Τετάρτη 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

Scent of the day




Or of many days, to be exact.
I've worn Dolce and Gabbana Sicily on and off for 6 years, since the month it first came out.
And everytime I put it on, I have to wonder why I ever bother wearing anything else.
The notes include jasmine and honeysuckle, heliotrope, sandalwood and sicilian bergamots.
Strangely enough, I don't get any of that and somehow it doesn't bother me.
To me, it will always smell like a small piece of oldfashioned soap lying on the side of the washbasin in a dusted and expensive hotel room.

Τετάρτη 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

"Spanish Johnny, you can leave me tonight but just don't leave me alone"




I am a bit late at posting this because I wasn't sure which video would be most fitting for Bruce's birthday.
The obvious answer is "Surprise, Surprise" ("Today is your birthday/ we traveled so far we two/So let's blow out the candles on your cake and we'll raise a glass or two") but I am not so fond of it, so..no.
Then I figured, I'll just post my all time favorite Bruce-related thing on the web.
It features one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard and some pre-Thunder Road brilliant story-telling.
Plus it ends on a unexpectedly optimistic and wise note.
We may find it out on the street tonight baby
Or we may walk until the daylight maybe.

That's all there is.

Τρίτη 22 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

Sad waters revisited




There are very few Nick Cave songs that I find difficult to talk about.
Most of them tell exciting stories and even the gory ones are fun enough to listen to, in a way.
But this one is sad to the core. There is nothing remotely fun or uplifting about it.
Now I know that there is nothing fun or uplifting about, say, Mercy Seat or The Carny, but both of them have got some sort of theatrical narrative that makes them a bit easier to listen to, despite their disturbing or depressing theme.
But Sad Waters just breaks your heart and makes your knees bend.
The album version is very strange, with its almost amateurish guitar running through the song and Nick's double vocals. Unsurprisingly, he sounds like a drunk (or hung over) man singing.

I usually prefer the re-invention of the song in the live performances of the early '00s , with the piano and the violin and with Nick's middle-aged voice, because as it is often the case with this type of songs, it sounds like it was written to be sung exactly like this one day.
And I know that it is supposed to be about a young, innocent girl called Mary, but what I've always heard in this song, is the voice of a broken man trying to sing about things he knows he has left behind.

Song of the day: Sad Waters




I still haven't had coffee, but I felt I had to do this for my friend who thought she'd come here and find 7 new posts.
Plus, I had some sad news earlier on and that sounded appropriate.
More on "Sad Waters" and Nick Cave later.
It's difficult to talk about this song at 9 in the morning.

Δευτέρα 21 Σεπτεμβρίου 2009

Leonard Cohen


I wish my first post on LC was a tiny bit more pleasant or funkier or, you know, more like "this song by LC has rocked my life ever since I was 11" kind of post, but oh well.

(Somehow I do have the feeling that this type of posts are going to flood the place.)

LC fainted during his Valencia concert the other day.
Had to keep it a secret from my mum.
She doesn't take bad news about Leonard Cohen lightly.
Get well soon.

And, please, come back to Lycabettus.

Scent of the day


This should not be the first post, but I can't really think of anything better to start with, than my scent of the day.
It's like using an introduction song, only harder to explain.
If I were to use a song, then a you tube clip or an mp3 sample would most probably do, but it is pretty much impossible to find an equivalent for perfumes.
What's even worse is that today I am wearing Eau du Soir by Sisley, which is so not me that I sometimes have to sniff my wrist twice to make sure I am the one wearing this.
Eau du Soir is fresh, clean and soapy, and I mean almost old-lady like soapy, crisp, bold and cool.
So cool that it makes you catch your breath like a draft of cold air coming through the window.
And it's so classy that you can never go wrong with it.
Think of the fragrance equivalent of a little black dress, only the dress is not really "little" and it's worn by a european lady in her early forties. In the fifties.
Most of the time, it makes me think of Capucine.
Well, if anything, I am the opposite of the little black dress.
I watch LOTS of tennis and I climb on couches on match-points and spill coke on the floor and turn the music on really loud in my car when my favorite players lose.
I have like a million favorite songs that I wouldn't and couldn't live without.
You get the point.
Hopefully, this is going to be the place where I share my thoughts on all those things I love.
Thank you for visiting.
Sara