Paris, summer 2022: Cafés, graffiti and street views

 

Paris 19e, Laumière

Buttes Chaumont

Canal Saint Martin 

Ourcq, Paris 19e

Place Franz Listz

Pantin

Festival Aux Arts, Parc André Citroën, 15e

Canal de l'Ourcq

'You Don't Own Me'

Tamino's second album is coming out later in September. 

Here is a new extract:

'You Don't Own Me' · Tamino ℗ 2022 Communion Records Released on: 2022-09-01

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Tamino said: "To me the lyrics aren’t directed towards a specific person, group, or place of power. It’s more of an ode to Freedom and a stance to any form of oppression. I hope oppressed individuals and/or groups can find solace in a song like this."

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For more on Tamino, read my article for The Markaz Review from here.

New beginnings

 

Some words soon... 

'Weird Goodbyes'

 

Two of my favourite bands/artists released a new song, that I just got to hear, a few hours before leaving London (again).

And this is such a perfect soundtrack to these last couple of days... I've been interviewing veterans from forgotten wars, writing about artists creating music and visual art with sounds of (sacred) waters, and I'm about to say goodbye - again - to my 'other country', to my 'yellow brick road', to my dream of happiness, to be pursued elsewhere, obviously...

But I didn't say goodbye. To anyone. Not even the ones I think about everyday. Especially not them.

The National - feat. Bon Iver 

'Weird Goodbyes'

It's funny how we read into lyrics...

Uncanny... The sky was definitely leaking today...

And I even dragged a towel around all day...

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“It’s about letting go of the past and moving on, then later being overwhelmed by second thoughts,” The National frontman Matt Berninger further explained in a statement.

Along with Bon Iver, the song features strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra as orchestrated by The National’s Bryce Dessner.

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Lyrics:

[Verse 1: Matt Berninger]
Memorize the bathwater, memorize the air
There'll come a time I'll wanna know I was here
Names on the doorframes, inches and ages
Handprints in concrete at the softest stages

[Refrain: Matt Berninger]
I don't know why I don't try harder
I feel like throwin' towels into water

[Verse 2: Matt Berninger]
Get it down to nothin', everything that matters
Fever flashes, eyelashes and traffic patterns
Humidity, history, chemistry and panic
Swimsuits in the windows of electric minivans

[Refrain: Matt Berninger with Justin Vernon]
I don't know why I don't try harder
I've been goin' down some, some strange water

[Pre-Chorus: Matt Berninger, together with Justin Vernon]
Move forward now, there's nothin' to do
Can't turn around, I can't follow you
Your coat's in my car, I guess you forgot
It's crazy the things we let go of
It finally hits me, a mile's drive
The sky is leaking, the windshield's crying
I'm feelin' sacred, my soul is stripped
Radio's painful, the words are clipped
[Chorus: Matt Berninger with Justin Vernon]
The grief it gets me, the weird goodbyes
My car is creepin', I think it's dyin'
I'm pullin' over until it heals
I'm on a shoulder of lemon fields

[Bridge: Matt Berninger]
What was I even leavin' for?
I keep goin' back and forth
I think now I'm about to see
Didn't know how sad it'd be
[Verse 3: Matt Berninger]
Memorize the bathwater, memorize the air
There'll come a time I'll wanna know when I was here
Names on the doorframes, inches and ages
Handprints in concrete at the softest stages

[Refrain: Matt Berninger with Justin Vernon]
I don't know why I don't try harder
I feel like throwin' towels into water

[Pre-Chorus: Matt Berninger, together with Justin Vernon]
Move forward now, there's nothin' to do
Can't turn around, I can't follow you
Your coat's in my car, I guess you forgot
It's crazy the things we let go of
It finally hits me, a mile's drive
The sky is leaking, the windshield's crying
I'm feelin' sacred, my soul is stripped
Radio's painful, the words are clipped
[Chorus: Matt Berninger with Justin Vernon]
The grief it gets me, the weird goodbyes
My car is creepin', I think it's dyin'
I'm pullin' over until it heals
I'm on a shoulder of lemon fields
The grief it gets me, the weird goodbyes
My car is creepin', I think it's dyin'
I'm pullin' over until it heals
I'm on a shoulder of lemon fields

Milano / Bergamo

 First time in Italy in ... too long.

So, I travelled by train to Milan... 

A la Triennale: 'Unknown Unknowns' - where the arts interrogate science

Ambiance nocturne: Aperitivo

Milan's street art: 

La grande stazione de Milano Centrale:

Bello Bergamo: 

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Bye bye Italia

Street art in the Arab world: chapter 1 - Tunisia

 

If you're interested in the rise of street art in the Arab world, my first piece on the issue, beginning with Tunisia:

Tunisia: one of North Africa's top hotspots for graffiti art and culture

My piece on young graffiti artists from Tunis and beyond, for The New Arab.

Read from here: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/leaving-mark-tunisia-hotbed-arab-street-art

A decade after the revolution in Tunisia, urban art has helped transform the nation’s relations with public spaces. Local artists are encouraged to use Arabic as a means of graffiti. Now, a younger generation is ready to bloom, including women.

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Read from here: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/leaving-mark-tunisia-hotbed-arab-street-art

Young Fathers - 'Geronimo'

 

Just a song I like.... Saw this band on stage a lot BC (before Covid...).

Ready for Cineredis

 

“The UK’s leading festival dedicated to classic cinema.”
Sight & Sound

The 6th edition of Cinema Rediscovered is taking place this week at the Watershed cinema in Bristol, from Wed. 20 to Sunday 24 July 2022 with a line-up of brand new restorations and rediscoveries launching a UK wide tour (Aug – Nov 2022).

2022 Programme

Music: Interview with Imed Alibi

 

This Monday in TMR Weekly:

18 July, 2022 • Melissa Chemam

Tunisia’s Imed Alibi Crosses Borders in new “Frigya” Electronica Album

Melissa Chemam in her latest music column interviews Tunisian electro-world creator Imed Alibi.

Read here: https://themarkaz.org/tunisias-imed-alibi-crosses-borders-in-new-frigya-electronica-album/