My choice by Célia Fontoura

Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Chobham, Surrey, England) is an English musician. He first came to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gabriel

Kate Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic lyrics have made her one of England's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years. Bush was signed by EMI at the age of 16 after being recommended by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. In 1978, aged 19, she topped the UK charts for four weeks with her début song "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self-written song. At the 1986 Bush and Peter Gabriel had a UK top ten hit with Don't Give Up", and EMI released her "greatest hits" album .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Bush

I chose this music because it is always good to remember old musics. The music has good lyrics, so listen this song.

Our Choice by Vera and Olga

Alanis Morissette - Biography

She was born on 1 June 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Since emerging in 1995, ALANIS MORISSETTE has become one of the premiere singer/songwriters in contemporary music. Her deeply expressive music and performances have earned the seven-time Grammy Award winner vast critical praise and a dedicated fan base that extends throughout the world. She wrote and produced her new album UNDER RUG SWEPT.
Source: http://www.alanis-morissette.com/biography/

We chose this music because we like the letter and the video very much. We think that singer is very expressive.

My choice by Irina Fatuda

Beyonce Knowles was born on September 4 1981 in Houston, EUA. She is a popular American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and fashion designer. She released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love in June 2003, but her career starting-point was as lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, the world’s best-selling female group of all time.
On February 17, 2008 she celebrated ten years of career, and she won ten Grammy Awards.

Source: http://www.mojidol.com/index.php?page=BEYONCE-GISELLE-KNOWLES (abridged and adapted)

I chose this music because I like it and I also like Beyonce. I think that “Listen” is a type of music that is timeless and when I hear it I feel happy and romantic.

Katie Melua

Ketevan "Katie" Melua is a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician. She was born in the country of Georgia, but moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then relocated to England at the age of 14.
In November 2003, at the age of 19, Melua released her first album, Call off the Search, which reached the top of the United Kingdom album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album, Piece by Piece, was released in September 2005 and to date has gone platinum four times.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Melua abridged and adapted)

Katie Melua - Crawlin up a hill

Katie Melua - Crawlin up a hill

Elvis Presley - Quotation

“When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times...I learned very early in life that: ‘Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song.' So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.”

From his acceptance speech for the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award. Given at a ceremony on January 16, 1971. (Elvis quotes from copyrighted material with lines from the song “Without a Song”.) taken from http://www.elvis.com/elvisology/quotes/byelvis.asp

Artist of the Month: Elvis Presley

(www.time.com)

The king of the rock music died of a heart attack 30 years ago, although some people think he was abducted by aliens and is still alive.

Find more information in http://www.elvis.com/

Did you know that he received his first guitar as a birthday present because his parents didn’t have enough money to buy him a bike? Was this a penniless situation or fate?

Ben Harper

"Combining shuddering, groove-laden funky soul and folky handcrafted acoustics, singer/songwriter Ben Harper had cult status during the course of the '90s but gained wider attention toward the end of the decade. Harper combined elements of classic singer/songwriters, blues revivalists, Jimi Hendrix, and '90s jam bands like Blues Traveler, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Phish, which meant that he was embraced by critics and college kids alike. A native of California, Harper grew up listening to blues, folk, soul, R&B, and reggae. As a child, he started playing guitar, and began to perform regularly as a preteen. During his adolescence, he turned toward acoustic slide guitar, which would eventually become his signature instrument. Aside from working on his own material, Harper has built a strong rapport with other artists, playing guest spots on records by Beth Orton, John Lee Hooker, and Gov't Mule. He played the 1997 and 1999 Tibetan Freedom Concerts, and opened for R.E.M., Radiohead, Metallica, Pearl Jam, and the Fugees.”

http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Harper,_Ben/Biography/

His latest album “Both Sides of the gun” was released last year and his next album “Lifetime” is going to be released this summer (August 27).

Learn more in:

www.benharper.net/

www.myspace.com/benharper

Listen here his latest hit with Vanessa da Mata, a young Brazilian singer who wrote the lyrics and sent them to him. After hearing her performance, Ben Harper recorded an English version. This is the result:

Music and Literature

William Harnett American, born Ireland, 1848(?)-1892
Music and Literature,1878

Titania, music call; and strike more dead
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Every month we are going to dedicate a post to Literature and Music.
These two artistic expressions have been combined since our ancestors created language, once Oral Literature and musical expression predate the written word. Both literature and music can be divided into genres, although this characterization may not always be consensual. Nevertheless, learning more about the literary and musical expression of a specific country can be an interesting way of learning more about its culture. If you think about fado or samba, Salman Rushdie or Cervantes, which countries come up to your mind?

In this space we won’t discriminate against any literary or musical expression.
We are looking forward to hearing your opinion and preferences. What are your favourite books and your favourite music? Why?
(The “remarks” can be written in Portuguese if you prefer).