27/17 - I'm Celebrating On A Vibrancy

Merry Christmas! Tired of Band Aid and Chris Rea yet? Here's my blissful holiday mood in good, not necessarily Christmas themed music:

Ariel Ramirez - Kyrie (Vidala-Baguala)

Let's jingle the bells like they do in Argentina!

Franz Schubert - Winterreise: Der Leiermann

Now let's bring it down. Imagine yourself snowed in, in a tiny cottage in a deep dark forest. That is the mood. Now let the hurdy-gurdy man play you a tune...

Björk - Blissing Me

Nothing to do with Christmas, but anyway: bliss. Bliss on all. Love, love, love, love,love,love,loveloveloveluv💕

Jussi Björling - O Helga Natt (Adams julsång)

Allow me to have at least one perennial classic on the list this year. Btw, I can recommend a listen to Soul Music's brand new episode on the history and impact of the tune. While you're at it you might as well check out their earlier Christmas episodes on Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and Fairytale of New York as well. Guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings.

Yoko Ono with Cat Power - Revelations

Bless you for your anger
It's a sign of rising energy
Bless you for your sorrow
It's a sign of vulnerability 

Bless you for your greed
It's a sign of great capacity
Bless you for your jealousy
It's a sign of empathy 

Bless you for your fear
It's a sign of wisdom
Bless you for your search
Of direction 

Bless you for the times
You feel no love
Open your heart to life anyway
In time you'll find love in you 

You are a sea of goodness
You are a sea of love
Bless you, bless you, bless you
Bless you for what you are 

The world has all that you need
You have the power to attract what you wish
Wish for health, wish for joy
Remember, you are loved 

I love you

26/17 - Imagine A Future And Be In It

Looking forward to the future, shrugging off the past.

György Ligeti - Musica ricercata: Nr. 7

This makes for a really nice transition from the last list, if you were to go to the archive and listen to all lists in order. What useless considerations I make.... 

Arca - Coraje

While waiting for Björk's new album to arrive I decided to go back and listen to her collaborator's latest album, and discovered that it is probably one of the best albums of the year. Stunning sounds and vulnerable vocals in constant transmogrification.

T.Y.E. - Eternity / Real Eyes

The joke's on me
Well what the fuck did I laugh for?

A Tribe Called Quest - Black Spasmodic

Few make it look so easy. They're just playing aren't they? And they're tripping up death while they're at it, letting Phife shrug him off and dip back into the game.

Björk - Future Forever

Exactly what the world needs now: a follow up to All Is Full Of Love (complete with a lyrical nod: "trust your head around")!
Utopia is astonishing and bewildering in equal measures. Possibly her most exquisite soundscape yet (and that's an impossibly high bar), but at the same time some of her most difficult songs to grasp. I'm not gonna lie; I do miss the old big melodies Björk at times. But then I put this album on in great speakers and it's absolutely like entering a magical futuristic forest, where I don't mind if I get completely lost at times.