"Pa amb oli i sal" - Blaumut

This might just have been the song of 2013 in Catalonia. It was everywhere.


Song: Pa amb oli i sal
Artist: Blaumut
Album: El turista (2012)

"Bread with Oil and Salt"

Take a photo of the roof,
from here I can see Mars.
The clothes hung out dry, my August,
a field of sprigs and snails.
We'll wait for the cold to subside,
and underneath the tree we'll talk about everything.
An elemental biorhythm,
a sea of antenas and animals.

The astronauts fly low,
the clouds go by like one who says nothing.
With our hands in our pockets,
we'll walk the steps made by other feet.
We'll have bread with oil and salt for breakfast,
we'll dress it with glasses of wine.
Forgetting about the city,
the afternoon is long and perhaps much, much more so, the night.

Another place, another time
Where we will speak to other gods
My secret, subtitled,
paths of rice, paths of wheat.
We'll wait for the sun to go down
and underneath the tree we'll talk about the weather.
An elemental biorhythm,
a bit of artificial life.

The astronauts fly low,
the clouds go by like one who says nothing.
With our hands in our pockets,
we'll walk the steps made by other feet.
We'll have bread with oil and salt for breakfast,
we'll dress it with glasses of wine.
Forgetting about the city,
the afternoon is long and perhaps much, much more so, the night.

"Robot" - Antònia Font

Antònia Font have split following three farewell concerts in Palma at the end of December. I was fortunate enough to see them live six times during their last two tours. This song, off their 2004 album, is one of my favourites and was played at most of those concerts.

Song: Robot
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Taxi (2004)

"Robot"

Tell me what you think in the evenings

when the mechanic switches you off

when you make a software change,

whenever they reprogram you.

You'd remember a dream:

Illuminated space shuttles,

an astronaut, a satellite
horribly finished.

The oceans and the moon,

your nature is heremetic,

your gaze lost

in a desert(ed) planet.

Efficient robot, more intelligent

than people, and by a lot,

its computer, in one second, will add up

all of the stars in this world.

Innocent robot,

the dehumidifier doesn't hear you,

the electrical appliance is a plugged-in bastard

and will never know what friendship is.

Tell me what you think in the evenings

when the mechanic switches you off

when you make a software change,

whenever they reprogram you.

All the secrets of a science

in your iron chassis,

do you think it was necessary

to give you such an ugly form.

Efficient robot, more intelligent

than people, and by a lot,

its computer, in one second, will add up

all of the stars in this world.

Innocent robot,

the dehumidifier doesn't hear you,

the electrical appliance is a plugged-in bastard

and will never know what friendship is...

"Calgary 88" - Antònia Font

Voting for the annual Enderrock prizes is open until February 10. I haven't voted yet, because I still need to listen to some of the songs in the folk and singer-songwriter categories, but I know what I'm voting for best pop-rock song. This is easily my favorite song of 2011, ridiculously cute and absurd. I've even forgiven Antònia Font for introducing me to one of the most horrendous dance songs of the 1980s. Ah, and the picture on the left is my own work; please don't use it without permission.

Song: Calgary 88
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Lamparetes (2011)

Qualified for the figure skating final,
it wasn't all physical or mental, it was emotional, too,
you and I were dating and we represented Spain
in the Winter Olympics in Canada.
Before we went out you said:
"Would you marry me?" and I replied:
"Today we'll be married, if we win the gold."
In synchrony and with maximum speed,
you go up in the air with incredible force
and, about to fall, I catch you.
you do a death spiral and I move carefully, we do an open curve,
I gather energy and lift you with just one hand.
You move gracefully like a ballerina on the point of the skates,
A double drumbeat sounds and we pretend to argue,
the jury exchange glances, I think they liked it,
we strike a final statuesque pose looking at the foundation laughing and breathing.
We dance this modern melody on an skating rink at Calgary '88,
the song is already playing over the loudspeaker: Atlantis is Calling (SOS for Love).
The announcers review that Russian received a 9.5
The favorites were Swedish and had just a 9.75
They raise the tables and all of them give us a 10,
You come towards me, embrace me, and step on my foot,
we ask a rink judge if he wants to marry us,
it's live and televised on all five continents,
on the podium with the medal we take each other's hand,
all can be heard though the microphones as we are married
and on TV you and I kiss.
We dance this modern melody on an skating rink at Calgary '88,
the song is already playing over the loudspeaker: Atlantis is Calling (SOS for Love).

"Un instant perdut" - Dept.

Song: Un instant perdut
Artist: Dept.
Album: X (2009)

I want to understand the desire that has brought me here
Indefatigable and with such a desire to be able to say
how much I want to be able to be important and decisive
while I await the moment to be able to see once again
how your body dazzles me
so much that I can't see a thing
time stops for me here.

How, all of a sudden, it makes the order of so many things change.
I'm a moment lost in time.

Impossible to maintain the serenity
the waits are so long that around me
the air can't be breathed and my head only wants to think
about when the moment will arrive to be able to see once again
how your body dazzles me
so much that I can't see a thing
time stops for me here.

How, all of a sudden, it makes the order of so many things change.
I'm a moment lost in time.

(A fleeting moment, a weak light,
a light sigh, a lost moment...)

"Compta amb mi" - Dept.

Song: Compta amb mi
Artist: Dept.
Album: Sensacions (2003)

Count on me
Remember me as the solution to your poison
the drop that that releases the magic of destiny
the help to return to your path

I'll make you see things again
and think about what you forget
every time I've moved away from you.
I'll be your eyes when you cross the darkness

I'll give my world,
my little space,
my sensations, the luck that is with me,
excitement for everything, the rhythm of life,
passion for you...everything

I'll look for ways to fill all the empty spaces
that you have in your heart
how to manage to free an imprisoned smile
how to get everything to go better

Today could be
the point that marks the change
you have the option
the step that leads you to believe in yourself again
thus I can only tell you: count on me.

I'll give my world,
my little space,
my sensations, the luck that is with me,
excitement for everything, the rhythm of life,
passion for you...everything

"No tinc solució" - Fes-te fotre

Song: No tinc solució
Artist: Fes-te fotre
Album: Entre tanta gent (2002)

I admit that I look at the solution
to the crossword
reading the newspaper with the first coffee of the day
pretending I'm not there

You'll talk about yourself, about your new hairstyle
that it looks better on you
flare-leg or straight-leg pants
put I won't pay attention to you

I'll think about myself
once again
I'll hide within
the worries and the phobias

Get out of myself,
try to be a different me
who can do better
better or worse
disappear in a flash
pretend I'm not there

I disconnect my soul from my body
I try to float
to see myself from above, to learn to deal with
my mood swings

With my ear up against the wall
I listen to you in secret
I look through the keyhole every day
I have no solution

I'll think about myself
once again
I'll hide within
the worries and the phobias

Get out of myself
try to be a different me
who can do better
better or worse
disappear in a flash
pretend I'm not there

"L'home que treballa fent de gos" - Els Amics de les Arts

Song: L'home que treballa fent de gos
Artist: Els Amics de les Arts
Album: Bed & Breakfast (2009)

"The Man Who Works Dressing Up As a Dog"

The man who works dressing up as a dog at children's parties
dusts off his costume.
He gets into a run-down Seat Panda (that barely started up today)
and never can get past fourth gear.
Today he's been hired by a well-to-do family from the city
who live uptown.
He stops and gets ten euros' worth of gas (he doesn't have money for more)
and glances at the magazines.
The man who works dressing up as a dog at children's parties
And after all the time he's spent working disguised as a dog he still gets nervous
he rings the doorbell and waits for a response.
He bursts into the party with a cake singing "Cumpleaños Feliz!"
and just barely manages not to fall.
He makes figures with colored balloons and a lightsaber from Star Wars
and a bear, flowers, and a dinosaur.
The man who works dressing up as a dog at children's parties
signals the mistress of the house,
who invites him to have a cup of coffee while she signs the receipt
they can't find a conversation topic.
She takes him by the hand and leads him to the ironing room,
he hears the children from afar.
They make love like animals between shirts and jogging suits,
socks, kisses, and jackets.
The man who works dressing up as a dog exits as if he were famous,
as he sees the father arrive.
The man who works dressing up as a dog makes them all happy:
ten kids and a mother.
The man who works dressing up as a dog doesn't know what the heck is wrong with him,
He turns his eyes to the rear-view mirror, the woman is hugging that gentleman,
And at love he's no good at all.