A photo of Barcelona.

A few days ago I was looking for something in a box and I found an old porfolio with some old pictures. Among them, this one. It was taken in April, 2003 in Barcelona, in the old town, near a Dance Hall called La Paloma (The Dove). I was there that spring month five years ago in one of my journeys to that prodigious city, which it is, yes, sure it is. An amazing city! Maybe some day I'll get back. Meanwhile, the pics, some memories....

Photo.

I took this picture last Fall. It's in Valencia. I've called it, Per Dalt: High above.

The Smiths: This Charming Man.

I ike this song. It was composed by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983. The song revolve around the recurrent Smiths themes of sexual ambiguity and lust.

The lyrics of many of the songs by The Smiths have been discussed by critics and sexual ambiguty, bisexuality and homoerotism shown suggest a vision of the attituds and past experiences of Morrissey himself.The first lines are very suggesting, "Punctured bicycle / on a hillside desolate / Will nature make a man of me yet?", Sheila Whiteley, Professor of Popular Music at Salford University tells that Morrissey is referring to a ritual pass and in other part of the song in whinch he's talkin to the passenger she suggets he's referrng to a real event in his life.


Morrissey often refers to a deviant outsider in his lyrics who in this case is represented by the charming man of the song title who offers the cyclist a lift when one of his bicycle's wheels punctures. it's a brief encounter, in partan homertic attarction. Nabeel Zuberi indicates that in Morrissey's lyrics, often, protagonists are men from working-class in homoerotic situations.

As with many of Morrissey's compositions, the song's lyrics features dialogue borrowed from a cult film. The line "A jumped-up pantry boy who never knew his place" is borrowed from the 1972 film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's 1970 homoerotic play Sleuth, in which Laurence Olivier plays a cuckolded author to Michael Caine's 'bit of rough'.

Some of the information: Here Wiki.

Here's the vídeo:



The same text in Catalan:

"This Charming Man" va ser composada pel guitarrista Johnny Marr i el cantant i lletrista Morrissey. Era el segon single del grup llençat l'octubre del 1983. La cancó parla d'un dels temes recorrents dels Smiths que és la ambiguitat sexual.

Les lletres de moltes de les cançons dels Smiths han estat valorades pels crítics i l'ambigüitat sexual, la bisexualitat i l'homoerotisme mostrats suggereixen una visió de les actituds i de les experiències passades per Morrissey. El primer vers, meravellosament evocador, ja marca el divertit enginy que recorre la resta de la cancó. Parlant dels versos inicials, "Punctured bicycle / on a hillside desolate / Will nature make a man of me yet?", Sheila Whiteley, Professora de Música Popular de la Univeristat de of Salford, suggereix que Morrissey es refereix a un rite de pas i en altra part de la cançó en la qual es refereix al seient d'un passatger suggereix que s'està referint a un fet real de la seua vida.

Morrissey sovint es refereix a un foraster desviat en les seues lletres, que, en aquest cas, es representa pel "charming man" del títol de la cançó que ofereix el jove fer un tomb quan la roda de la seua bici es punxa. És un breu encontre, en part una atracció homoeròtica. Nabeel Zuberi assenyala que, en les lletres de Morrissey, sovint els protagonistes són homes de classe obrera en situacions homoeròtiques.

Com en altre moltes composicions de Morrissey, a la cançó apareix un vers tret d'una pel·lícula de culte; en aquest cas, el vers "A jumped-up pantry boy who never knew his place" està adaptat de la pel·li de 1972 Sleuth.( La Huella, aquella pel·li extraordinària del Mankiewicz, interpretada, magistralment per Laurence Olivier i Michael Caine).

L'informació l'he treta de la Wikipedia (en anglès) i l'he resumida i traduïda al català.


Siga com siga, tant la lletra com la música són una passada.

Juice Newton, Angel of the Morning.

I discovered Juice Newton some days ago. As I've read she's an important and awarded pop and country singer in the States. Lately she's more involved in country music, isn't it? I like her. I've been lstening to this song and I found it great.



I won't beg you to stay with me
through the tears of the day,
of the years, baby baby baby.
Just call me angel of the morning ANGEL
just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby.