I have said plenty of times that I generally don't care much about lyrics and I normally focus on the melody and instrumentation. Well, for the first time in my life I have found an album which has captivated me mostly because of the lyrics. Sure, the melodies are nice and Joan Manuel Serrat has … Continue reading Ode to the Mediterranean Sea
Written on the 10th of December, 2016 Artists often have tormented lives. Some die young, some are unexplainable unsuccessful, some have alcohol and drug abuse problems. Perhaps you’ve seen the movie Searching for Sugarman, which shows the life of Sixto Rodríguez, a very good songwriter who didn’t have much luck back in the seventies. Quite sad, … Continue reading The sad life of Jackson C. Frank
Written on the 26th of July, 2016 A few months ago I wrote a post about a Basque songwriter called Ruper Ordorika and one of his songs, Martin Larralde. This time I’ll write about Mikel Laboa, another Basque songriter who was, I believe, a big inspiration for Ruper Ordorika and definitely one of the biggest Basque … Continue reading Mikel Laboa: elegance and fragility
Written on the 17th of June, 2016 Going from the 70s to the 80s was not just a change of numbers for Jethro Tull. Firstly, John Glascock died in 1979 and soon after that Barrie Barlow, who was perhaps hisclosest friends, quit the band. Also, Ian Anderson decided he wanted to work on a solo album, … Continue reading Jethro Tull (XI): changes
Written on the 19th of March, 2016 Dear people who have enough time to read my pointless rants: I am troubled. I am troubled by all the hate I see towards John Barleycorn. Why does everyone want to kill him? So far I’ve heard bands such as Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention and Traffic sing it, and … Continue reading Everybody hates John Barleycorn
Written on the 25th of February 2016 Four and a half years ago, in September 2011, I started my year abroad as an Erasmus student. It was an amazing year; I met so many great people and travelled to so many different places. However, the place I called home for nine months was not exactly … Continue reading Poland’s got the blues
Written on the 29th of January, 2016 Today I want to tell you about a guy who lived about two hundred years ago. This is going to seem totally off-topic at first, but I promise this is still a music blog. There's a song in the end, in case you want to skip the boring … Continue reading Martin Larralde
I haven’t written anything since Georgia and Armenia and I just felt like putting into words a few thoughts that have been crossing my mind lately. Spending Christmas home after almost a whole year abroad and knowing that it may be several months before I go back again is quite a thing, even more when … Continue reading A few after-Christmas thoughts
Written on the 16th of December, 2015 This is folk post #4563536, sorry for those who don’t like it that much. I think I'm running out of inspiration. Lately, I’ve found myself listening to two albums very often, and only a few days ago I downloaded a third one, quite similar to the others. I’m … Continue reading Tim Hart and Maddy Prior
Written on the 8th of November, 2015 It’s amazing how things can change so suddenly. In the late seventies, Jethro Tull were at their absolute best. Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses had been two amazing folky rock albums and, suddenly, the band almost died. It was 1979 and the band was recording Stormwatch, their last seventies album. Bassist … Continue reading Jethro Tull (XI): the end of an era
