SOUNDTRACK: TRUPA TRUPA-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #44 (July 3, 3030).
Trupa Trupa is a band from Poland who play some really great indie rock. They were supposed to be touring the U.S. and doing a Tiny Desk, but instead they are home.
In a little dirty rehearsal room basement in Gdańsk, we find Poland’s great rock band Trupa Trupa on lockdown. Had it not been for COVID-19, this band would have been behind my desk this week, but as it is, they’ve settled into their rehearsal space.
Their songs are pretty intense, but this Home Tiny Desk features lighter versions of the songs.
They open their set with “Another Day,” from the 2019 record Of The Sun. It has a great throbbing bassline Wojciech Juchniewicz while singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski plays acuostic guitar. He says its the first time he’s played the acoustic guitar in a really long time.
There’s a cool theremin-type sound that is coming from Rafał Wojczal. The credits say the instrument is called an ondes Martenot, but this is a homemade device–and it sounds pretty cool.
I’ve seen them perform this; it’s always had an apocalyptic feel, but now the words “another day, waiting for another,” prompts Grzegorz to mention how this has turned into a quarantine song. Grzegorz tells us that life in Poland has been difficult in this young democracy, but they are staying optimistic and playing music. There’s darkness in the basement, yet their music is a bright beacon.
“Dream About” starts with a snappy drum from Tomasz Pawluczuk. Kwiatkowski plays as scratchy rhythm on the guitar before Juchniewicz plays a great rolling bassline that runs throughout the song until it abruptly stops for a some single notes. Then it resumes again. Wojczal adds some guitar before bringing that Martenot back.
“None of Us” is slow and deep basslines. Initial vocals come from Juchniewicz who has switched to guitar. The acoustic guitar is more prominent on this song. And Juchniewicz’ fuzzy electric guitar sound is deep and menacing.
Their U.S. Tour was cancelled, but they weren’t going to play near me. Maybe when they come back they can squeeze in a Philadelphia date.
[READ: June 20, 2020] Bagombo Snuff Box
This is a short story collection that I read when it came out. When I read all of Vonnegut’s books a few years ago, I decided to re-read this collection. It has only taken me several years to get to it.
But what a great bunch of short stories.
The Preface explains that these stories were written in the 1940s and printed in magazines before he had written his first big novels. After the War, there were many magazines that featured fiction, so Kurt was able to make some good money on the side while he worked at General Electric. He left the company in 1950.
Vonnegut has an introduction as well. He talks about the beneficial effect short stories can have on a person. He also says he generally feels good about these stories although he feels a bit badly for the way some (many) of the women are treated–not that Vonnegut specifically treated them badly, but that was sort of the way it was then. (more…)
Of all the bubblegum pop songs, this is probably the one I know the best.
