19 Apr 2013

Daughter 's covers


As you may know, we're really fond of music and listening to some of our favorite songs we realized that we love both the original and the cover. That's why we've decided to do this post, featuring some of our all time favorite cover songs
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Como ya sabréis, nos encanta la música y al escuchar algunas de nuestras canciones favoritas, nos dimos cuenta de que nos encantan la original y la versión. Por eso hemos decidido hacer este post, con algunas de nuestras versiones favoritas de todos los tiempos:


Just Like a Woman - Charlotte Gainsbourg (Bob Dylan)
Bob Dylan es uno de nuestros cantantes favoritos, y Charlotte Gainsbourg, junto a Calexico, realizó una versión de una de sus mejores canciones: "Just Like a Woman". Formó parte de la banda sonora del biopic sobre Dylan, 'I'm Not There' (película imprescindible para cualquier fan), en la que ella también actúa junto a Heath Ledger, realizando una gran actuación (como siempre). Os dejamos con esta dulce versión en directo:




Limit to Your Love - James Blake (Feist)
"The Limit to Your Love" es una canción de Feist, que forma parte de uno de nuestros discos favoritos, su genial 'The Reminder'. Entonces llegó James Blake y la convirtió en esta maravilla, con su voz y el dramatismo que concede a sus composiciones:




Wild is the Wind - David Bowie (Johnny Mathis)
 "Wild is the wind", una de las mejores canciones de amor, fue interpretada por primera vez por Johnny Mathis en 1957. Luego fue versionada numerosas veces, entre ellas por la gran Nina Simone, y recientemente por Cat Power (otra de nuestras versiones favoritas), pero en 1976 David Bowie realizó esta increíble versión que pone la piel de gallina:




The Eye of the Tiger - Chiara Mastroianni (Survivor)
Versión dulcificada de la mítica y enérgica "The Eye of the Tiger" , conocida por ser el main theme de 'Rocky III'. Chiara, hija de Catherine Deneuve y Marcello Mastroianni, actriz, cantante y una de nuestras favoritas, reinterpretó el tema de los Survivor para la adaptación cinematográfica del cómic “Persépolis” de Marjane Satrapi




Mad World - Underwaters (Tears For Fears)
Ensoñación, elegancia y que Natalie (voz) sea francesa son ingredientes suficientes para afirmar que nos han conquistado.  Con su EP debut  'Once in June'  pudimos disfrutar de "Wheel of time" o "No man’s land", pero esta cover de "Mad World" ha sido esencial para reafirmar nuestra admiración por Underwaters.




Under the Milky Way - Miami Horror (The Church)
"Under the Milky Way"es una de nuestras canciones favoritas, y si ya nos encantaba la original de The Church, los australianos Miami Horror (otro de nuestros grupos imprescindibles) nos sorprendieron con esta gran versión:



Some Velvet MorningPrimal Scream ft. Kate Moss 
(Nancy Sinatra + Lee Hazlewood)
Primal Scream es uno de nuestros grupos favoritos. En 2003 su cantante, Bobby Gillespie, tuvo la magnífica idea de pedirle a su amiga Kate Moss que realizase una colaboración con él, haciendo una versión del clásico "Some Velvet Morning", del dúo formado por Nancy Sinatra y Lee Hazlewood




Crystalised - Gorillaz (The xx)
Casi un año después de que esta maravilla musical atrapara a todo mortal existente, nos encontramos con el atrevimiento de Gorillaz versionando "Crystalised", pieza única e inmejorable. Creemos que la banda virtual británica y la voz  murmurante de Damon Albarn dieron la talla más que suficiente.




HallelujahJeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)
Leonard Cohen compuso "Hallelujah" en 1984, sin saber que sería una de las canciones más famosas de la historia, a la que Jeff Buckley dotaría de genialidad con su voz en los 90, gracias a esta versión: 




Wild Horses - The Sundays (The Rolling Stones)
"Wild Horses" es una de las mejores canciones de los Rolling Stones, incluso podríamos decir que nuestra favorita. The Sundays realizaron esta hermosa versión, dándole un toque 90s especial, pero conservando la melancolía de la original: 




Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies (The Velvet Underground)
"Sweet Jane" es una de nuestras canciones favoritas de The Velvet Underground, y Cowboy Junkies nos sorprendieron gratamente realizando esta sensual versión de uno de los clásicos del grupo. Incluso Lou Reed se declaró fan de la misma:  




 Such Great Heights -  Iron and Wine (The Postal Service)
The Postal Service compusieron "Such Great Heights", una canción pegadiza con una entrañable letra, en 2003. Al lanzar el single de la misma, incluyeron esta versión de Iron and wine, que elevó la canción hasta nuestros corazones, y que aparece en la banda sonora de la brillante 'Garden State'




Wonderwall - Ryan Adams (Oasis)
Qué decir de "Wonderwall"... Nos atrevemos a adivinar que casi todos la hemos escuchado hasta la saciedad, pero a quién no le ha sacado una sonrisa escuchar sus ya familiares acordes. Quizás por eso nos resulta refrescante disfrutar del "and after allyou’re my wonderwall" a través de otros ritmos, sonidos y timbres. En este caso nuestra elección es la cálida versión de Ryan Adams con su voz sesgada.



What a Wonderful World - Stacey Kent (Louis Armstrong)
Todo un deleite para los sentidos. Stacey Kent se encarga en este caso de aportar su característica delicadeza y ligereza a la interpretación de la gran figura del jazz por excelencia, "What a Wonderful World". Keep calm and listen to Stacey Kent :)



 I Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague (Depeche Mode)
En 1981 Depeche Mode presentaban su álbum debut con un pegadizo y memorable tema llamado "I Just Can't Get Enough". La banda francesa especialista en versiones, Nouvelle Vague, nos deleitaron con esta genial versión que aquí os dejamos, dándole un aire nuevo a este hit de los 80:



 New York, New York - Cat Power (Liza Minnelli)
Aunque se hiciera muy popular gracias a la versión de Frank Sinatra, "New York, New York" pertenece a la banda sonora de la película de Martin Scorsese, de 1977, del mismo nombre, y es Liza Minnelli, con su poderosa y magnífica voz, la que la canta. La actriz Carey Mulligan se atrevió con ella el año pasado en la película 'Shame', con una dulce y emotiva versión que también os recomendamos. Pero en 2008, otra de nuestras cantantes favoritas, Cat Power, realizó esta versión dándole un aire nuevo que transmite la atmósfera de la ciudad: 




Teardrop - José González (Massive Attack)
El cantautor José González nos sorprendió con esta maravillosa reinterpretación del clásico de finales de los 90, "Teardrop" de Massive Attack, convirtiéndola con sus dulces acordes de guitarra y su inconfundible voz, en una canción que podría formar parte de su repertorio personal:




The Suburbs - Mr. Little Jeans (Arcade Fire)
Ya os comentamos lo fans que éramos de Arcade Fire en nuestro The Sounds of Our Year #2, y este genial remix en el que Mr. Little Jeans añade su delicada voz a "The Suburbs", es una de nuestras versiones favoritas:



Señora de las Alturas - Grushenka (Los Planetas)
"No es manía ni locura esto que tengo contigo", imposible escuchar una vez esta canción y que esa frase no siga dando vueltas en tu cabeza. "Señora de las alturas"es una canción de Los Planetas de la que Grushenka han realizado una versión que nos ha conquistado por completo: 




Desinhibida - Idiot Eliott (Jero Romero)
Idiot Elliot ha realizado una encantadora versión de la canción "Desinhibida" de Jero Romero, que nos gusta tanto o más que la original: 





Across the Universe - Fiona Apple (The Beatles)
Fiona Apple versionó la mítica "Across the Universe" de los Beatles para la banda sonora de la película 'Pleasantville'. Puede estar orgullosa de ello, puesto que le dio una nueva dimensión a esta brillante canción que todos recordábamos con la voz de Lennon, convirtiéndolo en una de nuestras canciones favoritas:



You Got the Love - The xx (Florence + The Machine)
The xx, otros que ya sabéis que siempre están presentes en nuestras selecciones musicales, remodelaron  esta impresionante "You Got the Love" de Florence + The Machine, añadiéndole sus hipnóticos sonidos, pero conservando al final de la canción la voz de la cantante británica, que sumada a las del dúo ha hecho que esta versión se convierta en uno de las grandes temas de los últimos años, que nunca nos cansaremos de escuchar:




Here you have a playlist with some of the songs featured in this post // 
Aquí tenéis un playlist con algunas de las canciones de este post:




Main photo: Corinne Day

27 Mar 2013

The films of Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is one of our top ten favorite directors and that's why we've decided to pay homage to him on his birthday. We love his narrative, his brilliant dialogues, the beautiful noir aesthetic of his films, his poignant soundtracks, his funny cameos, and that genius vision of his, that turns his films into an alternative world where the most insane thing makes sense
He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of an actor and amateur musician of Italian descent, and a nurse of Irish and Cherokee ancestry. He was raised by his mother, as his parents separated, and his stepfather was a musician. They moved to California where he took drama classes. He dropped out of school at age 16, to attend an acting class full-time at the James Best Theater Company in Toluca Lake. He grew bored with it and quit after two years. Later, as an employee of the Video Archives, a now-defunct video rental store in Manhattan Beach, he and fellow movie enthusiasts, including Roger Avary, discussed cinema and customer video recommendations at length. Here is his filmography as director, that contains some of our favorite films:


Reservoir Dogs (1992)
In January 1992, Reservoir Dogs was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was an immediate hit, with a tremendous positive response from critics. It's a clever dialogue-driven heist movie that set the tone for his later films, with an incredible cast (Harvey KeitelTim RothMichael Madsen and Steve Buscemi in the leading roles... what else?), and a great soundtrack (like all his films) featuring the great 'Coconut' by Harry Nilsson, and this Stealers Wheel song, that plays in an iconic scene of the film:



Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction is my favorite film from Tarantino. He received an Academy Award in the category of Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, which he shared with Roger Avary, and the film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Being a writer myself, one of the things I like the most it's that it covers three stories, all interconnected.  It became one of the most relevant films of the 90s, thanks to its rich pop-culture-laden dialogue, the wonderful soundtrack, and the great characters. Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace became an icon. With her black wig and the deep blue eyes, she was as charming as Anna Karina in Vivre Sa Vie, one of Tarantino's favorite films. He took inspiration from Godard too to make the remarkable dancing scene between Vincent Vega (the awesome John Travolta) and Mia at Jack Rabbit Slim's, that has become one of the most famous scenes in cinema. The cast also features a lot of my favorite actors and actresses, besides Travolta and Thurman: Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Rosanna Arquette, and Maria de Medeiros. The soundtrack is a masterpiece that I could have on repeat for days, and here are two of my favorite music moments of the film:



"All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl."  (Jean - Luc Godard)



Jackie Brown (1997)
Tarantino's third feature film was Jackie Brown, an adaptation of Rum Punch, a novel by Elmore Leonard, and a homage to blaxploitation films. Great cast again, and it has some cool moments, but this one is my less favorite film from his filmography.


Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2 (2003/4)

Kill Bill (released as two films, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2), is a highly stylized "revenge flick", with a great leading character named Beatrix Kiddo (aka The Bride, codename Black Mamba), portrayed by Tarantino's  muse, the gorgeous and talented Uma Thurman. Actually, Tarantino and Thurman had developed  Kill Bill's plot during the making of Pulp Fiction. Together they created one of the most visually stunning films ever, which also contains a lot of great dramatic moments (be ready to cry a little during Vol. 2). I remember going to the cinema to watch the first part and leaving the cinema totally amazed by it. Then, the first week the second part premiered I went to see it 'cause I just couldn't wait to find out the end of this powerful story. Like in all the other Tarantino films the full cast is amazing, and accompanying Uma Thurman we have David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and Lucy Liu. And of course, the soundtrack is perfect, featuring the likes of Ennio Morricone, Luis Bacalov, Nancy Sinatra and Shivaree




Death Proof (2007)
Death Proof is another of my most beloved films from Tarantino. Is an action thriller that centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women. I'm not gonna reveal much about the plot, you have to watch it for yourself. It's pretty scary during some moments, but I love this film because it shows Tarantino's dark humor as its best and the dialogues between the girls are amazing (Tarantino knows women). The cast is lead by Kurt Russell, underrated but great actor, and an amazing group of girls: Rosario Dawson (one of my favorite actresses, she rocks in everything she does), Rose McGowan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (she's so cute here, and I loved her in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Sydney Tamiia PoitierVanessa Ferlito (you gotta lover her dance scene), and Zoë Bell (she is a stuntwoman and she did the stunt work for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Yes, she rocks that much). 

The whole aesthetic of the film is perfect: I love the muscle cars, the bright yellows and pinks, the Brigitte Bardot poster, the red nails, the lipsticks, and everything that contributes to emphasize that women are the stars of this film:

The soundtrack, as always, is delightful. It features great 60s tunes and this awesome song, Chick Habit by April March, the cover of the lovely Laisse tomber les filles performed by France Gall and composed by Serge Gainsbourg, that you can listen to into this fabulous video dedicated to the women on Tarantino's films:




Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inglourious Basterds is a war film that tells the fictional alternate history story of two plots to assassinate Nazi Germany's political leadership, one planned by a young French Jewish cinema proprietor, and the other by a team of Jewish-American soldiers. Some people said this was Tarantino's best, and I have to disagree a little with that 'cause I think it was entertaining, and the characters were  fantastic, but I've loved more other films from him. Anyway, it was really nice watching Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender and Daniel Brühl on a Tarantino film. And of course the lovely ladies: Mélanie Laurent (being a badass as Shosanna), the classy Diane Kruger (being the awesome woman she is as Bridget von Hammersmark), and Léa Seydoux, in just a few shots, but cute as always.

I loved the setting and fell in love with both Shosanna's and Bridget's clothes. Tarantino amazes me with his sense of fashion , again:
And of course, we have a great music scene. Mélanie Laurent looking gorgeous in red while David Bowie's "Cat People" plays. The scene is really beautiful, and Bowie makes anything magical. One of my favorite music moments from Tarantino's filmography:




Django Unchained (2012)
Django Unchained, is some sort of spaghetti western mixed with a slavery plot that only someone like Tarantino, with such a brilliant mind, could turn into a great film. Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) on a mission to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from a cruel plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Samuel L. Jackson also features in the film, as Stephen, and he is perfect in that role. I love the fact that Waltz's character is a German guy and that Kerry Washington's character is named Broomhilda after the German heroine of the Nibelungen saga, 'cause I love that language and you don't see much German references on American films. The images are really powerful, with the bloody Tarantino signature, and the soundtrack has classic pieces from 60s and 70s films, mixed with nowadays songs. One moment that stayed with me for days after watching the film was the one featuring the great song "Freedom" by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton:




"When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films'.

(Quentin Tarantino)

ps: Happy Birthday Mr. Tarantino!