Up Too Late: An Endless Search for Mr.Right & Other Important Things in Life

If there was one singer I'd love to have coffee with, it would be Eliza Hoxha. Her most recent project, the song "Himni Im," is a testament to what good lyrics do despite shoddy music. For those of you non-Albanian speakers wondering what the song is about, I translated it below. Kosova doesn't have an anthem yet, perhaps reason why this song is so fitting and I enjoy it so much more (it's titled "My Hymn").



Eliza Hoxha - Himni Im (My Hymn)

Brenga, qe shpirtin ma shterngoj, / Worry, which tightened my soul,
sa zemra i lendoj, / it hurt so many souls,
sa njerez i vetmoj, / it left so many people lonely,
ishte endrra qe sot jetoj, / it was the dream that I live today
nje emocion qe s'dua kurre te me leshoj. / A feeling that I don't want to lose.

Prandaj, / So
larg shikimin ti drejto, / Direct your outlook forward
prapa mos shiko, / don't look back
ne ardhmeri beso. / believe in the future.

Te kaluaren mos e harro, / Don't forget the past
gjithmone kujto, / always remember
kush ishe dhe nga do shkosh. / who you were and where you'll go.

Nje enderr kisha dikur, / I once had a dream
endrren sonte e jetoj, / I now live that dream
shtetin tim e jetesoj, / I rejoice in my state
ne vete besoj. (2X) / I believe in myself.

Shqiponje, shkrihem ne kaltersi. / An eagle, melting in blue

Fluturoj e lire dhe nuk kam frike / I fly free, and I am not afraid
perpara cfare me pret, / of what is ahead of me.
Jo, me vuajtjen s'dua ta njoh, / No, I do not wish to feel suffering anymore,
Por kurre s'do ti harroj / but I will never forget
ata qe s'jane sot me ne kete dite ta gezojne. / those who are not here to celebrate this day with us.
---
Jetoj ne jeten time... / I live my life...

Labels: eliza hoxha, favourite music, Kosova, videos

Ever since Adelina Thaqi managed to get to my iPod playlist, her songs have always made their way into any mix I made - Je Vetem Ti (Only You) , Nje Here Ne Jete (Once in a Lifetime), S'mundem Me (I can't do it Anymore) , and then, more recently, Me Do Mua (Love me) and Kontrast, have left me thinking how much more creative this girl can get.

The daughter of Rasim Thaqi, a Kosovar comedian known as Cima and a favourite of any slapstick comedy fans, Adelina turned out to be nothing like him. She most recently won the Bruna Spiler Music Contest for singers from the Balkans when she performed arias from some prominent operas.

I was just listening to her song, Sonte (Tonight), which I love. I'm less fond of the Latin American soap opera clothes she's wearing in the video [below].

Labels: favourite music, Kosova, Kosovo, mp3, music, muzike

i only come to this blog when I feel a) nostalgic, b) excited, c) angry, or d) sad.

i seem to be feeling (d) right now... Adrien reappeared in my life this week, after a one-year disappearance, and I remembered how big of a crush I have on him. He apparently is afraid of committing to a job because he's afraid he will like it too much, then get stuck with it. This makes me think he's afraid of committment, so I don't ask him out.

I am also afraid that if I ask him out, he'll say no, or if we do something, it won't work out...

So I just watch him and ponder whether or not he feels the same way i do.

There are other things that bother me: 1-he smokes weed, 2-he's a nudist, which makes me think that 3-he's easy, 4-he looks apathetic, and 5-he's not passionate about much.

Maybe it's because of Adrien, maybe because of my next year (I am going to England to do my graduate studies there for two years), but somehow, I feel under the weather tonight.

I have been listening to Natacha Atlas a lot at work. One of my favourite songs is her cover the classic Jacques Brel song "Ne me Quitte Pas." The music is haunting, her voice moving, the combination amazing and rare. Not so sure about "je veux etre ton ombre, l'ombre de ton ombre, l'ombre de ta main, l'ombre de ton chien," but her voice is emotional enough to make me instantly sad that my relationships have never been passionate enough for me to feel the contempt of being left behind...

here's the song:

Labels: arabic music, crush, Egypt, favourite music, gay, men problems, sad, St.John's

I'm in my honours study room, where I am supposedly doing research for my essay...

Instead, I am looking up music online, writing two or three new words every 15 minutes, looking at the blank board in front of me, the empty shelves I've started to fill with books since I got the room last week.

My mind is wandering distances away, to Kosova. I wish I didn't feel so homesick, especially since this is home, and I need not be convinced, I insist, I feel at home in Canada... yet there is always a sort of pain that hits me when I am alone, with too much time on my hands...

I am wearing a t-shirt of Pierre Trudeau, a memento of times gone by, a man who believed in equality...

I wish I could go back to Kosova and realize that life, however imperfect it may be, is perfect in its own little way...Instead, here i am, feeling miserable about not being neither here nor there...

In these moments of self-initiated misery, questions about my future challenging my sense of the present, I am listening to Rona Nishliu, a young musician from Mitrovica, my hometown...

Her song Shko pastro pas saj (Go clean up after her) may not be lyrically relevant, but her voice and tone of music are making me want to curl up, cry my heart out and continue this painful assignment on the evolution of the French language in New France....

Labels: albanian, favourite music, Kosova, Kosovo, sad, St.John's

I am a big fan of Hande Yener, whose music has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize Turkey's pop scene...

In the last two days, Kibir, Yener's song from her most recent album has been in my mind non-stop. :D A new friend from Istanbul I chatted with on gay.com reminded me that Hande has still got it...Here it is, for your listening and viewing pleasure, along with the video:

Hande Yener - 01 -...

Labels: favourite music, pop music

I read an interesting article this morning on the New York Times website about a panel of judges from the US Federal Appeals Court decision to dismiss wiretapping as damaging to certain groups and individuals. The American Civil Liberties Union, which,in recent years, has become synonymous with major human rights organizations for calling on the closing of Guantanamo Bay and for calling on the protection of the rights of Muslim Americans, has sadly lost the challenge.

It is important to emphasize that the court today did not uphold the legality of the government’s warrantless surveillance activity. Indeed, the only judge to discuss the merits clearly and unequivocally declared that the warrantless surveillance was unlawful.

ACLU Legal Director Steven R. Shapiro

On another note, Patrick Stewart speaks about domestic violence in his family and why he stands for Amnesty's "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign. When my grandfather died, I was about 6-7. I used to see Patrick Stewart as my new granddad. See the video below:



I was at my friend Ryan's photo exhibit a couple of days ago when I first heard some of the music by the British musician, producer and composer, Nitin Sawhney. Ever since, I've been hooked to his music... Below are three of my Sawhney favourites:

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Mausan


Koyal (Songbird)

Sunset [Remix]

Labels: american civil liberties union, amnesty international, arabic music, favourite music, human rights

If it were for some of my friends, they would be saying "stop right now, thank you very much...", but right now, I feel like "i'll tell you what i want, what i really, really want"... and my wish has been granted! The girls are back togetha!!! :)

Mind you, Posh Spice looks like her breasts are about to pop...and she must have some sort of a dominatrix complex...

Mel B still looks pissed at Ginger Spice and Baby Spice looks like a mom...Sporty Spice looks so cute, she is nothing like the butch men she used to make me think of with her muscles and ugly Adidas tracksuits...and may i add, tall sports shoes...nightmares are coming back...

But still I can't wait to see the girls together!

Labels: favourite music, funny, pop music, spice girls

I just got back from Mika's concert. WOW! The guy is AMAZING. He is so energetic, so jumpy, so happy, so...wonderful! He made me so happy with his voice and energy, I kept dancing and singing with people I've never met or seen, and we even hugged and danced with one another! Bliss, I tell you! :) Sadly, Montrealers seem to have found out about him, so my dream of getting his autograph and/or a photo op. did not come true. This didn't stop me from taking photos of him tonight, though apparently he did ask photos not to be taken... They pics I took didn't turn out great, but here they are...

The good thing is, I will forever treasure Mika's new album. It's happy, lively and most of all, a rarity of quality corn pop. It's really a wealth of emotions bundled together in an album to which, once you listen from the beginning to the end, you will become addicted.

I was supposed to meet a few friends at the door, but they went in early to get some good seats and obviously didn't end up with good ones because I combed the place through and couldn't find them anywhere. So I kept walking around like a lost case as all the gay guys and teenage girls with their straight and sexually-confused boyfriends mingled and eye-flirted with fellow Mika maniacs.

Aside from the concert being a great, lovely night, I met a boy! Well, not a boy, more like an analogy for a cute single man who i am going out on a date with on Wednesday night...

It's odd because we had chatted online some time ago, on a day when my only social contact happened to be the cybersphere. I saw him tonight, he waved at me and said hi and I had no idea who he was and why he was saying hi to me, though I thought he was cute. I got back home and I already had a message from him, asking if the person he waved and said hi to was me. I clued in and messaged him back. He replied saying he thought I was cuter in person than in my profile photo. Why, of course... :)

The luck that I have, my three single teenager-looking straight friends were just outside the door as I left Club Soda tonight...Speaking of teenagers, I felt like one, wearing loose Levi's, Converse All Stars and the over-the-shoulder man-purse with a cowboy shirt...

Labels: concert, date, favourite music, men, Mika, Montreal, pop music

I was thinking of writing about meeting another of the entertaining teachers I work with, but I decided I should write about something more fun instead.

I have been listening to more Albanian music in Canada than I would have cared to listen if I had been in Kosovo. I would have probably been obsessed with trance, hip-hop and r&b, genres which seems to be keywords for party music back home.

Funny how life works... Below are some of the Albanian songs I've been listening to quite a bit in the last few months... Keep in mind these are not typical American / British pop rhythms, though a few may remind you of it. Most of the songs have a Balkan turbo folk feel to it, with traditional instruments like qifteli, flute and violin mixed into it.

Enjoy :)

Dance tunes:

Arta Bajrami - Fiesta
Arta Bajrami - Nije Këtë Send
Genta - Mpuq, Mpuq
Zanfina Ismaili - Ti s'do t'ia dish
Genta - Një Lutje
Zanfina Ismaili - Gajdexhiu
Edona Llalloshi - Kush po te pëlqen
Greta Koci - Kam Mall
Arta Bajrami - 100 Grade Celsius
Arta Bajrami - As me gram e as me okë
Leonora Poloska - Do te Digjesh



Slower songs:

Eliza Hoxha - Pendimi
Gili - Prishtina
Alma Bektashi - Iluzion
Leonora Poloska - Fati Im

Music sources: Albamuzika & Realiteti

Labels: albanian, alma bektashi, arta bajrami, eliza hoxha, favourite music, leonora poloska, mp3, muzike, shqip, zanfina