El futuro ya está aquí - La musica de la Movida Madrileña

Info: When I travel, I like to listen to the music of the places I'm visiting. Not everything, of course. The goal is to discover local music that I don't know, that connects with my preferences and that resonates with the sense of the journey I'm taking. It may be classical, jazz, electronic, folk, but more often is pop and rock. With Madrid, where I'd planned to spend a week in August, initially I had some problems. All my usual sources went 404: not found, make a flamenco playlist and shut up.

Until I met Almodovar. 

Getting back to his first movies, especially Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980) and Labyrinth of Passion (1982), has been the key to open the crazy door of la Movida Madrileña. I finally found what I was looking for. This is when Internet still shows all the astounding power and kindness that made me fall in love with her on the demise of XX century: starting from Wikipedia and digging deeper in the mine of old Spanish articles and YouTube videos, I got a list of bands, albums and songs that Spotify immediately metamorphosed in listening pleasure. 

Then, some weeks ago, a friend of mine told me: "You're into la Movida Madrileña? Oh, I've a book about it". Friends can be astounding, too. The book is El futuro ya está aquí by Hector Fouce: it has been published in December 2006 and it provides the skeleton and the chapters of this playlist. I haven't included all the songs and artists Fouce wrote about (I left out songwriters and pre-Movida acts that in the book serve as context) and I shaked it up a little. 

La Movida Madrileña was a cultural, social and artistic movement mainly encapsulated in the first half of the 80s. Spain was just out of four decades of Franco dictatorship: it completely missed the Sixties pop revolution (if we don't consider the Real Madrid Yè-yè team) and - from a stranger's perspective, coming from another space and another time - it's interesting to re-listen to la Movida music as a collective explosion of young energies, producing a vibrant composition of punk, post-punk and new wave tunes, always sung in Spanish, that - unlike what happened in UK, for example - didn't germinate as a reaction/escape from the music of the Sixties and Seventies, from progressive, hard rock, disco or Pink Floyd. La Movida Madrileña sounds like a bizarre, postmodern and colourful mix with "no future" (like punk) and "no past": a really strange creature. It has been the perfect soundtrack to my personal peregrinations through Goya, Malasaña, calamares y football stadiums. 

Source: El futuro ya está aquí by Hector Fouce

Date of publication: December 2006

Spotify playlist latest update: 17th August 2017

Spotify direct links: HTTP / URI

Full list

I. El rol central de la musica en la cultura
1. Radio Futura - Enamorado de la moda juvenil
2. Nacha Pop - No necesitas mas
3. Alaska y los Pegamoides - Bailando
4. Mecano - Perdido en mi habitacion
5. Radio Futura - Dance Vd.
6. La Mode - Aquella cancion de Roxy
7. Paraiso - Para ti
8. Mamà - Ya no volveras
9. Nacha Pop - Visiones
10. Kaka De Luxe - Musica para embrollar

II. El valor del momento presente
11. Mecano - Hoy no me puedo levantar
12. Ejecutivos Agresivos - Mari Pili
13. Radio Futura - Un africano por la Gran Via
14. Derribos Arias - Branquias bajo el agua
15. Paralisis Permanente - Quiero ser santa/Caja de ritmos
16. Kaka De Luxe - Pero me aburro
17. Radio Futura - Muchachita
18. Gabinete Caligari - Cuatro rosas
19. Almodovar y McNamara - Suck it to me
20. Mecano - Maquillaje
21. Esclarecidos - Arponera
22. La Mode - Enfermera de noche
23. Radio Futura - Cinco semanas en globo
24. Los Secretos - Dejame

III. La experiencia del tiempo, la vivencia del espacio 
25. Mamà - Ya no volveras
26. Pistones - El pistolero
27. Alarma - Frio
28. Nacha Pop - Nadie puede parar
29. Radio Futura - Ivonne
30. Paralisis Permanente - Autosuficiencia
31. Kaka De Luxe - Pero que publico mas tonto tengo
32. McNamara - Me voy a usera
33. Radio Futura - Escuela de calor
34. Nacha Pop - Chica de ayer

IV. El imaginario cultural de la movida
35. Alaska y Los Pegamoides - Horror en el hipermercado
36. Radio Futura - Divina
37. Vulpess - Me gusta ser una zorra
38. Los Nikis - El imperio contraataca
39. Alaska y Los Pegamoides - Bote de Colon
40. McNamara - Gran Ganga
41. Aviador Dro - La chica de plexiglas
42. Radio Futura - La estatua del Jadin Botanico
43. Alaska y los Pergamoides - La rebelion de los electrodomesticos
44. Aviador Dro - Nuclear sì, por supuesto

45. Gabinete Caligari - Que Dios reparta suerte

Country's Top 100 (Pop Matters)

From PopMatters (2007):

Here’s a tribute to all of those artists and the many others who shaped country music—a list of the 100 best country songs of all time.

And here's the Spotify playlist of it.

Enjoy.

Previously on the PopMatters side of Spotirama:

60 Best Songs of 2010

50 Best Songs of 2011

75 Best Songs of 2013

COUNTRY'S TOP 100 

(PopMatters, 2007, from #1 to #100)

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Full list

Strikethrough songs (3/100) are not available on Spotify. Some songs may be not available in all countries.

1. Johnny Cash – Ring Of Fire
2. Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams - Of You
3. Merle Haggard & The Strangers – Mama Tried
4. George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today
5. Willie Nelson – Whiskey River
6. Hank Williams – I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
7. Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – Faded Love
8. Johnny Cash – Orange Blossom Special
9. Roger Miller – King Of The Road
10. Ray Charles – Cryin ' Time
11. The Charlie Daniels Band – The Devil Went Down To Georgia
12. Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys – Blue Moon of Kentucky
13. Waylon Jennings – Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
14. Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – San Antonio Rose
15. Ray Charles – I Can't Stop Loving You
16. Tammy Wynette – Stand By Your Man
17. Emmylou Harris – Making Believe
18. Dolly Parton – Coat of Many Colors
19. David Allen Coe – You Never Even Called Me By My Name
20. Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues
21. Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
22. The Statler Brothers – Flowers On The Wall
23. Charlie Rich – Behind Closed Doors
24. Johnny Paycheck – Take This Job and Shove It
25. Conway Twitty – It's Only Make Believe
26. Ernest Tubb – Walking The Floor Over You
27. Hank Williams – Your Cheatin' Heart
28. Lee Ann Womack – I Hope You Dance
29. The Carter Family – Will The Circle Be Unbroken
30. Marty Robbins – El Paso
31. Ernest Tubb – Waltz Across Texas
32. Conway Twitty – Hello Darlin'
33. Freddy Fender – Before The Next Teardrop Falls
34. Patsy Cline – Crazy - Single Version
35. Merle Haggard – Okie From Muskogee
36. Kris Kristofferson – Help Me Make It Through The Night
37. Patsy Cline – Walking After Midnight
38. Hank Williams, Jr. – Family Tradition
39. Brad Paisley – I'm Gonna Miss Her
40. LeAnn Rimes – Blue
41. Randy Travis – On The Other Hand
42. Willie Nelson – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
43. Dolly Parton – I Will Always Love You
44. Eddy Arnold – Make the World Go Away
45. Jerry Lee Lewis – Thirty Nine and Holding
46. Tim McGraw – Live Like You Were Dying
47. June Carter Cash – Wildwood Flower
48. Buck Owens – Act Naturally
49. Dwight Yoakam – Guitars, Cadillacs
50. Alabama – My Home's In Alabama
51. Garth Brooks – The Dance
52. Brad Paisley – When I Get Where I'm Going (feat. Dolly Parton)
53. Hank Williams – Kaw-Liga
54. Ray Price – For the Good Times
55. Garth Brooks – Friends in Low Places
56. Roger Miller – Dang Me
57. Tennessee Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons
58. Hank Williams Jr. - All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)
59. Randy Travis – Forever And Ever, Amen
60. George Strait – All My Ex's Live In Texas
61. Vince Gill – Take Your Memory With You
62. Trace Adkins – I'm Tryin'
63. Brooks & Dunn – My Maria
64. Emmylou Harris with Gram Parsons – Love Hurts
65. George Strait – The Fireman
66. Vernon Dalhart – Wreck Of The Old 97
67. Mickey Gilley – Stand By Me
68. Buck Owens – Together Again
69. Johnny Horton – Battle of New Orleans
70. Loretta Lynn – You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man
71. Dwight Yoakam – I Sang Dixie - Remastered
72. Reba McEntire – Whoever's In New England
73. Oak Ridge Boys – Elvira - Single Version
74. The Louvin Brothers – When I Stop Dreaming
75. The Judds – Grandpa (Tell Me Bout The Good Old Days)
76. Clint Black – A Better Man
77. Tim McGraw – Please Remember Me
78. Toby Keith – Get Drunk And Be Somebody
79. Alabama – Love in the First Degree
80. Lefty Frizzell – The Long Black Veil
81. Dixie Chicks – Travelin' Soldier
82. Brooks & Dunn – Neon Moon
83. Dixie Chicks – Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
84. Alan Jackson – Don't Rock the Jukebox
85. Johnny Cash – Hurt
86. George Jones – Golden Ring
87. Oak Ridge Boys – Y'all Come Back Saloon
88. Bobbie Gentry – Ode to Billie Joe
89. Merle Haggard – My Favorite Memory
90. Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone
91. Charley Pride – Kiss an Angel Good Morning
92. Sons of the Pioneers – Tumbling Tumbleweeds
93. Burl Ives – Ghost Riders in the Sky
94. Alan Jackson – Drive (For Daddy Gene)
95. Waylon Jennings – I Ain't Living Long Like This
96. Don Williams – I Believe In You
97. Emmylou Harris – If I Could Only Win Your Love
98. Earl Thomas Conley – Holding Her and Loving You
99. Mel McDaniel – Louisiana Saturday Night
100. John Conlee – Rose-Colored Glasses

France224 - A touch of French music in 224 chansons

Allons enfants, let's throw Coldplay out de la Patrie

La prise de la Bastille survenue le 14 juillet 1789 à Paris est l'un des événements inauguraux et emblématiques de la Révolution française*. So emblématique, that July 14 is the French National Day.

Here's my little sonic tribute to the land of liberté, egalité & fraternité: a playlist made with 224 "french songs" (one for each year since the hot Bastille days). It's not a chart and it's not based on any chart. All choises are quite personal: I picked some of my favourite songs.

It doesn't respect strong rules, either. "French songs" means these tracks are basically composed/played/sung by a french artist/band. But don't expect 100% french purity: there are many covers, many English (or Spanish) language songs, many artists that somehow are just partially French but keep a very strong link to French history (or, anyway, my idea of French art, culture and history): Manu Chao, Django Rheinardt, Santa Esmeralda, Carla Bruni, Josephine Baker.

Some things you may find in it:
- old piano and classical things (Claude Debussy, Erik Satie,  Hector Berlioz)
- young piano and movie things (Yann Tiersen)
- a bit of piano jazz (Michel Petrucciani)
- old dance things (Cerrone, Patrick Hernandez, Santa Esmeralda)
- young dance things (Bob Sinclar, Cassius, Modjo)
- old female voices (Edith Piaf, Françoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot)
- young female voices (Camille, Coralie Clement, Françoiz Breut)
- old male voices (Charles Aznavour, Charles Trenet, George Brassens)
- young male voices (Cali, Benjamin Biolay, Benabar)
- plenty of stuff by my favourite ones (Air, Daft Punk, Mickey 3D, Autour de Lucie, Phoenix, lovely Zaz)
- some guilty little pop pleasure (Guesch Patti, Alizée, Vanessa Paradis)
- some bands from the late 20th century (Noir Desir, Tahiti 80, Louise Attaque)
- some world patchankas (Mano Negra, Les Negresses Vertes, Zebda)
- some new sounds (M83, The Liminanas, Yelle)
- Gainsbourg father & daughter
- some bizarre things like a celtic harp, a former tennis player, an electro-tango combo

And much more.

Again, that's a really personal one: the French world of Spotirama. Hope you enjoy it.

W la France.

* The famous painting above, La Liberté guidant le peuple by Eugène Delacroix, doesn't commemorate the 1789 revolution, but the July revolution of 1830. For those who don't get the Coldplay reference, look at the cover of this album. :-) 

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Norwegian Mood.

When something happens in a foreign country, especially if it's something dramatic like what's happening right now in Norway, often I start thinking about which good things and feelings that country and its people gave me. Sometimes it's just a postcard memory from a holiday. Sometimes it's food. Sometimes it's something more romantic. Most time, it's a mix of emotions strictly related with music, movies, books, creativity. Don't know if this is a good habit or something sick. But today it happened again. So, this is a very personal selection of 20 norwegian songs/artists that I like (sometimes, that I do love). Mostly alternative, indie rock and electronica. A bit of jazz. A little of classical music, too. No metal. I know scandinavian metal rocks over the world, but - honestly - I'm not a great aficionado of Dimmu Borgir or Burzum. Yet.

A tiny little message of solidarity (and thanks) from Spotirama to Norway people.
Hope you enjoy.

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NORWEGIAN MOOD
Source: myself, plus some little fact-checking on Wikipedia and Last.fm

1. Jaga Jazzist – Oslo Skyline
2. Datarock – FaFaFa
3. Sondre Lerche – Private Caller
4. Kaizers Orchestra – Philemon Arthur & the Dung
5. Anja Garbarek – I Won't Hurt You
6. Motorpsycho – Feel
7. Madrugada – Majesty
8. Thomas Dybdahl – Just Can't Seem To Give A Shit (avec Melanie Laurent)
9. Ane Brun – Do You Remember
10. Kings Of Convenience – I'd Rather Dance With You
11. The Whitest Boy Alive – Burning (actually they're almost all from Berlin, except the singer, who is the same of the previous and of the following song)
12. Erlend Oye – Ghost Trains
13. Turbonegro – Get It On
14. Bugge Wesseltoft – Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker
15. Lene Marlin – Unforgivable Sinner
16. Annie – Heartbeat
17. Röyksopp – Poor Leno
18. a-ha – The Living Daylights
19. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – In the Hall of the Mountain King (modern socialnetworkish take of a classic by norwegian composer Edvard Grieg)
20. Arve Tellefsen – Le Melancolie - In Moments Of Solitude (a piece by 19th century norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull)

Listen to it on Spotify: NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE (SR0708)