Call Them Brothers

"That's it, it's split, it won't recover. Just frame the halves and call them brothers" From the first line this song tells us that no matter how broken our society is, we are all brothers.

It was written by Regina Spektor and her husband Jack Dishel. The song is featured on his album "Searchlight" and an acoustic version is on her latest album "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats".

Regina was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated to the U.S. as a refugee with her family during the Perestroika, when she was only nine years old.

She has a need to tell stories, most of them are just fantasies or about strange things that inspire her, but I think that this one comes from a very special place in her heart, and she felt that she must put it into a song.

Her background is often evident in her songs and videos. Even though there are many interpretations to this one, I like to think that it's about war and the damage it causes, and that we're all still brothers. Another slightly different view is the one that says it's about the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, something very present in Regina's life. There are many references to that, however, the beauty of her songs (and songs in general) is that we can make them our own.

In the video, we see clips of her and Jack in Russian hats, fooling around among images of Russia and soldiers in line. I believe this represents who they are now, with their baggage showing in their clothing versus how things used to be. How even though the past seemed broken and split, something good still persists and they can be happy anyway.

They don´t care about us - Michael Jackson

I chose this video because i think it is closely related to cultural diversity, in this video we can see one of the most popular areas of Brazil, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful parts of the world, clearly show us the cultural diversity in Brazil, because while in some areas there are very rich people, we can see in this video the Favelas are a very poor area of this country.

This video was created and produced by Michael Jackson and is the fourth single on the History album, in which we can see different parts of the world and also shows many realities in the lyrics. The main things that attract my attention is how this video shows the people of the Favelas and police in the same place, as one part art and dance from brazil and in the other part are police watching everything that happens. Another thing is very attractive is the colors and symbols that are presented here, we can clearly see the presence of the colors green, yellow and red and different symbols of peace. But the most important thing that attract my attention it’s the dance because I think the dance can join the world, if we have dance, we have culture.

This video can be understand in different ways from the point of view you look at it because it shows the happiness reality of Brazil from the artistical vision with music and colors, and also shows the precarious lifestyles and the most ugly part of the country, where is drugs and crime.

I think when Michael Jackson says “they don´t REALLY care about us” shows the poor of importance given to this area of the country and as they are totally separated from society and from the world.

O'Children

The first time I heard this song was on one of my favorite movie. I find it so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, is very strange, but you can feel the fear, the pain and the impotence when you are hearing it.

The lyrics talk about the desolation in past times but even with that you can still see a light in the future. They can be interpret in so many ways, but what I deduce is the time when the childrens was taken away in the wars. It talks about living in a place with no exit for the older generations that committed so several errors. The time has passed and there is no way back, The despair for taking time back an get a opportunity again of making things right, but that is not posible so there is only space to ask forgiveness

In the otherside, the lyric talks about the new generation, and how they can now be free and happy, how we should be grateful for what we got, the privilege of freedom that others in the past did not have.

While in the last part sings about a train on the route of freedom you can interpret it in two ways. One of them is when the Nazis do people get on a train to take them to the Holocaust, and the other way is the railroad of freedom for the acceptation and forgiveness. Actually it don't really care to much, both talks about the pathway leading to the release of the soul.

But judge by yourself. What the song sings for you?

Hey little train! Wait for me!
I was held in chains but now I'm free
I'm hanging in there, don't you see
In this process of elimination

Hey little train! Wait for me!
I was held in chains but now I'm free
I'm hanging in there, don't you see
In this process of elimination - See more at: http://www.theundergroundrailroad.ca/oneabolitionist/2012/05/nick-caves-o-children-hey-little-train-wait-for-me.html#sthash.F5hHLNOY.dpuf

Hey little train! Wait for me!
I was held in chains but now I'm free
I'm hanging in there, don't you see
In this process of elimination - See more at: http://www.theundergroundrailroad.ca/oneabolitionist/2012/05/nick-caves-o-children-hey-little-train-wait-for-me.html#sthash.F5hHLNOY.dpuf

Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
And the train ain't even left the station

what the song sings to you.

what the song sings to you.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

What a Wonderful World

I choose this song because when i have bad times, and listen this song i remember that nothing is really terrible and we can change the situations. We lives in a beautifull world full of the nature waiting for us. 

People die in some places because they lives in a country in war. Kids in Africa die because they don't have food. And arround the word things happens, bad or good things. People born, people die, some are happy and other suffer. When we have a problem we believes our world crumbles, we think the worst of everything. But, its our problem is really terrible?

The other day i saw a video about a boy. He had a normal life until he began to fells ill. So, he visits a doctor and he only says " You have cancer, and only a few months to live". He cried, his family too. But he think "I have only a few months to live, i need love this live, because is wonderful". Even if he was going to die he preferred to enjoy his life.

And this is the message, We need to enjoy so we can forget bads things. We lives in a wonderful world with amazing people. We need enjoy this! 

This song is created by Bob Thiele and George David, but interpreted by Louis Armstrong. This song is created when USA was in a war with Vietnamese. In this moment this song arrive the lifes of people who lost the hope. And this song makes people have a optimistic think about their future. 

Its the letter of this song who recharge our heart and mind with good thoughts. So, all the people know it, and remember this message.

Along the time have been existed a lot of covers, so it has passed from generation to generation.

Angel - Sarah Mclachlan

Hello everybody!

I should recognize that my favourite singer is Shakira, with her pop and latin music, and that my musical liking is so wide that covers from the new wave until the rock songs. However, today I am going to write about a song that I listened in a very dark moment of my life.

This song is called "Angel" and is from the canadian singer Sarah McLachlan. It was recorded in 1997 but released in november 1998. This single was inspired in the Smashing Pumpkins keyboard player, Jonathan Melvoin, who died in 1996 for an overdosis of heroin. Sarah wanted to express the feelings that someone must feel in the moment that is using heroin.

In the words of the same Sarah Mclachlan: "I've been in that place where you've messed up and you're so lost that you don't know who you are anymore, and you're miserable—and here's this escape route. I've never done heroin, but I've done plenty of other things to escape."*

How I said, I listened this song in a ver dark moment of my life because I was submerged in a depression in 2011. That night I wanted to give up and suddenly, I heard it. I wanted to be in the arms of an angel and fly away from my bedroom and from my problems.

When I heard it, the song makes me see the existing reality about the people who wants to run away of their problems, searching differents ways of escape. Someones choose the drugs, the alcohol, the depression, the suicide, among others. Jonathan Melvoin chose one way, I chose another.

I chose that video because it has the song's lyric; the official video is here. What do you think that is the best way for getting over the most difficults problems? What do you recommend to the people with problems to do? I will be waiting for your comments guys!

*Told in an interview for the CMJ New Music Monthly Magazine, in 1997

Sebastian Toledo Figueroa

@sebatoledo

Guerra - Gondwana. Marcelo Vargas

I like this song of Gondwana becouse its mean of the bigger problem in the world, competition between all countryes of the world, the competition its a very serious problem, because it can make a lot of damage to all us. In this song was used a soft lenguage to say many thing that are terrible to say by other way.

It catch  the attention of the receiver with ideas than really make you think about this problem.
Quique Neira created this song in a conflict time for Europe with an African country, in order to the countries in conflict take consciencie.
With out some thing that Quique Neira says in this song it would be very difficult to understand, and no every body take consciencie with this song.

The creator of this song sing it on first person, in order to do the song more close to us, puting us on the place of the soldiers than had to leave home and let theirs familys to go to figth with their "Brothers" just for ambition of more power for side of thegovernment.

In a slice of the song the singer says "Yo no quiero ir a la guerra, porque la guerra nos da pena" its mean the pain than people feel with the war.

Thats my opinion about this song, I`m expecting your comments.

Marcelo Vargas

We live a life we didn't choose, and I'm glad to be here.

One day I was listening to music in my bedroom, when it starts to play this song, Pearls by Sade. Just the intro makes me feel in another world, so when the song catches my attention, was when I knew this song will be in my mind forever.

This song talks about the life of a woman in Somalia, a country from the east of Africa, who tries to survive every day in very bad conditions and with a lot of suffering, but at the same time, she keeps fighting with “a force stronger than nature”, her daughter. So when I hear that song, I hear the powerful voice of Sade screaming hallelujah I start to think in all the things I had and have. The beautiful house where I grow up, the best parents in the world, the things they gave to me and the place where I am right know. That makes me feel the luckiest girl in the world.

Sometimes we are so angry because we don’t have we want, and the most of the time, those are real stupid things; we feel bad for things o situations that really don’t deserve that attention, and that happen ‘cause we don’t see OUTSIDE of US. Nowadays people care about themselves and see the problems as the worst thing in the world.

So, what do you think about the behavior of this world, this new society? Why people changed in that way?

“This is how she's dying
She's dyin' to survive
Don't know what she's made of
I would like to be that brave”

I would like to be that brave too.

P.S.: That is the original video of the song, but here you can see another video, simple, but with powerful images.