Wednesday 31st March 2010 | Posted by Márcio

I have been thinking a lot about Brazilian popular music since my last post. That happens regardless my research on Tropicália but also because there are so many Brazilian bands and artists working in São Paulo nowadays that is hard to pick one to write about in English.
 

Not a good excuse. Eh! So in the last two weeks I attended to my first Letuce’s gig at Espaço + Soma in Pinheiros neighbourhood (the band is from Rio de Janeiro). I had already written about them here based on former works of Leticia Novaes and on their first release Plano de Fuga pra cima dos Outros e de Mim. You know when it rains in São Paulo, so, not many people show up, but for those who attended felt in love with Leticia and Lucas, that promoted a kind of tenderness not very usual in São Paulo indie bands.

 

myspace.com/letuceletuce

 

Some time before I attended to a Lulina’s concert at Sesc Pompéia (São Paulo’s version of Music Hall of Williamsburg in NY (the band is from Recife). No surprise Pompéia was the Brazilian face of the short festival Pompéia-Brooklyn that took place in São Paulo in late 2010. But let’s get back to Lulina. I had already seem the band from Recife twice. The first was during a Swedish Invasion Festival at Vila Nova Cachoeirinha in São Paulo’s periphery. I was not even disappointed as I had no expectations at all, but their music sounded awful in that venue. So that I had to leave. The second time was not different and I had already a strong a feeling that members of that band suffered from amusia (for more info on this subject try Oliver Sacks’ book Musical Alucinations). But I was wrong when I listen to their album. I was somehow intrigued on how such a great band could sound so bad alive. So I went to Sesc Pompéia as my last and final try and… well, they are not that bad at all. They do a good combination of Brazilian indie music with a cute accent from Recife (from Pernambuco’s state) + keyboards distortions and ironic lyrics. The result is something new and again, intriguing. I had asked a friend to send me their 9 older EPs so I could goo deeply on analysis, but what is important now is that the gig was good fun and their fans seemed to enjoy even more singing along songs such as “Balada do Paulista” and great love songs like “Meu Príncipe”. So you start to understand why people here are so crazy for her. Again, it’s São Paulo after some kind of tenderness. She sings “My prince gives me multiple orgasms (…)/He does the washing up/And I drink, drink, drink/He play with the kids and I play my acoustic guitar/He loves to discuss our relationship/Not me”.

For a born and bred Brazilian it’s like a late 00’s version of Armação Ilimitada under a soft and post-feminist approach.

 

myspace.com/lulina

 

 

Two great art exhibitions are now in place in São Paulo. The first is Andy Warhol’s X. The second is from Hélio Oiticia. Besides their popular appeal, they tell a deal of Brazilian popular music nowadays. Pop Art and Tropicália are were both fuel for Brazilian post-modernism. It’s a long story which I promise to tell you on my next posts. For now, check on some pictures from the opening of Hélio Oiticica at Itaú Cultural.

Next Post: Thiago Pethit

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