Category Archives: music

Songbook of Cities: Vancouver, BC

Posted on 21 November 2017 by zolltan

I’m looking forward to going back to Vancouver for the holidays / an as-yet undetermined amount of time, so I thought I’d make a playlist. There are many different kinds of Vancouver, of course, and this playlist is going to … Continue reading →

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Moscow Metro Song

Posted on 7 October 2017 by zolltan

In the most Russian intelligentsia cliché act of my life, I translated an Okudzhava song. In my metro I never feel too crowded ‘Cause there’s always something like a song about it Where for the chorus we would write Pass … Continue reading →

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Bob Dylan and the Nobel Prize

Posted on 31 October 2016 by zolltan

Should Bob Dylan Have Won the Nobel Prize in Literature?   No.

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Songbook of Days: Cosmonautics Day

Posted on 12 April 2016 by zolltan

Okay, not all holidays are made up holidays. There’s also Cosmonautics Day. You can listen to audio recordings of Gagarin on this day 55 years ago, thanks to Yandex’s homepage today. Then you can listen to an Italian pop number about … Continue reading →

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Songbook of Days: Sibling Day

Posted on 12 April 2016 by zolltan

So what if it’s a made-up holiday? All holidays are made-up holidays. Аквариум – Сестра Sufjan Stevens – Sister Winter The Organ – Brother Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms Belle and Sebastian – I Don’t Love Anyone Jorge Ben … Continue reading →

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Morrissey, Explained

Posted on 22 December 2015 by zolltan

Everyone knows and loves musical genius Morrissey, former singer of seminal English band The Smiths. But what animates him, what does he care about? Few of us know, because his lyrics are often so cryptic and vague. For instance, fellow … Continue reading →

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My 10 favourite Brazilian music albums

Posted on 6 August 2015 by zolltan

When people ask me what music I like, I used to say “uh, I dunno?” and then I used to say “everything”. But while both of those are true, they’re not very illuminating nor fodder for further conversation. So now … Continue reading →

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Novella Matveyeva

Posted on 24 July 2015 by zolltan

For a while I’ve wanted to write something about Novella Matveeva, but I couldn’t figure out what to say other than that I think she is a fantastic poet and bard who deserves love and acclaim. Well, I still don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in music, translation | 5 Comments

Berimbau

Posted on 24 July 2015 by zolltan

The song I’ve listened to most in my life is probably Berimbau. At least, last fm seems to think so. I remember a time in 2006 where I would basically listen to it non-stop. One of the proudest moments in … Continue reading →

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Songbook of Days: UN English Language Day I

Posted on 23 April 2015 by zolltan

Today, the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, is also UN English Language Day. To celebrate, I wanted to link to songs by some songwriters where I appreciate the use of the English language. But there are a lot of such songs. … Continue reading →

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