sábado, 21 de enero de 2012

Las fotos del dia

"Pasaje hacia la crisis natural"

"Se escucha un rumor"

"Chapuzas sobre ruedas" (Carril bici en el Paseo Marítimo de Algeciras)

Naturaleza cruel



Esta mañana fui a andar a la playa con la cámara en mano, en busca de algunas instantáneas naturales para el blog, pues llevaba muchísimo tiempo sin incluir nada al respecto. He realizado varias y con diferentes motivos, que expondré a continuación, pero me conmovió la presencia en medio de la arena de una cría de gaviota abandonada a su suerte por sus progenitores y en estado de inanición (su muerte es inevitable) que he querido reflejarlas en una entrada exclusiva para ella. Las imágenes hablan por sí solas y merecen nuestra reflexión. El abandono de bebés o niños no es solo propio de los humanos, sino de otras especies vivas de nuestro mundo.

Si decimos que la naturaleza es cruel, es por que es así de cruel. Lástima que entre los humanos hayan unos cuantos que se comporten como animales con sus hijos.

Marzo negro


Fuente: Blog de Enrique Dans

jueves, 19 de enero de 2012

El cierre de Megaupload


La gran putada de Internet no ha hecho más que comenzar, "gracias" a la actuación del F.B.I.

De momento, ya hay cerca de 20.000 referencias en Google dedicada a esta triste noticia que va a suponer el principio del fin de lo que era Internet hasta ahora y ese número irá en aumento.

Si como creo, puede que más adelante hagan lo propio con otros servicios como Rapidshare o Megashare y tantas otras, me temo que las operadoras de Internet lo van a tener muy crudo. Igual exagero, pero no creo descabellada la idea de que miles o millones de usuarios de la red consideren la posibilidad de darse de baja y vivir una vida más analógica, alejada de la realidad virtual en que se han convertido sus vidas. Igual hasta sería lo mejor, o tal vez lo peor que les podría pasar tanto a las operadoras de Internet como a los que se han dedicado a perseguir por activa y por pasiva a los que se aprovechaban de la red para circular versiones digitales de sus obras protegidas con copyright. El efecto mariposa no ha hecho más que empezar. Cierras un portal pero aparecerán otras ramificaciones en su lugar, o quizás se genere otra cosa desde el caos de este suceso.

Esto no lo han previsto los mayas, pero creo que el fin del mundo ha comenzado ya. O quizás no...

Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat (1971)

Maravilloso disco de Cat Stevens publicado en 1971, con diez canciones de una bella factura, más varios temas extra incluidos en un segundo CD en una reciente reedición remasterizada con temas en vivo y demos, entre las que sobresalen varios de sus temas más clásicos, muchas veces interpretados en sus muchos conciertos y hasta el presente, ya bajo nueva imagen y nuevo nombre como Yusuf Islam tras convertirse al islamismo. "Moonshadow", "Morning Has Broken", "Peace Train", "Ruby Love" y "The Wind" son canciones casi eternas, tanto como "Father and Son", "Wild World", "The first cut is the deepest" o "Hard headed woman" de otro gran disco "Tea For The Tillerman", sin menospreciar otros álbumes grabados en los 70 igualmente importantes en su carrera como músico e intérprete.

Se dice que Rick Wakeman participó en la canción "Morning Has Broken" tocando el piano, aunque este dato no aparezca en los créditos del álbum. A pesar de ello, nunca cobró por la colaboración con Cat Stevens. La explicación llega en el año 2000, cuando Wakeman publicó una versión instrumental de "Morning has Broken" en un álbum del mismo título. Ese mismo año, concedió una entrevista a la BBC Radio 5 Live y manifestó durante la misma haber accedido a tocar en la versión de Cat Stevens por solo 10 libras pero que estaba muy enfadado (y aun lo está) porque se le excluyó de los créditos del disco, por lo cual nunca recibió el dinero. En cualquier caso, la canción se convirtió en todo un éxito para Stevens, llegando a alcanzar el puesto número 6 en los EE.UU. y liderar el US Adult Contemporary Chart en 1972.

Más me gustaría poder añadir y diseccionar el disco, pero es que no tengo más palabras para describir esta joya del pop de los años setenta. Absolutamente recomendable.

Casi todos los lanzamientos de este álbum pueden consultarse tanto en DiscoGS como en Rate Your Music.

Listado de temas:

A1 The Wind - 1:40
A2 Rubylove - 2:35
A3 If I Laugh - 3:20
A4 Changes IV - 3:27
A5 How Can I Tell You - 4:25
B1 Tuesday's Dead - 3:34
B2 Morning Has Broken - 3:15
B3 Bitterblue - 3:07
B4 Moonshadow - 2:37
B5 Peace Train - 4:10

"Teaser And The Firecat" puede adquirirse en Amazon, iTunes, Rhapsody, 7-Digital y otras webs de descargas legales. Disponibles también para su escucha online desde Deezer y Spotify.


miércoles, 11 de enero de 2012

Aphrodite's Child - 666 (1972, Polydor)

Aphrodite's Child was a Greek progressive rock band formed in 1967, by Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards), Demis Roussos (bass guitar and vocals), Loukas Sideras (drums and vocals), and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris (guitar). Their band's name was derived from the title of a track from another Mercury act, Dick Campbell, from his Sings Where It's At album.

Papathanassiou and Roussos, both cousins, had already been successful in Greece (playing in the bands Formynx and Idols respectively) while they got together with Sideras and Koulouris to form a new band. Their first recording as a band was for George Romanos' album In Concert and in Studio where they played on four songs and were credited as 'Vangelis and his Orchestra'. In the same year they recorded a two song demo and submitted it to Philips Records.

The band began to record their next outpouring late in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelation, entitled 666. Koulouris, having finished his Greek army duty rejoined the band. However, relations between all the band members were not good at the time, and continued to worsen during the album's creation.

Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Furthermore, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and recorded his first solo single We Shall Dance (with Sideras on drums), and his first solo album On the Greek Side of My Mind, whereas Vangelis recorded the score for L'Apocalypse des animaux and worked on a single with his girlfriend Vilma Ladopoulou, performing with Koulouris using the pseudonym 'Alpha Beta'.

By the time the double album 666 finally was released in June 1972, and having sold over 20 million albums, the band had already split. Both Vangelis and Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis first in electronic music, then in movie soundtracks, which made him a successful film score composer of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s (decade), having penned such titles as 1982's Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and 2004's Oliver Stone's Alexander among many others. Koulouris worked with both on occasion. Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing an album and the single Rising Sun after the break-up then disappearing into obscurity.

(C) Wikipedia.

I want to add that Michael Cretu quoted several bits from this album into his Enigma project first album "MCMXC a.D.". Those bits were extracted from signed tracks with a *.

Side One:

1. The System
2. Babylon
3. Loud, Loud, Loud
4. The Four Horsemen
5. The Lamb
6. The Seventh Seal (*)

Side Two:

1. Aegian Sea
2. Seven Bowls (*)
3. The Wakening Beast
4. Lament
5. The Marching Beast
6. The Battle of the Locusts
7. Do It
8. Tribulation
9. The Beast
10. Ofis

Side Three:

1. Seven Trumpets
2. Altamont
3. The Wedding of the Lamb
4. The Capture of the Beast
5. Hic et Nunc

Side Four:

1. All The Seats Were Occupied
2. Break

According to Rate Your Music, this is the list of complete releases of "666" album:

[GF] - Gatefold
[AC] - Alternate cover
[CD SAR] - CD Sized Album Replica
[LE] - Limited Edition
[RM] - Remastered
[RI] - Re-issue

1972 - 666 [33 rpm], [AC], [GF] - Vinyl LP - UK - Vertigo - 6641 581
1972 - 666 [33 rpm], [GF] - Vinyl LP - UK - Vertigo - 6333 500 / 501
1972 - 666 [33 rpm], [GF] - Vinyl LP - France / Germany - Vertigo - 6673001
1972 - 666 [GF] - Vinyl LP - USA - Vertigo - VEL 2-500
1972 - Break [AC] - Vinyl LP - Brazil - Vertigo - 6333 502
1974 - 666 [33 rpm], [GF] - Vinyl LP - Greece - Vertigo - 6673001
1976 - 666 [GF] - Vinyl LP - Japan - Vertigo - SFX-10014-5
1983 - 666 [33 rpm], [GF] - Vinyl LP - Japan - Vertigo - 15PP-29~30
1989 - 666 - CD - Japan - Vertigo - PPD-3039~40
1989 - 666 - CD - Europe - Vertigo - 838 430-2
1996 - 666 - CD - One Way - OW 31375
1996 - 666 - CD - Japan - Phonogram - PHCR-16105~6
2004 - 666 [CD SAR], [GF], [LE], [RI], [RM] - CD - Japan - Universal Japan - UICY-9373/4
2??? - 666 - Vinyl LP - Japan - Vertigo - RJ 5038/9

Available on Amazon, iTunes, Rhapsody, 7-Digital and major online mp3 stores at the net. Also available for direct listening via legal streaming services as Deezer and Spotify.


martes, 3 de enero de 2012

Haikara - Geafar (1974)

Haikara were a progressive band from Finland that released (I think) four albums in the 1970's. Geafar was the band's second album, originally released in 1974 and now re-released on Jussi Lehtisalo's Ektro Records label. In addition to the five tracks that appeared on the original album there are four bonus tracks recorded between 1976-1979.

The music, at its hottest, is an interesting blend of fiery Canterbury and fusion, with a hint of Henry Cow-styled RIO. Stir in a potent Zheul bass that adds a bit of Magma to the mix, plus aggressive horns and you've got some killer music that is quite difficult to describe.

"Change", "Kun Menet Tarpeeksi..." (long title), and "Geafar" are the smokers from the original LP. Listening to "Kun Menet Tarpeeksi..." I wonder if later 70's French adventurers like Etron Fou Leloublan and Les i were influenced by Haikara? The sax and rhythms are similar, though the guitar is more prominent with Haikara and the music more fast paced. The guitar/sax duel is a joy and there are brief quieter moments of operatic female vocals. The title track, "Geafar" features a vocalist that reminded me of Dagmar Krause, adding gorgeous dissonance to the music. And the choppy, but perfectly timed beats remind me of the Canterbury school's more eclectic moments. At 14 minutes the music evolves through a number of varied but related themes, many of which include impressively smoking instrumentals. I love the moments when the fuzzy (but non-acidic) guitar duels with the sax while the Zheul bass and drums keep the pace moving swiftly along.

But Haikara have their quieter, more classically progressive influenced moments as well, as heard on "Kantaatti" and "Laulu Surulliesesta Pilvestä". Both include imaginative arrangements of piano, violin, and operatic female vocals. Quite the opposite intensity level from the other three tracks, but the music is just as well done and it's nice to hear a different side to the band.

I'm afraid I can't say the same for the bonus tracks though. These are safe songs, a couple of which reminded me of later 70's Camel during their more song-oriented period. The melodies on "Picnic" are downright cheesy. "Jumbo" is the best of the four, being more in a fusion direction, but still doesn't approach the inventive music heard on the original album.

Overall, however, I'd recommend checking out the disc for the tracks from the original LP. Fans of 70's progressive history into Canterbury, fusion, and the more accessible RIO bands will want to hear this. In fact, an internet search turned up very little information on Haikara. A little known band from the 70's that deserves to be heard.

Aural Innovations - Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Change (8:10)
2. Kun menet tarpeeksi kauas tulevaisuuteen, huomaat olevasi menneisyydessä (8:09)
3. Kantaatti (2:32)
4. Laulu surullisesta pilvestä (3:57)
5. Geafar (13:57)

On later CD reissues several bonus tracks were added:

6. Picnic (2:27) (previously unreleased)
7. Oman onnen seppä (3:09) (previously unreleased)
8. Pilven poika (2:57)
9. Jumbo (3:30)

Available for listening by legal streaming through Deezer service. Other records by Haikara can be heard with this online service as well as on Spotify.

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (50th Anniversary Edition)

"Tubular Bells (50th Anniversary Edition)" ya a la venta en 2xLP, CD, BluRay y también disponible en plataformas digitales como Am...