BEING BORING

As a child I have heard from my father often the remark "you are boring" if I was not willing to do what he liked me to. That is why "being boring" always reminds me of a childhood I did not want. To help me get over this trauma there is this song. "Being boring" by the Pet Shop Boys; a classy video and a nice song - a true inheritance of the 90s. Being boring (am I ?) was never that interesting and I do not care what anyone says.

PET SHOP BOYS - BEING BORING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMtPu6QyRzQ

SING SANG SUNG

It has been a while since I have been putting a blog on this site. I have been very busy with my job and I am sorry to report that it did not work out. I felt encaged and not free to do my thing. So I went for a month to Utrecht and then quit. I had a very good exit interview with the director; he respected my decision and told me that I showed great courage to decide for my own wellbeing. It was not an easy decision but it came from my heart and I have learned to listen to my heart instead of my head.

Last week I had a nervous breakdown and I am now looking towards a dark future; a black tunnel with no end. Bright light will enter after some time, I am sure, but at this moment let there be hope, let there be confidence. Once again a difficult situation.

In the last month I found two songs that I play a lot; one of them is a song of Anthony and the Johnsons with the Metropole Orchestra singing "Crazy in Love". I saw the whole concert and it was fascinating; I was already familiar with Anthony and the Johnsons but to see them live was a whole new experience. Therefore now Anthony and the Johnsons and the Metropole Orchestra in Carre Amsterdam with Crazy in Love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ob52GyXl4

ANTHONY AND THE JOHNSONS - CRAZY IN LOVE

As I sat in my car returning from Utrecht to The Hague I heard this new song from one of my favorite bands Air. Because the title "Sing sang sang" is very appropriate I decided to add this to my blog today. A very simple song, but a hypnotic video. That is their secret; songs with the simplicity of the 70s, but with the technological aspects of the years 2000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuSPRu4lzag

AIR - SING SANG SUNG

In the meantime I am OK; still thinking what has to happen now, but ideas and inspiration will come. Help me get the courage to face the future !!

A WEIRD EXPERIENCE

One of the weirdest experiences of my life was the day I went to see Lenin's mummified corpse at the Lenin Mausoleum at Red Square in Moscow. Picture a big brown box and a long queue of people waiting in front of it; most of them Russians, but also tourists. In small groups we were directed towards the entrance of the brown box by grim looking soldiers. Then, we were allowed in and in the middle of the dark room is a large glass box in full light with a weird looking body lying in it. It remains a mysterious place, the more because people are not allowed to take pictures.

Next Monday is the last day that I will go to Leiden University for my Russian-Studies course. The main objective of this course is to illustrate that the main leaders Russia has had over the years (Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Nicholas II, Lenin, Gorbatsjov, Yeltsin, Putin and all the others) all are leaders with a typical Russian characteristic: the welfare of the ruler and his "surroundings" is supreme and the people are expected to adapt for the prospect of national glory. The concept of property is relatively new to Russia and the people still have to get used to it; the ruling elite has control of the resources.

At first I considered it rather adventurous to bring all these very different people under one common denominator; are Ivan the Terrible and Yeltsin, Stalin and Peter the Great comparable? But in the end they all used their power with manipulation, discharging parliaments, assassinating critical journalists or opponents and other tricks of the trade to stay in power. Most of the mentioned rulers might not have been that much fun to live or work with (maybe after a few wodka in case of Yeltsin), but they are without doubt very fascinating.

Over the years I read a few books on Lenin and biographies of Stalin and Chroestsjov (I wrote about that before) and today I even saw the history of the Russian Revolution as a comic in a shop window downtown (had no money on me to buy it though). Reading all these books and knowing the history of Russia and the Soviet-Union made seeing Lenin in Moscow so weird. This is actually the person that had such an impact on the history of the world and you can almost touch him. And although weird, he still looks lifelike as if he would be asleep like Cinderella.

(The most striking thing was that he is actually very small; somehow you expect a person of his importance to be more impressive)

For rounding off my Russian course I have downloaded some footage of several leaders of Russia; thank god for subtitles. Anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b-Cfe7fPok
CORONATION OF TSAR NICHOLAS II (footage of 1896 !!)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzf3FRSbEUk
SPEECH LENIN - 1919



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLqplbwD644
SPEECH STALIN - 1937

PERSONAL MISSION

Once you pass the age of 40, you start thinking about the meaning of it all. Some call it a midlife crisis, but to call giving a meaning to your life a crisis goes a little too far. Just refocusing on the direction you want to take; in my case it is more than refocusing - burn the focus of the past and totally replace it with a new one.

And what is the meaning? I am looking for it for a long time now and I still have not found it. Maybe to feel at peace with yourself and listen to the drive you have within you. Is there more? I have looked at this issue from every angle there is; over and over again. What are my talents, my skills, my inherent qualities, my passion? Like everyone I have got my talents and all the other things, but it did not lead to any comfort, passion or a sense of belonging.

I have tried self-help books, counsellors, coaches, friends and family to give me inspiration, but in the end it all boils down to yourself. Every idea and suggestion has to ripen in your head and in your heart and then you make a decision yourself. Your surroundings only provide the ingredients. I have cooked so often now and the result is still not to my liking. Everytime I start the process all over again with the hope that the cooking now leads to the desired result. Marc, this does not work !!! I want wisdom, energy, joy.

Change the ingredients, change the way you think, change the environment. Life is full of surprises, live day by day and let your internal system be inventive. Bitter makes the worst things come back. Never.

PREFAB SPROUT - LIFE OF SURPRISES

MORNING CHILD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haf6O02DCQ8

4HERO - MORNING CHILD

The last weeks I have downloaded all my favorite tunes on I-tunes and from there to my I-pod, which I bought in San Francisco. Every time I listen to my I-pod I notice that these songs are the really me: these are the songs I like and I do not care what others think of it. If you like something, you want to share it. 4Hero is one of my favourites; Les Fleur is a hidden treasure and also some of the other songs touch me, especially if they are sung by Carina Andersson. Morning Child is one of them.

Of course downloading them from Youtube does not work - I get sick of it.

GO FOR IT, GIRL!

After a short break (sorry for that!) I like to come back to you with a positive post. I never watch TV talent shows like Idols and the X-factor, because all the contestants seem so mainstream and commercialized. Therefore it is refreshening when someone out of the sidelines defeates them all! Watch Susan Boyle; it is a musical song (I hate musical!) and she looks terrible, but watch the jury and the audience when she starts to sing. Ha!! Looks is not everything and you should not be prejudiced. That is the message.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/16/susan-boyle-britains-got-talent

SUSAN BOYLE - I DREAMED A DREAM

ELECTRONIC WAVE

It is time for some music again. As a fan of electronic music I was surprised that suddenly non-European bands entered the scene with catchy songs. Electronic music seemed exclusively European. These two songs stuck into my mind; although they are relatively similar, they are not from the same band.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMJjF4LHOkY
EMPIRE OF THE SUN - WALKING ON A DREAM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtUI5MC9tVM
MGMT - ELECTRIC FEEL


Once again it does not work to upload the youtube files to my blog; is it me or blogger?

THE I-POD AGE

Usually I am not the first to buy and use technological innovations; I wait till the use of the device is more common practice and the prices have gone down. In San Francisco I bought my first I-pod at the Apple Store in Stockton Street. I am now downloading music of my CDs at home on to the I-pod and I came across some beautiful CDs and songs I almost forgot. Although John Legend is sometimes getting too "sweet", this song always touches my heart. I have downloaded the song not to glorify the US-Army (although the video might suggest otherwise); armies do not need glorification, they are unfortunately a necessary evil. We could read "coming home" as not the coming home of the individual soldier, but of the whole army. Impressive song !

The video did not open after downloading; therefore the link to youtube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGSk2-jZ-4&feature=related


JOHN LEGEND - COMING HOME

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

I have been to the opera only three times in my life. The first time was a long time ago: in Warsaw, Poland in 1989. That was quite an event. Poland was still under communist rule and the opera and other cultural events were incredibly cheap. Because it was so cheap we decided with our group of law students from Utrecht University on a "study trip" to Poland that it was a good idea to go to the opera on the first evening after our arrival.

We had nothing suitable to wear and nobody had any Polish money; only I had changed illegally some Dutch guilders to Polish zlotys in the hotel lobby that afternoon (an unexpected talent of mine). Both clothes and money turned out to be no problem at all; the audience was dressed as if they just came from the supermarket and I had paid for all the 12 tickets. If I remember well it was only €0,16 per ticket !!

I do not remember that much about the performance. Only that it was a Polish composer and that there were a lot of people on stage (just like it should be in an old-fashioned opera). It was crowded and I still can see old ladies knitting as if they were sitting in front of the telly.

The second time was last year on my birthday, February 19th, when I saw with a friend "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" by Mozart. I am not a big fan of Mozart: It is too frivolous for me. But OK, Johan Simons was the director and he is the shooting star of European opera. So let's see what it is and it is always a nice night out. Unfortunately it was a disappointment, may be the expectations were too high. The opera was sung technically beautiful, but it simply was not my taste. We had good seats, but we paid also € 90, which could have bought tickets for 540 people back in 1989 in Warsaw !

Last time was last week when I saw Nabucco by Verdi in the Lucent Theatre in The Hague. They made a modern version of the storyline and it was now set in some Latin-American banana republic instead of Jerusalem. But the rest was in my eyes (I am no connaisseur) quite straight-forward opera: with a large choir, great bombastic music by Verdi, famous melodies, a rather sturdy diva, lots of melodrama, great lighting and decor (at least in my opinion; there were other opinions) and a standing ovation, which is these days unfortunately more rule than exception. Great for a saturday night out.

To end this I added a clip of the überfamous chorus Va Pensiero sull'Ali Dorate (the Slave Choir)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BZSqtqr8Qk

SING, FIGHT, CRY, PRAY

As a last post for today I have collected three favorite songs in Dutch. I am not a huge fan of music in my own language - besides the music also the lyrics have to please you. In my opinion these three are outstanding choices.

First the passionate Ramses Shaffy "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder" ("sing, fight, cry, pray, smile, work and admire"). A song from 1971 from a singer that puts emotions in his songs like no other Dutch singer. But if you imagine that he is born in Paris and is from Russian / Egyptian descendance it is not so surprising.

Second the Scene "Blauw" ("blue"). A song from 1990 with an incredible drive and power.

Last and not least Willeke Alberti "Telkens weer" ("over and over"). This song is often called one of the most beautiful songs in the Dutch language from the movie "Rooie Sien" from 1973. Willeke Alberti has a career of almost 50 years and is still around, but never sang a song which could stand in the shadow of this one.

Maybe in a couple of weeks more modern Dutch songs - these three are ancient but still going strong. Not all worked as it should do:

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=C30OHqS2EUM

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=fYh1hSHup5k

UTOPIA

GOLDFRAPP - UTOPIA

I almost forgot about this one. The album was a bit too much, but this dreamy song is one of my favourites. And the title is very me. If I could write a song I would also call it "utopia" - hopeful, modern and a little bit too idealistic. Lucky for you I won't try. Maybe a book ?

WISH ME LUCK

This week I have got a busy week and little time to update my blog. On Thursday a job interview in Amsterdam and maybe a new start - I am in charge and I decide whether I want it or not. If they want me, that is. I will fill you in at the end of this week.

RøYKSOPP - REMIND ME

To bridge the gap till then another music video. This time "Remind me" of Røyksopp (first time I used the "ø" on my keyboard !). What I like is that they kept their Norwegian name, even when it is unpronouncable for non-Norwegians. Not everything has to be anglicized. Røyksopp are masters of electro-lounge-smooth-ambient-dance music (pick what you like) and how can I leave this song on the shelf if it is accompanied by such a brilliant video. Especially for the graphic designers among us !

MELANCHOLISCH SCHÖN

2 RAUMWOHNUNG - MELANCHOLISCH SCHÖN

And now for something completely different ... Because I am half German, something German also had to be on my blog. This sweet song and superkitsch video as my last post of 2008. Melancholisch schön.

RESPECTABLE CHOICE

Today in the supermarket it was the first occasion where I had to put into practice my boycot. I had to choose between coffee from Ethiopia or Brazil (or no coffee at all; no option for me though). It is time for a "respectable" choice ! Brazilian coffee it is going to be; Ethiopia is on my blacklist. I will not bother you with all the choices I have to make while doing my grocery shopping, but this first one is to be remembered. They got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil !

FRANK SINATRA - THE COFFEE SONG

FEEL LIKE DANCING ?

FREEMASONS FEAT. KATHERINE ELLIS - WHEN YOU TOUCH

Once in a while you hear a song that makes you want to dance around the house. This is one of those ! Do like me: take the hoover or the mob out and while dancing you'll have your house cleaned (play the song more than once, otherwise you do a lousy job). Addictive video as well.

LET'S TAKE A WALK

RAPHAEL SAADIQ - LET'S TAKE A WALK

Last week I heard this song on the radio and I was immediately hooked. The singer is completely unknown to me. It swings from start to finish. Enjoy !

STRANGE FRUIT

Usually I do not listen to song texts. The rhythm and the emotion must come across and what they are actually singing I could not care less. If you translate the English texts into my mother tongue Dutch it is often so empty and banal that you might wish they would sing Southern Patagonian, if that language exists.

As a counterweight to the happy song by Sonny J that I posted a week ago (what it is about, I have got no idea - I have to relisten to it) I have now found on YouTube two versions of the same song, the text of which is not possible to ignore; such bitterness and tragedy. "Strange Fruit", one version by Billy Holiday and one by Nina Simone; two of my favorite singers. Very impressive and it cuts you right through the heart.

Nina Simone said once "the ugliest song I have ever heard"; especially her version touches me. It makes you think to what cruelty mankind is capable; to think that these times are over is in my view a misconception. As soon as people are uncertain or in distress they look for scapegoats and gather behind a leader with a rigid ideology (or religion), and the whole thing starts all over again. It is of all times. People, think independent !!

I had some problems to get both videos uploaded, mainly because the Nina Simone was taken off YouTube yesterday. Pity, but OK we don't want to violate the rights of the makers. That's why I had to take the only other version I found; a sort of homemade video, but ignore it if you do not like it.

Thanks to those who make the effort to place these videos on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BMZmp9Puc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

JUST A HAPPY SONG

SONNY J - I CAN'T STOP MOVING

Problems, problems. What problems ?! It is time for a happy song; this one always makes me feel good and brings a smile to my face.

THE AIR THAT I BREATH

AIR - ALL I NEED

One of my all-time favourite tunes; had to be included in my blog. Slow and relaxed. Excellent and stylish video. Especially the skateboard in the halfpipe on the rhythm of the music; very well done.

DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH

LADYTRON - DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH

But do not destroy this song and certainly not the video. What power, what drive and what a cool video (literally) !!