6. You say you've gone away from me, but I can feel you when you breathe

Well, if you have not lived your whole lifetime under a rock then you probably know Leonard Cohen at least by name. Cohen is a prolific singer-songwriter whose career spans over a half a decade. Songs of Love and Hate is one of his most praised albums and also our personal favorite. However, the one song that everyone remembers from the record is the beautiful Famous Blue Raincoat while the opening track Avalanche is often left in the shadows. Avalanche sets perfectly the dark mood - both musically and lyrically - for the rest of the record and showcases that Cohen is truly one of the undisputed geniuses of pop music lyricism.

5. Yo aprendí a descansar sobre tus hombros y a descender por ríos y laderas, a entrelazarme en las tendidas ramas y a hacer del sueño mi más dulce muerte

Vicente Amigo is the most important and innovative flamenco guitarists and composers of his generation. Since his first record in 1991 he has pushed the envelope in flamenco music fusing it with modern jazz harmonies and other music genres. Poeta is mix of flamenco and classical music as it features Vicente on flamenco guitar among with other flamenco musicians with a symphony orchestra. The concept and the tone of the record has echoes of the famous guitar concerto Concierto de Aranjuez by the Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. The concept of Poeta revolves around the poetry of Rafael Alberti, thus the name Poeta. Amor, Dulce Puerte is a great piece demonstrating how poetic beauty can be translated into music.

4. I want to look at life in the available light

Rush is undoubtedly known worldwide but it could be argued that general public is familiar mostly with the material they did from the mid 70’s to the early 80’s. Even tough the band moved further away from their more ambiguous progressive sound to more straightforward pop/rock idiom they always kept their songwriting pen sharp. One of these “lost” gems that showcases this brilliantly is the last track on the 1989 album Presto titled Available Light. The song features the singer/bassist Geddy Lee on piano this time around while Neal Peart plays the drums tight as always and Alex Lifeson delivers a nice guitar solo. The strength of the song lies in the composition and the dynamics between the more emotional verse and the energetic chorus works like a charm. In the darkest time of the year we surely need all the Available Light we can get.

3. Laisse-moi devenir l'ombre de ton ombre

Ne me quitte pas (Don’t leave me in English) is well known 1959 French song by the famous chanson singer Jacques Brel which has been covered countless times and translated and performed in various other languages. Of all those covers that I have heard so far my favorite has to be interpretation of the Spanish flamenco singer Estrella Morente. Accompanied by very gorgeous piano playing Estrella sings the song (in French) with deep and genuine pathos with that rootsy flamenco nuance.

2. In my church, we don't believe in Mormons

Angels in America is one of my favorite television shows and its’ emotional core evokes feelings in me that I personally associate with the Holiday spirit as well. Everybody who is familiar with the show probably remembers the gorgeous main theme. This theme is spectacular and epic in itself, but there is a subtler chamber music arrangement of the composition titled The Mormons which has truly something of a mesmerizing intimacy. Spare two minutes of your Monday and allow this tune to enthrall you.

1. Astaroth is the Crowned Prince of Hell named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth

For the first day of December we will quite down for some poetic serenity in the realm of modern jazz. Here we have American avant-garde composer and saxophonist John Zorn, who is usually known for his out-there antics, avant-garde mayhems and saxophone freak outs, proving that he is capable of composing of beautiful and rather simple (in a good way) modal jazz tunes. Lelabel was first interpreted by the Jamie Saft Trio on the Astaroth album, first in the Book of Angels songbook series, with Jamie Saft on piano, Greg Cohen on bass and Ben Perowsky on drums. The trio plays the tune with the intimacy that is required and Saft and Cohen both deliver very sober and lyrical solos while Perowsky provides a very subtle and stylish accompaniment.

Aural Advent Calendar 2013

Hello to you all readers. We are hoping that you are getting in to the holiday spirit as the Christmas and the holidays are approaching. We here in the Aural Obscurities team decided to do something special this December and share the anticipation of festive celebrations by doing our very own Aural Advent Calendar! So for the 24 days of December we will post one song that is very special to us and write a little something about it. Hopefully we will share the joy of these aural marvels with you.