I got new music on Monday so you know I am excited! Had some free time before seeing Batman Begins and we stopped into Virgin. Anyone who knows me should know how much I love Virgin. They have rows and rows of listening stations with all genres of music. I can spend hours in there just picking cds at random to listen to. I find so much good music that way. This visit was no different.
My first find was Carla Bruni. All I know about her is that she is French, writes her own songs, plays guitar, and used to date Mick Jagger (got all that from the little blurb at the listening station). All her songs are in French so I don’t know what they are about, but that has never bothered me. She has such a light, beautiful singing voice. I just love it. And her songs just pull you in immediately. I like to think of her as a chilled out, little bit folksy, lounge music. I love her!
The second find of the evening was the Brazilian Girls. A group that is not Brazilian and has 3 guys and 1 girl in it (all from NY). The woman is the singer and again, another amazing voice. Her voice is more husky and deep. Apparently she used to be an opera singer but you would never know it from this music - not opera-esque in the least. I’d call their music chill lounge with funk. The songs are in 3 different languages - French, English, and Spanish - so I can understand about 2/3 of them. I put the cd on last night while cooking and having dinner. Great music to cook with and enjoy a glass of wine.
My last find is one that you may have heard of - Natacha Atlas. She is a very popular singer from the Middle East. Her music made it over to the states a few years back. I’ve listened to some of her cds before and they always had one or two songs I really liked and the rest were so-so. I never loved the cd enough to pay the import price. Well, the musical demi-gods saw my quagmire (eh, I love Family Guy) and had Natacha put out a best of album. I absolutely love it! Again, another amazing voice. Hers is a truly amazing voice. I think that if she did more opera-crossover music (like Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, etc) she could be a huge star in America. Instead she appears to have chosen to stick with music with the sound of her homeland. And I am eternally grateful to her for doing this. For me, this is what makes her music so unique and beautiful. I just love it! It has that distinct Middle Eastern sound to it that has always intrigued me, but never grabbed me. Natacha Atlas has just yanked me into it and I adore it!
I thought it was interesting that the musical selection was so international. It doesn’t really surprise me though. The music selection here in the US is becoming so dull. More and more I have to look for artists elsewhere to find truly good music. It’s a good thing though, just means more music for me!
cmusic=Le ciel dans une chambre by Carla Bruni
Personally, I’ve always been intigued by middle eastern music, but never known what’s good. I’ll definitely check out Ms. Atlas! Also, I know just enough french to know that your “Current Music” is “The sky in a room”.