Un bloc de Brian Cutts amb música, llibres i algun que altre comentari sobre les Terres de l’Ebre o l’actualitat ..... music, books and the odd comment on current affairs, or local news and events in southern Catalonia.
A l’any 1953 John Cage va compondre la peça “4 minuts 33 segons”· Durant aquesta peça de “musica”, els musics no toquen, ni canta ningú. No són, però, 4 minuts de silenci sinó 4 minuts on només es senten els sons de fondo, de l’entorn. Tal com Cage diu, no existeix el silenci i amb aquesta peça podem escoltar 4 minuts i mig de “musica” externa i interna del cos humà...
Aquesta peça s’ha gravat i “tocat” en concert en diversos ocasions. Fins i tot recordo haver-la vist en un jukebox!
Aquest any un parell d’amics van començar una campanya (en el Facebook, com no!) per a que la gent tornis a comprar aquest single aquest nadal, per així impedir un altre “Christmas Number One” endolcida de la programa Operació Triomf. Al principis de desembre alguns dels artistes més interessants al Regne Unit es van ajuntar per gravar la peça, entre els quals estava Billy Bragg, Pete Doherty, Suggs, Imogen Heap, Orbital, the Guillemots etc
Aquí es pot veure una presentació interessant del BBC sobre la peça i els seus orígens, i a continuació podem escoltar el 4, 33 sencer.
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John Cage first composed and recorded “4 33” in 1953. Four and a half minutes where the musicians were instructed to remain silent. So, it’s 4 and a half minutes of silence then? Not exactly. What Cage was after was the “music” around, and inside, us ... and he pretty much acheived it. Here the BBC explain better than I can.
This year there has been a new recording made in the UK with the likes of Billy Bragg and Suggs taking part amongst many other artists. All proceeds go to charity, and the aim was to beat the Operation Triumph single to be this year’s Christmas Number One. Unfortunately they failed to get there, but it’s well worth a listen – and should have had more airplay.
Bé, arribem al final de l'any, com sempre amb el seus punts alts i baixos. Sense oblidar els problemes reals i grans de la gent, el futbol sempre ens dona una bona dosi de opium i aqui Pique ens recorda 5 de les petites alegries que hem pogut gaudir ....
Avui Wham! amb Last Christmas- quantes relacions es van crear a les discoteques dels 80 amb aquesta bal·lada?
Another year nearly over, as they say. As with most years, there's been good times and bad times. Without wishiing to ignore or minimize the misery and poverty in the world, or more serious problems, as usual football as given us all a good dosis of opium ... and here Barça's Gerard Pique reminds us of 5 small moments of joy!
Music-wise, Wham remind (some of) us of those 80s' discos and Christmas hugs and kisses ...
Aprofito l'amistat per fer un "copia i enganxa" del bloc d'Emigdi:
Dijous 23 de desembre, a les 20 hores: concentració a la plaça de l'ajuntament de Tortosa i el d'Amposta, a favor de la llengua catalana a l'ensenyament, davant de la nova agressió lingüística, cultural i social contra el català per part del tribunal suprem d'allà a Espanya. Una agressió programada i acultural, feixista i antieducativa, antialumnat i antiprofessorat, antiCatalunya, antiPaïsos Catalans, anti la ciutadania del país...
Ahir a casa de mons pares, a Anglaterra, la temperatura va PUJAR fins a un maxim de sis graus baix zero! On està Al Gore quan el necessites? Per entrar en calor, Chuck Berry amb Run Rudolph Run.
Yesterday, at my parents' in the UK they hit a high of six degrees - below zero!! Come back Al Gore! Let's warm things up with Chuck Berry.
Si l'any passat vam escoltar el "primer equip" dels hits de nadal (fent clik aqui), aquest any passem al segon equip, casi tan bo com el del Barça! Sleigh Ride dels The Ronettes, del LP que Phil Spector va produir als anys 60 aplicant el Wall of Sound a cançons festives.
Last year we heard some classic Christmas hits, with Slade, Wizzard, Elvis, Darlene Love among many others. But the hits still keep coming ... here's one from Phil Spector's Christmas Album, with The Ronettes singing Sleigh Ride.
L'any passat ja vaig penjar els meus 10 favorits hits de nadal ... però encara queden moltes cançons festives bones !! Aqui tenim als Flaming Lips amb Christmas at the Zoo, del LP Clouds Taste Metallic.
Although I posted my All-time Top 10 Christmas Faves this time last year, there are many more festive tunes I like grooving to .... here's the Flaming Lips with Christmas at the Zoo.
(click here for the real video - aqui és veu el video clip)
Ara si, hi ha coses que no entenc, ni entendré. Diuen que la primera cosa que farà Mas serà lo d’abolir el limit dels 80 km/h a l’entrada de Barcelona. Vist des d’aquí baix a la reserva india de Catalunya, només em puc informar a traves dels diaris però amb això ja comença la confusió. Diuen que van ficar el limit de 80 per reduir les emissions dels cotxes. La contaminació de l’aire a Barcelona és tan greu que si no ho arreglem, ens tocarà pagar una multa a la Comissió Europea. Una multa que, quan diuen que ho paga la Generalitat, vol dir que ho paguem tots natros!
També diuen que amb la mesura dels 80 la mortalitat en accidents de cotxes ha baixat un 50%. I que els embussos a l’entrada al capital també s’han anat a menys.
Però resulta que tots, o casi tots, aplaudirem quan Mas ho torna a canviar. Pagarem la multa amb ganes i alegria, i possiblement hi haurà més desgracies, i els votants, tots contents! Clar, si pots anar 20 km a 120 i no a 80, t’estalvies 5 minuts. 5 minuts més al llit o al café, afegit a una bona dosi de testerona ... on he de firmar?
Highway to hell.
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Apparently the air quality around Barcelona is so poor that the European Commission could fine the Catalan government i.e. us, the tax payers. To avoid this and, at the same time, improve road safety, the previous government introduced a speed limit of 80km/hour on the main roads leading into Barcelona (as many of these are dual-carriageways and motorways which reach the very centre of the city, the previous limit was 120 km).
Apparently it was successful, with some studies saying air quality improved and deaths in accidents were down 50%, as well as a reduction in traffic jams thanks to more thoughtful and calm driving.
Well, the new government’s first decision will be to return the limit to 120km/h. That way we can spend an extra 5 minutes in bed, or in the bar, put our pedal to the metal like big boys do, and all for the cost of few extra taxes and maybe some more accidents ...
Some things take some understanding, but I’m trying ...
Bé, han passat molts de dies des de les eleccions i tinc el bloc mig parat, no per falta de ganes sino per falta de temps i energia. En fi, ja s’ha dit tot i no tinc gaire cosa a afegir. No sé on han anat a parar les persones que van manifestar-se el 10 de juliol. No m’agrada veure com els partits que em cauen bé (de vegades) lluiten pel mateix troç de pastis, mentres els de dretes i nacionals espanyols escombren allà on van. No m’ha agradat, i em fa temor, la pujada dels racistes.
Només ho puc compensar amb un canvi d’aires. Ja que anem a l’hivern i nadal, aqui tenim a Marc Almond cantant Heart On Snow amb Maizaka. .....
Sorry for not offering an immediate update on the Catalan election results but I have my excuses ... anyway, here it is, the right-wing Catalan party CiU obtained 62 seats (48 in 2006). The PSC socialists dropped from 37 to 28. Left-wing Catalan republicans, ERC, fell from 21 to 10.Left-wing Greens, ICV, fell from 12 to 10. Spanish conservative party PP rose from 14 to 18 seats. Ciutadans, right-wing undefinable “Catalans” held on to their 3 seats. And SI, the new party, proposing an immediate declaration of independence gained 4 seats – a success given the fact that they were allowed very little, or no, media coverage prior to the election. So the left-ish coalition of PSC, ERC, and ICV cannot reach a majority of 68 this time, which leaves CiU as the governing party, and their leader Artur Mas as the new President of Catalunya, to be sworn in some time next week. The good note of the results is that, luckily, a racist anti-immigrant party, PxC, did not obtain parliamentary representation although they got about 3% of the vote.
Changing the mood, let’s look forward to winter and Christmas. Here’s Marc Almond singing Heart on Snow with Maizaka.
Aquesta setmana han donat el premi Nobel de la Pau a Liu Xiaobo. No ha pogut viatjar a Oslo a recollir-ho en persona perquè li han condemnat a 11 anys de presò per haver escrit un manifest (el Charter 08) en el que es demana reformes politiques a la Xina.
A banda de l'emprenyo de l'estat xines, uns altres paisos han fet boicot a l'acte de lliurament del premi. Entre els quals estan alguns paisos que habitualment destaquen per els seus valors a favor de la democracia i llibertad - dic, en veu ironic. Lamentable. Aquí està la llista completa: Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egipte, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afganistan, i Sri Lanka.
Per acompanyar, la banda sonora dels Sospitosos Habituals.
Anyone surprised by which countries joined China in their boycott of the Nobel Peace Prize this week? Liu Xiaobo could not travel to Oslo to receive the award as he is currently spending 11 years in prison for drawing up the Charter 08 manifest in favour of political reforms in China.
So, here's the full list of those democratic, tolerant, freedom-loving states who have backed China on this one: Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Usual Suspects soundtrack provides today's music.
Cada any el partit del Barça vs Real Madrid és un "classic", però aquest any amb, per una banda, el millor equip de l'historia i un entrenador amb educació, visió, estil, i filosofia, com pocs - i per l'altre banda els xulos de sempre ara amb els ingredients del Cristiano Ronaldo i el personatge de Mourinho ....! Wow, molt prometador!
Barcelona FC have won every trophy under the sun in recent years, breaking world records, with a breath-taking style of fast-flowing technical football. If we add to this a certain level of fair-play, and 7 or 8 first team players being "home-grown", we have something special.
Real Madrid have a certain reputation for being a good, but arrogant team. And Barça's greatest rivals - for obvious reasons. For years and years their matches have represented the long-term "match" between Catalonia and Spain. Last season was especially exciting with each team pushing each other to the limit, breaking point-winning and goal-scoring records as they went. It went down to the wire, with Barça taking the League eventually - not surprising if we see Messi in action.
This year Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo (two "special" ones) have been added to the mix.
Fireworks are promised!
Check this year's match out, Monday at 21.00, just 24 hours after the Catalan elections.
So, let's re-live a few great moments as we wait for Monday to come. As the song says, Ja Som Campions (we are the champions)
Sense voler ser un expert en els sistemes de votacions, si que he notat algunes diferencies entre Anglaterra i Catalunya que podria comentar...
A Catalunya es necessita carnet d’identitat per poder votar. A Anglaterra no. Bàsicament no en tenim de carnets. Quan vas a votar, dius el teu nom (i domicili si cal), et ratllen d’una llista, i a votar.
A Catalunya és obligat treballar en una taula electoral si et criden (i no ets bisbe). A Anglaterra son voluntaris que cobren. Pots arribar a cobrar entre 150 i 250€ per un dia de feina, i així sempre hi ha gent disposada a fer-ho. I els que no ho volem fer, pos, cap obligació. També hi ha un funcionari de l’ajuntament que vigila que tot funciona bé i és el últim responsable si hi ha algun problema.
Aquí es vota per sistema de representació proporcional. A Anglaterra per majoria simple. Per exemple, per cada ciutat o zona de xx habitants, hi ha un diputat. Agafem per exemple, un diputat per Tortosa, un per Amposta, un per Reus-Nort, un per Reus-Sur etc. De tots els candidats, és el que treu més vots qui guanya la plaça. Això és el que ens porta a tenir un sistema on gairebé sempre tenim majories fortes al Parlament.
El 4t punt és més un “feeling” personal. Em dona l’impressió que la gent catalana (en general) pren la política amb més seriositat que els anglesos (en general). Potser perquè la democràcia aquí encara és “jove”? Jo des de que tinc coneixement, fa uns 40 anys, que mons pares m’explicaven que votar no servia per a res i que “tots són iguals”! A Anglaterra (en general) trobo que la política no és un tema de debat diari com aquí. En cap de setmana els politics no van de paella en paella, de calçotada en calçotada, per sortir a la tele - no es tornen a veure fins el dilluns. Potser la política influeix en el dia a dia, però no de manera tan evident com aquí. Per exemple, aquí jo sé de quina tendència són els directors d’escoles i instituts, de quin partit són els inspectors d’educació, els directors d’hospitals, els funcionaris de l’ajuntament etc. Potser si que hi ha “enxufes” a Anglaterra però no de manera tan descarat com alguns casos que hem conegut aquí.
I finalment, a Catalunya es vota en diumenge. A Anglaterra en dijous. La llegenda diu és perquè els dijous és l’últim dia abans de que la gent cobrava, en divendres tradicionalment – o sigui, l’últim dia abans de la borratxera de tres dies que la gent agafaven ... i agafen.
Parlant de política, sempre em fa pensar en Billy Bragg. Aquí amb To Have and Have Not.
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A few lines on differences I have noticed between voting in Catalonia and voting in England. In Catalonia you have to show your identity card to do almost everything, which obviously includes voting. In England, you state your name, they cross you off the list, and you vote.
In England the poll clerks are paid volunteers. In Catalonia there is a draw made and if your name comes out, you have no option but to take part at a polling station, rather like being chosen for a jury. Having said that, the Bishop of Tortosa has got out of it on the grounds that he has a lot of work on a Sunday.
England chooses its MPs by a simple majority system in each constituency. Catalonia has a rather complicated proportional system in place. Catalonia is divided into 4 provinces with xx MPs per province. The votes in each province are shared out proportionally and allocated to xx names on each party’s list of candidates. All very fair, but you may not know whoever has got in for your party of choice.
The next point is more subjective. Maybe I am wrong but I think Catalans take politics more seriously than many Brits (myself included). Maybe it’s because democracy is still relatively new here (35 years)? People talk about politics daily, people have no qualms about stating their allegiance to a party. People still (in general) believe voting is a right which should be exercised as many lost their lives for this right. Politics also seems to have an “influence” in everyday matters. School inspectors, headmasters, hospital directors, council workers, etc – it is often known to which party they belong, and to whom they owe favours.
Finally, Catalans vote on a Sunday. The English on a Thursday. Legend has it that, being the last day before pay-day, it was the best chance of getting people to vote while still sober ...
Politics always brings me back to Billy Bragg. Here he is with To Have and Have Not.
Més sobre les eleccions en anglès. Si algú vol afegir, corregir alguna cosa, ja m’ho direu. Amb la mateixa conclusió d’ahir... després de molts d’anys de cinisme i pasotisme, per una altra vegada vull confiar en algú...
I have now lived in Catalonia for 21 years, 21 law-abiding tax-paying European-citizen years, but still am not allowed a vote. Snif! This year, however, I have decided to put aside my habitual cynicism and choose who I would vote for if I could. However, I do not consider it to be choosing a party, but, instead, choosing an objective ... Maybe they will deceive me too, but, as they say, a change is as good as a rest.
So here goes for a brief introduction to Catalan politics:
Although Catalonia is kept on a tight chain by the State of Spain, it does have its own Parliament which has certain autonomic powers. As with most countries elections are held every 4 years, and time is up on Sunday. The Parliament has 135 MPs and is currently made up of the following parties, with a PSC-ERC-ICV coalition in power:
CiU (with 48 seats). A so-called nationalist party which, despite being in power since the 1980s, to 2003, only managed to get Madrid to offer Catalonia the scraps from the dining table but with no real progress being made from a nationalist point of view. They seem – to me- to be a political party with the sole objective of staying in power and obtaining more power for themselves, rather than thinking of long term visions for Catalonia. They are a centre-right party with conservative Christian roots. They consider themselves to be liberal (though not like the Liberals we know in the UK).
PSC (Catalan Socialist Party) (37 seats) is basically the Catalan arm of the Spanish socialist party and, hence, after 7 years in power seem to have achieved very little in the way of Catalan autonomy. In fact, things seem to have gone backwards after seeing the consequences of the problems with the new Statute.
ERC (Left-wing Republican Catalans) (21 seats) – firm believers in Catalan independence. However, 7 years of government have brought little or no progress.
ICV (Left-wing Green Catalans) (12) – believe it is time to re-write the Spanish constitution (unfortunately an impossible task if they cannot convince the Madrid Parliament first) so as to accept a federal vision of Spain, where Catalonia achieves much more autonomy. Personally, I think 30 years of democracy have shown that this is a road the Spanish state does not wish to take. Although they are ecologists, there have been a few too many “dodgy” decisions taken by them. Here’s hoping that the new generation coming in now, will put them back where they should be.
PP – Popular Party (14). right-wing conservatives. Think Aznar. Think Iraq. Spanish nationalists with no desire for loosening Catalonia’s ties with the state. Often fight in law courts to reduce some of the (limited) powers Catalonia actually has.
Ciutadans (3) – more or less the same but just in Catalonia. Claim to be in favour of freedom, which actually means more freedom for Spain, less for Catalonia.
These are the parties who currently have seats in the Parliament. Over 100 other parties will also stand in Sunday’s elections, with the usual bunch of Pensioners United, Free Cannabis, Happy Christians, Anti-Bull Fighting and so on, adding colour to the proceedings.
This time, however, two new Catalan parties (Reagrupament and SI) have emerged with definite possibilities of gaining parliamentary representation. Both have the independence of Catalonia high on their agenda. And the fact of the matter is, after the protest march in July, it is surprising how little attention the “traditional” parties have paid to this issue. Perhaps it is true that the people often lead politicians, rather than the other way round.
Of these two options, the one which has attracted my attention is Solidaritat Catalana (SI). This is a coalition of many smaller parties who have one thing in common. Independence. They are a mixed bag of lefties and right-wingers, but I believe their proposal is logical. First, let’s forget our policies, get together and aim only for independence. Afterwards, each can go their own way and the future of Catalonia will go to the left or right depending on the voters’ will. The point being, Catalonia can do very little to improve its economic, social, or cultural problems until it achieves the right to decide on these things (and act). Without independence, all we can do is moan to Madrid.
This coalition is led by Joan Laporta, ex-chairman of Barcelona Football Club – who won every title under the sun while he was in charge, and beat Real Madrid 2-6 at their ground!
SI firmly believe the time is over for begging and negotiating with Madrid. The only possible route is for 68 Catalan MPs (parliamentary majority) to decide to declare Catalan independence in the Parliament, a decision which would then need to be negotiated with Brussels, and the UN. Apparently this is the way taken by many other nations in recent years, and international and European legislation would throw up no barriers.
So what’s going to happen?
The Catalan elections are strangely biased in favour of the 6 parties already in Parliament as the others are not allowed a presence in the media. So, although SI could gain a lot of support in theory, it will be a struggle to reach the “masses” who get most of their information from the TV. Personally, I hope they manage to get into the Parliament. If they cannot get 68 MPs (between SI, ERC, CiU) this time, once this party is publicly established, maybe 2014 will be the year ....
A l’any 1953 John Cage va compondre la peça “4 minuts 33 segons”· Durant aquesta peça de “musica”, els musics no toquen, ni canta ningú. No són, però, 4 minuts de silenci sinó 4 minuts on només es senten els sons de fondo, de l’entorn. Tal com Cage diu, no existeix el silenci i amb aquesta peça podem escoltar 4 minuts i mig de “musica” externa i interna del cos humà...
ans, Anti-Bull Fighting and so on, adding colour to the proceedings.