time for school
On 2/1/06, Daniel Johnson wrote:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/comp/soul-jazz/tropicalia.shtml
myself:
yea, i read about it. heard about soul jazz coming out with it, but i couldn't find information on their site or allmusic.com. ready to be schooled in brasilian music? get ready for a nerd tsunami.
2 things:
1. i'm starting to have issues with the writer, joe tangari. i mentioned to you before that one of his "found sounds" of 2005 was by a brazilian artist (chico buarque - construcao). i'm totally tooting my own "brasiliero" horn when i say that i came across chico a few years ago. but that's not what irritated me about his article--what irritated me was that he not-so-carefully implied that chico was part of tropicalia. he was not.
tangari wrote, in regards to chico: "Though not one of the biggest names of the Tropicalia era (outside Brazil, anyway), Buarque was one of the best, and Construcao is his masterpiece... "
correct: he was of the "era." STRICTLY in the sense his most serious output was in the early 70s. in fact, the major figures in tropicalia, caetano veloso and gilberto gil, disliked him because they thought that his music was aesthetically conservative--too much in the style of the old bossa and samba masters. an analogy: chico was brahms to veloso and gil's chopin and liszt.
in addition, none of the tropicalistas were well known outside of brasil until hipsters discovered them in the mid 90s. given that, chico had been huge star in brasil since the 70s. kind of a pin-up, in fact.
i was a little dissappointed, but forgiving, that tangari didn't mention the cultural importance of "construcao." it was a subversive brasilian pop record (brasilian pop = MPB ): it was peppered with subtle lyrical jabs at the military government. while the tropicalistas were explicitly anti-establishment in sound and lyric, chico was walking in the front door with a dagger in his breast pocket.
whatever. tangari's scribble didn't bother me much until i read the end of the "soul jazz: tropicalia" review. here, tangari says an artist like chico buarque should deserve inclusion on such a compilation. he doesn't. i love chico buarque, but that's like putting the beach boys on a motown compilation. this perpetuates the same kind of ignorance that dares to say things like "all jamaican music is the same." it's a whole fucking world of music, why should it all be the same? he's a music writer, he should know better.
it's an attitude that is a bit dismissive and condescending. it's like calling all african music "afrobeat." fela kuti is a huge figure in african music, but i don't expect music from ethiopia or mali to sound like him. why is every brasilian artist from the 70s considered "tropicalia" then? writers are generally more careful when writing about north american music styles (although i've recently come across a lot of people who misuse "no-wave"). black flag and metallica might both be rock bands, but only one them can be called hardcore punk. the distinction between chico buarque and os mutantes is much more extreme. he should know better.
i've been looking for a pitchfork message board of some kind. i would love to take a pitchfork writer to school.
2. i've yet to come around tropicalia. maybe this compilation is the one to turn me around and massage me with exotic balms. the brasilian music that i enjoy most overflows with soul and sadness. the rhythms are also part of the attraction; variations of the samba drive the best material. the tropicalia that i've heard (mostly os mutantes) is very different: it's cheeky, playful, and kitschy. the sound is best described as british invasion sung in portuguese, with some traditional brasilian percussion thrown in. fuzzy electric guitars, emphasis on the backbeat. it comes dangerously close in feel to bachelor-pad martini music (which sadly, is how much brasilian music is perceived). i won't deny liking some cheeky stuf: ABBA, early madonna. and i have much respect for some of the old tropicalia peeps: caetano veloso has released some very strong material within the last five years. however, it's not really in the tropicalia style. i'd still give it a shot. i've read some things that make me very interested in tom ze.
perhaps i've reached my kitsch limit. i do enjoy sergio mendes, who is very kitschy. well, only "herb alpert presents: sergio mendes and brasil '66." his later stuff, especially the beatles covers, are intolerable.
now you might say, "rod, what the shit. you can drink martinis at a party to the getz/gilberto record. you can listen to samba and have fruity pink drinks with company."
No. the softer, bossa nova stuff (getz/gilberto being the most well-known example) is for sitting on a beach, with your pants rolled up, drinking wine and enjoying the sunset with a loved one. or alone. it's quiet, intimate music about loss, love, heartbreak, existentialism, all the good stuff. the best bossa nova will not be heard above the din. it's like playing nick drake at a party.
samba isn't for martini parties either. it's music to take off the pants, reveal the man-thong, cover yourself in olive oil, and rub on everything like a horny pug dog. MU's "hello bored biz man" does a very good job of capturing the spirit. it's loud, rhythmic, and sexual. soul jazz has a "batucada" compilation that's pretty good. the martini glasses would get shattered, and people would start drinking straight from the bottle.
now, if the brasil/north american fusion thing sounds interesting to you (it did to me, and that's kind of what tropicalia aspires to be), there *are* some people that have managed to incorporate north american influences into the brasilian sound. jorge ben is recommended for study. his early stuff was soulful bossa/samba, but his album "africa brasil" took cues from north american soul and funk a la sly stone, mixed it up, and came out with something that is very soulful, brasilian, and sounds like neither of the styles that it came from.
soul jazz also came out with brasilian post-punk compilation in 2005. i've heard bits of it, and it's very interesting. it has sonic similarities to A Certain Ratio when they toyed with brasilian rhythms. but of course, the comp is the real thing.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/comp/soul-jazz/tropicalia.shtml
myself:
yea, i read about it. heard about soul jazz coming out with it, but i couldn't find information on their site or allmusic.com. ready to be schooled in brasilian music? get ready for a nerd tsunami.
2 things:
1. i'm starting to have issues with the writer, joe tangari. i mentioned to you before that one of his "found sounds" of 2005 was by a brazilian artist (chico buarque - construcao). i'm totally tooting my own "brasiliero" horn when i say that i came across chico a few years ago. but that's not what irritated me about his article--what irritated me was that he not-so-carefully implied that chico was part of tropicalia. he was not.
tangari wrote, in regards to chico: "Though not one of the biggest names of the Tropicalia era (outside Brazil, anyway), Buarque was one of the best, and Construcao is his masterpiece... "
correct: he was of the "era." STRICTLY in the sense his most serious output was in the early 70s. in fact, the major figures in tropicalia, caetano veloso and gilberto gil, disliked him because they thought that his music was aesthetically conservative--too much in the style of the old bossa and samba masters. an analogy: chico was brahms to veloso and gil's chopin and liszt.
in addition, none of the tropicalistas were well known outside of brasil until hipsters discovered them in the mid 90s. given that, chico had been huge star in brasil since the 70s. kind of a pin-up, in fact.
i was a little dissappointed, but forgiving, that tangari didn't mention the cultural importance of "construcao." it was a subversive brasilian pop record (brasilian pop = MPB ): it was peppered with subtle lyrical jabs at the military government. while the tropicalistas were explicitly anti-establishment in sound and lyric, chico was walking in the front door with a dagger in his breast pocket.
whatever. tangari's scribble didn't bother me much until i read the end of the "soul jazz: tropicalia" review. here, tangari says an artist like chico buarque should deserve inclusion on such a compilation. he doesn't. i love chico buarque, but that's like putting the beach boys on a motown compilation. this perpetuates the same kind of ignorance that dares to say things like "all jamaican music is the same." it's a whole fucking world of music, why should it all be the same? he's a music writer, he should know better.
it's an attitude that is a bit dismissive and condescending. it's like calling all african music "afrobeat." fela kuti is a huge figure in african music, but i don't expect music from ethiopia or mali to sound like him. why is every brasilian artist from the 70s considered "tropicalia" then? writers are generally more careful when writing about north american music styles (although i've recently come across a lot of people who misuse "no-wave"). black flag and metallica might both be rock bands, but only one them can be called hardcore punk. the distinction between chico buarque and os mutantes is much more extreme. he should know better.
i've been looking for a pitchfork message board of some kind. i would love to take a pitchfork writer to school.
2. i've yet to come around tropicalia. maybe this compilation is the one to turn me around and massage me with exotic balms. the brasilian music that i enjoy most overflows with soul and sadness. the rhythms are also part of the attraction; variations of the samba drive the best material. the tropicalia that i've heard (mostly os mutantes) is very different: it's cheeky, playful, and kitschy. the sound is best described as british invasion sung in portuguese, with some traditional brasilian percussion thrown in. fuzzy electric guitars, emphasis on the backbeat. it comes dangerously close in feel to bachelor-pad martini music (which sadly, is how much brasilian music is perceived). i won't deny liking some cheeky stuf: ABBA, early madonna. and i have much respect for some of the old tropicalia peeps: caetano veloso has released some very strong material within the last five years. however, it's not really in the tropicalia style. i'd still give it a shot. i've read some things that make me very interested in tom ze.
perhaps i've reached my kitsch limit. i do enjoy sergio mendes, who is very kitschy. well, only "herb alpert presents: sergio mendes and brasil '66." his later stuff, especially the beatles covers, are intolerable.
now you might say, "rod, what the shit. you can drink martinis at a party to the getz/gilberto record. you can listen to samba and have fruity pink drinks with company."
No. the softer, bossa nova stuff (getz/gilberto being the most well-known example) is for sitting on a beach, with your pants rolled up, drinking wine and enjoying the sunset with a loved one. or alone. it's quiet, intimate music about loss, love, heartbreak, existentialism, all the good stuff. the best bossa nova will not be heard above the din. it's like playing nick drake at a party.
samba isn't for martini parties either. it's music to take off the pants, reveal the man-thong, cover yourself in olive oil, and rub on everything like a horny pug dog. MU's "hello bored biz man" does a very good job of capturing the spirit. it's loud, rhythmic, and sexual. soul jazz has a "batucada" compilation that's pretty good. the martini glasses would get shattered, and people would start drinking straight from the bottle.
now, if the brasil/north american fusion thing sounds interesting to you (it did to me, and that's kind of what tropicalia aspires to be), there *are* some people that have managed to incorporate north american influences into the brasilian sound. jorge ben is recommended for study. his early stuff was soulful bossa/samba, but his album "africa brasil" took cues from north american soul and funk a la sly stone, mixed it up, and came out with something that is very soulful, brasilian, and sounds like neither of the styles that it came from.
soul jazz also came out with brasilian post-punk compilation in 2005. i've heard bits of it, and it's very interesting. it has sonic similarities to A Certain Ratio when they toyed with brasilian rhythms. but of course, the comp is the real thing.