Musical Edition

So, there's been quite a bit of new music I've been exposed to in my couple months here. While I'd love to touch on everything, I'll only cover a couple groups/people that have really stood out to me.

1. Tim Maia

I've talked about Tim Maia before. Everyone down here knows of him...he's sort of a legend. Brazil has long had an appreciation for Funk music, and if it didn't start with Tim, he definitely popularized it. He was a Funk musician from the 70s, making music sort of in the vein of Earth Wind and Fire. He's a great musician, and his life story is pretty amazing too. I guess he used to be a hardcore drug abuser—lots of pot and acid, cocaine and alcohol—and used to be (in)famous for not showing up to his own shows. One day he discovered this book, The Universe in Disenchantment, which was sort of the Dianetics for this cult that believed there was 'Rational Energy' and 'Animus Energy' and if we could all just harness our 'Rational Energy' then a spaceship would take us away to a utopian planet (sound familiar?) Anyway, Tim took it to heart, stopped his debaucherous ways and started to preach the word. He recorded an entire album, Racional Culture, that was meant to get people to convert to this cult's world-view. Some people regard it as his best album. One day soon after, he found out the guy who had created this cult had been swindling him out of tons of money. He tried to buy up every last copy of Rational Culture, and until recently (the mp3 era) it was a difficult record to obtain. I'd love to read his autobiography, but it hasn't been translated to English yet, and my portuguese is still sketchy. Still, great artist.

2. Los Hermanos/Little Joy

I heard about Los Hermanos after enjoying the lead singer, Marcelo Camelo's newest project Little Joy, which is a collaboration with the drummer for the Strokes and very good. Hermanos were one of the most critically acclaimed acts in Brazil in the early 2000s. Musically, they sort of sound like standard late-90s-alternative fare (although they do have some more samba-influenced tracks), but what everyone tells me makes them so amazing is the poetry of their lyrics. I've had a number of Brazilian's tell me the song I posted above, Sentimental, has made them cry. At this point, I can't really appreciate the beauty of the lyrics, but I still like their music, and it's definitely worth a listen. If it doesn't strike your fancy, you should check out Little Joy, who will resonate more with western-music-acclimated ears:

3. Os Mutantes

Os Mutantes were the Brazilian psychedelic rockers of the 60s. Their sound is so similar to the musical aesthetic of American 60's music that you'd swear you've heard one of their songs before, but then you realize you haven't, and you promptly wet your pants with excitement at finding these guys. I guess being a hippy in the 60s in Brazil was a lot more cutthroat than in the USA too, as the political powers of the time were a military regime who were pretty obvious about their opinions on dissidence. So that just sort of makes the band...more awesome? They sing in Portuguese, English, and French and play a dizzying array of instruments; imagine your favorite Jefferson Airplane song mixed up with Samba. Above is an English version of one of their songs, Minha Menina, and below is one of their songs in Portuguese. 'Shoo-Shoo' is really old slang for like, 'girlfriend/boyfriend'. Also, fun fact: These guys were apparently one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands. So maybe you've heard of them if you really like Nirvana...but probably you haven't. Check 'em out.
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4. Racionais MC's

Everyone makes a big deal about Marcello D2, but honestly when I bring him up in conversations about Rap music with Brazilian's they shrug him off and say 'thats not REAL hip-hop'. The answer to the follow-up question ('What IS real hip-hop') is almost always 'Well, groups like Racionais MC's...'. Apparently it's Brazilian Gangster Rap; the guys are from the favella, they've been to/get sent to jail regularly, they're narrating the grimey shit that goes down in the hood, etc. Basically, everything us bay kids loved about our local rappers. That, plus the fact that they get played so often in friend's cars that all the songs are familiar to me (even if I can't quite rap along with the lyrics yet) is why I'm including them here. With some better production, I'm sure they'd be super-stars, but as it is now, their beats are pretty simple. To be generous, they sometimes remind me of some early 90s west-coast ghetto beats ala Brotha Lynch, or maybe the beats of more under-ground rappers who use simple production to emphasize the content of their lyrics, ie. Immortal Technique. It's probably more of the latter, although I doubt it's intentional; most of the dope producers in the Favella are probably working on Baile Funk tracks. Still, every Brazilian who likes them talks about how dope their lyrics are. You'll have to take their word for it, but they're worth checking out, if only because of how damn popular they are down here.

5. Jorge e Mateus

I don't really like Jorge e Mateus, but they're typical of a type of music that's very popular down here known as Sertanejo. Basically it's brazilian country music. I hear it in Taxi's all the time, but it seems to be much more popular with people outside of the cities, just as country music in America is more popular with cowboys than city-kids. I have a feeling these guys are like the Kenny Chesney of Sertanejo, but anytime someone tells me they like Sertanejo I chime in with 'Oh, like Jorge e Mateus?' and they're always like, 'exactly!' Also, apparently one of the biggest clubs here in Sao Paulo, where attractive girls outnumber men 5-1, is a bar that plays Sertanejo. That's probably because Sertanejo is lame, and no dudes wanna listen to it. I haven't felt quite masochistic enough to check the spot out yet, but I'm sure I will one day, and I'm sure I'll have quite a story to report afterwards. If I don't get shot by a gaucho while I'm there first.
EDIT: After more time here, this music is wildly popular with everybody except the cool kids. This particular Jorge e Matheus song has been super popular for almost 6 months now.  Also, all Sertanejo bands have names with two people, i.e. Luiz e Gustavo, Joao e Tiago, Pedro e Pixote, etc.

6. Hermeto Pascol

This guy is crazy. I guess he's some old musician from the 60s, and in his heyday made more traditional music, but how experimental he is with sound now puts him squarely on the line between musician and performance artist. His youtube videos could easily go viral, if adequately exposed to enough gringos. There's one where he plays his beard. That being said, he's also a great musician, and I can appreciate how he explores the sonic textures of everything that could be considered music. Check out some of his other youtube videos. You will not be disappointed.

7. Planet Hemp

Planet Hemp was Marcello D2's original band. It isn't quite an apt comparison, but I'd call them Brazil's Rage Against The Machine. The music is similar, in that it's rock with very aggressive, rap-ish lyrics. The lyrical content is dissimilar in that literally every song is about smoking weed or the legalization of marijuana. I guess when these guys used to go on tour, they'd get arrested all the time for possession. We rocked out to Planet Hemp while smashing on the freeway smoking a baseado. It was super sick. If you like Rage, you might wanna give these guys a listen. They're good.

8. MC Catra

You might recognize Baile Funk as the style of music Diplo came down here and ripped off to use for MIA's second album. Mostly it's associated with Rio, so much so that the terms Baile Funk and Carioca Funk (Carioca = someone from Rio) are basically interchangeable. However, if you go to the Favella anywhere, you'll hear this type of music blasting from someones car. Baile Funk is a huge music scene, so to just highlight this one artist—the one guy I've been exposed to, MC Catra—isn't to say he's the definitive Baile Funk artist at all. However the sound in this song is typical. The beat is infectous, the lyrics are repetitive, and there's all kinds of weird noises thrown in there that at first may seem a bit jarring, but end up working perfectly with the overall track. The beat builds steadily, often unexpectedly, and you really can't help nodding your head to the eclectic beat. Like rap music, people like to slap the newest Funk tracks. At the moment, I've been hearing one coming from cars that sounds like it samples the steel drums from 50 Cent's PIMP, but given the Baile treatment. I wish I knew who did it/what it's called so I could post it here, because it's been stuck in my head, but not many people in Sao Paulo are into this kind of music—like I said, it's mostly a Rio thing—so I have no one to ask. Once I find out more about this stuff, I'll do a post dedicated to Baile Funk exclusively, coz I really enjoy it.
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So there it is. Eight or so (hopefully) new artists for you to check out. This list is by no means comprehensive of everything I've been listening to. I left out bossa-nova and samba completely, as well as music like Axe, that's more popular in places like Bahia. If all goes according to plan, I'll keep becoming familiar with the music here as time goes on and have more posts like this. There it is.
Until next time,
Tchau meninos & meninas.