The Scott Joplin of samba. (Or, possibly the most beautiful song ever written.)
Pixinguinha is, within Brazil, one of the most venerated of all composers - certainly as highly esteemed as Jobim, but from an earlier era. You might recognize him as the man who wrote the melody to "Tico Tico" (you certainly know the song, if not its name), which sells him far short. In my Brazil-centric view, he wrote some of the most ravishing melodies ever to grace the air, and the video below is probably my favorite of his. (Wait 30 seconds or so until the talking ends.)
"Carinhoso" was originally made famous by Orlando Silva (these historical comparisons are always approximate at best, but he was kinda Brazil's Bing Crosby, without the road movies). It has been covered by virtually everybody south of Venezuela. This version is by one of my favorite singers, Marisa Monte, with guitar backing from the titans of traditional samba Paulina da Viola (who deserves his own post one of these days).
Locating MOG account...
Comments (20)
...your hyperbole aside...This is a damn fine performance, very nice for a mellow Saturday
One man's hyperbole is another man's truth. To me, this song has remarkable structural complexity (no section repeated, all flow seamlessly into the following ones), there isn't a single predictable choice in the melody line or the chord progression and yet it all seems inevitable. The mood it creates is completely cohesive and deeply emotional. It's at the highest place where heart and head meet. I don't thrown words like this around lightly, but to me this is a work of genius.
a serious tug on the heart
All I noticed first time through was my heart being totally tugged. Second time, it was easier to notice no sections being repeated. This will be a video that endlessly keeps on giving.
These two have quite a few videos out there, huh? I've enjoyed quite a few already, But Bill, not to be contrarian (moi?).....there is no most beautiful song ever written. :)
Miles, always good to see you around these parts. While it certainly helps to have Marisa Monte singing your little ditty, this song is very close to indestructible - it gets to you (or me) no matter who's performing it.
Spike, this is one of those songs that I amways keep coming back to - it's like a well of infinite depth....
DMDM, of course it's subjective, and I thought all the proper qualifiers were in place. That said, it's always worth the exercise to try and understand in objective terms why one reacts the way one does to a work of art is, at the very least, a way of ensuring that one's opinions don't slip into total solipsism. It doesn't explain why this gentle song exerts such a powerful hold on me, but it does give me some insight into what it is I consider important. Otherwise I could tell you with a straight face that "The Chipmunk Song" is the most beautiful song ever written....
deadmandeadman, the trick is to figure out a way to get introduced to songs that each actually convince you that they are the most beautiful song ever written. There seem to be a lot of them out there. No way you haven't run into them
Quite a remarkably constructed song, especially to those of us familiar with the verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure of most "pop" music.
the fact that it's sung in Portuguese (okay, the Brazilian variant thereof) does help the singer to convey the saudade.
i like
I'm gonna have to listen to more songs and learn Portuguese. Though I like a lot I hear from Brazil it is still a tough sell for me, but I'm definitely getting the saudade on this one. i've got a lot to learn.
It's tugging on my wallet, and made me wish she was tugging on something else. Where can I buy this?
I'm not sure if it's the singer, the guitarist or the composer, but I wan' some more of this. Tell me how.
To cool, man...too cool.
Is that an R. Crumb piece just above?
No, it's Will Elder, from the early 1950s comicbook edition of MAD magazine. In particular a spoof of The Howdy Doody Show.
I do think Will Elder was an influence on Robert Crumb, though.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!
Here's a 1953 version of "Carinhoso" played by Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank that you, ivylander, linked to my post and Baudolino's post.
thanks. a good way to start the day.
A true songbird. I thought the guitar player only played but I love Paulina da Viola's voice too.
Thank you for the introduction!
I find this song quiet intense I have to say (despite its seeming lightness). Thanks for the hint. And I can totally understand that one can fall in love with it. Very nice post.