 25-minute Art Of Life - a subtitled version in four parts is available on YouTube.

But today's song is shorter, rougher, and arguably more popular. A signature blend of speed and progressive metal, Kurenai rulez.

Watch the original video on YouTube.

If you want more, I recommend watching the whole of the Last Live (the 1997 farewell concert at Budokan). Here's Kurenai played during that set.

Find out more about Japan's quintessential rock band on Wikipedia.

Ximena Sarinana - Volare

Ximena is a Mexican girl I first met when watching a chick flix with lots of gratuitous teenage nudity - Ninas Mal. It's kind of a "feel good" movie filled to the brim with deja-vu sequences, but somehow, after it ended, I didn't feel cheated of two hours of my life.

She sang a cute song in that movie, and I guess that's what sparkled my interest in her. A few Google searches later, I was already a fan.

Today's song is a reprise of Volare - it's simultaneously pompous and cute. Those large glasses make her seem even younger than she was.

Listen to it on YouTube.

Learn more about her on Wikipedia.

Listen to her newer music on MySpace.

Archive

One of the reasons why I decided to put my modest A Song A Day collection online was that people kept asking for previously presented songs. I needed a way to archive everything.

Thus, I'll start by posting the archive songs first. Hopefully, it won't take that long...

Why "A song a day" ?

One of my favorite pastimes is discovering new and interesting music from all over the world.
It's not that I get bored easily - I still listen to The Beatles, after all - but I enjoy being challenged by new sounds and new rhythms.

As I'm not a selfish person, I started sharing my discoveries - at first, with some of my office fellows (I'm a game designer, and I work in the Romanian studio of the mobile branch of the big bad wolf of the industry, Electronic Arts). About 100 songs later, someone gave me the idea to start blogging - and get a bigger audience. I'm a shy guy, and not sure I NEED a bigger audience, but eventually I gave up.

So, here it is - a blog written in English by a Romanian guy, mercilessly hammering your ears with a new song every day.