SOUNDTRACK: MONIKA-Tiny Desk Concert #529 (May 6, 2016).
Monika is a superstar in her native Greece (her full name is Monika Christodoulou). She is a charming woman with a big voice and a bigger stage presence. She incorporates theatrical notions in her performance too (the fact that she has a shirt that looks like a mime’s kind of encourages that idea): “throwing” stars, flying, sleeping.
It is hard to believe that the blurb says used to sing sad songs, as she is so fun and bouncy. But there’s this biographical note:
her recent transition from singer of sad songs to purveyor of upbeat jubilance came after she nearly lost her life in a boat fire; she had to swim eight hours in the dark to safety without food or drinkable water. These days, it’s all about a great band grooving, her joyful voice, and that infectious smile.
Wow.
She sings four songs. The first, “Yes I Do,” opens with what I assume is a lyric about the then current moment: “24th of March has arrived and I think it’s Thursday? Washington is beautiful out there but we don’t really care.” It has a kind of circus opera feel. And Monika’s voice is a marvel–powerful and beautiful with a good range.
For the second song, “Shake Your Hands” she asks if everyone is ready to dance a little. She climbs up on the desk and as she sings the slow opening, when she gets to the “I love you” moment, she sings without the mike and is as loud as when she uses it. Once the song kicks in, it has a big disco beat: wah wah’d guitars and a funky bass line. She encourages everyone to sing along: “Even if you don’t understand, just repeat, okay.” The song ends with a very fun extended ending of staccato chords.
“Hand in Hand” has a kind of gospel quality (a big group sing along of the opening lines), although it is a brief, transitional song before “Secret in the Dark” begins. She straps on a guitar for this final song which has a discoey riff and a fuzzy keyboard sound. It’s really fun.
I’d never heard of Monika, but she seems like the kind of pop/dance star that would be really fun to see live.
[READ: April 1, 2016] Mike’s Place
Somehow I missed that word in the subtitle: True. I didn’t realize that this was a true story until the very end. The story was really good before I knew that and it makes it even more amazing after I found the truth.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, John Baxter (Jack), a filmmaker has come to cover a story. He goes into a local bar called Mike’s Place for a meal. He is greeted warmly and is told that there is live music every night of the week. They proudly state that Mike’s is a place where people of all stripes comes to congregate and do anything but talk about politics.
It turns out that there are already people making a documentary about the subject who John came to cover (Marwan Barghouti) so Jack decides to give up. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 