MANUEL | GUERRA

On the Portuguese version of the Blog it's possible to comment the posts.

Facts of life
Thursday, November 29, 2006. 11h04.

Life's funny sometimes. Some days are better than other and somedays you drag yourself through the day hopping it'll end. But on the other hand one's always complaining about the lack of time and how fast it goes by and how fast we are getting less and less younger. But one has to find compensation: if soon or later one finds out that one is a complete jerk, one can always think that there is a high probabiliity of existing someone out there much more of a jerk. It's not always bad thing to not be able to be superlative!

Am I any good as a team worker?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006. 13h29.

To tell you the truth, in music I haven't had any team work experience in the last years! Much of which I've been writing and playing has been done alone, after that amazing period in my youth when I had a band with the group of my close friends - the best days of my life, really. Lately I've been playing occasionally with some other good friends but most of the "work" is painfully solitaire. Is it my problem? I can't tell. But I found a website which explains very well the top ten reasons why is it worthwhile to work with me... :-)

I'm tired of this guitar
Friday, November 17, 2006. 15h56.

This is an old guitar of mine and I'm really tired of it because I master it completely in terms of playing and I'm already using it to its limits. The playing technique is quite boring and limited because of its scarce resources… I'm thinking about selling it… You can send sealed email offers with no sender indicated. I accept bids untill December 6th 2004. Thanks.

My dream guitars
Friday, November 17, 2006. 13h13.

Right now I'm saving money to be able to buy these two new state of the art pearls from the great brands Fender and Gibson: the someonescrewedupocaster and the Les Puff.

Soundtracks II
Wednesday, November 15, 2006. 17h27.

I have to stop being polite for truth's sake! I really hate soundtracks. In Portuguese it's the same word as it is for speed humps, so I have to confess that I can't stand those because they ruin the shock absorbers of my car...

Soundtracks
Tuesday, November 14, 2006. 23h57.

Soundtracks… There's a phenomen which I never quite understood very well. It seems that it is a great achievement if you're a mainstream artist or a wannabe, that you have a song of yours in an Hollywood movie soundtrack. I'm not talking about the real soundtrack, with a main melody with lots of variations with strings or horns, depending how dramatic that section is. I'm thinking of those great songs that we listen to on the radio and we're supposed to know that after all they are a big success because they belong to a certain movie OST, even if no one is aware of the fact. Nevertheless the song and the movie may both be very popular. What happens is that there aren't many people who actually sit waiting for the final credits to come and if one actually gets caught inside the room after the lights turn on it means that we were not smart enough and we're stuck at the end of the line thinking about a way to outsmart people pacing slowly ahead. It can happen though that we find ourselves watching the credits after awakening and realizing the drooling on the pillow at the end of a boring dvd session at home.
Anyway, I confess that I don't really understand what all the fuss is about and why someone should make publicity out of it. It looks like the "Family Frost" melody is actually more efficient in making us interiorize a tune, even if it is quite awful, which is the case…

Wonderland
Thursday, november 9, 2006. 19h48.

It's worth the time spent having a peak and listen to the wonderland website and at their link at myspace. There's my good friend Gonçalo Brou playing guitar and making the music even better.

Mourning
Saturday, November 4, 2006. 11h30.

It's so sad this feeling of void when someone dear goes. But what it's all about it's not void because my memory and my heart are filled. I keep believing that it's really worthwhile living and try to make a difference. Thank you and goodbye dear uncle.

A true genius
Monday, 30 October 2006. 18h15.

It's no news really, because the record is out for a long time already, even in its legacy edition version, but just in case someone should have any doubts Jeff Buckley was a true genius and this record, Live at Sin-é, makes it very clear. That was obvious knowing only Grace, simply one of the best records from the nineties and the twentieth century altogether, but it is really wonderful to rediscover, so many years after his premature death how fascinating and unpredictable his performances were.
I agree that the quality of the recording is not one of the best but it is an important document that helps to explain the JB legend. He and a guitar, nothing else. We're truly lucky, not being there on those nights at Sin-é bar, to actually be able to appreciate the freedom in the music and shape and the genius that the man was. Thank you Mary Guilbert!
It is really worth listening to the hilarious monologues, the way he reacted and interacted with the audience and how he galvanized and monopolized all the attention, the musical culture he revealed and the extreme sensibility he imprinted on the songs he sang, making music his main language.

Despair
Sunday, October 29, 2006. 23h43.

Right now I'm feeling a great sense of despair about these three things: lack of time to finish three new songs I want to put online, I haven't been able to create a new integrated blog allowing people to comment on my posts and also I haven't managed to produce my ska punk versions of the songs. It all sounds like Happy Hardcore influenced by Dixieland with some Trance influences... Enough reasons to drive me to despair.

The puzzling paradox
Thursday, October 19, 2006. 23h55.

It really amuses me to check that a song still not available on the website and that was not revealed to anyone, already generates love and hate reactions: 2 votes issued, one with top rating and other with minimum rating... I've been giving it some thought that maybe I should review the arrangements and change the song from the actual Grindcore style to some Ska Punk mood... Just for kicks!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who's been participating, that really motivates me to go further!

The Lord of The Guitars
Wednesday, October 18, 2006. 13h00.

To anyone who might be interested in music, guitars and craftmanship skills, I highly recommend a visit to Vitor Paulo's website, a venerable musician and luthier! Vitor is a very nice person, easygoing and extremely accessible, pleasant talking human being. It's always a pleasure to speak with him about anything, or about music, or about his own design crafted instruments or all the restorations he performed. He's always open to share all the information you might ask for. He's a real artist with capital letter and a reference of knowledge!

Continuum Update!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006. 12h41.

Ok, it looks like "Continuum" has already arrived here, at least at the most respectful CDgo store (thanks for the tip Pedro). Although I think it isn't available elsewhere...
Nevertheless my theory is still up to date: this delay, is it related to any inadequacy of this record to our market? I believe one could lecture me on marketing and policy arguments of which I know nothing, so I won't discuss that not to reveal all my ignorance online. But I would like to believe that it's not because the decision makers being distracted with other business.
I also would like to take the chance to say that in the perpective of a mere consumer, I think that there's always a space on the shelves and in the market for artists like John Mayer, even more so because they don't grow on trees.
I don't want to make any judgement or comparison (I wouldn't dare to), but I would like to ask: why is it that Justin Timberlake's last record - Future Sex/Love Sounds, launched precisely on the same day (12 September) in the USA, is being aired, talked about and sold for some time now, but nothing is coming about Continuum? They're different genres and different labels, I know, but it gives the impression that these two records are not given the same opportunities to reach the public, and the public is entitled to decide what to listen to, right?. Ok, I recognize that if the availability was similar, Justin would sell more, just like he does in the US (on the short term I would add, since it is more of a fashion record), but when I think of music I refuse to think only of comercial aspects - my problem I guess!
Anyway, I'm sure that none of these guys is losing any sleep thinking about sales in Portugal!
Thankfully we can always buy online: hail to the internet!

I finally made it!
Thursday, October 13, 2006. 14h10.

The problem with doing a lot of things at the same time it's not having enough free time or having one's head filled with things to forget, that I think it's actually healthy and keeps us in motion, I think. The problem is that our projects all become constantly delayed. My lapsteel project is one good example of that. On a lot of occasions I thought that it would never come to an end.
Right now I think it was worth the effort and to be honest I'm very proud of it since I have made everything from scratch, in exception of the pickups, the tuners and the paint job. And it actually plays, imagine that!
Now I just have to learn to play it...

Highly underated!
Friday, September 29, 2006. 00h20.

How is it possible that no one's speaking about the last record of the young North American musician John Mayer around here?
One cannot see a headline or a mere reference anywhere not even at the most respectable record store, magazine or anything in this country (Portugal), not to mention that the physical cd is simply not available or even known to exist... The latest album "Continuum" was released already on September 12 and its author isn't exactly what we would call an underground unknown musician. This master player of the guitar, wise crafter of great songs varying between pop and blues, has already taken home three Grammies with his last two solo albums (with two songs hardly heard among us!).
Why haven't we heard about Continuum and when will it eventually hit the shelves? I personally think it is a fantastic record from a fabulous guitar player (one of my heroes actually), much more relevant and important to bring people to know than so many others so overlooked and unoriginal, that get to the supermarket in no time after being launched.
I don't know why but I get the feeling that I really don't want to know the reasons for this to happen... Maybe I'm too old fashion to wish for a actual cd with a real cover on my living room instead of a file on my PC. Fortunately there's the internet, but I might just well forget the idea of attending one of his shows for years to come.
Anyway I think you should check it out and listen for yourself the way this young man defends and represents his generation, which is mine also, by the way.
John Mayer - Continuum (Columbia Records. © 2006).

I let myself go...
Thursday, September 28, 2006. 01h20.

I could go on talking about so many other good records that deserve it that it's almost a sin that I don't do it, but right now I'll be talking about this one that crossed my path...
I almost couldn't say whether it's good or bad because of how much I felt involved with it. It was like love at first listen since my first impression right at the first track from this Bernado Sasseti record.
This is a fantastic piece of work! The silence is dealt and mastered with true respect, always in the right place with the right length, feeling like aching for the next sounds in perfect harmony each time Bernardo leaves us alone listening to ourselves. We are forced to just keep listening. Very clever writing, very clever playing (as always).
It's a real masterpiece full of different colours beyond the ones from this track "Do silêncio", much jazzier than former records from the author, lots of visual effects, very much like a motion picture soundtrack, full of aesthetics and fortunately very Portuguese.
Bernardo Sasseti Trio - Ascent (ONC, Produções Musicais Lda. © 2006).

Benvindos visitantes
Thursday, September 28, 2006. 01h15.

Congratulations for having reached this point and thank you for doing so! I appreciate your patience and masochistic spirit in giving some time to check this out.
Don't get me wrong, I won't be speaking about any interesting or deep subject matter, no way! Actually I will take advantage of this space being MINE to curse a lot, which is something I'm not able to do in my everyday life.
Furthermore I'm not loosing this chance to talk about my political believes and to reveal this treaty I'm writing about the ultimate solution to all the world's social and economic problems.
I will also reveal all the truth about UFOs, the abduction phenomena and all the governmental cover-ups.
I will reveal the location of the island where Elvis, former president Kennedy and Norma Jean are actually living among the true personas (actually embalmed ones) of Mick Jagger, Luis Filipe Vieira and others.
Last but not least; I will be revealing the secret to make the real and tasty pastéis de belém.
OK, it's not appropriate for all ages, but folks, I've warned you! Ah now I remember... occasionally there's the possibility of having some music related commentaries, so keep posted!