Soundtrack

A journey through a lifetime of music.

[artimaniac]

Gorky Park came out of Russia in 1989, when the iron curtain fell down.  The resemblance of the quest for freedom, for equality and for an opportunity.  Arrived to the US and found a couple of helping hands in Frank Zappa and Bon Jovi in order “to make it”.   Bang!, their first hit, talks of that, of freedom, of saying yes.  

Musically it remembers a lot the riffs by Def Leppard and the British hair metal of the 80′s; crossed with some slavic condiment.  A catchy hard rock song, well constructed and musically attractive.  Makes you want to sing along!

[artimaniac]

This is a piece of art!  I remember when I first heard this song I was dragged by it immediately.  Attracted magnetically and strongly: the anguish, the sorrow, the rage, but also the underlying hope in it.

Schism is one of those songs that makes you want to create, to learn... to grow.  The music is complex, beautifully layered and wonderfully arranged.  Several changes in the time signature, that accompany perfectly the intricate lyrics, which expose a very accurate human behavior.  

The visuals are odd, artsy, intriguing, and for many perhaps a bit disgusting.  In the very bottom, a story of a relationship: “I know the pieces fit, ´cause I watched them fall away”. 

In times of youth, a trigger; in adult times: a reminder.

[artimaniac]

Somewhere in the late 90`s I discovered prog metal music through some College friends.  I already knew Pink Floyd, Rush and others... but in metal genre this was a revelation!  Dream Theater has been for me one of those inspirational bands along the way.   I finally made it to one of their concerts in Amsterdam in 2013, and it was amazing! They played this song in its entirety, and it was one of the joyous moments of my life.

Here I share that joy with you!

Note: the footage is obviously not from that particular show.

[artimaniac]

Music finds us in different times, places, formats and styles.  Growing up in a small rural catholic community forces you to get in touch with certain music in certain events... or even activities that you have to perform.   This time of the year brings back to memory one of the most interesting and difficult pieces I had to learn and perform, for one of these activities.   

It is a funeral march, written by a costarican composer from the late 19th century called Rafael Chaves; and regularly used in traditional religious activities  in Easter week, as well as in State funerals both in CR and elsewhere.   This year all of this is off, but this piece is always there.  And the remembrance is not so much of the religious act itself, but of the importance of the tradition in many people.

[artimaniac]

Growing up, one crosses with people you think are gonna be with you forever, in one way or another.  Eventually one realizes that one can choose to keep these persons along the ride, but they will most of the time just get off at the next stop.  

For me, many of these people were related to songs... or to moments that had their particular soundtrack.   Some songs just bring them all back whenever I need them.

[artimaniac]

This was the kick.  Growing up in the 1980′s in rural Costa Rica did not allow to get to know the current music, the trends, the fashionable stuff.  We used to rent videocassettes at a local shop, filled with music videos ranging from The Police to Vanilla Ice.   Most songs were already 2 to 3 years old, and many were already not very popular; but for us, the kids in my street, that was hot!

We saw the tapes dozens of times, trying to catch up the details, the names of the songs, the bands and thinking of ways to actually get that music into a home recorded cassette for regular listening.

In between all of this, there were some particular songs that drew my ears into them.  Paradise City was the reason I decided to learn how to play guitar.  It was revolution... it was freedom to fly!  It was the kick into the musical ride that I have made my life pass through.