The Entroporium

Oooooh I’ve been looking forward to this one. Il est temps pour Jacques Dutronc! Even though he’s inexplicably passed over in Wikipedia’s “Music Of France” entry, Dutronc was one of France’s two or three most popular French-language acts of the 1960s. Married to Francoise Hardy and a collaborator of Serge Gainsbourg, his debut album “Le [...]

Ukraine, we have a personal problem. It’s a damn shame since I myself am of Ukrainian ancestry. But I don’t want to think about you. Call Me Mickey has a bunch of Ukraine pop MP3s. I can’t be bothered. A Google search on “Ukraine” brings up Google Ads for Russian brides in the right column. [...]

After yesterday’s unfortunate loss to France, it seems appropriate to show a sadder side of one of the Cup’s participants. Carlos Paredes<, “The Man With A Thousand Fingers,” was the master guitarist of Fado, a traditional Portugese music that has its roots in Moorish times. Alternately playful and mournful, Fado evokes the country’s strong relationship with the sea and its feudal past…

Brazil is a country with two distinct musical sides. First, there’s the elegantly sensual Brazil of samba and Getz/Gilberto. As easy to love as this is, the lazy-day saxophone and breathy vocals of “The Girl From Ipanema” are practically a cliche of an early 1960s space-age bachelor pad; as great as the performance is, you [...]

After the dominant performance in the Group Round and with “The Hand Of God” as personal cheerleader, I figured Argentina was a sure thing for the Final. But always beware playing the home side! Astor Piazzolla was the master of 20th century tango and one of its great composers — touring, recording and composing ceaselessly [...]