Thursday, December 18, 2008

Matar as saudades


While the government is blowing up factories near Vila Cruzeiro, we are getting used to the cold and a million shades gray here in Holland. I've been listening to some tunes from across the ocean to warm my mental. These tunes we heard almost constantly coming out of many shops and houses and at every churrasco in Vila Cruzeiro. Saudades. 

Having problems with this post... You might want to use the right click download function.

Pixote - Você Pode (right click download)







Revelaçao  - Deixa aconteçer naturalmente (right click download)







Pixote - Insegurança (right click download)






Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sunday, November 16, 2008

TIM MAIA





Brazilian soul singer Tim Maia made this amazing album in 1975. Not only the album is amazing... so is the cover. I couldn't find a larger image but it has a map on the back of the formation and creation of the world by electric an magnetic energy.

Tim Maia - Contato com um mundo racional (right click download)







Many songs on the album express Tim Maia's infatuation with the religious/philosophical sect called Cultura Rational (Rational Culture) which was founded by Manoel Jacinto Coelho in 1935. He is conidered by the group as the most superior rational man in the world. You'll hear the word racional (rational) in many of the songs and Tim also keeps referring to the book: Universe in Disenchantment (Universo em Desencanto), which is a collection of 1006 books serving as the groups bible so to speak. I haven't read the book but the group claims that it tells you were the universe comes from, how it evolved, where man came from and where man is going. I was always wondering about those things but this song explains the whole thing without having to read 1006 books.

Tim Maia - O Livro Universo em Disencanto (right click download)







The group claims that their rational philosophy has nothing to do with logical thinking or reasoning. It represents a perfect equilibrium between logic and emotion. Sounds pretty stupidtelligent and the cover of the album is definitely stupidtelligent but so is the cover of the book. 


Check out their site www.universoemdisencanto.com. I hope the team of journalists and researchers at www.brendanmcgetrick.com feel the need to indulge more into this Cult/Sect or more likely weedheads....and put up a more interesting and educated post on the subject. You can also listen to this song which tells you all about your origins, your past and your future, in Portuguese.

Tim Maia - Imunizacao Racional (right click download)







Tim Maia didn't live a very healthy lifestyle and when once asked by a reporter about how he felt about a recent diet attempt he said the following:

"Resolvi fazer uma dieta rigorosa. Cortei com o álcool, gorduras e açucar. Em duas semanas, perdi 14 dias."

("I decided to go on a rigorous diet. I quit alcohol, fat and sugar. In two weeks I lost 14 days")


Here a song about blue - the color of the sea. 
Tim Maia - Azul da Cor do Mar

A song he made about hamburgers while he was on a diet.
Tim Maia - Voce

The last song was sampled by Brazil's favorite rap group Racionais MC's
Racionais MC's - Homem na estrada

Finally a track that shows why Tim Maia is one of the worlds great soul singers, spoken interlude included
Tim Maia - Me De Motivo

I'll try to fix the broken links soon, but the right click option does work.


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

OBRAHMA



Brazilian beer maker Brahma is coming out with a new dark brew called "Obrahma Black". Brazilians just aren't as race sensitive as people in other countries I guess. 

We drove through the whole city on election night to find a place where we could watch the results. Even in the local Irish pub packed with expats the people preferred to drink beer and listen to an awful band playing U2 covers. We finally ended up in the bar of the Marriott where about 5 people were watching. We had to wait almost an hour for the hotel staff to turn up the volume because a couple having dinner complained about the noise. One person I asked about the level of disinterest here explained that Brazilian politics are complicated enough already.


To show our own overwhelming level of excitement we organized an Obama party in a bar called Atlantico where I played a set with exclusively Obama tracks. After doing quite a bit of research to find the tracks I thought I'd post the least obvious most favorites here. Hopefully there are some you haven't heard a thousand times already wherever you may be where people are at least a little excited that Barack Obama is the next president and just as importantly NOT John McCain. 



Cody Chestnutt - Afrobama (right click download)








Obama Obama - Millie Remix (right click download)








(This one is my favorite)
Keith From Up Da Block - Barackdavote (right click download)








Steel Pulse - Vote Obama (right click download)








Ti$a - Imma Vote Obama Way (right click download)







DLake - Imma Vote Obama Way (remix) (right click download)








Double Dz - I am Obama (right click download)







Samba Mapangala - Obama Ubarikiwe (right click download)







Extra Golden - Obama (right click download)






Sunday, November 9, 2008

HeMan in the favela


Look what the police confiscated during an operation in Cidade de Deus (City of God). Here's a famous song about the place....

Cidinho e Doca - Cidade de Deus (right click download)








Friday, November 7, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Favela headz

Some tunes for funk headz. I was playing at a street party in Vila Cruzeiro a while ago organized by our friend Pit, who is the guy with the pink glasses in one of our earlier posts. We had a nice selection of dancing ladies brought by our friend Jonas Santana who is running for Mayor here in Rio. He has his own show called "Danca Comigo", dance with me.
 
Check out this clip... to see what his show is about. His motto is: We dance you enjoy.
After the party local hero DJ Rico gave me a CD with his edits of the latest Funk hits. Rico plays at the notorious 29 baile in Vila Cruzeiro. So here's a selection including yet another MSN riddim. Also I'll share with you the original song from which virtually every Funk hit has been sampled lately: Cheap Thrills by Planet Patrol. 


Planet Patrol -Cheap Thrills (right click download)








MSN funk (right click download)








Buçeta no Pau (right click download)








Buçeta no Chao (right click download)








Desce, quero ver (right click download)








Having problems ......

Monday, September 29, 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008


I started watching "The Wire" only a few months ago. I realize that the series has been around for a while but these things don't seem to reach Brazil so I watch it online. Spending most my time in a neighborhood governed by a drug gang I see a lot of similarities between this amazing TV show and my surroundings.
The main thing is that earning a lot of money fast is attractive to young people and I guess the hierarchy in any drug gang exists through violence. We have a saying in Dutch: "Schijt is macht." This translates as "Shit is power" but in Dutch we say shit when somebody actually does not give a shit. So the most power to the one who gives the least of a shit.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because in season 3 there's a club scene with some amazing Baltimore Bass, which reminded me of the music the gun toting youth listen to here. I found the track but its very short. The picture above was taken in Vila Cruzeiro, not by me. The writing on the wall says: "Attention neighbours. In days of war, avoid leaving the house. Thank you, Comando Vermelho."
DJ Technics - My Life Extra (right click download)






Raging waters

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Picture of the day


Even though this picture wasnt taken today, this is still the picture of today. Gringo's need love too.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Todays paper


The microwave is a common style of execution amongst drugtrafficers. Most druglords eventually end up inside a pile of tires poured over with gasoline. Todays paper was cramped with news about the murder of Tota, druglord of our neighboring favela, Complexo Alemao. 
On his way to Vila Cruzeiro, Dre saw police shooting out of low flying helicopters.
This is what the inside of Tota's house looks like. Favela flossin'.

Sunday, September 14, 2008


"For the love of god, children! Get inside!",
We overheard a woman calling out to her children today. I looked around and asked Giovanni what was going on. He said it must be that the police were coming.
(Policia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro)


You might accuse me of being an internatiohipster posting baile funk songs and pictures of people wearing neon colored sunglasses all over this blog but since I've spent most of my time here in Rio for the last two years I feel I can post as much funk as I want and as for the sunglasses.....well.... Here's my favorite funk love song from back in the days:
Mc Marcinho - Rap do Solitario (right click download)








Menor do Chapa - Vida Loka (right click and save)







Two days ago I was painting on the hill with our three co-painters giovanni, Vitor and Robinho while listening to a local radiostation. The station plays 'proibidao' which means that the music might include what could be translated as apologies for crime. In general these are songs about local drugfactions and it's traffickers or about only getting with 'as novinhas' which could be translated as girls of 13-15 years of age.
This is all very normal if you're from one of the many favelas and after spending more than a year working in Vila Cruzeiro I can't say that i'm shocked easily. I could post any of the millions of proibidao songs out there but if you dont understand Portuguese the will just sound like very distorted vocals over very rudimentary beats, mostly live recordings.
I can't hate on Baile Funk though as Rio's most original form of new music. So while listening to the radio with a bucket and a paintbrush in my hands I heard this song by a guy whose voice has been catching my attention for some time. I asked Vitor who the guy was.
So above is a song by Menor do Chapa, one of Rio's most renowned MC's. Well known for his 'apologias' to the Comando Vermelho, the drugfaction that runs Vila Cruzeiro and Complexo da Penha. Imagine what this guy looks like and then click here.

Welcome to our stupidtelligent blog. We are Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, currently operating in Rio de Janeiro. The objective is to keep the content of this blog strictly random and stupidtelligent.