I haven’t posted on this blog for the past two years, and so it felt only fitting that my first post in a while would be about my Dad. I was looking through my comments page, and a whole fresh wave of grief washed over me as I read all his messages. He commented more than anyone else. He was the sweetest. Here is one comment that is just the essence of him, from “Two Days in The Calanques” PiperWhat…
The opening notes of Liniker’s Zero seep out like moonlight on a river, and from that very first song — her band’s debut track — you are pulled into her velvet world.
Cinque Terre is about wandering around and enjoying the sea. There isn’t a ton to do in the way of sightseeing, which makes it a relaxing respite after the busyness of Rome and other major Italian cities. In Cinque Terre if all you do is lounge around eating and sipping wine and looking at the water then you would have done it right.
One evening we watched the sunset at the Terrazza del Pincio with cheap wine in plastic cups, toasting as the sky turned coral over Piazza del Popolo and its Egyptian obelisk. Later, we bought Neapolitan-style pizza and ate it at midnight in front of marble gods at the Trevi Fountain. We talked often about how crazy it was to be in Rome without crowds.
Another day, another coronavirus-related restriction. President Macron announced last night that a curfew will go into effect in certain cities in France— including my Lyon adorée— from Saturday until at least the next 4-6 weeks.
With an aim to uplift, it is clear why she chose Rose in The Dark as the song for which the album is named after: the track has a nostalgic feel, with a flowing beat and sweet vocals that are as comforting as a spoonful of honey.
I adored Nice. Being there felt so easy, as if the palm trees and sunshine and salty air give the place a natural effortlessness. A swim in the sea is just as far away as it takes to walk across the beach separating the city from the Mediterranean.
With influences from soul and reggae to jazz and gospel, Shan makes her music distinctive through an inspirational tone and a voice that holds the listener rapt.
In Better Than I Imagined, the listener floats on H.E.R.’s velvety “heys”, her voice syrupy over the clear notes of the piano keys and bright drum beats. There’s a mellow jazziness to the song that soothes despite its treatment of a conflicted relationship.
Visualize electric blue water so clear it hardly seems real. Chalky cliffs that cut a jagged line across the sky. A dry landscape of rocks and scrub that meet the vast expanse of the Mediterranean. These are Les Calanques. The Calanques aren’t super well known outside of France, which is surprising considering their beauty and majesty. “Calanques” means “rocky inlets” in French, and this is exactly what they are— peaceful coves and inlets. The water is calm, and the hills…