Jul 19, 2016

RhoDeo 1629 Roots

Hello, a millimeter sprint finish saw Alexander Kristoff bow out to Sagan even if he raised it hand to victory Sagan's jump took him to his 3rd victory in this year's TdF. The third photofinish this year, the difference between glory and defeat the thickness of a tire after 100 miles or more of hard racing.



We'll be staying in Brazil until the Olympics there's plenty of time to explore the it's music scene. The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history, Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, bossa nova, MPB, sertanejo, pagode, tropicalia, choro, maracatu, embolada (coco de repente), mangue bit, funk carioca (in Brazil simply known as Funk), frevo, forró, axé, brega, lambada, and Brazilian versions of foreign musical genres, such as Brazilian rock and rap.


Today, A true heavyweight, a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on par with that of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Lennon/McCartney. And even the most cursory listen to his recorded output since the 1960s proves that this is no exaggeration.......N'Joy

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Born in 1942 in Santo Amaro da Purificacao in Brazil's Bahia region, Veloso absorbed the rich Bahian musical heritage that was influenced by Caribbean, African, and North American pop music, but it was the cool, seductive bossa nova sound of João Gilberto (a Brazilian superstar in the '50s) that formed the foundation of Veloso's intensely eclectic pop. Following his sister Maria Bethânia (a very successful singer in her own right) to Rio in the early '60s, the 23-year-old Veloso won a lyric-writing contest with his song "Um Dia" and was quickly signed to the Philips label. It wasn't long before Veloso (along with other Brazilian stars such as Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil) represented the new wave of MPB (musica popular brasileira), the all-purpose term used by Brazilians to describe their pop music.

Bright, ambitious, creative, and given to an unapologetically leftist political outlook, Veloso would soon become a controversial figure in Brazilian pop. By 1967, he had become aligned with Brazil's burgeoning hippie movement and, along with Gilberto Gil, created a new form of pop music dubbed Tropicalia. Arty and eclectic, Tropicalia retained a bossa nova influence, adding bits and pieces of folk-rock and art rock to a stew of loud electric guitars, poetic spoken word sections, and jazz-like dissonance. Although not initially well received by traditional pop-loving Brazilians (both Veloso and Gil faced the wrath of former fans similar to the ire provoked by Dylan upon going electric), Tropicalia was a breathtaking stylistic synthesis that signaled a new generation of daring, provocative, and politically outspoken musicians who would remake the face of MPB.

This was a cultural shift not without considerable dangers. Since 1964, Brazil had been ruled by a military dictatorship (a government that would rule for 20 years) that did not look kindly upon such radical music made by such radical musicians. Almost immediately there were government-sanctioned attempts to circumscribe the recordings and live performances of many Tropicalistas. Censorship of song lyrics as well as radio and television playlists (Veloso was a regular TV performer on Brazilian variety shows) was common. Just as common was the persecution of performers openly critical of the government, and Veloso and Gil were at the top of the hit list. Both men spent two months in prison for "anti-government activity" and another four months under house arrest. After a defiant 1968 performance together, Veloso and Gil were forced into exile in London. Veloso continued to record abroad and write songs for other Tropicalia stars, but he would not be allowed to return to Brazil permanently until 1972.

Although his commitment to politicized art never wavered, Veloso went from being a very popular Brazilian singer/songwriter to becoming the center of Brazilian pop over the next 20 years. For decades he kept up a grueling pace of recording, producing, and performing and, in the mid-'70s, added writing to his résumé, publishing a book of articles, poems, and song lyrics covering a period from 1965 to 1976. In the '80s, Veloso became increasingly better known outside of Brazil, touring in Africa, Paris, and Israel, interviewing Mick Jagger for Brazilian TV, and in 1983, playing America for the first time. (He sold out three nights at the Public Theater in New York with shows that were rapturously reviewed by then-New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer.)

This steady increase in popularity occurred despite the fact that Veloso's records were extremely hard to find in American record stores, and when one could locate them, they were expensive Brazilian imports. Still, the buzz on Veloso grew, thanks in part to Palmer, Robert Christgau, and other critics writing about pop music outside of the contiguous 48 states. But Veloso never seemed bothered by his low profile outside of Brazil, and his work over the years, even after he became a more well-known international pop figure, remained challenging and intriguing without being modified for American (or anyone else's) tastes -- that is, Veloso sang in English (most of his recorded work is sung in Portuguese) when he felt like it, not because he had to sell more records in America. He hung out with fairly trendy New York musicians (Brazilian native Arto Lindsay and David Byrne), but never made a big deal about it. Veloso was one of the rare musicians who was popular, sold a lot of records (at least in Brazil), and was a certifiable superstar, but never self-aggrandizing, narcissistic, or overly concerned with how hip he was.

Estrangeiro Even when he approached the age of normal retirement, Veloso showed no signs of slowing down. After his 1989 recording Estrangeiro (produced by Ambitious Lovers' Arto Lindsay and Peter Scherer) became his first non-import release in America, Veloso's stateside profile increased significantly, reaching its highest point with the release of 1993's Tropicália 2, recorded with Gilberto Gil. A brilliant record that made a slew of American Top Ten lists, Tropicália 2 proved once again that Veloso's talent (as well as Gil's) had not diminished a bit. His early-'90s recordings, Circuladô, Fina Estampa, and Circuladô ao Vivo (the latter of which includes versions of Michael Jackson's "Black and White" and Dylan's "Jokerman"), were uniformly wonderful, and in the summer of 1997 Veloso embarked on his largest American tour to date.

Livro Two years later, Veloso was the subject of an extensive, flattering portrait in Spin on the eve of the American release of his acclaimed 1998 album, Livro. In 1999, he released Omaggio a Federico e Giulietta, a tribute to auteur Federico Fellini and his wife, actress Giulietta Masina. He also won a Grammy for the Best MPB Album for 1998's Livro at the first annual Latin Grammy Awards. At the beginning of the new millennium, Veloso delivered a live bossa nova album in collaboration with poet Jorge Mautner, the spirited Noites do Norte, and the songbook album A Foreign Sound. In 2006, Veloso returned with Cê, a typically diverse and interesting album co-produced by his son Moreno. Veloso took some time out to tour and begin another book; he released Zii e Zie in 2009 on Nonesuch through World Circuit.

Live at Carnegie Hall, a record documenting a very special collaborative concert he and longtime friend David Byrne gave in 2004 as part of Veloso's residency at the renowned venue, was issued in 2012, a year that also saw the release of Abraçaço, the third part of the trilogy of studio albums -- Cê and Zii e Zie being the first two -- that placed the artist in the company of much younger players. The album was issued in North America by Nonesuch in March of 2014. The following year Veloso and Gilberto Gil embarked on a major world tour together called "Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música" which translates to "Two Friends, a Century of Music." With each artist celebrating a remarkable 50-year career, the tour was commemorated by a live album recorded in their native Brazil called Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live. The extensive double album was released in April 2016 by Nonesuch.

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Caetano Veloso's first album as a solo artist marked the birth of the culturally revolutionary tropicalia movement, of which Veloso and Gilberto Gil were the leading figures. The concept of the movement was to modernize Brazilian popular culture and, through creative music and poetry, reflect the Brazilian society as it appeared at the time. Veloso and other tropicalistas mixed traditional Brazilian popular music primarily with international pop culture and psychedelic rock, but they would incorporate practically anything that crossed their minds. This kind of wild cultural and musical cannibalism was found to be very controversial by many elements of the Brazilian society, both to the left and to the right of the political spectrum, and would ultimately lead to the arrest and forced exile of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil in 1969. After the hugely successful release of the psychedelic pop poem "Alegria, Alegria" as a single in 1967, Veloso aimed at releasing an album that would surpass the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's in terms of creativity, while at the same time reflecting the new, more international, Brazil. The result was this unique 12-track gem with classics such as the previously mentioned "Alegria, Alegria," the lovely and ironic "Superbacana," and the Latin-flavored "Soy Loco por Ti America." The title of the opening track "Tropicália" -- a song that in a wonderful way summarizes what the movement was all about -- was actually borrowed from an installation by visual artist Hélio Oiticica which Veloso found very inspiring. Soon after the release of this album, the term "tropicália," to the mild irritation of Veloso himself, became the name used by the media to describe the entire Brazilian movement. In addition to the great and uniquely inventive music on the album, what strikes the listener is the excellent standard of the lyrics, written by such prominent poets as Capinam, Ferreira Gullar, and of course Veloso himself. More often than not, the lyrics could easily stand alone as poems. For all its artistic quality, and its position as the first tropicalia album, as well as Caetano Veloso's first solo album, this is a classic and one of the most important albums of Brazilian popular music history.



Caetano Veloso - Tropicália  (flac  214mb)

01 Tropicália 3:40
02 Clarice 5:30
03 No Dia Em Que Eu Vim-me Embora 2:27
04 Alegria, Alegria 2:50
05 Onde Andarás 1:57
06 Anunciação 2:01
07 Superbacana 1:28
08 Paisagem Útil 2:39
09 Clara (Voc. Gal Costa) 1:45
10 Soy Loco Por Tí, América 3:45
11 Ave Maria 2:21
12 Eles 4:40

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Caetano Veloso was a superstar in Brazil. He came to England and decided to make London his home in the summer of 1969. A French saint once said that it is as dangerous for a writer to try a new language as it is for a believer to try a new religion: he can lose his soul.

Caetano adopted English for the lyrics on this album to convey his first impressions of living in a foreign country. The songs serve as a two-way mirror, focusing thoughts and memories of home and absent friends and reflecting his reaction to a new but friendly environment. "A Little More Blue" and "London, London" were the very first songs to be written after leaving Brazil. "Maria Bethânia" is one of the most popular singing stars in Brazil; she is also Caetano's sister. "If You Hold a Stone", which is dedicated to Lygia Clark, and "Shoot Me Dead" are contemporary proverbs. "In The Hot Sun of a Christmas Day" an epic hiding behind the cloak of a carol. "Asa Branca", which was written by Luiz Gonzaga, is a song about migration and home sickness...

        "When your tears wet the dry land
        and spread the green of your eyes
        over the dead trees
        I promise you that
        Then I'll be back, dear
        Then I'll be back, dear
        Then I'll be back."



Caetano Veloso - aka London, London    (flac  194mb)

01 A Little More Blue 4:46
02 London, London 4:14
03 Maria Bethânia 6:54
04 If You Hold A Stone 6:05
05 Shoot Me Dead 3:17
06 In The Hot Sun Of A Christmas Day 3:15
07 Asa Branca 7:25

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Released in 1972, Transa was recorded by Caetano Veloso during his exile in London, England, shortly before his return to Brazil. The sound of '70s electric rock predominates, fused with Brazilian rhythms and percussion, berimbau sounds, and his own violão playing. Several lyrics in English, and also in Portuguese, carefully avoid direct reference to politics, which may be found disguised in all songs, especially in the melancholic and depressed images of the poem by Gregório de Matos, "Triste Bahia," for which Veloso wrote the music. "It's a Long Way" also makes ciphered references to the political situation and was broadly played in the '70s. The broad use of pontos de capoeira (music used for accompaniment of capoeira, a martial art developed by Brazilian slaves as a resistance against the whites) can also be understood in that sense. The album also has "Mora na Filosofia," a classic and beautiful samba by Monsueto that scandalized people with its rock rendition.



Caetano Veloso - Transa (flac 186mb)

01 You Don't Know Me 3:50
02 Nine Out Of Ten 4:55
03 Triste Bahia 9:32
04 It's A Long Way 6:05
05 Mora Na Filosofia 6:16
06 Neolithic Man 4:42
07 Nostalgia (That's What Rock'n Roll Is All About) 1:20

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Araçá Azul marks the end of Caetano Veloso's pop- and rock-oriented phase made up by his previous four studio albums. Araçá Azul is also the most experimental and "difficult" album that Veloso has ever made, and it bears few similarities to his earlier recordings. Many people who bought the album when it was newly released had expected it to be a natural and similar follow-up to 1972's Transa. After having listened to it, many of people got so disappointed with Araçá Azul that they actually went back to the stores where they had bought it and demanded a refund. On the other hand, Araçá Azul was very much acclaimed by critics. Typical tracks on the album are the fascinating "De Conversa," which doesn't have a melody or real lyrics, and the playful "Gilberto Misterioso." Another good track is the psychedelic, almost punk-styled "Eu Quero Essa Mulher." There is also the delicate and beautiful "Júla/Moreno" and the equally beautiful "Tu Me Acostumbraste," with lyrics in Spanish. These last two songs perhaps give a hint of what Veloso would soon produce on '70s masterpieces like Jóia, Bicho, and Cinema Transcendental. As a whole, though, this album, with all its experimentalism and sound effects, probably isn't something that one would put on while having friends visit, but for a fan of experimental music or for someone in the right mood, it's a very good record.



Caetano Veloso - Araca Azul (flac 165mb)

01 Viola, Meu Bem 0:52
02 De Conversa / Cravo E Canela 5:40
03 Tu Me Acostumbraste 2:55
04 Gilberto Misterioso 4:45
05 De Palavra Em Palavra 1:17
06 De Cara 4:11
07 Sugar Cane Fields Forever 10:00
08 Julia / Moreno 3:17
09 Épico 4:05
10 Araçá Azul 1:20

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2 comments:

MAS said...

Could you reup this album : Caetano Veloso - Transa

Belano said...

Could you reup Tropicalia, please?