Music Monthly: July 2013

Well hello there! How are you doing?

I'm sorry this is is all so late. My home internet connection died on me, therefore everything bloggy got a bit more complicated. Sorry.

Apparently it’s summer holidays for some lucky bastards who go to school. Good for them :) How was your July? Mine was slightly uneventful, if you don’t count a visit to the zoo *smiley face* and a dentist appointment *not smiley face*. I’ve spent the rest of the month hiding in the fridge, climbing out only to secure the windows when a thunderstorm was coming, so they wouldn’t get smashed. No, I’m only kidding. We don’t have a big enough fridge. How did you survive the heat wave? I turned to having ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the end :) Let’s have a look at what I’ve been listening to while melting away…

First of all, HOW did I not hear this until the very end of the month? Oh wait, I know: I've been stuck in a tardis for 5 weeks, that's how. Last year John Newman drew attention as Rudimental's featured artist. You surely remember "Feel the Love", which made it into my January selection. This year, he dominated the Chart on his own with "Love Me Again". Hats off fot the good timing: it is the perfect dance tune accompanied by a music video with a strong retro vibe, in other words: bound to be successfull in the summer of 2013. See if you can guess what story was the music video based on :)

I will try to avoid explaining the complex chain of television and people that led me to this song and try to keep this simple: the song is "Should I Stay" by Gabrielle. As for the video you are about to see, I have to warn you that the manner in which the song is performed may seem rather comical or strange at first. But bear with it, it’s just the way things are done in Blackpool. :D No sorry, not in Blackpool per say, I mean in “Blackpool” the 2004 crime TV series. Every now end then it just turns into a musical and there is a song and the characters sing along to it (they actually do! There is no miming.) There was a lovely comment on youtube, which summarized the style perfectly, it said: “It’s like CSI and Glee had a baby.” So here’s the song, quite a romantic piece, but I grew to like it. And no, the fact that David Tennant sings it to his date has nothing to do with it. Ehm. Ehm. …

You may or may not have gathered the news (depending on how thoroughly you are reading these posts) that I am now a Whovian (i.e. an enthusiast for the television series Doctor Who). I joined the the fandom on facebook and now I am getting Who-related updates about anything and everything, which meant that on 13^th July I got to enjoy the live radio broadcast from a Doctor Who Proms concert. A live orchestra playing the original soundtrack music from the series, mainly composed by Murray Gold. What a tremendous experience! Even if you are not a superfan of the show, this is some damn good music. Otherwise, for devoted Whovians, it is an emotional journey of wonder and nostalgia. I couldn’t decide what to play you from the concert, so… here I am, offering you the latest arrangement of the theme tune of all theme tunes:

Look at me, I'm putting in a Czech song! And what's more it's not just any old song, it's actually poetry set to music. Here's where it gets tricky and I have to try and translate at the essence of what it is. It's called "A Brief Description of Summer", written by Jan Skácel (1922-1989), and it just perfectly captures the spirit of a hot, sizzling summer in the country. My summer has been predominantly urban so far, nevertheless the hot and sizzling applies just as well. Here is my attempt of a translation:

Fires

from the four sides the summer is burning

Acacia groves' blooms are intoxicating

Green soul of wine smoulders in the wineyards

Poppy flowers bleed in the fields

Darkness arrives

and the Moon walks upon a silver bridge

The world is like a bread fresh from the oven

And the night is eating it away

The music is provided by Jiří Pavlica and his band Hradišťan, who are an ansamble focusing on folk music of Moravia. They have done a whole project inspired by Skácel's poetry and this is the best known snippet of the album. I hope you like it :)

I am leaving you with a solemn piece of music which has been calming me down at night before I go to sleep. “Abide With Me” must be one the best known and loved traditional hymns. The poem was written by  Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, yet it carries a message that will never lose its weight and poignancy. This particular version is not the usual choir arrangement, but a solo vocal sang by the one and only Emeli Sandé. I do admire that lady for the unbelievable command she has of her voice and for its colour and richness. She sang the hymn live during the closing ceremony of the London Olympics last year and I remember I was quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the performance. It was magnificent and glorious, yet at the same time solemn and humble… and that’s what a good hymn should be.

There we go, darlings. July music over and done with. I’m already collecting some nicey nice stuff for August, so I hope you’ll be here to check it out later. Meanwhile I hope to dig into my new Lifescouts series and maybe I will finally dare to write about television and film. Properly. Because so far, it looks like what I’m watching has been invading my music series and that’s not fair :D Wish me luck that my internet gets fixed soon!

What have you been listening to this summer?

P.S. Good news: I fixed the commenting box! You can now comment also as Anonymous or identify yourself by a name or a nickname or a link to your blog. Much easier, isn't it? No need to log in if you don't want to ;)