So

by Peter Gabriel

The only record of Peter Gabriel I ever owned on vinyl was manufactured in the USSR and entitled simply «Питер Гейбриэл» (apparently, they weren’t so sure how to translate So to Russian, and the spelling «Гейбриэл» must have looked innocent back then).

I also had a curious double compilation album Greenpeace Breakthrough (1989) which included the So opener «Красный дождь» (Red Rain). I completely forgot that, in addition to Peter Gabriel (now as Питер Гэбриэл), it featured Sting, Grateful Dead (Грейтфул Дэд), Sade (Шаде) and Dire Straits (Дайер Стрейтс)!

About the same time, I first spotted Sledgehammer and Big Time music videos on 2×2, the first commercial TV channel in the USSR. Man I was impressed.

The covers of the So songs abound. I love Sledgehammer by Morgan James...

...and Mercy Street by Rosegarden Funeral Party.

But nobody makes Peter Gabriel covers better than Gabriel himself, with a little help from his friends. My favourite So re-interpretations are Don’t Give Up as a duet with Tracy Chapman...

...and In Your Eyes with Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo and Soweto Gospel Choir.

Rising

by Rainbow

If I had to choose one record from not-that-large Rainbow’s discography, that would be Rising. (Sorry, Difficult to Cure, my first Rainbow love.) I still remember the first time I read about this album («Радуга восходит») in the tremendously popular Soviet magazine Ровесник:

Наверное, это лучшая пластинка Ричи Блэкмора до сих пор. Не то чтобы она содержала какие-нибудь музыкальные откровения (единственное, возможно, исключение — «Старгейзер»; Блэкмор говорит, что первоначально написал ее как пьесу для виолончели). Главное достоинство диска — необыкновенная мощь и динамизм. Образно говоря, он сделан в нокаутирующем стиле, вполне достойном страшного костистого кулака, изображенного на обложке. «Мы записывали этот альбом около десяти месяцев, и у меня нет причин быть им недовольным», — сухо заметил Блэкмор по поводу успеха пластинки.

Геннадий Быков, «Радуга Ричи Блэкмора»

Even then I couldn’t agree with the author of this publication. What did he mean saying “not that it contained any musical revelations”? Even without Stargazer — oh blasphemy! — there are enough revelations for a dozen of rock albums.

Rising is one of those albums that are best on vinyl. Why? Because there are two sides, that’s why. The epic Stargazer is not the fifth track — it’s the first track on Side B. You can’t really listen to it properly just after Do You Close Your Eyes. You have to flip the record, and, better still, use the intermission to refill your cup/mug/glass. And then, when A Light in the Black is done, flip it back to Side A (refill the cup etc.) and listen to Tarot Woman — another epic. Also, as it is the case of In the Court of the Crimson King, the cover art it totally worth it. That fist, it has to be that big. If I ever own a turntable again, Rising and ITCOTKC will have to come with it.

So far, I didn’t hear any Rising song cover that would beat the original. Still, there are some good ones. My favourite Stargazers are that by Cincinnati Vampires featuring vocals of Melody Cristea and fantastic Kalonica Nicx on drums, and another one by Contra Bass, a kids band from Vinnytsia, Ukraine. It’s nice to see young people playing decent music.

¿Qué me quieres, amor?

by Manuel Rivas
translated by Dolores Vilavedra

An award-winning collection of sixteen short stories by the author of whom I never heard before and who happens to be, among other things, a founding member of Greenpeace España. I hope it is as joy to read in its original Galician (which I don’t speak) as this Spanish translation. My favourites are Conga, conga, La chica del pantalón pirata and Un saxo en la niebla.

After finishing the book, I learned that three of the stories were adapted into a film La lengua de las mariposas directed by José Luis Cuerda, which is now on my to-watch list.

Mi tío se llamaba Amaro y se había muerto por lo menos ocho veces antes de morirse. Era un especialista en morirse y siempre lo hacía con mucha dignidad. Volvía de la muerte perfumado con jabones La Toja, peinado como el acordeonista de la Orquesta Mallo, con un traje nuevo Príncipe de Gales y con una historia sorprendente. En una ocasión hizo una descripción muy detallada del menú del Banquete Celestial, en el que, según él, abundaba el lacón con grelos.

El inmenso camposanto de La Habana

♥ ♥ ♥

Desde que apareció la esbelta figura de la ciclista, el vigía del molino había estado al margen de la realidad. Aquella presencia se producía fuera del plano. No existía ningún trazo que simulase una figura de mujer apoyada en el pretil, contemplando el discurrir del río, ni dos círculos como ruedas que señalasen el preciso lugar, justo en el del puente, donde estaba el pilar principal y, adherida, la carga explosiva. Él permaneció aún durante unos segundos hechizado por la grácil belleza de la joven ciclista sin establecer un vínculo entre la irrealidad de la aparición y las agujas de su reloj.

La chica del pantalón pirata

♥ ♥ ♥

«Hoy el maestro ha dicho que las mariposas también tienen lengua, una lengua finita y muy larga, que llevan enrollada como el muelle de un reloj. Nos la va a enseñar con un aparato que le tienen que enviar de Madrid. ¿A que parece mentira eso de que las mariposas tengan lengua?».
«Si él lo dice, es cierto. Hay muchas cosas que parecen mentira y son verdad. ¿Te ha gustado la escuela?».
«Mucho. Y no pega. El maestro no pega».

La lengua de las mariposas

♥ ♥ ♥

«Hace viento, ¿eh, Old?», dijo Maggie, cruzando los brazos justamente por donde él lo haría si pudiese.
«Sí que hace». Y añadió en un tono que a él mismo le resultó misterioso:
«Aunque las hojas sean muchas, la raíz es sólo una».
Maggie lo miró como si descifrara un enigma. Era algo más de lo que esperaba de Old M., metido siempre, como quien dice, en su propia sombra. Esas cosas se pagan con una sonrisa. Así que se echó sobre la barra, no sin antes mirar a ambos lados por si alguien acechaba, y acercó la cara, los ojos picaros posados en él, talmente como mujer que va a avivar en la chimenea el fuego tibio de la turba.
«En los mentirosos días de mi juventud metí mis flores al sol», dijo Maggie en un dulce suspiro.

La llegada de la sabiduría con el tiempo

♥ ♥ ♥

Y también estaba Couto, que era contrabajo y durante la semana trabajaba en una fundición. A este Couto, que padecía algo del vientre, el médico le había mandado comer sólo papillas. Pasó siete años seguidos a harina de maíz y leche. Un día, en carnaval, llegó a casa y le dijo a su mujer: «Hazme un cocido, con lacón, chorizo y todo. Si no me muero así, me muero de hambre». Y le fue de maravilla.

Un saxo en la niebla

Free live music and stuff, March—April 2026

Some stuff that I saw in Valencia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Vitoria.

• 15—19 March: Las Fallas de Valencia, various locations
  This year, compared to the first time I’ve been to the Fallas, I was able to see more and better, thanks to the weather. Even so, I spent most time away from the crowds in the centre, lost in the barrios of Benimaclet, Cabañal and Malvarrosa.

  

  More photos of Las Fallas @ Shutterstock.
• 31 March: «Grito de Mujer 2026» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  A part of the worldwide festival Grito de Mujer. With the participation of Proyecto Interculturalízate, a group of migrant women (with musical collaboration of the Thioune Brothers); writers M.ª del Pino Marrero Berbel, Rosario Ibrahim, Rubén Mettini, Pepa Molina, Carolina Landino, Bönaí Capote and Aghlahoum-Poeta saharaui-Tinduf; singers-songwriters Sara Brito, Daniel Cano, and Virginia Ruiz “La Niña de la Calle”. Presented by Ana Cendrero González.

  

• 8 April: «Somethin’ Stupid» @ Palacete Rodríguez Quegles, Calle Benito Pérez Galdós, 4, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  If you want to hear Billie Jean, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, The Entertainer, La Fiesta, Let It Be, Meet the Flintstones, Tears in Heaven and yes, Somethin’ Stupid in one concert, look no further. A splendid performance of Yul Ballesteros (guitar) and Germán López (timple).

  

• 10 April: «Sinfonía de sinfonías» @ Plaza del Pilar Nuevo, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The final performance of the graduates of the Advanced Conducting Programme (the class of Dr. Ignacio García Vidal) based in the Canary Islands, with La Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Unfortunately the show was interrupted by rain just when the second part started. This is what we heard:
  • Ludwig van Beethoven, Egmont: Overture — conducted by Óscar Manuel Sánchez Benítez
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship — conducted by Anna Kucherenko Parikova
  • Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade III. The Young Prince and the Young Princess — conducted by Javier López Peña
  The full programme of the concert as it was intended is available here.

  

• 18 April: «Puto amor» @ Centro Cívico Langraiz-Oka, Tres de Marzo Parkea, 1, Nanclares de la Oca / Langraiz Oka
  A monologue by Dora Gálvez.

  

• 25 April: A Contra Blues @ Plaza de la Provincia, Vitoria-Gasteiz
  A fantastic band featuring Jonathan Herrero (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Víctor López (drums), Héctor Martín Díaz (electric guitar), Matías Míguez (electric bass) and Alberto Noel Calvillo (electric guitar) was performing as part of the Fiestas de San Prudencio. I liked their originals but I was most impressed by the covers of Sinnerman and Triana’s En el lago.

  

And exhibitions, all in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria:

• 27 February — 27 March: «Hacer(se) Tierra. Arquitectura del arraigo» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colón, 1
  Paintings from the collection of La Fundación La Caja de Canarias, including works by Miró Mainó, Alberto Manrique, José Comas Quesada, Pedro del Castillo Olivares and Juan Betancor.

  

• 5 March — 10 April: «Prohibido Escuchar» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A project by Anarcos and Rosa P. Almeida, with invited artist Pedro Déniz.

  

• 19 March — 30 August: «ART AL QUADRAT. Memorias colectivas / Represiones cotidianas» @ CAAM — San Antonio Abad, Plaza San Antonio Abad
  Works by the Valencian arists Mónica and Gema del Rey Jordà, aka Art al Quadrat.

  

Bring on May.

My mum used to say — Part 6

A follow-up to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth parts.

• ая: response to a call; “here!” ♦ «Мам!» — «Ая!»
• в ногах правды нет: literally, “there’s no truth in the legs”; said as an invitation to sit down
• втык: взбучка, нагоняй // telling-off, scolding; see also пропесочить, расчехвостить
• военная тайна: big secret
• деловой, деловая (an adjective used as a noun): pretend businesslike or uppity; cf. основной
• заводила, запевала: (derogatory) a person who starts or organises something, typically mischief; cf. подпевала
• задрипанный, задрипанная: shabby, scruffy
• застопориться: to come to a halt
• заховать: спрятать, зарыть // to hide, to bury
• кукурузный початок: literally, “corn on the cob”; said of somebody who stands with their arms crossed
• не трожь говна — вонять не будет: literally, “don’t touch shit, (then) it won’t stink”; don’t pay attention to an annoying or quarrelsome person
• основной, основная (an adjective used as a noun): the boss; cf. деловой
• прикусить язык: to bite one’s tongue, to shut up; see also закрой поддувало
• пропесочить: to reprimand, to dress down; see also втык, расчехвостить
• профессор кислых щей: literally, “professor of sour cabbage soup”; charlatan, quack
• подпевала: (derogatory) yes-man, sycophant à la jackal Tabaqui; cf. запевала
• прохиндей: crook, fraudster
• расчехвостить: to reprimand, to dress down; see also втык, пропесочить
• сбагрить: to get rid of
• «снимай штаны, власть переменилась»: literally, “take off pants, the government has changed”; a friendly invitation to undress
• треники: sweatpants ♦ «задрипанные треники»
• чадо: child, offspring ♦ «Где это чадо?»
• этого нам только не хватало: (sarcastic) that’s all we needed

Rojo y negro

a film by Carlos Arévalo

In Rojo y negro (1942), one of the protagonists, Luisa (Conchita Montenegro), is a goodie Falangist. The problem is — or, I suppose, was, from the regime’s point of view at least — that her boyfriend Miguel (Ismael Merlo), a left-wing activist, is not exactly a baddie. The director’s affiliation with the Falange did not save the film. The generalissimo was not amused and the movie was promptly withdrawn from the theatres. It was thought to be lost until, 50 years later, a dusty copy was discovered in some basement in Madrid.

This film was screened as part of the new cycle «Los otros de Falange» organised by Asociación de Cine Vértigo.

Presence

by Led Zeppelin

50 years on, Presence remains the most underrated Zeppelin record. After the grandiosity of Physical Graffiti, it’s refreshing to hear the stripped-back band, perhaps at its heaviest. It’s a shame that in its day most of the album never made it to the stage. A performance of For Your Life from the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, with Jason Bonham on drums, gives a glimpse of how Presence could have sounded live. But the legacy lives on. Among not that many covers, Tea For One by Joe Bonamassa and Nobody’s Fault But Mine by Baldassarre’s Soul of Zeppelin stand out.

Speaking of covers: I find the cover art (just like that of Wish You Were Here, also by Hipgnosis) uninspiring and having nothing to do with the the album’s music.