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