This is going to be another somewhat succinct instantiation of BMoF, as I'm having a particularly busy week, but here we go. For this week, I chose to post a 2008 song by Marcelo Camelo, one of the current 'darlings' of Brazilian indie music; this song, 'Janta', was listed by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the best song of 2008. It is actually a duo of Marcelo with Mallu Magalhaes, another recent phenomenon in Brazilian music; she was only 15 when she recorded her first songs in 2007, which then became an instant internet phenomenon. Marcelo and Mallu started a relationship around this time (the song 'Janta' is about the early stages of a love story -- their love story), which also had its controversial side given that she was so young, and so much younger than him (a 14-year difference). But they are still together, and both making great music.
Marcelo Camelo first appeared as the front-man of the rock band Los Hermanos in 1999, also the year of their biggest hit, 'Anna Julia'. This song has the peculiarity of having been recorded in an English version by Jim Capaldi, with an all-star lineup: Capaldi, Paul Weller, Ian Paice and George Harrison - in fact, this was one of Harrison's very last recordings. (The song is kind of cute, but not much more than that, if you ask me. You can judge for yourself...) Since 2007, Los Hermanos have been on a break, and Marcelo has been focusing on his solo career.
So let's go back to 'Janta'. The song is a simple, beautiful ballad: just two guitars and the two voices, with the two melodic lines (one in Portuguese and one in English) superimposed towards the end. (Many of Mallu's songs are in English, such as for example 'Tchubaruba', one of her first hits.) I'd say that it's simply impossible not to like this song, in particular knowing all the cute story behind it.
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