It’s getting definitely warmer here in Barcelona. Winter has been alright, though. I mean… I bet most of you think we don’t have real winter over here and that’s relatively true but it’s not all about temperature. It’s really cool when you look outside and there’s still some light by late afternoon. Anyway, I’m no poet (but I needed some intro). Thing is I’ll try to write some reflections every three months about what has been in my Winamp playlist, the concerts I have attended and basically anything I’d like to communicate about music.

Let’s start with Sweden. Two of my favorite records from 2008 so far are from Swedish artists. First, the wonderful folk record by The Tallest Man On Earth which sounds like modern Bob Dylan and The Band music. His voice is just amazing and the music is very simple but very emotional at the same time. There’s a perfect combination between every element. The acoustic guitar lines match perfectly with his verses which sometimes are just real poetry. I don’t know… I really like it. Second, the not-so-hot but obviously attractive singer Lykke Li. Her album is not a masterpiece, even though it contains three or four really good songs. I just fell in love with her when I saw that “I’m Good, I’m Gone” video collaborating with other artists such as Robyn. I think this girl is capable of making really good music and I’d love to see her live. Give her a try and go to some of her concerts with El Perro del Mar.

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (live video)

Indie rock has done well too. My favorite record from this genre published in these first three months of 2008 is the latest indie hype, Vampire Weekend. I’m not going to say anything about their music because every thing I could say has been written before but, you know, you just can’t say this is not good. We’re dealing with a fresh sound here and I’ve been enjoying this album a lot since I listened to it for first time. I’ve also enjoyed The Magnetic Fields and Be Your Own Pet a lot and some other bands like MGMT deserve a chance too.

Vampire Weekend - Walcott/One (live video in the streets of Paris, by La Blogotheque)
Be Your Own Pet - The Kelly Affair (video)

Rap music hasn’t done particularly well (what to expect nowadays anyway?). EMC was not bad, neither Guilty Simpson but nothing mind-blowing. Well… nothing except those new videos from The Roots and Prodigy. That was pretty exciting. Erykah Badu’s new record was quite nice too. I haven’t listened to it a lot because it feels like some kind of relaxing music to me now, but it’s still a cool album.

The Roots - Get Busy (video)
Prodigy - The Life (video)
Erykah Badu - Honey (video)

Winter 2008 has been the time for another indie hype, El Gunicho, since Pitchfork reviewed his album and he went to SXSW and so on. It’s really interesting to analyze this phenomenon from a Barcelona perspective because we started talking about him like half a year ago over here and now he’s world wide known in the indie scene. Internet is crazy and I understand he has been successful abroad because 1) He sounds like Animal Collective and Panda Bear (critically acclaimed last year) and 2) His music is original enough to destroy the language frontiers for the English-speaking world.

Finally and most importantly, I’m so happy now that I know I have some chances with Joanna Newsom since her boyfriend looks like a muscled version of me (I actually hope I don’t look that ridiculous but if that’s what Joanna likes…) (via Brooklyn Vegan).

I’m going to Berlin this Wednesday and I’ll stay there till Sunday. I guess I’ll post some photos and write some lines about it if I feel inspired. I’ll try to attend some concerts too. - Grey