Now
I want one.
Gravefruit Sound
How about breaking the chain of dark music and melancholia with a bit of reggae. I stumbled upon Gravefruit Sound on Facebook even though the local stations are said to have picked up their hit song Szabad leszek (I'll be free). It's quite catchy.
[audio:http://sesam.hu/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/08-Szabad-leszek.mp3|titles=Szabad leszek]
The best part is that their 2009 album Kéz a kézben (Hand in hand) is downloadable for absolutely nada from their (very amateurish) site. The package comes with reasonably good ID3 tags and an acceptable cover image for the 256kbps mp3s.
Armed Forces Protest Against Rolling Back Early Retirement
It's a sad day when my dad has to go on the street in contempt of the government effectively taking away his pension. While the system of early retirement benefits for the armed forces can be disputed, nothing gives the right to any government to retroactively change laws.
Thousands of Hungarians, some dressed as clowns, protested against government moves to roll back early retirement benefits for the armed forces, police and firefighters and abolish the system of negotiating with unions. (Reuters)
I took the picture during a run. Since PM Viktor Orbán mocked the unions by saying he'd send his "clown affairs secretary" to negotiate, many wore clown outfits, masks and face paints. The protesters marched to the presidential residence carrying torches, creating an impressive sight of a fiery snake. It is more like frightening, however, that these are the people that protect our land, fight crime and put out fires.
2CELLOS
2CELLOS, a.k.a. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, have been mentioned before. Last week they uploaded a new video from their upcoming album, a dual cello rendition of AC/DC's Welcome to the Jungle.
The LP is said to come out soon (maybe this week). The track list looks really interesting.
Heroes for Ghosts (music video)
Following a total eclipse of the moon, the music video for the pre-released The Gathering song has just been released. Written, directed, filmed and edited by Marcus Moonen, their friend, the clip has been shot in Norway (Silje's homeland) in its entirety.
After numerous listens I can assert that Heroes for Ghosts is still masterfully composed: especially the instrumental parts range from ethereal beauty to angry oscillation. The video just strengthens these impressions. Do yourselves a favour and watch it in HD.
Most Mizu Pontosan
These two are ones of the most popular Youtube videos in Hungary these days: Most múlik pontosan by Quimby (with the subsequent cover by Csík Zenekar) and Mizu by Fluor.
Brace yourselves: Hó Márton, frontman of Hó Márton és a Jégkorszak, created a lo-fi bedroom mashup of the two.
Ho Marton: Most Mizu Pontosan by homarton
While on Soundcloud you might want to check out their other songs which they describe as "two-chord lo-fi songs for one guitar and one-chord lo-fi songs for two guitars". Szerelmes voltam (I was in love) was recorded in a bathroom (apparently). Hó Márton és a Jégkorszak has a blog and a Facebook page as well.
Battersea Power Station
Because I love references.
(via Kockagyár)
Juliana reloaded
I wrote about Juliana Daily's music back in February noting that her original songs are unfortunately not accessible internationally. I'm happy to announce this is no longer the case: for barely a price of a beer ($3) you can get either the Falls From Trees EP or the Birdsongs EP, each with three numbers. As per Bandcamp standards a plethora of lossy and lossless formats are available.
For encouragement, here's her latest cover of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground by The White Stripes.
Мастер и Маргарита
За мной, читатель! Кто сказал тебе, что нет на свете настоящей, верной, вечной любви? Да отрежут лгуну его гнусный язык!
За мной, мой читатель, и только за мной, и я покажу тебе такую любовь!
Нет! Мастер ошибался, когда с горечью говорил Иванушке в больнице в тот час, когда ночь перевалилась через полночь, что она позабыла его. Этого быть не могло. Она его, конечно, не забыла.
(src)
2500
With today's 16k I reached the purple level on Nike+. That is 2500 kilometers run.
I'm addicted.