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Cachaça

Carnival Songs: Cachaça não é água

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OK, so that’s Christmas and New Year out of the way – let’s turn our thoughts to Carnival shall we? This year it starts in early February but some years it doesn’t start until March – I’ve heard several Cariocas say that it doesn’t feel like the year has really started until after carnival. Personally I’m rather pleased to have a break from the festivities – 8-12 weeks is the perfect amount of time to recharge the batteries and forget all those ridiculous resolutions you made while you were wallowing in post-Christmas guilt.

When I think of carnival in Rio, I picture thousands of happy revelers at a bloco, dressed in crazy costumes, singing along to one of the many Marchinhas de Carnaval (traditional carnival songs). During my first carnival I found this a little frustrating – everyone knew the words but me! By my second carnival I had started to pick up the tunes and even bluff my way through some of the choruses. This year I plan to be singing along like a professional!

 

Cachaça

This is Cachaça, not to be confused with water…

 

So I thought I’d help out fellow carnival newbies with some suggested reading/singing. In the run-up to the big week, I’ll post a selection of my favourites carnival tunes. Learn these songs and you’ll feel like you’ve been carnivaling for years!

Today we’ll start with a cautionary tale which highlights the differences between water and Brazil’s favourite spirit – the song is called “Cachaça”.

 

Água de carnaval

This is water (cachaça is cheap, but not that cheap!).

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Tom Jobim

Não fala que grava!

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I’ve mentioned a few of my favourite Brazilian albums in recent months – music by artists such as Jorge Ben, João Gilberto and Novos Baianos to name a few. There are a lot of other artists still to talk about, but one name is particularly conspicuous by its absence.

Antônio Carlos Jobim

Also known as Tom Jobim, this colossus of Brazilian music is known as the main force behind the creation of Bossa Nova and one of the most talented and successful composers of the 20th century. You can’t mention the man without also mentioning his most famous composition, Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema). The original (Portuguese) lyrics are so much nicer than the English version that it’s reason enough to learn Portuguese in itself!

For me, it seems like this subject is almost to big to cover – I don’t know enough about him and besides, you can get a better run-down of this man and his story on Wikipedia.

Tom Jobim

Tom Jobim (sounds kind of like Tohn zho-been). The man credited (along with João Gilberto) with the creation of Bossa Nova.

 

So instead of trying to cover Jobim’s entire career, I’m going to focus on just a single song.

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Ney Matogrosso

Secos e Molhados

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I wanted to start a little differently today. What I’d like you to do is click on a link – this will open another window/tab on your browser into which will load a youtube clip. There may be an advert that you have to wait for – once the proper clip starts playing I want you to come back here to continue reading. Everyone clear on that? You’ll continue reading here while the music is playing there.

OK, here is the link: http://youtu.be/bAdlGZSaQRg

Secos e Molhados

I should explain to younger readers that this is what was known as an ‘LP’.

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Novos Baianos

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Brazilian music has been on the Eat Rio menu quite a bit recently – we’ve charted the highs of João Gilberto and Bossa Nova and we plumbed the lows of a plagiarising Rod Stewart, legs akimbo. In one of the comments I was even accused of having good taste in music! Well, I feel that I have a real ace left up my sleeve when it comes to Brazilian music recommendations.

There is a very select group of albums that I mentally file under the label “Solid Gold”. You know, no dud tracks – what you might call perfect albums. This list includes Blondie’s Parallel Lines, Neil Young’s After The Goldrush, Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Van Morrison’s Moondance (you’ll let me know if this starts to get a little self-indulgent won’t you?).

Well, since coming to Brazil I have a new album to add to this list of mine. It is called Acabou Chorare (which means ‘No More Crying’) and is the work of a group called Novos Baianos. What can I say about this album? It really is one of my favourite albums of all time – a beautiful piece of work.

Novos Baianos

Novos Baianos – the founding members (from left to right) Luiz Galvão, Baby Consuelo, Paulinho Boca de Cantor and Moraes Moreira.

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Desafinado

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Some of you may remember that in March this year I went to London for a couple of months. It was my first taste of a real winter in 3 years and I felt almost instant saudade for the warmth and sunshine of Rio. Perhaps as a result, I found myself listening to Brazilian music as I stood at chilly bus stops, or shivered my way between the train station and my office.

During my time in Brazil I’ve made a few musical discoveries that have come as revelations. The first was when I discovered ‘A Tábua de Esmeralda’ by Jorge Ben. It’s a brilliant album – unusual, very accessible and made me realise that not all Brazilian music has to sound like samba or bossa nova. I wrote about it here.

But back in London I had a new album on constant rotation.

Chega da Saudade

Chega da Saudade by João Gilberto.

 

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