The Biggest Candidate For The Turkish Rickroll Ever Is Here: “Cilgin” By Ismail YK

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Ismail YK

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the video that has been the talk of the Internet for the last couple of days notwithstanding the fact that it is in Turkish, and the only words that those among us who don’t speak the language will get are “Facebook” and “Internet” . Well, that is more than we could understand from “Hibi no Neiro”, and we all loved it regardless of that.

This particular clip is named “Cilgin” (“Crazy”), and it is performed by Ismail YK. And if it doesn’t become the Turkish Rick Roll, then I am afraid nothing will.

Enjoy!

UPDATE:

This is an English translation of the lyrics to the song.

I went to internet cafe
Logged in to my Facebook page
I called my self “Crazy” (Cilgin)
I’m a member as of now
I met with a sweetheart
We’ve been writing each other everyday
It’s like a medicine to my heart
I become a loving person

She deserves to be be loved
And has beautiful eyes
It’s hard to find someone like her
Everyone is asking how I found

Facebook Facebook I’ve been seeking everyday
Facebook Facebook where I found her
Facebook Facebook It’s a love at first sight
Facebook Facebook I think I’m falling for her

Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind (Linda Ronstadt) – Album Review

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

"Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind" (1989) Was The One And Only Pop Album Linda Ronstadt Released In That Decade. Aaron Neville Sang With Her In More Than Half The Cuts, Including The Hits “Don’t Know Much” And “All My Life”.

"Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind" (1989) Was The One And Only Pop Album Linda Ronstadt Released In The '80s. Aaron Neville Sang With Her In More Than Half The Cuts, Including The Hits “Don’t Know Much” And “All My Life”.

Linda Ronstadt always had little use for the trappings of fame. She loved to sing. That was it. In the ’70s, she found a hit-making formula that let her became the highest-paid woman in the history of rock up to that time. But Linda didn’t want the sheer attention and the loss of privacy that has always been part of the whole shebang. And in the early ’80s, the Tucson-born singer said goodbye to it all for the best part of the decade.

She was to star in Broadway musicals (including “The Pirates Of Penzance” and “La Boheme”), record two albums of Mexican songs, and release three albums of standards. None of these even approached her commercial pinnacle. And that was just fine by her. A course like the one she embarked on in the ’80s let Linda distance herself from a scene that she simply saw as not nurturing. And that very same distancement was what let her release one of the most accessible pop albums of her career as the decade was coming to an end. The sights were simply not on her when that happened. People listened to her sing that time. There was no longer anything to prove to anybody. It was just Linda and her voice.

The year was 1989, and the album went by the name of “Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind”. It was largely a collaboration with Aaron Neville, the New Orleans musician best known for shooting to the top of the charts in 1967 with the song “Tell It Like It Is”. The album gave Linda and Aaron a Top 2 hit in “Don’t Know Much”, and a Top 11 entry in the striking “All My Life”, a song bristling with so many emotions that nobody could distill all of them without having to come to terms with a good couple of home truths in the process. It is easily my favorite song on the record. And the runner up is undoubtedly “Adiós”. Its got everything going for it: an achingly lush orchestral arrangement, Brian Wilson on backing vocals, some truly scorching choruses…

It is not the only valedictory number on the record, mind you – the set closer is “Goodbye My Friend”. It is not bad, but it barely gets off the starting line while “Adiós” is already acknowledging the crowd’s ovation. Continue reading →

Is Ping The Facebook For Music Many Thought It Would Be?

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

As I am sure you know, Apple has just given the iTunes store a social layer by releasing Ping, a network that is solely meant for music-related interactions. According to Steve Jobs, Ping has been created to solve the problem of discovering exactly what to listen to on iTunes.

Note that Ping is not really an independent website; it is actually part of iTunes 10. It is not a site that you sign up for, and it is not a mobile application either.

Ping lets you see what your friends have downloaded, what music they like, and which gigs they are attending. And if you follow other musicians (some celebrities are already there), you get to learn about new releases straight from them. You are also informed about any shows they are going to play.

Privacy (a big issue ever since Facebook tried to impose some big changes on users sometime last year) shouldn’t be a cause of concern – you can keep everything as public or private as you want. It is possible to create a closed circle with your ten best friends and exchange music among yourselves if that is what you want.

However, the shortcomings of Ping have already been pointed out. And in a unanimous way at that.

For starters, you will lament the absolute lack of intelligence Ping has got when it comes to recommending music to you. It just looks at the artists of the hour and recommends them to you, with little rhyme or reason. Since Ping is not an independent site but it is actually part of iTunes, you would think it would use iTunes’ “Genius” feature. Well, it doesn’t. And that was a big letdown to many. Continue reading →

Free Music For Download From Uruguayan Label Esquizodelia Records

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Esquizodelia Records logo

Uruguayan label Esquizodelia Records has just released two cool compilation albums. These feature one song apiece from each artist on the label. You can get them on Esquizodelia Records’ website, absolutely for free.

A lot of genres are covered, and you are bound to find something interesting there for sure. And once you do, you can listen to even more music from these artists – the full albums can also be downloaded for free.

What do you think about these artists? Which one seems more promising to you? Leave a comment below and let everybody know!

RequeteLOCO:

1. DDD3 – Gaby Cows
2. Uoh! – ( L )
3. Siameses R.I.P – On the cremation of Chogyam Thungpa Vidyadhara
4. Relacionessexuales – Whiskeria
5. Fiesta Animal – Trafico de niños
6. 8 – Deep Flamba
7. Psiconautas – On my own
8. La Mugre Roja – Rock n Roll pt.II

RequeteFANTASTICO:

1. 3Pecados – Sin titulo 3
2. Solar – Uno menos
3. Genuflexos – Dance
4. Disaster – Leave my head
5. Lucas Meyer – Encontrar la explicación
6. Millonesdecasasconfantasmas – Hoy
7. El boulevard de lulu – Y de a poco
8. Roly Chamber – Cars

Month In Review – August 2010

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

As I am sure you’ve noticed that MusicKO now has got a “Questions & Answers” section. The idea is to feature not only questions about the artists that have got a category of their very own, but also questions concerning bands and performers that are yet to be covered on the blog. Of course, if you have any questions that you’d like answered just drop me a line. I’ll do my best to help you out, the address is emiliomusicko [at]gmail [dot] com.

This month I covered a frankly superb Uruguayan band named El Cardenal Sebastíán. This is the review. And check their songs on their MySpace profile.

And I have begun reviewing Joni Mitchell’s oeuvre, too. That was the one artist I added to the blog during August. This is the introductory page, and here you can read the review I wrote of her “Hits” album.

The startups that were featured during the course of the month were Double Lyrics, Music 180 and The Melody Master.

And the month’s interviewees were David Trejo (from Mixest) and Thomas Veitch (from The Melody Master). Besides, I sat down with the guys from the Uruguayan band Mal Yo for a full interview.

Attend The Upcoming MTV Video Music Awards For Free

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

MTV Teams With Foursquare For The Upcoming VMAs

Interested in attending the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on September 12? Well, chances are you might be able to do it for free. All you have to do is start following MTV on Foursquare and check in to music venues between August 30 and September 5. The one who gets the best score (IE, the one who gets to check in to more venues) is the one attending the event.

Location-based networking is as hot as it has ever been. Facebook has recently premiered its “Facebook Places” service, and many were surprised to see it did Foursquare no harm – it actually gave the pioneer location service a big boost.

MTV has been actively looking for ways to stay fresh in the face of the technology people are using today. Not so long ago Chicago resident Gabi Gregg was appointed as the network’s official Twitter DJ. The Foursquare alliance is nothing but a logical step. Will it be a fruitful one? We’ll see.

Double Lyrics – A Directory Of Lyrics That Are Reviewed And Rated

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: Double Lyrics
URL: http://www.doublelyrics.com

I am sure very few among us can claim to have a favorite lyrics site. I mean, there are a zillion of them out there. Personally, I have always been keen on the AZ Lyrics website because it is lightweight, the lyrics are arranged album by album, and (yes, I know I am fastidious) the punctuation and the use of capitals is fully accounted for. As a non-native speaker of English, I always print the lyrics to all the albums that I buy that don’t include them. A site like AZ Lyrics lets me get them quickly, and create a Word document with them painlessly.

Still, I am always looking for alternatives. And I must say that the Double Lyrics website has got a lot going for it. For starters, whenever you carry out a search you get results that are sorted by relevancy. You don’t get a jumble of links that might be what you needed or something completely unrelated. The most relevant lyrics are ranked by the site’s engine and featured on top, while the ones that will probably have nothing to do with your query are relegated to the bottom of the list.

Also, users can both review and rate lyrics. That is nothing new (many sites let users “comment” on lyrics, and fans take advantage of that opportunity to review them), but its usefulness is not questioned by anybody – you will have a bigger chance of finding what you are after in that way. And once you have found it, a well-written review can always let you figure out what a cryptic song is all about. For example, how many are really aware of all the possible interpretation of Cat Steven’s “Moonshadow “? How many are aware of the cancer interpretation, the Vietnam chopper interpretation…? Only fans are. And if given the chance to review a song and illuminate everybody else, they are likely to do it. Continue reading →

Is It True That Jimmy Page Once Played With The Who?

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Jimmy Page Played On The Who’s First Single “I Can’t Explain/Bald Headed Woman”. Producer Shel Talmy Used Him Extensively In Those Days.

Yes, it is true. He played on their debut single, “I Can’t Explain/Bald Headed Woman”. The single was produced by Shel Talmy. He was famous for barring bands from playing on their own records, and for using session players to get the job done instead. The Kinks (the first British hit band he produced) had to put up with that for quite some time.

When The Who went into the studio to record their first single, they found themselves outnumbered by session men. These included a trio of singers named The Ivy League, and a young (but already legendary) Jimmy Page. Talmy used him in all his sessions whenever possible.

Page was supposed to play the lead both on “I Can’t Explain” and “Bald Headed Woman”. However, in order to play the “I Can’t Explain” riff a twelve-string Rickenbacker was needed. Page didn’t have one. Townshend did. And he would have lost an arm before lending it to Page. So The Who’s frontman was the one who played the lead, while Page strummed along. Continue reading →

Hits (Joni Mitchell)

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

“Hits” Was Issued In 1996. It Anthologizes The Songs That Could Be Deemed As “Classic” Joni Mitchell. A Companion Album Named “Misses” Captured Her Most Experimental Side.

“Hits” Was Issued In 1996. It Anthologized The Songs That Could Be Deemed As “Classic” Joni Mitchell. A Companion Album Named “Misses” Captured Her Most Experimental Side.

The success of the “Turbulent Indigo” album (1994) led Joni Mitchell to a true commercial resurgence. Suddenly, a whole new generation was interested in the music the Canadian performer had created over the three previous decades. Reprise (Joni’s label at the time) moved fast to meet that demand, and Mitchell agreed to the release of a “Best Of” package provided that she could also release a compilation of quasi-hits. That was how the “Hits” and “Misses” albums came to be.

Joni Mitchell reminds me of Bob Dylan in the sense that even in their heydays both performers landed a comparatively small number of bonafide hits. In the case of Joni Mitchell, a Top 7 hit was as hard as she would hit the charts. The song was “Help Me”, and it is obviously included here along with her other three Top 30 hits: “Big Yellow Taxi” , “Free Man In Paris” and the infectious “You Turn Me On (I’m A Radio)”, one of her most joyous compositions.

Of course, quintessential tracks like “The Circle Game” and “Both Sides Now” are featured, and they sound as sharp as ever.

“Blue“, Joni’s breakthrough record (and my favorite album of hers) is represented by “California”, “Carey” and “River”. I must say that while both “California” and “Carey” (an alias for James Taylor, her flame at the time) are very good songs, they are not the songs that give “Blue” its edge. The songs like “River” do it; songs which are sparser instrumentally and that provide some of the most intimate moments not only of Joni’s career but also of the whole decade. Continue reading →