Hope Sandoval: Suzanne

Her voice is heavenly.

Guaglione

I first heard this lovely mambo on a Guinness TV advertisment. Now Guinness are well known for having made great ads in the past, such as this one and this one , always with excellent musical accompaniment. Below is the video for Guaglione composed by Pérez "Prez" Prado which resurfaced timidly in 1995 after the success of the aforementioned advert.

Chinese Translation - M. Ward

Not all those who wander are lost (Camera Obscura)

Camera Obscura are a Scottish indie band currently signed up with legendary record label 4AD. Comparisons with compatriots Belle and Sebastian are probably tired and irrelevant by now. Cambell's husky voice and compelling lyrics tie the music together and create a fast paced, quasi-psychedelic reverb landscape that is rather quirky but all too pleasant.

Here is "If looks could Kill" from the album "Let's Get Out Of This Country".

Sigur Ros - Glósóli

"Glósóli" (Icelandic for "Glowing Sole") is a song by Sigur Rós, released as part of their 2005 album Takk.

The name is a combination of gló- from the verb að glóa meaning "to glow, shine, glitter" and sóli meaning "sole." The second element of the name, sóli, shares its grammatical stem with the word "sól", meaning "sun". In combination "glósóli" can be understood as a childish way of saying "glowing sun".

The song is also praised for its artistic and highly cinematographic music video which consists of children dressed in old-fashioned Icelandic clothing, "migrating" towards an unknown destination.

2001 A Floyd Odyssey: Echoes

During my late teen years, few bands had influenced me as profoundly as Pink Floyd had and Echoes was, and remains, one of my all time favourite songs. The album "Meddle" was released in 1971, three years after Kubrick's seminal film "2001: A Space Odyssey" but rumour has it that Kubrick first approached Pink Floyd to write the soundtrack to the film; a request which they refused. Upon viewing the film however, they regretted this decision and the rumour goes on to say that Echoes was recorded to score with the last section of 2001 as a sign of respect to the director's work. The video below shows that the two actually sync pretty well.



Of course the members of the band always denied that the synchronization was intentional and there's no reason to dispute that but it is true that Roger Waters is sometimes quoted as saying that the band's failure to contribute music to 2001's official score was his "greatest regret".

Echoes (Part 1) Lyrics:

Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
And no one showed us to the land
And no one knows the where's or why's
And something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb toward the light

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand
The best I can

And no one calls us to the Lord
And no one forces down our eyes
And no one speaks and no one tries
No one flies around the sun
Cloudless, everyday you fall
Upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Comes streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning

And no one sings me lulabyes
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky

Anni Rossi

Keep an eye out for this one! 23 year old Anni Rossi has been classically trained since an early age and her voice is smooth and lugubrious. She's been a performing solo artist for the past few years and has only recently signed with a record label. Here's a lyrically odd taster:

Arabesque No1 - Debussy

Isao Tomita's eerie rendition of Debussy's Arabesque No 1.

The Moon and the Melodies

Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd: The Ghost has No Home.

If it Be Your Will (Anthony sings Leonard Cohen)

If it be your will is a song by the Canadian lyrical musician Leonard Cohen. Below is a link to a starkingly beautiful cover version by Anthony Hegarty (lead singer of Anthony and the Johnsons) from the soundtrack of Lian Lunson's movie Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.

Fotzepolitic (Cocteau Twins)

Peter and the Wolf

This short animated film (2006) was created by Suzie Templeton and is based on the classic children's story and set to the music of Prokovief.

In 1936 Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow to write a new musical symphony for children. The intent was to cultivate 'musical tastes in children from the first years of school'. Intrigued by the invitation, Prokofiev completed Peter and the Wolf in just four days.

Map of the Problimatique

Music by Muse and a patchwork of videos lifted from youtube.