#NewMusicSunday: Black Sun by Death Cab for Cutie

There is whiskey in the water
And there is death upon the vine
And there is grace within forgiveness
But it's so hard for me to find

How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you
How could something so fair
Be so cruel
When this black sun revolved
Around you

#NewMusicSunday: associating a lazy Sunday to that that great feeling of discovering a new song. That's what this hashtag wants to be about. A song with lyrics that stick in your head. A song that brings with it a mood. A song that can connect some inner dots of a particular feeling. I find the band has a great name and they have a new album out on 31 March 2015, of which Black Sun is the first single. 

A Glass Music Hall is looking for a new home

A Glass Music Hall in the Beurs van Berlage building in Amsterdam will be given away for free or destroyed. The centrally located building needs more conference space and therefore took the decision to dismantle the structure that was built 25 years ago and that was used a rehearsal space by the Dutch Philarmonic Orchestra.

The Impact of Wiki Loves Monuments

The recent Wiki Loves Monuments contest across Europe was a very interesting example of how you can mobilise citizens to donate time and free images, for other people to use using the Creative Commons licenses. More than 170.000 uploads and a final selection of beautiful pictures that were rewarded with a prize. Now it is up to local communities to start using that material to show their local treasures to the world. The video above is such an example on the positive impact of such a contest.

Using a subtitling collaborative platform the video above is also available with subtitles in many languages including English and Italian.

Life in the streets of Rio de Janeiro

Choosing what to watch online requires commitment. You can't just sit there and zap with your remote. You have to actually choose what to watch and you have so much to choose from. But I am slowly making more rational choices and finding out where the good content is. I've always loved documentaries and the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam is certainly a place I recommend. I was there once to watch Falluja by Nick Broomfield.

Anyway I've come across IDFA TV and you can actually watch documetaries online. It's a Vimeo channel embedded in the page

Here is the link

I watched On the Street by Sérgio Bloch (57 min) and it was time well spent. It's about how different characters managed to make a living out of their performances on the street of Rio de Janeiro. There are visual portraits of the performances, including a disabled man and a prostitute but what makes it even more interesting is that it shows the richness of street life in Brasil. The creativity of the people and the economic interaction that is taking place is something that hints at the vibrant development of the country and present the urban setting in a completely different fashion than the fictional film Tropa de Elite, a successful film that has become a sequel with Tropa de Elite 2 now showing in Europe.

Your Paintings on the BBC

Quite an amazing project this one. It's a very professional way to deal with art and I wish it will extend to other European countries as well. My thought goes to Italy and its rich collection. It's great that the BBC is doing this, that's what I call public service. Here is the link to start exploring all the paintings the UK has to offer.

Animal Collective live @ Paradiso, Amsterdam 17/5/2011

Spectacural visual fields were constructed, jointly progressing with sound, vocals used as an instrument and light guiding the intake of this empowering experience.

We were left begging for more: watching another band will never be the same again, as the visual part is so strong you wonder why it has played a relatively minor role in the presentation of music so far.

Having sound and music presented in such a way really helps to focus your attention on trying to decode such an abstract body of work. This isn't just music, it's art.

I really enjoyed it.

P.S. I made some videos but the quality of the sound it's so bad I feel a bit sorry to upload it, but it's just to give you an idea.







If you are new to Animal Collective maybe start with My Girls (2009)

Phoenix Litzsomania Brat Pack Mash up

A mash up video of films from the 1980's with Phoenix's song Litzsomania spurred a number of incredibly fresh videos from across the world. The original was taken down for copyright reasons, but you can still find it on You Tube with embedding disabled. (watch now) Brat Pack is a slang term, it refers to a group of actors from the 1980's making a number of films with at least two of the original Brat Packers. Some of these films from the 1980's are The Breakfast Club (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), The Outsiders, Class, Sixteeen Candles, Oxford Blues, etc. But in general brat pack refers to a group of successful people working in the same professional field.

Now a fresh contemporary take on this concept can be found in these videos. A group of friends having genuine fun.

Let's start with Brooklyin, New York.



Then follows San Francisco



Let's go to Europe now and see Amsterdam



The band Phoenix comes from Versailles, Paris. I like the span of generations in this one



The one from Riga is introducing us to another corner of Europe



But let's go Brasil now, Rio de Janeiro has some amazing views. It's so colourful and warm



And let's finish with Boston, hoping to find some more mash ups from different parts of the world. London, Barcelona, Turin...



And let me end by thanking Lawrence Lessig for letting me know about this. Let's keep the internet free and let copyright control understand this. Share culture.

The power of Bubbles

I'm an eager online reader and I just want to share with you the story of officer "Bubbles", someone who is afraid of 'dangerous detergent' who not only arrested the girl, but is also now suing You Tube and is asking the big G to release details of those who posted the video and made comments. I mean, that is absurd, and please watch the video and spare a thought.

Please read the full story from one of the best blogs around
http://boingboing.net/

Italian Meatballs - Polpette al sugo

This is a simple recipe, it will not take too much of your time and is also well-explained. There are of course variations, but this is pretty good. Put more sauce and you can also serve spaghetti with them. Do try this at home, it's lekker!

GREENPEACE IN AZIONE: IL LIDO DI VENEZIA DIVENTA ANTI-NUCLEARE!

Watch and Share This Please. It's about a Greenpeace campaign to remind Luca Zaia (Northern League) about his promises when he was running for President of the Veneto Region in Italy

Edward Burtynsky

I like these photos, there is a deep meaning behind them. I'd love to see an exhibition of this guy. I wonder why I did not find out about him before. Is he a press photojournalist? Maybe I saw one of his photos in a nice Guardian newspaper article. Anyway time to catch up on the work of the guy. Check him out in the link above and listen to his speech.

Rainy Sunday Afternoon

A video to watch over and over again to grasp its complexity and beauty. This version has English intertitles to follow Yo Yo Mundi's lyrics in Italian.

sexmob live @ Bimhuis

Bimhuis is an incredible venue, with 180 degrees view over Amsterdam. Sexmob are touring Europe with their experimental repertoire of Jazz and breathtaking notes nicely played to an attentive audience

Keep global warming under 2° C



Obama Speech Victory

Here is the first part of Obama Speech Victory in Chicago, November 4 2008. You can also find it on the New York Times website with full transcript here

A top jazz evening

Paolo Tomelleri and his sextet played a wonderful set of old Jazz tunes at Alessandria's Conservatory courtyard on the 28th of August. A top track was "Manteca" one of the first experiments on mixing jazz with Cuban music.

Hometown Glory

New voices needed for the festive period. Well, among the ones I manage to discover through the web I recommend Jack Penate and Adele. They are both from London and they are probably friends. Have a look at Jack's and Adele's myspace to hear some of their music. I really like the song Hometown Glory. The piano intro and her voice are really touching. There are various versions of the song around. Here is a stripped down guitar only version played in a library. What more do you want for Christmas?

Office Escapism

Office workers from the world unite and lipdub!
As escaping the workaholic culture is becoming more and more difficult, here is a creative way to join forces with your bosses for a joyous day at the office.


Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.

Reckoner

Here is a stripped down version of one of my favourite tracks from In Rainbows.



Also here is an interview to the band

Radiohead

A 15 seconds ad on Radiohead's new album In Rainbows



I like the album, I bought it a month ago from their website and I especially enjoy 15 Steps, Reckoner and Jigsaw Falling into Place. I am now thinking of going to see them live. Last time I saw them was in Benicassim, Spain in 2002. What a festival.