never quite made it in Romania...
Delia
P.S. hard to tell why...
P.P.S. wondering if TM prompted Brian's mental problems D.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
"Romanian pop dance" music (started in late 90s): possible influences
80s: Modern Talking,CC Catch (you see the same kind of "complaint comments" O-zone gets: "gay" for Modern Talking; and "playback" for CC Catch...)
70s: ABBA (just fun... doesn't need to make a whole lot of sense...),Boney M (just jump around and... don't worry about it...)
70s: ABBA (just fun... doesn't need to make a whole lot of sense...),Boney M (just jump around and... don't worry about it...)
Friday, February 22, 2008
(Dan Balan aka Crazy Loop) The Power of Shower: includes three songs that don't seem to belong in it...
MORE: a bit odd pronunciation for "roses," for instance (17): it's like he's attempting the British accent (not at all unusual for Europeans given that English teachers are much more likely to have been exposed to the British accent as part of their training then to American English)... still, with some exceptions, his accent is surprisingly good in these songs
very dissimilar to Crazy Loop or Johanna -- if I remember right, they were initially meant for Sugar Tunes (his "rock project"): they were available on Dan's MySpace page under "Sugar Tunes"(17, Tango and 24th letter)
Delia
very dissimilar to Crazy Loop or Johanna -- if I remember right, they were initially meant for Sugar Tunes (his "rock project"): they were available on Dan's MySpace page under "Sugar Tunes"(17, Tango and 24th letter)
Delia
some of them (especially performers) have had broad popularity
e.g. Jean Constantin (Actor, drama and comedy, also stand-up comedy mostly making fun of being Roma -- "Hello, my dear discolored brothers..."); was in many popular Romanian movies, such as "The Immortals"
Thursday, February 21, 2008
manele: what's with all those nasty comments?
EVEN MORE: I don't know if it's actually true but a story was going around that a group of hungry Roma eat the famous black swans from a lake within a public park in Spain...
MORE: Roma were "early adopters" as far as moving West once it became an option. Quite a few Western countries (notably Germany, where Romanian immigration camps were at times set on fire and most recently Italy, which ended up deporting Romanians back to Romania apparently against EU policy after an Italian woman was killed by an ethnic Roma originally from Romania) weren't at all pleased that they found themselves in the position of having to deal with things like petty crimes (or much more severe crimes) and in-your-face begging. No doubt, some ethnic Romanians were probably also causing such problems but percentage-wise, the ethnic Roma group just brought a lot more of these problems.
It didn't help that Western media didn't differentiate between ethnic Roma and ethnic Romanian. Pretty soon, Romanians were seen as persona non-grata in Western Europe and plenty of them were pretty pissed... (and never quite recovered). So for a vocal part of the population, the usual distrust of Roma has turned into an acute us-versus-them mentality. D.
...
you will probably still find those comments (especially the worst of them) reprehensible and they are but I think it helps if you understand the history and the present situation:
Roma have been pretty much the equivalent of blacks, except that they are of dark Caucasian ancestry and they weren't brought to Eastern Europe against their will, they came on their own accord from places like today's India and Bangladesh (some of them ended-up being indentured laborers in monasteries and private households until around 1850); although some of them are doctors and lawyers today, most of those who hold jobs still do menial work and a good portion of them do not hold actual jobs at all; as a group, their rate of incarceration, for instance, is much higher and their education level significantly lower than that of ethnic Romanians.
They have a long history of producing music for countryside and edge-of-town parties. Some of these "bands"/tarafe were very good, particularly when it came to playing instruments (e.g. Taraf de Haiduci - fragment from a movie filmed in a Roma community in Romania)
Although a high percentage of Romanians reportedly listens to "manele" (which is a relatively new form of mostly Roma performed music that can be crude like rap, but it can also be very romantic, like the old Romanian songs) at least occasionally, a vocal portion of the population considers it a disgrace (they charge that the lyrics are puerile and things like grammar are not given much importance).
I get the impression that this is due at least in part part to the belief that it gives foreigners an inaccurate image of Romania and of Romanians (some of these bands have been invited to perform abroad) -- I personally came across a number or relatively educated Americans (one of them was in law school) who were convinced that Romanian people and Roma people were the same...
Poor journalism seems to have given the world this impression and Romania actually passed a law seeking to impose a fine on "irresponsible journalists who damage Romania's image". I don't know how well it succeeded but I did see a number of "documentaries" on Romania that were the equivalent of descending on South Chicago, gathering a group of blacks (exclusively) and saying things like: "These... are the Americans!"
Delia
MORE: Roma were "early adopters" as far as moving West once it became an option. Quite a few Western countries (notably Germany, where Romanian immigration camps were at times set on fire and most recently Italy, which ended up deporting Romanians back to Romania apparently against EU policy after an Italian woman was killed by an ethnic Roma originally from Romania) weren't at all pleased that they found themselves in the position of having to deal with things like petty crimes (or much more severe crimes) and in-your-face begging. No doubt, some ethnic Romanians were probably also causing such problems but percentage-wise, the ethnic Roma group just brought a lot more of these problems.
It didn't help that Western media didn't differentiate between ethnic Roma and ethnic Romanian. Pretty soon, Romanians were seen as persona non-grata in Western Europe and plenty of them were pretty pissed... (and never quite recovered). So for a vocal part of the population, the usual distrust of Roma has turned into an acute us-versus-them mentality. D.
...
you will probably still find those comments (especially the worst of them) reprehensible and they are but I think it helps if you understand the history and the present situation:
Roma have been pretty much the equivalent of blacks, except that they are of dark Caucasian ancestry and they weren't brought to Eastern Europe against their will, they came on their own accord from places like today's India and Bangladesh (some of them ended-up being indentured laborers in monasteries and private households until around 1850); although some of them are doctors and lawyers today, most of those who hold jobs still do menial work and a good portion of them do not hold actual jobs at all; as a group, their rate of incarceration, for instance, is much higher and their education level significantly lower than that of ethnic Romanians.
They have a long history of producing music for countryside and edge-of-town parties. Some of these "bands"/tarafe were very good, particularly when it came to playing instruments (e.g. Taraf de Haiduci - fragment from a movie filmed in a Roma community in Romania)
Although a high percentage of Romanians reportedly listens to "manele" (which is a relatively new form of mostly Roma performed music that can be crude like rap, but it can also be very romantic, like the old Romanian songs) at least occasionally, a vocal portion of the population considers it a disgrace (they charge that the lyrics are puerile and things like grammar are not given much importance).
I get the impression that this is due at least in part part to the belief that it gives foreigners an inaccurate image of Romania and of Romanians (some of these bands have been invited to perform abroad) -- I personally came across a number or relatively educated Americans (one of them was in law school) who were convinced that Romanian people and Roma people were the same...
Poor journalism seems to have given the world this impression and Romania actually passed a law seeking to impose a fine on "irresponsible journalists who damage Romania's image". I don't know how well it succeeded but I did see a number of "documentaries" on Romania that were the equivalent of descending on South Chicago, gathering a group of blacks (exclusively) and saying things like: "These... are the Americans!"
Delia
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Dan Balan sings "Despre tine"
not sure what happened there but... his live singing is dissapointing...D.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Dan Balan: possible influence (lyrics)
MORE: the English translation can be a problem, especially since it was done a long time ago and some words have acquired very different primary meanings by now... it's actually hilarious, without meaning to be funny, in places...
some of the songs, such as Despre Tine Cant and Oriunde vei fi make me think he is influenced by Eminescu (the kind of romanticism and some specific themes)
Delia
P.S. Eminescu was one of the best and very much loved Romanian poets. D.
some of the songs, such as Despre Tine Cant and Oriunde vei fi make me think he is influenced by Eminescu (the kind of romanticism and some specific themes)
Delia
P.S. Eminescu was one of the best and very much loved Romanian poets. D.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
(Dan Balan aka Crazy Loop) The power of shower: Uhh -Ahh-Yeah
he's definitely got the sound down right! (there were those who said he sounded odd in English and always will... not when he's singing) D.
Semantic Music Annotation and Retrieval
not a bad idea, Doug... it's just that I don't think people can really put their finger on (and thus be able to articulate) what exactly it is that they like about a particular piece of music... and I doubt AI could really do that for them -- "mellow Beatles" may give an idea but I suspect quite a few songs that would fit that description (when you analyze the music) would be disappointing to quite a few of those searching using that criteria...
Delia
P.S. also, if you expect it to be a cross-cultural tool, I would think you'd run into quite a few translation/culture issues
P.P.S. I'd be really impressed if actual appeal of a song could be predicted (e.g. being able to say that "Dragostea din tei," for instance, would have huge appeal to so many people coming from so many different cultures just by analyzing the song...) D.
Delia
P.S. also, if you expect it to be a cross-cultural tool, I would think you'd run into quite a few translation/culture issues
P.P.S. I'd be really impressed if actual appeal of a song could be predicted (e.g. being able to say that "Dragostea din tei," for instance, would have huge appeal to so many people coming from so many different cultures just by analyzing the song...) D.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
(Dan Balan aka Crazy Loop) The Power of Shower: Despre tine cant
interesting... it's a theme that seems to run through quite of few of his songs, including Dragostea din Tei (the confusing -- to foreigners -- "vrei sa pleci dar nu ma nu ma iei, nu ma nu ma iei...": being left behind by somebody he loved deeply -- is this something that actually happened? (may well be...)
Delia
P.S. song is in Romanian (probably will not be included in albums sold outside of Romania) D.
Delia
P.S. song is in Romanian (probably will not be included in albums sold outside of Romania) D.
talking about Romanian male dancers... (not necessarily crazy...)
MORE: won the international equivalent to "Dancing with the Stars" in Mexico
Mihai Petre is hard to beat, but Petrisor Ruge (got his break on the Romanian equivalent to "Dancing with the Stars")is not bad, either... D.
Mihai Petre is hard to beat, but Petrisor Ruge (got his break on the Romanian equivalent to "Dancing with the Stars")is not bad, either... D.
Friday, February 8, 2008
(Dan Balan aka Crazy Loop) The Power of Shower: Famikon
in Japanese...
Delia
P.S. hmmm... looks like it's the Ciao Bambina melody... and now that I think of it, I don't think Dan Balan came up with it in the first place (if I remember right it was a children's song in Romania...I remember something like "ma chiama Rino[my name is Reno]... Ciao, Bambino!" D.
Delia
P.S. hmmm... looks like it's the Ciao Bambina melody... and now that I think of it, I don't think Dan Balan came up with it in the first place (if I remember right it was a children's song in Romania...I remember something like "ma chiama Rino[my name is Reno]... Ciao, Bambino!" D.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Phoenix: possibly *the* liveliest Romanian band
MORE: one of their songs (using an old Romanian incantation) arranged specifically for the Romanian movie "The Immortals"
MORE: impressive solo violin (Manfred Neumann; nickname: Mani), solo drums...(Ovidiu Lipan, nickname: Tandarica) and solo guitar
STILL MORE: they made some pretty interesting innovations, such as adding the traditional Romanian violin to customary rock instruments: Baba Novak
EVEN MORE: Pasarea Pheonix (Pheonix, the bird -- its rebirth from ashes): original version
MORE: original version, same band (better sound quality; came out during Communism)
... it's been around about as long as The Rolling Stones... Andrii Popa (one of their
early songs)
Delia
P.S. they got their inspiration from old (pre Christian) Romanian songs D.
MORE: impressive solo violin (Manfred Neumann; nickname: Mani), solo drums...(Ovidiu Lipan, nickname: Tandarica) and solo guitar
STILL MORE: they made some pretty interesting innovations, such as adding the traditional Romanian violin to customary rock instruments: Baba Novak
EVEN MORE: Pasarea Pheonix (Pheonix, the bird -- its rebirth from ashes): original version
MORE: original version, same band (better sound quality; came out during Communism)
... it's been around about as long as The Rolling Stones... Andrii Popa (one of their
early songs)
Delia
P.S. they got their inspiration from old (pre Christian) Romanian songs D.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Power of shower: Johanna (Shut Up!)
MORE: you have to be flexible but in the end I don't think the lyrics are bad at all... I like this part in particular (it conveys a very common situation when someone tells you they got it and that they will stop annoying you and he/she in fact wants to do so ... but it's just a brief stop and then... he/she starts all over again...):
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
STILL MORE: just to clarify: the way it is it starts with him frustrated and telling her to shut up, then it goes back in time to tell the story of how it got there and it does that by singing her part, then switches to him briefly talking to the audience and then him talking to her back at the break up scene that started the song
what I'm proposing is: don't change anything in terms of lyrics but have a woman sing the woman's part, then have him sing to the audience and then him sing addressing her...
Him to her:
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Her:
Feel me
Touch me
Gimme some more
Please me, please me
stop at the store
And make me nicer, brighter, wiser
Buy me some more, more, more
Feel me, touch me, gimme some more
Call me, text me, answer the phone
And make it faster, faster, listen
Talk to me more, more, mo mo more
Him to the audience:
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
Him to her:
Big love needs time, shut up
You better save Big love
For the linden trees
And let me live my life
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Johanna, why don’t
Pop, shut it Up
Why don’t you kill me
Pop, shut up
Why don’t you feel me
Pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Shut you Up
Shut you Up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Shut you up
Shut you up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Her:
Feel me
Touch me
Gimme some more
Please me, please me
stop at the store
And make me nicer, brighter, wiser
Buy me some more, more, more
Feel me, touch me, gimme some more
Call me, text me, answer the phone
And make it faster, faster, listen
Talk to me more, more, mo mo more
Him to the audience:
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
Him to her:
Big love needs time, shut up
You better save Big love
For the linden trees
And let me live my life
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Johanna, why don’t
Pop, shut it Up
Why don’t you kill me
Pop, shut up
Why don’t you feel me
Pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Shut you Up
Shut you Up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Shut you up
Shut you up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
EVEN MORE: best way to make it clear (as far as I can see): have a woman sing the woman's part (there would be no confusion, then) D.
MORE: why is it so difficult to understand what he means? -- not maintaing the same voice throughout (switching from him-talking to her-talking with no clue given is probably most confusing... again, this is *common* for Romanian songs... but if you are not at all familiar with them or with the culture (3rd paragraph, my "creative translation")... it *seems* to not make any sense...) D.
....
cultural issues, again... (the thing is that... it *does* make sense! but, you have to know *how* to find the meaning)
re: befuddled reactions to the lyrics
Persian1010 (19th comment)
yea i love him but oh my god this song doesnt make any sense. first he says feel me touch me give me some more..then please me stop at the store!?? what does that mean. then buy some more lol. then text me answer the phone and make it faster?? that definitely makes no sense. he tells her to talk to him more, then he says shut up. and his cd name is dumb the power of shower????....
Delia
P.S. as I was saying, it *does* make sense... it's about getting frustrated with somebody you used to like very much, somebody that has just become impossibly demanding so you end up having a bad fight and breaking-up... (pretty common situation, regardless of culture) D.
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
STILL MORE: just to clarify: the way it is it starts with him frustrated and telling her to shut up, then it goes back in time to tell the story of how it got there and it does that by singing her part, then switches to him briefly talking to the audience and then him talking to her back at the break up scene that started the song
what I'm proposing is: don't change anything in terms of lyrics but have a woman sing the woman's part, then have him sing to the audience and then him sing addressing her...
Him to her:
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Her:
Feel me
Touch me
Gimme some more
Please me, please me
stop at the store
And make me nicer, brighter, wiser
Buy me some more, more, more
Feel me, touch me, gimme some more
Call me, text me, answer the phone
And make it faster, faster, listen
Talk to me more, more, mo mo more
Him to the audience:
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
Him to her:
Big love needs time, shut up
You better save Big love
For the linden trees
And let me live my life
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Johanna, why don’t
Pop, shut it Up
Why don’t you kill me
Pop, shut up
Why don’t you feel me
Pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Shut you Up
Shut you Up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Shut you up
Shut you up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Her:
Feel me
Touch me
Gimme some more
Please me, please me
stop at the store
And make me nicer, brighter, wiser
Buy me some more, more, more
Feel me, touch me, gimme some more
Call me, text me, answer the phone
And make it faster, faster, listen
Talk to me more, more, mo mo more
Him to the audience:
And when she tries to stop
She just stops to start
Him to her:
Big love needs time, shut up
You better save Big love
For the linden trees
And let me live my life
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Shut Up
Johanna, why don’t
Pop, shut it Up
Why don’t you kill me
Pop, shut up
Why don’t you feel me
Pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Pop-pop, shut up
Shut you Up
Shut you Up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Shut you up
Shut you up
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
Tup-tu-ru-ru-ru
EVEN MORE: best way to make it clear (as far as I can see): have a woman sing the woman's part (there would be no confusion, then) D.
MORE: why is it so difficult to understand what he means? -- not maintaing the same voice throughout (switching from him-talking to her-talking with no clue given is probably most confusing... again, this is *common* for Romanian songs... but if you are not at all familiar with them or with the culture (3rd paragraph, my "creative translation")... it *seems* to not make any sense...) D.
....
cultural issues, again... (the thing is that... it *does* make sense! but, you have to know *how* to find the meaning)
re: befuddled reactions to the lyrics
Persian1010 (19th comment)
yea i love him but oh my god this song doesnt make any sense. first he says feel me touch me give me some more..then please me stop at the store!?? what does that mean. then buy some more lol. then text me answer the phone and make it faster?? that definitely makes no sense. he tells her to talk to him more, then he says shut up. and his cd name is dumb the power of shower????....
Delia
P.S. as I was saying, it *does* make sense... it's about getting frustrated with somebody you used to like very much, somebody that has just become impossibly demanding so you end up having a bad fight and breaking-up... (pretty common situation, regardless of culture) D.
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