"The Morning Hour": Regina Spektor, Folding Chair

The weather in the last two days has been the sweetest possible: warm, dry and with a light breeze that starts blowing in the evening. With such a beautiful and rare setting, a concert in Hyde Park sounds really like the perfect thing to do.
Actually it is, the location for Regina Spektor's gig last night was amazing, they have created a small village on the bank of the Serpentine pond with the support acts playing in small band stands while the audience lays on the grass, enjoying beer and burgers.
I wasn't thrilled that the main act, Regina, played under a covered tent, very dark inside (though beautiful orange sunbeams filtered through from the cracks and the doors. The gig was okish... reality is that, but for a couple of songs, the new album is not impressive at first listening. The night was actually worth it, however, for the magnificent walk in a darkening Hyde Park we had after the concert. 10.30pm, the park still lightly lit by the random lamp post and the twilight in the sky. The water was calm, placid. Ducks, geese and birds were still slowly fishing and swimming. The odd couple kissing on a bench, two friends silently chatting to the bottom of a bottle of wine. My hands in her hands, my eyes in her eyes, in the most beautiful summer night London has ever given me.

"The Morning Hour": Jose Gonzales, Save Your Day

Ops, I did it again... (outrageous start for a post... but now it's there and I'll keep it...)
i didn't wake up at the alarm today... and, actually, i almost didn't wake up at all!

these are supposed to be days of brave decisions, important steps and life changing turning points... in reality, even loading the dishwasher seems an insurmountable task (that i rarely endeavour indeed...)

So i caught myself in drifting today; it's warm and sunny, time is slow in these almost lonely days at the office and my mind started wandering after lunch in a long a relaxing stroll... sandy beach, small waves, cold lemony beer and Spanish accent. It was last August in Barcelona. Jose Gonzales was on shuffle in my small ipod, all the time. Gentle strings like gentle waves, subtle voice like subtle sea breeze.

My body is longing for a swim, for a decent holiday with no emails, no pc, no desk; just the walk to the beach, fresh fruit and a newspaper. just a pair of familiar eyes to look into when coming back to the shore- oh yes, they have turned green again!

"The Morning Hour": Regina Spektor, Laughing with

in the last few days I'm waking up slowly and, strangely, without a morning hour song... the alarm goes off, there's usually music coming out, but the song doesn't stick, just goes away...

This week, Regina Speltor's latest album has been released and this is the first single. Her style hasn't changed much and her voice is sweet and lovely as before.

I've listened to this song a couple of times and i'm not sure yet i'm getting it... it seems to me a bit of dark humour, the song is full of sad iconic moments but then the chorus has a kind of funny twist...bah... i'm not sure!

she's touring Europe at the moment and I'm going to see her live next monday in the greeny Hyde Park; let's hope the infamous British summer weather doesn't make its appearance and lets us enjoy the open air show with a bit of suntan lotion over the faces...

"The Morning Hour": Oi Va Voi, Refugee and more

they're from London, a mixture of Jewish, Gipsy and Brit trip-pop, their fourth album has just been released and, less than 12 hours ago, I had no idea of who they were.

Their best album seems to be the first one "Laughter Through Tears" but the last one "Travelling the Face of the World" is worth a play! The latter sounds a bit more international, while all the different "local" influences are very strong in the first album "Refugee", "Od Yeshoma". Ah... all the songs are available free in Last.fm

A couple of names to throw in this mix bag: Beirut and Ballalouda, check them out!

"The Morning Hour": The Cure plus "London Underground"

the real morning hour song today was "Boys don't cry" from The Cure, one of those songs that I've heard thousands of times but never listened to; but then i snoozed (bad bad habit...) and the song that definitively woke me up was "Going Underground" by The Jam- however, in my head, the lyrics of the song were being modified to a lesser known cover version. So i woke up singing "Wawawawankers Wankers!!!..."

what a way to start a day!

"The Morning Hour": , KT Tunstall, Suddenly I see

I'm not so much of a writer these days, well, what the hell, I'm never been that much of a writer... it has always taken me ages to start writing something, and the harder i try, the worst is the outcome... that's why i switched to maths pretty soon in my life.

on the other side, not so much is happening these days, I'm still shell shocked from the events of May and the brain cells haven't really recovered yet.

I should really think hard about a few things that need to be sorted quite soon, but i just haven't got the strength and the will.


also, the almost lonely days in the office have started...
(the benefit is that i can keep the radio on sometimes... hence the bonus track for today, a wonderful Paolo Rossi singing Rino Gaetano)

"The night piece": Charlie Chaplin, City Lights - the boxing scene

A special post, it was ages that i didn't laugh like this, like mad, to tears, to the floor; i guess i just needed it.

Nite Nite

"The Morning Hour": Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah

it wasn't the alarm this time; the subtle sweet voice of Jeff Buckley seeped into my ears gently on Sunday morning from my next door stereo.

it's such a beautiful song, that I really don't want to add much to it, just play it, over and over again.

Jeff Buckley-Hallelujah.flv
Uploaded by Rock-90s

"The Morning Hour": Stereophonics, Maybe Tomorrow

I used to love this song, i still like the melody and the tune, but, today, I can no longer stand the lyrics...

Why Maybe? Why Tomorrow?
why not today? why not now? why not "I'll try and I'll make sure to make it"?

the song, once loved, now puts me under the weather. maybe it's a new me, maybe it's just that i feel compelled to do instead of waiting that i can't really stand anybody who says tomorrow, anybody who says maybe, who says I'll wait and see.

and now... to the first weekend of freedom in more than a month!

"The Morning Hour": Bryan Adams, Back to You

never been one of his fans, too sweet for my tooth. great guitar, yes, but the lyrics are always so mellow... I like to listen to him from time to time, not that much.
But I'd have never expected to become one of admirers as a photographer. How the hell did this guy make it into the impenetrable word of professional photography? and his pictures are great too. Edgy, provocative sometimes, always elegant.

While our society keeps promoting a modern disease called hyper-specialization "You are your job and you'll always be that job", here is a man who has mastered rock music and photography, sometimes certain genes are just bloody good!

"The Morning Hour": The Coming-back Medley

It's been a month... and while the guys of the tube are on strike today for some reason, I thought I should come back to work on this...

From the last post, on May 9th, much more than 30 days have passed, at least for me it feels like months, years, with the only difference that I'm in the same place, writing from the same pc, just a little bit more tired.

Things have happened... a lot of them... some great, some definetivelt not.

Thinking back, everything seems a bit strange, not surreal... but strange. I've found myself drinking tea with taxi drivers planning a demonstration, waking up at 3am to take photos of butchers at the meat market, freaking out in face of new challenges and making it at the end. It's been a sneak-peek at how things could be different in a lot of ways, terryfing at some point, but the feeling is that we (highlight WE) could work it out.

here is three songs that i've been listening to a lot in the last weeks, there was no time and no energy to care too much, and write ,about music, but some songs always stick to my brains nevertheless... The Eels is a new discovery, thanks to a great friend who i have not met yet (she's not imaginary though...), this song is sweet and sour, cuddly melody with a tear. Paolo Nutini has just move in my charts from "rubbish I'd never listen to" to "this is not so bad, actually i like it". The Beatles are The Beatles and have always a place on my cd shelf.