Sophomore Songs - 42 samples of blackness, rage and salvation

In rock music, the second album is also known as The Difficult Second Album. 

Google gives us evidence:

"The Difficult First Album": 41600 results. 

"The Difficult Second Album": 1440000 results.

"The Difficult Third Album": 92500 results.

Wikipedia, sophomorically explains. 

But what about the "difficult second song" in the tracklist? The one following the starter (and predictable first single). How should it be? Explosive? Exciting? Balladish? Which is the correct chemical formula? I spent some time in a scientific exploration of the issue (scientific = I scanned some of my favourite albums) and I come up with this playlist, totally based on #2 tracks. As you will see & hear, it's a sonic journey haunted with paranoia, depression, isolation, death, indie dark love, millenary britpop resurrection, europeancholy and final nordic salvation. Enjoy.

United Capitals of Europe (a unionist playlist, from Amsterdam to Warszawa)

These are hard times for the European dream, whatever it is. As usual, money is haunting people's lives and minds. Everybody speaks about debt, banks, finance. A lot of people is getting poor, a lot is getting angry, a lot is looking at the EU as a noxious burden. Northern people think mediterranean people are just fucking moneywasters. Mediterranean people think northern people are just trying to strangle them. All of their strategies sound quite selfish: each country thinks about itself. Let's say the sense of community is not very strong. And the happiness, of course, it flies away.

Now, this little playlist will not be capable to take it back. And it won't certainly solve euro problems with a kind of musical magic. It's just a little game, digging the Spotify catalogue for some hidden gold. You want a slogan? Uhm... let me think... capitals are better than capital?

A bit of legenda & additional infos:

- The 27 cities are the capital cities of the 27 member states of the European Union;

- If possible, I favourited songs titled with the city-name only;

- If possible (2), I favourited the original local city-name (i.e. Lisboa > Lisbon)

- If possible (3), I favourited songs by local artists (Roma by an Italian singer, Paris by a French chanteuse, Bucharest by a Romanian hip hop band...);

- If possible (4), I favourited European artists;

- When I did like a song, it happened I broke one or any of the previous "if possible" rules;

- Even if my DNA is dominated by rock, I tried to keep the playlist as varied as I could (indie, pop, hip hop, music from now, something from yesterday);

- A big goodbye to Spanish actress and singer Sara Montiel, who died just few days ago in Madrid;

Raw Bowie - A simple, chronological, unmessed and undeluxed David Bowie discography on Spotify

(source: The Quiet Front)

Sometimes the lovely Spotify can be rather annoying and confusing. For example, when you visit David Bowie page you find a terribly messed list of albums, with live editions, deluxe editions, digital editions, 40th anniversary editions, etcetera editions, all in the same basket, in a disputable order. If you decide to start a "listening resumé" of his career, like I did recently following the "he's back!" mania, Spotify is not very helpful. That's why I created this little & raw playlist. Inside, I collected only the original studio albums (no live, no bonus tracks, no deluxe, no singles, no anthologies), embracing the Wikipedia canon (yes Tin Machine, no Buddha of Suburbia). 24 of 26 albums are available: Tin Machine II (1991) and Black Tie White Noise (1993) are the missing ones. Enjoy!

Albums included in the playlist:
David Bowie (1967), Space Oddity (1969), The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), Pin Ups (1973), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), Let's Dance (1983), Tonight (1984), Never Let Me Down (1987), Tin Machine (1989), Tin Machine II (1991), Black Tie White Noise (1993), Outside (1995), Earthling (1997), 'Hours...' (1999), Heathen (2002), Reality (2003), The Next Day (2013).

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon's History of Rap

Based on the "History of Rap in four medleys", 

recently put up by Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon

(check YouTube for videos)

Enjoy!

Fifty Shades of United States - A Spotify playlist from Alabama to Wyoming

I think I don't need to explain this one. Song titles tell everything. :-)

Just one or two words, though: I tried to make it as much sonically pleasant as I could. And as much American, too. With some exceptions, like the lovely berliner Masha Qrella. Enjoy!