Two From Lisbon

A gloomy Monday morning like this one practically begs for the sound of the fado. Be warned: instant saudade's gonna get you.

João Ferreira-Rosa - Embuçado
Carlos Do Carmo - Saudade Mal Do Fado

De Lisboa Antiga

Ser Fadista, or: being a fado singer. Adelina Fernandes sure was a great one. Got that special feeling they call saudade down pat. A Portuguese gem dating back to 1928.

Adelina Fernandes - Ser Fadista

Wild Weekend Vol. 13

Welcome to Wild Weekend, edition thirteen. Just happens to be my lucky number, amigos. Haven´t got it tattoed on my back yet though. Let´s see what the magic shuffle function of the iPod has in store for us this time.

We´ll begin with a very recent song. Sweet Apple is a new side project of J. ´Dinosaur Jr´ Mascis, helped by some guys from Cobra Verde. And as I´ve Got A Feeling (That Won´t Change) clearly shows, these guys just plain rock. Ever seen the sleazy album cover of Roxy Music´s Country Life? If so, the sleeve of Sweet Apple´s Love & Desperation might just ring a bell... Johnny Daye, a white protege of the great Otis Redding, was one of the relatively unknowns in the Stax stable, but his gritty brand of soul still goes down a treat. That trademark guitar comes courtesy of the one and only Steve Cropper, who also co-wrote the song.

Sweet Apple - I´ve Got A Feeling (That Won´t Change) MP3

Johnny Daye - What´ll I Do For Satisfaction MP3

When it comes to the Replacements, everybody always names Let It Be as their fave album. I can see their point, but I personally rate successor Tim (´85) at least just as high. Maybe a lot more people would, if only the sleeve it came in wasn´t so pig ugly. Can anyone name a truly great record with artwork that´s even more horrible? While you´re racking your brains, we´ll be visiting Portugal, for a beautiful fado track about a foundling that one Maria Teresa De Noronha recorded in 1961. What a voice. I can listen to this Portuguese brand of blues for hours, getting sadder by the minute.

The Replacements - Little Mascara MP3

Maria Teresa De Noronha - Rosa Enjeitada MP3

It´s been a little quiet on the Kramer front lately, and that´s a shame. Mark Kramer played in such interesting bands as B.A.L.L., Bongwater and Shockabilly in the eighties, produced tons of bands including the complete Galaxie 500 oeuvre, and ran the influential Shimmy Disc label. The Lennonesque Nine Minus Seven Is Two shows the man is skilled in math, too. And we´ll call it quits with some fine outlaw country by way of ole Waylon, from Honky Tonk Heroes. Cool lyrics by the great Billy Joe Shaver, who penned nearly all the songs on this legendary ´73 album. "If I'd never felt the sunshine, hell I wouldn´t curse the rain, if I hadn't been railroaded, well I guess I'd been a train..."

Kramer - Nine Minus Seven Is Two MP3

Waylon Jennings - Ain´t No God In Mexico MP3

Affectionate Tides

Time for something a little different now: the fado of Portugal. Beautiful, timeless music. The special kind of sadness (a.k.a. saudade) that´s inherent to the genre never fails to move me, especially when Amália Rodrigues is behind the microphone. Amália (1920-1999) was the undisputed queen of fado, or in Portuguese, rainha do fado. An amazing singer, she laid down the rules that modern fadistas still respect today.

Here´s a selection of some of her best songs, including my personal favorite: the rather upbeat yet still vaguely melancholic Fado Marujo. For those who´ve never been to beautiful, ramshackle Lisbon: the Madragoa, Bairro Alto and Alfama mentioned in the lyrics are old city quarters.

"Chega a Lisboa, salta do barco num salto,
Vai parar à Madragoa ou então ao Bairro Alto,
Entra em Alfama e faz de Alfama o convés,
Há sempre um Vasco Da Gama num marujo Português...

(...)

Sempre que passa um marujo português,
Passa o mar numa ameaça de carinhosas marés..."

Which roughly translates as:

"He arrives in Lisbon, hits the quay in one jump,
He´ll end up in Madragoa or later in the Bairro Alto,
Goes to the Alfama and pretends the Alfama is his ship´s deck,

There´s a Vasco Da Gama in every Portuguese sailor...

(...)

Every time a Portuguese sailor passes by,

the sea passes with a threat of affectionate tides..."

Amália Rodrigues - Fado Marujo MP3

Amália Rodrigues - Coimbra MP3

Amália Rodrigues - Fado Malhoa MP3

Amália Rodrigues - Céu Da Minha Rua MP3

Amália Rodrigues - Fado De Adica MP3