Tuesday blues

* Hahaha ! The weather report was predicting yeaterday a "summer day" for today. It is cloudy and I had to wear a leather coat this morning. Summer... hahahah ! Where are the promised 23°C ? I am feeling cheated by www.weer.nl

* The world is exploding in a huge economic crisis and what one reads in the Dutch papers ? "Lady Gaga will perform at Formula 1" (so what ?); "Pamela Anderson half naked in a reality show" (has she ever been decently covered ?); "Many drivers in the NL stoned" (duh !); "The Zaanstad mayor makes a formal complaint about a pie accident" (really ?); "Let's make a deal with criminals - says influential police research Cyrille Fijnaut" (even more ?). Where are news such as this one (click quickly while the links lasts) ? The Dutch media completely ignores international embarrassment of politicians and bankers.

And then I read the title: "Blues legend Harry Muskee dead". After 35 years as a singer, Harry Muskee died yesterday at the age of 70 years old from cancer. Have you never heard of Harry Muskee ? Me neither !! And then I decied to read the whole article which described the ups and down of his career and his work with the band Cuby & the Blizzards. At the end of the article I read that "...photographer and film director Anton Corbijn  chose the melancholic Window of my Eyes for the ending credits of his film The American, with George Clooney (2010). The band received and Edison award for the song." - a lovely song which I divide with you during this gray Tuesday.



Through the window of my eyes
I can see the rainy day
Sitting in the chair
Of my cool room
Looking for a way
To be the one I am
It's useless to cry
For the things I once have known
Thinking it will come back and reach my home

It's like a distant, like a distant face
It's like the shadow on my wall
Something that
That I cannot touch
A heavenly past that calls
the shelter of my mind
Hides my laugh and my tear
and I keep on looking for a reason which is not here...

Friday Hotie, Hot Candy

Candy Dulfer (Amsterdam, 1969)  is a Dutch alto saxophonist and a worldstar.

She has played with Beyoncé, Maceo Parker, Aretha Franklyn, Prince ("When I want sax, I call Candy") and many others.

And she has a much, much younger boyfriend -  how hot is that woman ?

Her new album Crazy is per October 1st available.
It's Candy's 8th album.

The Souldiers - Down on Me

A very simple video with Dutch sisters Sofie and Cato on the vocals, and their brother Joost van Dijck. The band is based in Amsterdam and strongly influenced by soul, funk en blues.
The Souldiers are also: Robin van Baaren, Christiaan Dros en Daniel de Vries.

What Would You Do ? (Wat Zou Je Doen ?)

Despite the sunglasses, none of them are in the Matrix (I think...)

BLØF is a rock/pop group from south Holland (the province of Zeeland) who is since 1992 producing many hits - a total 35 singles & 20 albums so far. Below you can listen to a pretty song - "What would you do ?" that I have freely translated into English. The hit is from 19998. Oldie but good ! One of my fave songs in Dutch.  (Note: "Zou" can be annoying when translated into English. It can be employed as "shall" in some situations, but in this case I have opted for "would". If, if, if... grrr ! The conditional and suppositions can drive us crazy !)

(double click on the video to go to the original Youtube page)
Wat Zou Je Doen ?

Wat zou je doen, als ik hier opeens weer voor je stond
Wat zou je doen, als ik viel, hier voor je op de grond
Wat zou je doen, als ik dat deed

Wat zou je doen, als ik je gezicht weer in mijn handen nam
Wat zou je doen, als ik met mijn mond dichtbij de jouwe kwam
Wat zou je doen, als ik dat deed

Zou je lachen, zou je schelden
Zou je zeggen dat ik een klootzak ben
Zou je janken, zou je vloeken
Zou je zeggen dat je me niet meer kent
Zou je lachen, zou je schelden, van verdriet

Wat zou je zeggen, als ik met mijn vingers door je haar zou gaan
Wat zou je zeggen, als we samen voor de spiegel zouden staan
Wat zou je zeggen, als ik dat deed

Wat zou je zeggen, als ik vertelde over al die tijd
Wat zou je zeggen, als ik zei: Ik heb van al die tijd toch echt geen spijt
Wat zou je zeggen, wat zou je doen, als ik dat deed

Zou je lachen, zou je schelden
Zou je zeggen dat ik een klootzak ben
Zou je janken, zou je vloeken
Zou je zeggen dat je me niet meer kent
Zou je lachen, zou je schelden, van verdriet

Wat zou je doen, als ik hier opeens weer voor je stond
Wat zou je doen, als ik viel hier voor je op de grond
Wat zou je doen, als ik dat deed

Zou je lachen, zou je schelden
Zou je zeggen dat ik een klootzak ben
Zou je janken, zou je vloeken
Zou je zeggen dat je me niet meer kent
Zou je lachen, zou je schelden, van verdriet

Wat zou je doen
_____________________________________
What would you do ?

What would you do, if I suddenly appeared in front of you ?
What you you do, if I fell at your feet on the ground ?
What would you do, if I did that ?

What would you do, if I took your face in my hands ?
What would you do, if I came with my mouth next to yours ?
What would you do, if I did that ?

Would you laugh, would you scold me ?
Would you say I am a loser ?
Would you cry, would you curse me ?
Would you say you do not know me ?
Would you laugh (at me) or cry from sadness ?

What would you say, if I ran my fingers along your hair ?
What would you say, if we both stood up in front of a mirror ?
What would you say, if I did that ?

What would you say, if I told you all about that time ?
What would you say, if I said: I do not regret anything about it
What would you say, what would you do, if I did that ?

Would you laugh, would you scold me ?
Would you say I am an idiot ?
Would you cry, would you curse me ?
Would you say you do not know me ?
Would you laugh (at me) or cry from sadness ?

What would you do, if I suddenly appeared in front of you ?
What you you do, if I fell at your feet on the ground ?
What would you do, if I did that ?

Would you laugh, would you scold ?
Would you say I am an imbecile ?
Would you cry, would you curse me ?
Would you say you do not know me ?
Would you laugh (at me) or cry from sadness ?

Within Temptation - Faster

Today's post is a typical "Friday post" - but I cannot wait for five days to share this. I have seen Sharon den Adel last week in a talk show, super confident and smiley... and then I discovered her new clip while I was enjoying a Turkish pizza at a lunchroom last Saturday. Within Temptation...  Great, as always - but be advised the end is creepy, hahaha !  Typical.

Sharon den Adel designs her own gothic costumes - witch, fairy woman, goddess of darkness, angelic being... Always another female achetype - and alway super confident.  She is expecting her third child this year. Some women seem to be able to accomplish all their dreams, don't they ? Sharon is sooo inspiring for young girls. More pics here.

Wat Is Dromen ?

On the video above from Sep. 2010, the 3 Js (Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte) from Volendam and Ellen ten Damme.
Ellen (1967) is a Dutch singer, musician and actress and even performs some acrobacies while on the stage. It seems she is famous in Germany, due to her several roles on films for the television - and she speaks German almost without an accent. The Dutch market is so small that it is not so unusual for Dutch artists also pursusing a career in other countries singing in French (Dave), English (Anouk, Ilse de Lange, The Cats) or German (Ellen ten Damme and others). I find Ellen quite special for being succesful in different artistic areas and having such an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to her career/band. A female artist with balls - and the maestro of her own life.

Below, my free translation of the refrain from Dutch into English:

What is the meaning of dreaming ?
Is it hoping, aiming, wishing to know or forgetting to live ?
Is it just a thought, or the waiting between giving and taking ?
Is it good, is it harmful, a betrayal for a moment ?
A sign ? Or has no meaning ?

The Lyrics in Dutch:

Wordt wakker schat.
Je hebt een nare droom gehad.
Rustig maar.
Rust nog wat.
Je kussen is zelfs nat.


Was het dan toch maar verbeelding?
En niet iets wat me zeggen wil?
Wat ik moet weten?
Weet ik veel?
De angst is vast een deel.


Wat is dromen?
Is het hopen, streven, willen weten of vergeten te leven?
Is het maar een gedachte, het wachten tussen nemen en geven?
Is het goed, is het schadelijk, verraderlijk of jou om het even?
Of het een teken is of van geen betekenis?


Ik vloog boven de stad.
Had maling aan de zwaartekracht.
En als ik val, dan land ik zacht.
Terug op mijn matras.
Dat was vannacht.


Toen laatst een zanger werd begraven.
Ik stond erbij en keek ernaar.
Mijn vrienden liepen snikkend af en aan.
En noemden steeds mijn naam.
Dat is toch raar?

Wat is dromen?
Is het hopen, streven, willen weten of vergeten te leven?
Is het maar een gedachte, het wachten tussen nemen en geven?
Is het goed, is het schadelijk, verraderlijk of jou om het even?
Of het een teken is of van geen betekenis?

A Mix with Everything

Go here. More Brazilian related news here.
(thanks for your tips gringa)



I think Brazil has missed a HUGE opportunity to make an unforgettable World Cup in 2014. Where are the new roads ? Airports ? Metro lines ? Hotels ? New stadia ?
The second video is an interview with Eike Batista, the richest man in Brazil and 8th in the world, according to Forbes magazine. Let's pay attention to his advices, because he knows everything.

Adriana Calcanhotto in Amsterdam

Brazilian singer Calcanhotto is going to perform on the 29th October at Bimhuis, in Amsterdam.

Piet Heinkade 3

1019 BR Amsterdam

020 7882150

Did you hear that?

Music is subjective, transformative, delusional, and hectic. It swings like a pendilum, you're wise to swing with it. Just once in your life attend a festival, walk the grass, search for shade, chug water, and hardly eat. Shop the wares of gypsies, meet somewhere in the middle. Bring nothing with you, leave with everything you've ever needed. Push your self to find that one harmony, whatever it is that makes you feel whole. Never close your eyes, don't miss a thing. The hippie people, the faries, the hats and the sunglasses, the colors and the mutted scribbed t-shirts. We're all looking for something, find it in the crowd of flapping flags. Make an effort to become a pro at getting lost, never knowing the next step, follow the crowd, or plan every moment, it's all the same once you enter the gate. 

Lesson # 18: Learn to listen.

Peace, Love, and Music

"All we are saying is give peace a chance."

-John Lennon

Tomorrow begins the first day of my musical life. I can see it now, the green rolling hills spilling out over Zilker Park as indie kids, and Rayband Wayfarer's swarm the stages. The warm sun, and cool breeze, we are all here to let it go. It's time to be with the people, picnic in the park, listen to the sounds that will one day become my soundtrack. I am a member of the hippie generation, a flower child looking for peace in the park, to find a place where life is different. In 3 days we'll leave with pictures and memories that will define our city. Today we find bliss.

Lesson #15: Let it all go.

Sunday Bloody Sunday - Sambô

vandaag: today / hoje
maandag: Monday / segunda-feira
dinsdag: Tuesday / terca-feira
woensdag: wednesday / quarta-feira
donderdag:Thursday / quinta-feira
vrijdag: Friday / sexta-feira
zaterdag: Saturday / sabado
zondag: Sunday / domingo

In Dutch, the days of the week are not capitalized.
If you know English, it is quite easy learning the days of the week in Dutch, isn't it ?


A Bloody Sunday in festive samba rhytm.
You like it ? Dislike it ?
And Brazilians canibalize everything. Any rhythm (heavy metal, rock'n'roll, classic, religious mantras) can end up in samba.

Een prettige Zondag aan iederen ! Bom domingo !

Sensual

Sensual is a Dutch band of Brazilian jazz and samba rythms.
They compose and sing their own songs in Portuguese.
Their next performances are on the 9th of October in P60 (in Amstelveen) and on the 31st of October in Tivolli de Helling (in Utrecht). Their third c.d. Trinta is to be released on the 1st of November.

Eva Kiebom:  vocals
Emiel van Rijthoven:  keys
Jasper van Hulten:  drums
Sven Happel:  bass
Gijs van Straalen:  percussion

www.bandasensual.com

Voyage, voyage

Au dessus des vieux volcans

Glisse des ailes sous les tapis du vent
Voyage, voyage
Eternellement

De nuages en marécages
De vent d'Espagne en pluie d'Equateur
Voyage, voyage
Vole dans les hauteurs


Au dessus des capitales
Des idées fatales
Regardent l'océan


Voyage, voyage
Plus loin que la nuit et le jour
Voyage


Dans l'espace inoui de l'amour
Voyage, voyage
Sur leau sacrée dun fleuve indien
Voyage
Et jamais ne revient


Sur le Gange ou l'Amazone
Chez les blacks, chez les sikhs, chez les jaunes
Voyage, voyage
Dans tout le royaume


Sur les dunes du Sahara
Des iles Fidji au Fujiyama
Voyage, voyage
Ne tarrêtes pas


Au dessus des barbelés
Des coeurs bombardés
Regardent locéan


Voyage, voyage
Plus loin que la nuit et le jour
Voyage
Dans l'espace inoui de l'amour


Voyage, voyage
Voyage, voyage
Voyage, voyage

Plus loin que la nuit et le jour
Voyage
Dans l'espace inoui de l'amour


Voyage, voyage
Sur leau sacrée dun fleuve indien
Voyage
Et jamais ne revient

Anouk - Three Days In A Row (Official Video)

Anouk is in my opinion the best female singer at this moment in Holland. On the video above she acts with her actual partner and father of her fourth kid: rapper Unorthadox. Nine years ago, they had a relation that lasted three days. She was 24y. - and him 18. After being married for eight years, as soon as she divorced she took contact via telephone with "Dox" again. They have been together since March 2009.

Three days ? Ummm...

Gregor Salto ft Chappell- I'm Your Friend

A nice video filmed in Amsterdam and Johannesburg.

THE Summer Sound

According to Rene Steenhorst on De Telegraaf from 19th June this is going to be the sound of 2010 summer: Bom Tempo, the newest CD from Sergio Mendes. The maestro is most known for his Mas Que Nada versions, a song originally written and performed by Jorge Ben Jor in 1963. (I think it is worth noting that in the US and Europe, the song is popularly credited to Mendes with Jorge relatively unknown, whereas in Brazil, the reverse in true.)

I have chosen the track Emorio from Bom Tempo to give you an idea of how the CD sounds like. Just click on the photo of the CD cover above. Alternatively, check the video below to enjoy Mendes and Carlinhos Brown in Funky Bahia (which is not in Bom Tempo). Enjoy some scenes of Salvador, the city of all saints and all sins...

Trijntje Oosterhuis - Somebody Else's Lover

Her name is unpronounceable: Trijntje Oosterhuis. Dammit !

Many Dutch singers built up a career singing English songs. Check how Judith Katrijntje sounds clicking on her pic above.

Check her biography here. Remarkably, a huge Brazilian audience is quite used to her voice 'cause in 2009 and 2010, her music "What the World Needs Now" was the theme of the protagonist "Helena" of Brazilian TV novel "Viver a Vida" made by Rede Globo (being watched ty estimaded 120 million people daily).

Have a nice weekend you all!

Psst! Can somebody tell me where I can find a colossal baroque ring like hers ? -Lovit ! ;)

Onderweg [Along the Way]

Today at the end of my Dutch lesson the teacher provided us with the lyrics of this song: Onderweg, from the group Abel. We had to fill in the blanks some missing words. It was a light listening exercise. I remembered this song immediately, I have been hearing it for years and years. Btw, memorizing lyrics is always a pleasurable thing to do when you are learning a foreign language. Plus... I have to confess that I quite fall for Joris' Breda accent and his soft "g". Better than the GRRRAW, GRRAUW, GRRAW you hear in the North Holland. You can watch and listen to the video clicking here.

Onderweg was for 17 weeks in the Dutch Top 40, 6 weeks of whick it was number 1. The single was number 4 in the Top 40 list during the year 2000. The main character describes a route he makes, while leaving home, taking a bus and then a train. And at the same time he remembers about the good times with a black haired girl he loved/still loves. But he finally reaches the sad conclusion that they are too different and maybe were not made for each other.

In the videoclip you see Birgit Schuurman, nowadays a known (well "known"... everything is relative) Dutch singer and actress. She is actually half Dutch half Chinese, and sister of very well known sex symbol and bad haired actress Katia Schuurman.

Ik doe de deur dicht
Straten lijken te huilen
Wolken lijken te vluchten
Ik stap de bus in
Mensen lijken te kijken
Maar ik wil ze ontwijken
Voordat ze mij zien

Het is allang verleden tijd
Dat je mijn verjaardag niet vergat
Je onvoorwaardelijk koos voor mij

Ik zie de velden
Langs mij heen gaan huizen
Het is stil achter de ruiten
Wie kan mij zien ?
In blauw verlichte treinen
Je hart is zo dicht bij me
Maar het klopt niet

Het is allang verleden tijd
Je zwarte haren en je lach
Dat je heel de wereld voor mij was
Het zit nog veel te diep in mij
Dat ik mocht delen wat jij had
Je door m'n haren ging en zei:

Je kent mijn stem niet
Wie ik ben is wat je nu ziet
Wil je dansen met illusies in gedachten ?
Ben je verder dan het heden ?
Wil je terug naar je verleden ?
Zegt je dat iets ?

Het is allang verleden tijd
Rode wijn op het terras
Dat je heel de wereld voor mij was
Het zit nog veel te diep in mij
Maar ik vergat hoe jij me zag
Dat ik zo anders ben dan jij

Ik loop de straat in
Maar het zal me nooit verwarmen
Omdat het mij niet kan omarmen
Wie zou mij zien
Het liefst zou ik willen schreeuwen
Ik zou oneindig willen schreeuwen
Maar het gaat niet
Jij bent niet alleen van mij
'K kan de wereld laten zien
Dat het zo beter is misschien

Het is allang verleden tijd
Dat ik vergat hoe jij me zag
Dat ik zo anders ben dan jij

An exquisite hit

Now and then I hear on the radio this old hit from Dutch group Ten Sharp. The lyrics, that voice, lots of memories.
Exquisite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NWyu42zl0w

You

It's all right with me as long as you are by my side
talk or just say nothing, I don't mind your looks never lie

I was always on the run, finding out what I was looking for and
I was always insecure, just until I found
Words often don't come easy, I never loved to show you the inside of me oh no my baby
You were always patient, dragging out what I tried to hide
I was always on the run, finding out what I was looking for and
I was always insecure, just until I found you

You were always on my mind, you, you're the one I'm living for ... you !
You're my everlasting fire, you're my always shining star
Nights always are good friends, a glass of wine and the lights down low
You lying beside me, me full of love and filled with hope
I was always on the run, finding out what I was looking for and
I was always insecure, just until I found you
You were always on my mind, you, you're the one I'm living for ... you !
you're my everlasting fire

You're my always shining star

Ilse

She was on my husband's side of the bed.

So beautiful and talented.

So Incredible.