Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Gil downloads



Cérebro Eletrônico - Gilberto Gil - 1969
2001 - Gilberto Gil - 1969

Do you think Gilberto Gil reads music blogs? OK, maybe not. But here's an interesting piece of trivia: Gil supports a program that would comprehensively archive Brazilian music online and make the files free for download! Wired has an interesting article from 2004 that talks about this utopian project and digs into Gil's rationale for backing it. Read the full article here. It's funny how Wired compares him to a "Slashdot hothead" while also calling him a "well-compensated content baron." LOL

Excerpt:

For Gil, "the fundamentalists of absolute property control" - corporations and governments alike - stand in the way of the digital world's promises of cultural democracy and even economic growth. They promise instead a society where every piece of information can be locked up tight, every use of information (fair or not) must be authorized, and every consumer of information is a pay-per-use tenant farmer, begging the master's leave to so much as access his own hard drive. But Gil has no doubt that the fundamentalists will fail. "A world opened up by communications cannot remain closed up in a feudal vision of property," he says. "No country, not the US, not Europe, can stand in the way of it. It's a global trend. It's part of the very process of civilization. It's the semantic abundance of the modern world, of the postmodern world - and there's no use resisting it."

I recommend checking out this song that he recorded for his latest album, Banda Larga Cordel (loosely translated as "Broadband Pamphlet").


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Gil ao vivo


João Sabino - Gilberto Gil - 1974
Menina Goiaba - Gilberto Gil - 1974


"João Sabino" is the playful warm-up tune off Gilberto Gil's 1974 live album. Though not as dazzling or as groundbreaking as some of his earlier recordings, Ao Vivo 1974 is definitely one of my all-time favorites from Gil, and stands as one of my all-time favorite live albums from any musician. At the time Gil gave this concert, he was back in São Paulo after returning from a two-year exile in London imposed by the Brazilian government. Gil was already past his Tropicalia period, but he was still finding ways to experiment with rock, samba, and regional music styles from Brazil.

"Menina Goiaba" mixes rock and frevo, and shows Gil testing his range as a singer. What I like best is how loose and unrehearsed it feels. Sometimes the band has a hard time keeping up with his pace, but there's a great energy and freedom that's undeniable.

I've heard that Gil rarely performs these songs, and I'm not quite sure why. It's a shame...they have great, memorable melodies, and a lot of them are Gil's own compositions (including the two in this post). A few years ago, this album was remastered with some added bonus tracks like "Cibernética," a sambinha that Gil introduces with a funny, rambling story about how he got involved with cybernetics. The CD has been hard for me to track down, but I've been keeping an eye out for it on Dusty Groove. Highly recommend if you can find it for a reasonable price.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Diz que fui por aí


Portrait of Zé Kéti near the Jardim Botânico in Rio


Diz que fui por aí - Zé Keti - 1967
Diz que fui por aí - Fernanda Takai - 2007


Se alguém perguntar por mim
Diz que fui por aí
Levando o violão embaixo do braço
Em qualquer esquina eu paro
Em qualquer botequim eu entro
Se houver motivo
É mais um samba que eu faço
Se quiserem saber se volto
Diga que sim
Mas só depois que a saudade se afastar de mim
Tenho um violão para me acompanhar
Tenho muitos amigos, eu sou popular
Tenho a madrugada como companheira
A saudade me dói, no meu peito me rói
Eu estou na cidade, eu estou na favela
Eu estou por aí
Sempre pensando nela


If someone asks for me
Tell them I went somewhere
Carrying a guitar under my arm
I stop on a corner
I enter a bar
If there were a reason
I'd play another samba
If they want to know if I'll return
Tell them yes
but only when saudade leaves me
I have a guitar to accompany me
I have many friends, I'm popular
I have the early morning as a companion
Saudade hurts me, chews at my heart
I'm in the city, I'm in the favela
I'm here
Always thinking of her.

[Bonus version]

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Congo Bongo



Watch Mongo Santamaria's solo at the beginning of "Congo Bongo," then check out this great post over at Never Enough Rhodes. If you dig into his archives, you'll find a lot of classic jazz, Latin, and even a few Brazilian albums.