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MUSIC
HUFFINGTON
10.20.13
Dog Ears
In which we spotlight music from a diversity of genres and
decades, lending an insider’s ear to what deserves to be heard.
BY THE EVERLASTING PHIL RAMONE AND DANIELLE EVIN
MARIA CREUZA
CHRIS BELL
DIRTY PROJECTORS
Brazilian singer/percussionist Maria
Creuza was born in Esplanada,
Bahia, in 1944. Coming into
fashion in the ’60s and ’70s, her
swinging bossa beat took Japan,
France, and her homeland by storm.
Collaborations include Antônio
Carlos Pinto, Toquinho, Antônio
Carlos Jobim, and Dori Caymmi.
Accolades include best song
interpretation at the 1969 University
Festival in Rio and best song runnerup at the II World Festival of Popular
Music in Tokyo in 1972. Creuza’s
sound has influenced many of
today’s pop plenipotentiaries, and
she continues to perform in Brazil
and Europe. Catch her ever-elegant
duet with Vinicius de Moraes, “Canto
de Ossanha,” from their 1970 release
Vinicius de Moraes.
Songwriter/singer Chris Bell
was born in Memphis just before
the Elvis invasion. As a tween,
he caught the rock-’n’-roll bug,
becoming a local-scene stalwart.
Bell’s dedication landed him a
chair in the Jynx as guitarist. Soon
after, he joined Big Star (subject
of the 2013 documentary Nothing
Can Hurt Me) with Alex Chilton,
co-penning most of the band’s
hits. Bell exited Big Star in 1972
for a solo career, during which he
produced a spectral body of work,
only to never see his success
realized, as he tragically perished
in a car wreck in 1978 at the age
of 27. The Flaming Lips and This
Mortal Coil have graced his titles.
Remember Chris Bell with “I Am the
Cosmos,” from his posthumously
released collection I Am the
Cosmos. Get full album.
Brooklyn-based experimental artrock unit Dirty Projectors, founded
in the early aughts, is headed by
musical director Dave Longstreth.
The ensemble exists as an everevolving carousel of musical
muses, and has collaborated with
Björk and David Byrne. Current
lineup includes Amber Coffman
(vocals, guitar), Haley Dekle
(vocals), Nat Baldwin (bass),
Olga Bell (vocals, keyboards), and
Michael Johnson (drums). Dirty
Projectors’ ear-magnet way is
high on imagination and morphing
melodies. With a dozen-plus
releases, start with “The Bride,”
from their 2009 album Bitte Orca.
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Brazilian Pop/World
ARTIST: Maria Creuza
SONG: Canto de Ossanha
ALBUM: Vinicius de Moraes
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Rock
ARTIST: Chris Bell
SONG: I Am the Cosmos
ALBUM: I Am the Cosmos
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Alternative
ARTIST: Dirty Projectors
SONG: The Bride
ALBUM: Bitte Orca