Et vive la Belgique…

GUIDE ROUTARD

La Belgique

Nom féminin. Pays européen peuplé de Belges. La Belgique est voisine de la France, de la Hollande, de l'Allemagne et du Luxembourg. Elle est bordée par la mer du Nord (pas de chance !).

Géographie

La Belgique est un pays à peu près plat de 30.000 km2 dont 20.000 km2 de champs de pommes de terre. Le reste est principalement recouvert d'autoroutes qui sont éclairées la nuit quand personne ne roule, ce qui fait la fierté du pays.

Climat

Il pleut en hiver et il pleut le reste du temps.

Population

La Belgique est peuplée d'environ 10 millions d'habitants. Une petite partie d'entre eux sont Belges. Les autres sont Flamands,Wallons, Bruxellois ou autres.

Langues

Le néerlandais - La majorité de la population parle une langue gitane, mélange de ce qu'il y a de pire en allemand et en anglais. On appelle cela le néerlandais. Cette langue est aussi celle qui est parlée par les nomades qui en été se déplacent en caravane sur les routes de France. Certains prétendent que les ancêtres des néerlandophones étaient des Hollandais qui sont tombés en panne sur la route de leurs vacances dans le Sud.

Le français - Pire, les autres prétendent parler le français. Outre le fait qu'ils ont souvent un accent étrange et rural, ils emploient des mots et des expressions comme: "septante", "nonante", "midi quart", "tantôt","gosette","houit (7+1)" .

Religion

Les Flamands et les Ardennais sont catholiques et obsédés sexuels; les Wallons sont socialistes et obsédés sexuels ; les Bruxellois sont musulmans et obsédés sexuels.

Agriculture

La culture principale est la pomme de terre. Les élevages principaux sont des élevages de poulets à la dioxine.

Industrie

Les principales industries sont la traite des blanches, la congélation des frites, les fabriques de mayonnaise et de chocolat et surtout les brasseries (la Belgique est le seul pays qui compte autant de brasseries que d'habitants).

Exportations

La Belgique exporte des poulets, de la bière et du chocolat.

Importations

Les belges importent de la dioxine, du fromage hollandais et du vin français.

Gastronomie

Le repas typique belge est compose d'un kilo de frites, d'un kilo de mayonnaise et d'un litre de bière. C'est une alimentation qui peutêtre variée puisqu'il existe des centaines de bières différentes. Les belges sont réputés pour leurs chocolats gras et lourds dont ils gardent la recette secrète.. Cependant, il est vraisemblable qu'il yait de la mayonnaise dans ces chocolats.

Politique

La Belgique est une monarchie constitutionnelle. Le Roi n'a pratiquement pas de pouvoir. Les ministres non plus. La Belgique comporte en effet une demi-douzaine de gouvernements, ce qui fait qu'aucune décision sérieuse n'est jamais prise. Cependant la Belgique est le siège de prestigieuses organizations internationales aussi dangereuses qu'inutiles comme l'OTAN ou laCommission de Bruxelles (appelée aussi la " grosse commission " ).

Histoire (résumé)

En 1830, les belges sont sortis des forêts ardennaises où ils vivaient cachés depuis des millénaires et ont mis les Hollandais dehors.

Tourisme

Les endroits à visiter en Belgique sont Anvers, Bruges,Bruxelles et es forêts ardennaises.

Anvers est connu pour son zoo. Les animaux peuvent y passer leur journée à regarder les visiteurs défiler. C'est le seul zoo au monde où on jette aux singes des frites plutôt que des cacahuètes. A Anvers, on peut également apercevoir des commerces spécialisés avec en vitrine des femmes de toutes les tailles et de tous les genres.

Bruges est célèbre dans le monde entier pour ses égouts à ciel ouvert.

Bruxelles est connue pour : la Grand Place (la plus petite Grand Place du monde); l'Atomium, qui représente une molécule de frite géante grossie 140 milliards de fois (ce monument n'est pas comestible); le Manneken Pis, une statue de gosse en train d'uriner en pleine rue ( par contre si vous essayez de faire la même chose, vous risquez d'avoir des ennuis avec la police).

Us et coutumes

Manger - Si les français aiment bien manger, les belges, eux,sont des goinfres. Ils avalent n'importe quoi, tant que c'est gras, lourd et indigeste. Là-bas, faites donc la même chose, sinon vous serez mal vu.

Tant pis pour la tourista.

Dire bonjour - En français, pas de problème. En néerlandais, il faut dire "couille molle" ou quelque chose dans le genre. Afin de préserver votre intégrité physique, veillez à ne jamais dire bonjour en français à un Flamand.

Faire la bise aux filles - Attention en faisant la bise à une belge. Il faut en faire une ou trois. Si vous essayez d'en faire 2 ou 4, vous passerez pour un obsédé sexuel. Avec un peu de malchance, elle risque deporter plainte pour agression. Faites comme moi dites 'Salut' ou à la rigueur "couille molle".

Faire la bise aux garçons - particularité belge : la bise entre garçons est obligatoire en Wallonie mais interdite en Flandre (et les Flamands ne rigolent pas avec ça; il semblerait qu'un parti néo-nazi flamand a récolté 24 % des voix lors des dernières élections en basant uniquement son programme sur la criminalisation de la bise entre garçons et l'usage de la langue française).

Vaccin

Il ne faut pas de vaccin pour voyager en Belgique. Prévoyez toutefois des médicaments pour traiter vos maux d'estomacs et vos indigestions.

Les belges les plus célèbres

Les belges les plus connus sont : Enzo Scifo, Marc Dutroux, Plastic Bertrand, Jacques Brel, Jean Claude Vandamme, Claude Barzotti, Eddy Merckx, Jacky Ickx, Benoît Poelvoorde, Georges Simenon et Hugo Claus.

Via e-mail

Possibly Maybe

B. asked me to post about The Queen... Well, when I think of the queen, I think of Björk...

Björk first came to prominence as one of the lead vocalists of the avant-pop Icelandic sextet The Sugarcubes, but when she launched a solo career after the group's 1992 demise, she quickly eclipsed her old band's popularity. Instead of following in The Sugarcubes' arty guitar rock pretensions, Björk immersed herself in dance and club culture, working with many of the biggest names in the genre, including Nellee Hooper, Underworld, and Tricky.

Freed from The Sugarcubes' confines, Björk takes her voice and creativity to new heights in "Debut", her first solo work. With producer Nellee Hooper's help, she moves in an elegantly playful, dance-inspired direction, crafting highly individual, emotional electronic pop songs like the shivery, idealistic "One Day" and the bittersweet "Violently Happy". Despite the album's swift stylistic shifts, each of the tracks are distinctively Björk. "Human Behaviour"'s dramatic percussion provides a perfect showcase for her wide-ranging voice; "Aeroplane" casts her as a yearning lover against a lush, exotica-inspired backdrop; and the spare, poignant "Anchor Song" uses just her voice and a brass section to capture the loneliness of the sea. Björk's playful energy ignites dance-pop-like "Big Time Sensuality", and turns the genre on its head with "There's More To Life Than This". Recorded live at one bar toilets, it captures the dancefloor's sweaty, claustrophobic groove, but her impish voice gives it an almost alien feel. But the album's romantic moments may be its most striking: "Venus As A Boy" fairly swoons with twinkly vibes and lush strings, and Björk's vocals and lyrics ("His wicked sense of humor/suggests exciting sex") are sweet and just the slightest bit naughty. With harpist Corki Hale, she completely reinvents "Like Someone In Love", making it one of her own ballads.

"Debut" not only announced Björk's remarkable talent, it suggested she had even more to offer. After this success, the pressure was on her to surpass the album's creative, tantalizing electronic pop. She more than delivered with 1995's "Post"; from the menacing, industrial-tinged opener "Army Of Me", it's clear that this album is not simply "Debut" redux. The songs (especially the epic, modern fairy tale "Isobel"), production, and arrangements all aim for, and accomplish, more. "Post" also features producer Nellee Hooper, who help Björk incorporate spectrum of electronic and orchestral styles into songs like "Hyperballad", which sounds like a love song penned by Aphex Twin. Meanwhile, the bristling beats on the volatile, sensual "Enjoy" and the fragile, weightless ballad "Possibly Maybe" nod to trip-hop without being overwhelmed by it. As on "Debut", Björk finds new ways of expressing timeworn emotions like love, lust, and yearning in abstractly precise lyrics like "Since you went away/I'm wearing lipstick again/I suck my tongue in remembrance of you", from "Possibly Maybe". But "Post"'s emotional peaks and valleys are more extreme than "Debut"'s. "I Miss You"'s exuberance is so animated, it makes perfect sense that John Kricfalusi directed the song's video. Likewise, "It's Oh So Quiet" is so cartoonishly vibrant, it could have been arranged by Warner Bros. musical director, Carl Stalling. Yet, Björk sounds equally comfortable with an understated strings section on "You've Been Flirting Again". "Headphones" ends the album on an experimental, hypnotic note, layering Björk's vocals over and over till they circle each other atop a bubbling, minimal beat. The work of a constantly changing artist, "Post" proves that as Björk moves toward more ambitious, complex music, she always surpasses herself.

By the late '90s, Björk's playful, unique world view and singular voice became as confining as they were defining. With its surprising starkness and darkness, 1997's "Homogenic" shatters her Icelandic pixie image. Possibly inspired by her failed relationship with drum'n'bass kingpin Goldie, Björk sheds her more precious aspects, displaying more emotional depth than even her best previous work indicated. Her collaborators help make this album not only her emotionally bravest work, but her most sonically adventurous as well. A seamless fusion of chilly strings, stuttering, abstract beats, and unique touches like accordion and glass harmonica, "Homogenic" alternates between dark, uncompromising songs such as the icy opener "Hunter" and more soothing fare like the gently percolating "All Neon Like." The noisy, four-on-the-floor catharsis of "Pluto" and the raw vocals and abstract beats of "5 Years" and "Immature" reveal surprising amounts of anger, pain, and strength in the face of heartache. "I dare you to take me on," Björk challenges her lover in "5 Years," and wonders on "Immature," "How could I be so immature/To think he would replace/The missing elements in me?" "Bachelorette," a sweeping, brooding cousin to "Post"'s "Isobel," is possibly "Homogenic"'s saddest, most beautiful moment, giving filmic grandeur to a stormy relationship. Björk lets a little hope shine through on "Jòga," a moving song dedicated to her homeland and her best friend, and the reassuring finale, "All Is Full of Love." "Alarm Call"'s uplifting dance-pop seems out of place with the rest of the album, but as its title implies, "Homogenic" is her most holistic work. While it might not represent every side of Björk's music, "Homogenic" displays some of her most impressive heights.

In the spring of 2000, she was named Best Actress by jurors at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in Lars von Trier's Palme d'Or-winning "Dancer in the Dark". "Selmasongs", her score for the film, reunited Björk with her "Homogenic" collaborator Mark Bell and arrived in the fall of 2000. The full-length follow-up, "Vespertine", was released one year later. She released a "Greatest Hits" collection and the "Family Tree" box set late in 2002. After performing a few dates in 2003, Björk geared up for a busy 2004, which included the release of her all-vocals and vocal samples-based album "Medúlla" and a performance of one of its songs, "Oceania," at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The soundtrack to "Drawing Restraint 9", a film by multimedia artist Matthew Barney, arrived in 2005 and also featured contributions from Will Oldham.

Definitely maybe...

I spent the day wondering what could be the next step after posting about The Beatles... I considered several different approaches and decided to make the obvious move...

Oasis shot from obscurity to stardom in 1994, becoming one of Britain's most popular and critically acclaimed bands of the last decade; along with Blur and Suede, they are responsible for returning British guitar pop to the top of the charts.

Led by guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher, the Manchester quintet adopts the rough, thuggish image of The Rolling Stones and The Who and crosses it with melodies and hooks of The Beatles, distinctly British lyrical themes and song structures like The Jam and The Kinks, and ties it all together with a massive, loud guitar roar, as well as a defiant sneer that draws equally from The Sex Pistols' rebelliousness and The Stone Roses' arrogance.

Gallagher's songs frequently rework previous hits from T. Rex ("Cigarettes and Alcohol" borrows the riff from "Bang a Gong") to Wham! ("Fade Away" takes the melody from "Freedom"), yet the group always puts the hooks in different settings, updating past hits for a new era.

The group first album, "Definitely Maybe", became the fastest-selling debut in British history, entering the charts at number one. The main reason for this achievement is that it manages to encapsulate much of the best of British rock & roll in the space of 11 songs. Oasis' sound is louder and more guitar-oriented than any British band since The Sex Pistols, and the band is blessed with the excellent songwriting of Noel Gallagher. Gallagher writes perfect pop songs, offering a platform for his brother Liam's brash, snarling vocals. Not only does the band have melodies, but they have the capability to work a groove with more dexterity than most post-punk groups.

But what makes "Definitely Maybe" so intoxicating is that it already resembles a greatest-hits album! From the swirling rush of "Rock'n'Roll Star", through the sinewy "Shakermaker", to the heartbreaking "Live Forever", each song sounds like an instant classic!

This trend would be kept over the course of 1996, when "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" became the second-biggest British album in history, as Oasis became international phenomenon. With this album, Oasis turns in a relatively introspective record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers. Unlike their first record, the production of this album is varied enough to handle strings, keyboards and harmonica.

Gallagher may be guilty of some borrowing, or even plagiarism, but he uses the familiar riffs as building blocks. This is where is genius lies: he's a thief and doesn't have many original thoughts, but as a pop/rock melodicist he's pretty much without peer. Likewise, as musicians, Oasis are hardly innovators, yet they have a majestic grandeur in their sound that makes ballads like "Wonderwall" or rockers like "Some Might Say" positively transcendent.

Where their first two albums were quickly recorded, they took several months to record the third, finally completinmg it in the spring of 1997. "Be Here Now" is a bright, bold, colourful tour de force that simply steamrolls over any criticism. The key to Oasis' sound is its inevitability, and that self-possessed confidence makes this album intensely enjoyable, even though it offers no real songwriting breakthroughs.

Noel Gallagher remains a remarkably talented synthesist, bringing together disparate strands to create impossibly catchy songs that sound fresh, no matter how many older songs he references. "The Girld in the Dirty Shirt" is irresistible pop, and epics like "Magic Pie" and "All Around The World" simply soar, while the rockers "My Big Mouth", "It's Getting Better (Man!!)" and "Be Here Now" attack with a bone-crunching force.

The sprawling sound and huge melodic hooks would be enough to make this album a winner, but Liam Gallagher's vocals give the album emotional resonance. Singing better than ever, Liam injects venom into the rockers, but he also delivers the nakedly emotional lyrics of "Don't Go Away" with affecting vulnerability. That combination of violence and sensitivity gives Oasis an emotional core and makes this a triumphant album.

Not long afterward, typical infighting unraveled the band's tour, and the group disappeared from the spotlight for a time... Enough time for too many changes to happen and for me to stop following their career...

White Album, Black Bird

Posting about The Beatles isn't certainly the easiest thing to do... I hesitated a lot, but decided to give it a try... I apologize in advance for being unfair, inaccurate or too basic... But when you post about music, you cannot avoid, sooner or later, talking about them...

So much has been said and written about The Beatles - and their story is so mythic in its sweep - that it's difficult to summarize their career without restating cliches that have already been digested by tens of millions of rock fans. To start with the obvious, one could say that they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. Moreover, they were among the few artists of any discipline that were simultaneously the best at what they did and the most popular at what they did.

Relentlessly imaginative and experimental, The Beatles grabbed a hold of the international mass consciousness in 1964 and never let go for the next six years, always staying ahead of the pack in terms of creativity but never losing their ability to communicate their increasingly sophisticated ideas to a mass audience. Their supremacy as rock icons remains unchallenged to this day, decades after their breakup in 1970.

During those six years, The Beatles launched several magnificent albums: "A Hard Day's Night", "Beatles for Sale", "Help!", "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour"... Each of them deserve more than one post, but I don't intend to dedicate this Blog to The Beatles.

Let me, however, tell you about the album commonly known as "The White Album" (1968).

Each song on this sprawling double album is an entity to itself, as the band touches on anything and everything it can. Depending on your view, this can make it a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, but what makes it interesting is precisely its mess! Never before had a rock record been so self-reflective, or so ironic... The Beach Boys' "Back in the USSR" and the British blooze parody "Yer Blues" are delivered straight-faced, so it's never clear if these are affectionate tributes or wicked satires.

Lennon turns in two of his best ballads with "Dear Prudence" and "Julia"; scours the Abbey Road vaults for the "musique concrete" collage "Revolution 9"; pours on the schmaltz for Ringo's closing number, "Good Night"; celebrates The Beatles cult with "Glass Onion"; and, with "Cry Baby Cry" rivals Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd).

McCartney doesn't reach quite as far, yet his songs are stunning - the music hall romp "Honey Pie", the mock country of "Rocky Raccoon", the ska-inflected "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", and the proto-metal roar of "Helter Skelter".

Clearly, The Beatles' two main songwriting forces were no longer on the same page, but neither were George and Ringo. Harrison still had just two songs per LP, but it's clear from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", the canned soul of "Savoy Truffle", the haunting "Long, Long, Long", and even the silly "Piggies" that he had developed into a songwriter who deserved wider exposure. And Ringo turns in a delight with his first original, the lumbering country-carnival stomp "Don't Pass Me By".

None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, but somehow it creates its own style and sound through its mess.

Though "The White Album" is full of innovative production techniques and sound textures, a number of the songs had arrangements that were among the most basic and folky The Beatles recorded. One of those, and one of the strongest Paul McCartney-dominated compositions on the record, was "Blackbird". The track is centered around McCartney's acoustic guitar, with its constant up and down swoops. The melody is lovely while avoiding sentimentality, something McCartney could do with low-volume recordings with more skill than almost any other major rock songwriter. The lyrics, too, are among McCartney's stronger, expressing hope and optimism while avoiding happiness, encouraging a blackbird to take broken wings and fly.

"Blackbird" was sometimes interpreted as a metaphor used by McCartney in support of black civil rights, and perhaps the more militant black power movement; unfortunately it was also interpreted by Charles Manson as a prediction of uprisings by black people that would contribute to Armageddon, and Manson used that and other songs of "The White Album" as part of his rationalization for instigating the murders he masterminded...

McCartney was certainly proud of the song... and I think he had good reasons for being so!

10 days

Pedro is right: the last ten days have been quite hectic... But now he's in Portugal and I'm sure he's quite relaxed! I still have to wait one week to have the same feeling... But I will!

As Pedro said, since my last post many things happened. We've been in Italy, we had an important and very tiring meeting there, in Castellammare di Stabia, we visited the ruins of Pompeii and, a part of us, relaxed staring at the beautiful landscape of the Sorrento coast. Then, I also went to Vienna and came in the same day, back to the heavy work and the Brussels' grey sky. Next Tuesday, I will go to Budapest, for another event, and then, on Friday, to Lisbon, to my son's birthday.

Some of you may think that this frequent traveling is nice and funny. And, in a way, you're right! But this coin also has two faces... The other one, less evident and less exciting, is a bit darker: it's tiring, it's annoying and gives the strange feeling of not having a home...

I don't complain; like Pedro, I also like my job. It's just that sometimes I would like to have a place to call my own. And have the time and the motivation for taking care and sharing it with my friends.

Holy Trinity

9 days since the last post in this blog!

Why? Very simple: we not only share the same building, we also share the same job. And the last weeks have been quite hectic, with a couple of days of rest after a meeting abroad.

But I like my job! It is very much demanding, both for the work load as for the complexity and sensitivity of it. But I like it!

And one of the main reasons for that is that I'm working with friends. Good old friends for many years and nice news friends for some months.

Two of them, from each of these kinds, are quite special for me as, besides the friendship, we form what I believe is a good team, known by some as the management team, known by others as the Holy Trinity...

And I like this expression, not minding how it came up!

Because I feel we are a trinity. We respect, support and complement each other. We can be as critical and demanding towards each other as supportive and understanding.

And I think that Holy also applies, not because we are, but because that's how friendship must be!

No comment...

Marillion

Marillion emerged from the short-lived progressive rock revival of the early 80s to become one of the most enduring cult acts of the era. This English group, formed in 1979, adopted its original name (Silmarillion) from the title of a Tolkien novel.

Marillion issued their debut album, "Script for a Jester's Tear", in 1983. At the time, it was considered an odd bird... Replete with Peter Gabriel face paint and lengthy, technical compositions, Marillion ushered in a new generation of progressive rock that bound them forever to the heroics of early day Genesis. Intricate, complex, and theatrical almost to a fault, it remains the band's best and sets the bar for their later work.

They returned to the studio for 1984's "Fugazi", which streamlined the intricacies of the group's progressive rock leanings in favor of a more straight-ahead hard rock identity. In my opinion, the refinements didn't pay off, although songs like "Assassin" and "Punch and Judy" became hits in many countries in Europe.

With 1985's "Misplaced Childhood", however, Marillion earned their greatest success. Armed with a handful of lyrics born out of a self-confessed acid trip, the vocalist Fish came up with an elaborate concept touching upon his early childhood experiences and his inability to deal with a slew of bad breakups exacerbated by a never-ending series of rock star-type indulgencies. "Misplaced Childhood" would prove to be not only the band's most accomplished release but also its most streamlined. Initial skepticism over the band's decision to forge ahead with a 70s-style progressive rock opus quickly evaporated as Marillion delivered its two most commercial singles ever: "Kayleigh" and "Lavender".

Then, the group began crumbling... Fish developed alcohol and drug problems, and egos ran rampant. After 1987's "Clutching at Straws", Fish left the band for a solo career. For me, as it happened with Genesis when Peter Gabriel left, the story of Marillion ends here. For others, the cult is still there. But the truth is there's better use for money than to buy Marillion's most recent albums...

Tom Traubert's Blues

Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did
I got what I paid for now
See you tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you?
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

I’m an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I’m tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything’s broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cabs parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open
And I’m down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmills I staggered, you buried the dagger
In your silhouette window light
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

Now I’ve lost my St. Christopher, now that I’ve kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the strip-tease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

No, I don’t want your sympathy, the fugitives say
That the streets aren’t for dreaming now
And manslaughter dragnets, and the ghosts that sell memories
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda’s the defendant, she killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You’ll go waltzing Matilda with me

And it’s a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen, flame keepers
And goodnight, Matilda, too

Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen

"By the way, I was glad to learn this weekend that you like good ole Tom Waits, reminded me to bring some of his CDs for late night working hours…"

Well, E., Tom Waits has actually been a long-time companion! I could spend hours talking about him and his music, but, as we don't have the time, I will focus on my favorite Tom Waits' song: "Tom Traubert's Blues".

I know, I know... This is probably the most popular Tom Waits' song, and I should have chosen another one. And I would surely do it, if the aim was to impress; but, the truth is that this is really my favorite Tom Waits' song!

What I can say on my defense is, however, that the popularity of "Tom Traubert's Blues" is due in the most part by Rod Stewart's vastly inferiors cover version. Well, here I'm talking about the real thing!

Tom Waits' original is heartbreakingly beautiful, containing some of his finest lyrics, especially in the croaking opening ("Wasted and wounded/'Taint what the moon did/Got what I paid for now...). The story, essentially a drunken tale, fits the gorgeous melody perfectly, and indeed the song is so evocative it's almost impossible for the listener not to be swept up in the story. Although the arrangement and the use of strings don't take any real risks, it embellishes the melody beautifully.

You can find this song in several records ("Used Songs", "Anthology of Tom Waits", and even in the "Basquiat" movie OST), but the original recording is from the 1976 album "Small Change". It isn't his best album, and like most of the albums he made in the 70s, it's uneven. But it is the most obvious and characteristic of his records: if you like it, you also will like the ones before and after; otherwise, you're not Tom Waits' kind of listener...

Kay

"Thought is real, physical is the illusion - On most good days I am full of such shit. I live with my head in the clouds and feet firmly on the ground. Due to conflicting atmospheric pressures, most of my days are spent in retarded stupidity or extreme brilliance. And when I get stupid, I write."

Kay also writes when she gets brilliant!

Wake Up Dead Man

Jesus, Jesus help me
I'm alone in this world
And a fucked-up world it is too.

Tell me, tell me the story
The one about eternity
And the way it's all gonna be.

Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man.

Jesus, I'm waiting here, boss
I know you're looking out for us
But maybe your hands aren't free.

Your Father, He made the world in seven
He's in charge of heaven.
Will you put a word in for me?

Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man.

Listen to the words they'll tell you what to do
Listen over the rhythm that's confusing you
Listen to the reed in the saxophone
Listen over the hum of the radio
Listen over the sound of blades in rotation
Listen through the traffic and circulation
Listen as hope and peace try to rhyme
Listen over marching bands playing out their time.

Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man.

Jesus, were you just around the corner?
Did you think to try and warn her?
Were you working on something new?
If there's an order in all of this disorder
Is it like a tape recorder?
Can we rewind it just once more?

Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man.
Wake up, wake up dead man.

Pop

Last time I posted about U2, I may have been a bit tough with "Pop". I may have given the impression that "Pop" is a minor work. Well, if you compare it with other U2 works, it is minor indeed. But this doesn't mean it is bad. Let's say it is medium...

In any way, no matter which way you look at it, "Pop" doesn't have the same shock of the new that "Achtung Baby" delivered on first listen. On the other hand, "Pop" is less experimental and more song-oriented than "Zooropa".

I mean, to a new listener, "Pop" has some flashes of surprise, but underneath the surface, U2 rely on anthem rockers and ballads. The first track, "Discotheque", might be a little clumsy, but "Staring at the Sun" shimmers with synthesizers. Similarly, "Do You Feel Loved" and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" fuse old-fashioned U2 dynamism with a keen sense of the cool eroticism that makes trip-hop so alluring.

"Pop" is inflected with the desire of a higher power to save the world from its jaded spiral of decay and immorality, which is why the group's embrace of dance music never seems joyous. "Achtung Baby" also was a comment on the numbing isolation of modern culture, but it made sweeping statements through personal observations; "Pop" makes sweeping statements through sweeping observations. This difference is what makes "Pop" a record hard to love...

But, at the end of the record, there is a wonderful track: "Wake up Dead Man". Reviews don't normally underline it, but I always found it the best song of the album. And a good reason to buy it... which I never did...

Welcome!

After hesitating for some time, Pablo has finally accepted the invitation to become a member of this community!

Pablo shares the same address and the same working place than me and Pedro. So, he was more than entitled to become a member!

Pablo will always have good stories to tell about his constant travels around the world. Unfortunately, he won't have much time to tell them.

Let's hope he can manage to do it as soon and as regularly as possible!

It's a beautiful day!

Our houses have huge windows in the living room turned East! This morning, when I get to the living room the sun innundated all the living room. The brightness and warmth were revigorating. What a nice Sunday!

Then, almost imediatelly, I realised we had a working meeting today. The lyrics "It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away" come to my mind. And staid there!

At least until I got home in the afternoon and was too tired to go out. I needed to sleep and to rest.

This was the best way to let it get away...

No worries!

No worries, Diogo!

That was not the reason. Mainly I needed to express some thoughts in portuguese, to post things not thinking if they fit or not just for being to trivial. And that's also the why of the name of the blog.

I see this as a place for us to share our experiences here. And that's, when coming in I expressed:
"A lot of our thoughts, hopes, frustrations, joys, related to this experience in Brussels will be witnessed by those walls and this window."

This means that some times it will be more nostalgic, sometimes more exhulting, other more stressed or relaxed. It is supposed to be like that... just because that's life!

Cada Lugar Teu

mesmo que a vida mude os nossos sentidos
e o mundo nos leve pra longe de nós
e que um dia o tempo pareça perdido
e tudo se desfaça num gesto só

eu vou guardar cada lugar teu
ancorado em cada lugar meu
e hoje apenas isso me faz acreditar
que eu vou chegar contigo
onde só chega quem não tem medo de naufragar

Restolho

mas é preciso morrer e nascer de novo
semear no pó e voltar a colher
há que ser trigo, depois ser restolho
há que penar para aprender a viver
e a vida não é existir sem mais nada
a vida não é dia sim, dia não
é feita em cada entrega alucinada
pra receber daquilo que aumenta o coração

Mafalda

I also have a sister, and her name is Mafalda. She's 21 and we are very close.

I haven't seen her for more than three months and I miss her. I am sure that she misses me too. Actually, some days ago, she must been missing me a lot, because she sent me a very sweet sms to let me know that she loves me very much... at 1.49 am...

Either she was drunk or she loves me truly!

Well, I and Mafalda have many things in common. At the end of the day, things in common are the ones which bring you close to other persons, and I think this is why I and Mafalda are so close. We have two other brothers and there would be many logical reasons for each one of us to feel closer to another one of them, but I guess it just didn't happen.

One of the things we share is the appreciation for another Mafalda: Mafalda Veiga, one Portuguese composer and singer.

I first heard about Mafalda Veiga in 1987, when, at the age of 21, she launched her first album, "Pássaros do Sul". This was a quiet unbalanced album, and I'm sure that the ones of you who remember this album do it basically because of the fact that many people have joked about the way Mafalda singed the single "Planície", after which lyrics the album was named. I tend to agree that this wasn't her best musical moment...

Many of you would have, however, to recognize that this album included also one of the most beautiful Portuguese pop songs of the late 80s: "Restolho". With this song, Mafalda showed very clearly what she would become some years after: a talented songwriter, able to compose beautiful melodies and write lyrics about those moments in life which many people identify them with. This song granted her the attention of many people who would never abandoned her ever after.

And she came a long way!

After two more albums ("Cantar" in 1988, and "Nada se Repete" in 1992), Mafalda entered a new era with her 1996 album "A Cor da Fogueira": a firmer voice, more intimate lyrics and passionate sonorities. "Tatuagem", launched in 1999, confirmed her maturity. The lyrics show now a deep attention to day-to-day small details, and the listeners cannot help to immediately establish a connection to them. At least, I can't!

Since then, Mafalda has launched a live album ("Mafalda Veiga Ao Vivo", 2000) and another original's ("Na Alma e na Pele", 2003), but "Tatuagem" is still my favorite. It has been my companion in many and different, yet important, moments of my recent life. And one can't ask much more from a music album, can we?

Is there more to that or am I supposed to guess?

Pedro has initiated a new Blog.

I guess he felt like having a space of his own and I cannot blame him.

This also made me think that I may have contributed to this, since I've been quite melodramatic lately... Well, I won't try to get him back - I know he will keep living in this address! -, but I will try to look more on the bright side of life. Promised!

Shitty Day

This is one of those days I should be listening to Tom Waits' music from the 1970s...

I have the impression that everything that could went wrong, actually did...

Therefore, I feel like one of Tom Waits' desperate and lowlife characters, with a jazz trio and his raspy, gravelly voice and piano background... Today, I feel like songs steeped in whiskey and atmosphere of bars or all-night American diners.

Of course, I never been in that world before and that's precisely why it seems so weird... And, in any case, I don't believe Brussels has all-night diners... And even if it has, tomorrow I'll have a meeting and therefore can't drink whiskey all night...

I suppose I will stick to the Tom Waits' songs.

Missed Birthday

Today was my sister's birthday. 2.000 Kms away from here!
I don't remember the last time we didn't spend our birthdays together. One way or the other, we always managed to. This year I didn't!
I can't promise I'll be there next year, but I will be...
Parabéns!

Are You Ready to be Heartbroken?

Two days ago, I was exchanging some messages with B. and announced her that I was moving from Leonard Cohen to Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. Yesterday, I found out that B. didn't know them and I just couldn't believe her!

I mean, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions contributed to some of the finest music to ever hover with pop ease! Cole's music strays from sounding contrived or overlapped and sports comparisons to The Beautiful South in that they share the same lyrical wit and appeal. But it may very well be that B. doesn't know The Beautiful South neither...

The lush, facile simplicity of Lloyd Cole's music is brimmed with cushioned harmonies and soft-spoken choruses, and very often deals with the complexity of love. Accompanied by the bright jangle of guitar hitched to pop tempos, his work with The Commotions produced a number of melody-ridden songs that can be accessed in any of their three albums. Cole's music uses polished instrumentation behind elements of subdued 80's European pop, best exemplified in songs like "Perfect Skin" and "You Will Never Be No Good". Some of the most beautiful songs include the friendly candor of "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?" or the irregularity between the lines of "Jennifer She Said", but also "Brand New Friend" glimmers with Cole's vocal resilience, as does the pristine bounce of "Lost Weekend".

B. already knows Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, but it doesn't mean that she will like their songs as I do... An open and honest friendship is exactly like that: real friends tell us what they think, which might not necessarily be what we would like them to. That's why I like B. so much!

Climate...

The rumour was spreading around town since Monday: "The sunny weather will only last until Wednesday".
Maybe because of this, yesterday, around the "Bourse" there were lots of people. It was nice to see all this movement. It made me think about the difference that the weather can make on people and how lucky we are in Portugal.
Later I decide to go back home: "Are you going? Come on, it's the last day of good weather!"...
Today the sun is not shinny anymore, it's shy. Today the sky is not blue anymore, it's white. Today it's not summer anymore, it's Brussels!