Vice Vukov

Posted on June 29, 2008

I’m at work on expanding my vocal repertoire again and was searching for the lyrics to “Ribar Plete Mrižu Svoju.” It’s an exemplary Dalmatian song that was beautifuly committed to tape by Klapa Dalmacija some years ago. I couldn’t find a full mp3 of their rendition, sadly, but I did come across a video of Vice (vee-tsay) Vukov crooning the ballad in Australia in 1968. Vukov was Croatia’s Frank Sinatra, but his incredible story took a sad turn in late 2005. Here’s the video. What a voice.

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nepoznata pjesma

Posted on June 26, 2008

This bouncy little number was recorded from Radio Cibona in Zagreb a couple of years ago, but I didn’t catch the artist or track name. Anyone know? I searched “proleteri” (from the chorus) and got nothing.

Dvije godine prije ja sam snimio ovu pjesmu od Radia Cibone, ali nisam čuo kak se zove. Znate li? Tražio sam “proleteri” pa ništa nisam dobio.

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name the unknown song

Posted on June 19, 2008

This song is oddly compelling. I happened upon it quite randomly in a Brazilian YouTube video of someone’s family pictures, and now I can’t get that mellow beat out of my head.

Can anyone tell me the name of this song and its performer? Better yet, who wants to make a new video for it?

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sketch

Posted on June 17, 2008

Glory Bells

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alejandro jodorowsky

Posted on June 8, 2008

My favorite artist explains himself in this interview:

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overheard on streetcar

Posted on May 21, 2008

“Foolishness is coming and paid for,” said the crazy little black lady on the streetcar.

I’d watched her get on at NW 23rd and Marshall after she’d tossed the remainder of a lit cigarette on the ground in front of a woman who didn’t look happy to have a lit cigarette tossed onto the ground in front of her. After thirty seconds on the train, her unmedicated delusions were the stuff of a rich, unbroken monologue. And after four stops, she was still going strong about the galaxy, dimensions, and knowing things that suckers don’t know about.

A young woman who was standing among five men on the other side of the streetcar cabin cheerfully offered, “It’s like a public service announcement.”

The crazy little black lady never even looked up as she said, “It’s NOT a public service announcement. How can I explain anything to five pimps and a prostitute?” And then she went back to the free-jazz recitation from which her attention had been momentarily shaken. She’d just called the cheery little white girl a whore, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.

When I got off the streetcar, a fat forty-something in a stained shirt walked past with a large rag doll clutched in his left arm. I regret not having been ready to capture his dramatic presence on digital film.
It’s been sunny and nice here the last few days. Today, I think, the crazies from the crazy place had outbroken.

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pišem za to mogu pisati.

Posted on May 15, 2008

I had a shot of good Russian vodka with an olive tonight.

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panis angelicus

Posted on May 12, 2008

As I watch classic 1983 footage of Leontyne Price singing “Panis Angelicus” with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, I cannot help but marvel at the woman’s face and torso.  Her broad face, wide mouth, flaring nostrils and wine-barrel bosom appear to have been designed specifically for projecting large volumes of precise musical sound. What a dramatic miracle of human anatomy this woman was.

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Safet Isović - Aj, kakve Ajka crne oči ima

Posted on May 9, 2008

Safet Isović was a living legend of romantic Bosnian song until his demise in 2007, and I found that AFION’s “Slavuj” is derived from a national song that he recorded long ago. I haven’t yet found the original “Slavuj Ptica Mala,” but here’s a film of Isović singing, “Aj, kakve Ajka crne oči ima” (”Oh, what black eyes has Ajka”) next to a lake. How can you not watch?

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first and foremost, we are lovers

Posted on May 7, 2008

The human species has not ceased to startle and amaze me.

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