this blog is 118043 words long.

I am still counting mine...

I knew I picked the wrong year to quit drinking.

If there was a giant tsunami wave today washing away the Midwest of the United States and magically sparing the coasts I would not shed one tear.

Pinback's Fortress from their latest album Summer in Abaddon is catching on where they lost me just after their first record (via the wordy but not too wordy fingertips). If you like harmonies this is for you.

8. Mai 1945 Bedingungslose Kapitulation Keith Jarrett's birthday

Hey!! Stop what you're doing! You're not going to find that Arcade Fire live bootleg today, nor will you be stumbling across the b-side to "Hand In Glove", and there's no way you'll be finding that unreleased Pixies album. What you need to do is get ready to vote in the most important election of our lives. Figure out where your nearest polling place is and make sure you are registered. Tell your friends to vote, tell your enemies for that matter. But just vote.

Worried that you're not informed enough to vote? You're on the internet - the information is out there waiting for you. Not a U.S. citizen? Then please call or email all your American friends and make sure they plan on voting. Many artists/organizations are stepping up and helping with the Get Out the Vote campaign, and now so are many of us in the music blogging community.

Two links to make your choice easier John Kerry George W. Bush ("You are not authorized to view this page blabla." Maybe this applies only to old Europe.)

And since I link to mp3s occasionally... Chris Stamey with Yo La Tengo - V.O.T.E.

Craig from songs:illinois found this 30 second PSA from Chris Stamey and indie rock vets Yo La Tengo (one of my two fave current bands), which will also appear on their forthcoming album of the same title out election day (aka tomorrow) on Yep Records.

More music Eminem's Mosh video (lyrics with German translation first) Dan Bern - Bush Must Be Defeated

Music bloggers for democracy the big ticket songs:illinois last sound of summer moebius rex pregnant without intercourse bars and guitars scissorkick radio babylon an idiot's guide to dreaming kingblind teaching the indie kids to dance again the napkin tuwa's shanty rummage through the crevices lost bands of the new wave era enchilada's blog aurgasm bradley's almanac largehearted boy the witness exchange something i learned today mystery and misery alternate tuning chromewaves republic of replicants telephone thing fingertips pedaços de nada the rock and roll report 10:51am toronto the acousticwoodlands fat planet silence is a rhythm two bossblog close your eyes

Even though The Girl from Ipanema (link to mp3), the first track on this album, has been played to death in countless piano bars and late night lounges long ago it still has got a certain charm. The seventeen year old Helô Pinheiro inspired Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes in 1962 to write this song. Sitting in a cafe they saw her every day going to the beach of Ipanema, a district of Rio de Janeiro. The rhythm of this bossa nova tune really gives the listener the image of a woman strolling by gracefully and swaying slightly in the hips. The sad measured melody expresses the aloofness of the young beauty. Pinheiro apparently never got a penny from this smash hit and the heirs of Jobim and de Moraes even tried to bar her from opening a store named The Girl from Ipanema in 2001 (NYT).

For a long time I did not realize the magic of this music. I found it boring easy listening stuff. Somehow too soft to be memorable. Nowadays I find the softness and mellowness extremely appealing. Everything is smooth and relaxed here. The gentle and peaceful voices of João and Astrud Gilberto which are almost genderless but sensual at the same time. The pleasant harmonic Brazilian accent without the rough edges of the Portuguese. The lyrical impressionist tenor saxophone lines of Stan Getz. João Gilberto's fingerpicked guitar giving the samba dance element. The occasional piano which Jobim plays with an intense tenderness as if he would caress a new-born baby. And finally the reserved but effective rhythm section made of Tommy Williams bass and Milton Banana's drums.

This is cool chill-out or chill-in music making me dream of being served a caipirinha by a carioca (someone from Rio) in a bar in a warm night on the Copacabana, looking over to the giant illuminated Christ statue on top of the Corcovado.

Here is the overview of the series 40 years, 40 albums of which part VII was this post.