Invierno is the new Poema?

Sage wisdom of what tango DJs should and should not play. As published by Tango Immigrant (click for larger image)

Mysteries of frequency analysis

( by the way of Bastwood blog and still reeling from my Fourier Transform tango track analysis fiasco)

Some tracks turn out to hide audio images :O and I doubt if any humans are capable of seeing or otherwise perceiving them. They are clearly visible with spectrum analysis though:


... and even this tune, a closing track from an album entitled Songs about My Cats:

Practica del Centro playlist, Jan 21st 2013

This is a practica with, officially, non-tanda format but I tried arranging the tracks into a tanda-like sets of 3 anyway. The list is also very rich on personal favorites :)

01. Carlos Di Sarli  "9 Puntos" 2001 3:27
02. Carlos Di Sarli  "La Capilla  Blanca" 1998 2:57
03. Carlos Di Sarli Alberto Podesta "Al compas del Corazon"  3:19
04. Ricardo Tanturi - Canta Enrique Campos  "Ricardo Tanturi - Enrique Campos / Oigo Tu Voz" 1996 3:07
05. Ricardo Tanturi  "Que Nunca Me Falte"  2:42
06. Ricardo Tanturi Y Su Orquesta Típica Los Indios With Alberto Castillo  "Así Se Baila El Tango"  2:34
07. Enrique Rodriguez - Roberto Flores  "Salud Dinero Y Amor"  2:39
08. Canaro, Francisco  "La Zandunga"  3:16
Great sentimental value here :) ! This vals marked my entrypoint into tango music and poetry - I  started collecting music, making playlists, and, of course, translating the letras after figuring out at last (with great effort) which vals was this tune which then impressed me by its deadpanning triplets:
09.   "15 Francisco Amor _ Cuando Estaba Enamorado"  2:49
10. Rodriguez, Enrique  "En la buena y en la mala" 1940 2:26
11. Enrique Rodríguez Enrique Rodriguez "Llorar por una mujer" 2000 2:47
12. Rodriguez, Enrique  "Alma en pena" 1946 3:05
13. Biagi, Rodolfo  "Humiliacion" 1941 2:42
14. Biagi, Rodolfo  "La chacarera" 1940 2:24
15. Biagi, Rodolfo  "Gólgota" 1938 2:32
Otros Aires is a rare modern band which easily allows old-recipee tandas (same orchestra, same period...) and IMHO why not? :
16. Otros Aires  "Rotos en el Raval" 2005 3:53
17. Otros Aires dos  "Los Vino"  2:41
18. Otros Aires  "Un Baile De Beneficio" 2010 3:42
19. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Vida mia" 1933 3:23
20. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Nieblas del riachuelo" 1937 2:25
21. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Cordobesita" 1933 2:32
Another great sentimental value :) Imagine a milonga aboard a riverboat. The night of my hometown is so brightly lit; the cathedrals of the Kremlin reflect in the quiet water. I cabeceo a lady and first thing, tell her how it's impossible not to dance to such a wonderful tango. The reply? "You really like to dance to that?" :
22. Carlos Di Sarli Y Su Orquesta Típica - Canta Alberto Podestá  "Carlos Di Sarli - Alberto Podestá / Junto A Tu Corazón" 1996 3:00
23. Carlos Di Sarli Alberto Podestá "Llueve Otra Vez"  3:06
24.   "043 Siete Palabras"  2:44
25. 17 Hippies  "Time Has Left Me Ma Belle (Vals) aka Manchurian Hills" 2004 3:56
I don't think I actually played it in the end. But anyway.This is a make-believe orchestra name somewhere in Turkey with make-believe song titles in English, all actually good remixes of Golden Age classics:
26. Seitkaliyev SEITKALÝYEV "Waltz of the butterfly"  4:16
27. Soha  "Mil Pasos" 2008 4:07
28. Bebe Various Artists "Siempre Me Quedará" 2005 3:50
29. Gotye  "Somebody I used to know"  4:05
30. Pedro Laurenz Alberto Podestá "Recien"  2:41
31. Pedro Laurenz Instrumental "Amurado" 2003 2:38
32. Pedro Laurenz Alberto Podestá "Todo"  2:35
33. Carlos Di Sarli Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada"  2:22
34. Carlos Di Sarli Alberto Podestá "Entre Pitada Y Pitada"  2:33
35. Carlos Di Sarli Roberto Rufino "Zorzal"  2:40
36. Carlos Dante  "Alfredo De Angelis - Fumando Espero"  3:27
37. De Angelis - Carlos Dante  "Alfredo de Angelis - Carrillon de la Merced"  2:50
38. Alfredo De Angelis  "Pavadita"  2:55
39. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Siempre es carnaval" 1937 3:27
40. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Isla de Capri" 1935 3:16
41. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Sollosos" 1937 3:27
42. "Juan D'Arienzo  La Cumparsita"  3:45
43. 17 Hippies  "Marlène" 2005 3:54
(43 total)

Milonga Buen' Onda Feb 8th 2013 playlist

I played the music straight from Media Player which seemed to work so well @ Squatters with their powerful equalizer and overhead speakers; but Buen Onda, with the speakers directly attached to audio output and bunched in one corner of the dance floor, the track-to-track difference was stunning. So I turned to foobar2000 to help with, at least, making the things more even. But one added benefit of foobar's admittedly geeky interface is an ability to convert playlists to text lists any way you want. So here is my original lists, with notes:

Milonga Buen Onda, 02/08/13:
I probably anticipated that the first tanda will be for the beginners of Rudy's class; as it turned out, we actually made it a part of the class :)
01. Carlos Di Sarli  "Bahia Blanca"  2:54
02. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental Carlos Di Sarli "El amanecer" 1951 2:30
03. Carlos di Sarli - Instrumental ????·??·??? "Cara sucia" 1957 2:48
04. Di Sarli, Carlos  "Indio Manso" 1958 2:57
A 25 second cortina seemed to impossibly short ahead of time, but it actually worked just right for a small milonga ... and BTW four-track tanda may have been too long for, again, a small milonga:
05. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
06. Biagi, Rodolfo  "Humiliacion" 1941 2:42
07. Rodolfo Biagi Jorge Ortíz "Zaraza"  2:42
08. Biagi, Rodolfo  "Gólgota" 1938 2:32
09. Biagi, Rodolfo  "La chacarera" 1940 2:24
A questionable cortina ... IMVHO a cortina music shouldn't even be noticeable, just a neutral filler, lest it erases the feeling of the previous tanda ... but far too many milonga-goers knew this track and could sing along - so it can reset the mood just like that :O
10.   "Oblaka, chto vy mchites' Cortina"  0:39
Not too successful:
11. Juan Carlos Caceres  "Tango Negro" 1998 3:44
12. Otros Aires dos  "Los Vino"  2:41
13. Esteban Morgado  "Morena" 2005 2:27
14. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
15. Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray  "Araca la cana" 1933-06-06 2:26
16. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Vida mia" 1933 3:23
17. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Nieblas del riachuelo" 1937 2:25
18. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Cordobesita" 1933 2:32
19. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
20. Anibal Troilo  "Toda Mi Vida" 1993 2:58
21. Anibal Troilo  "Guapeando"  2:49
22. Anibal Troilo  "Milongueando En El 40"  2:33
23. Troilo, Anibal Aníbal Troilo "Pajaro Cíego" 1941 3:02
24.   "Kuznechik Cortina"  0:39
For the last of the three valses, it needs a better warm up. Having noticed a lukewarm energy level on the floor, I should have replaced it ... Hindsight is 20/20 :)
25. 17 Hippies  "Time Has Left Me Ma Belle (Vals) aka Manchurian Hills" 2004 3:56
26. Yann Tiersen  "La valse d'Amélie (Version originale)" 2006 2:16
27. The Klezmatics with Chava Alberstein  "Di krenitse"  4:11
28.   "Oblaka, chto vy mchites' Cortina"  0:39
Scrapped the whole tanda below... Usability must depend on the time of the night, and on who's dancing. Ouch. Sorry Mariana, to dance and to play the music at the same milonga is sometimes all wishful thinking :(
29. Goran Bregovic  "This Is A Film (feat. Iggy Pop)"  4:18
30. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole  "Over The Rainbow" 2001 3:32
31. Kayah & Goran Bregovic  "Ta-Bakiera (This Tabakeria) (La Tabacchiera)" 2000 4:16
32. Soha  "Mil Pasos" 2008 4:07
33. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
34. Pedro Laurenz Alberto Podestá "Recien"  2:41
35. Pedro Laurenz Alberto Podestá "Garua"  3:12
36. Pedro Laurenz Alberto Podestá "Todo"  2:35
37. Pedro Laurenz Instrumental "Amurado" 2003 2:38
38. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
39. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Isla de Capri" 1935 3:16
40. Fresedo, Osvaldo  "Sollozos" 1937 3:27
41. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Siempre es carnaval" 1937 3:27
42. Osvaldo Fresedo Roberto Ray "Canto de amor" 1934 3:25
43.   "Oblaka, chto vy mchites' Cortina"  0:39
Pretty good energy ocoming off the previous tandas, phew!
44. Carlos Di Sarli Roberto Rufino "Pena Mulata"  2:27
45. Carlos Di Sarli Roberto Rufino "Yo Soy De San Telmo"  2:20
46. Carlos Di Sarli Roberto Rufino "La Mulateada"  2:22
47. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
This seemed to be the best 'onda tanda, and all the ladies were on the floor so I enjoyed dancing it with Chris:
48. Edgardo Donato - Horacio Lagos - Lita Morales Edgardo Donado - Horacio Lagos - Lita Morales "Sinsabor" 1939 2:53
49. Donato, Edgardo  "Sinfonía De Arrabal" 1940 3:07
50. Donato, Edgardo  "El Adios" 1938 3:09
51. Edgardo Donato - Lita Morales - Romeo Gavio  "Mi Serenata" 1940 3:02
52. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
53. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré  "Tango brujo" 1943-07-13 2:48
54.   "021 Dime mi amor"  2:40
55. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré  "Ya lo ves" 1941-04-28 2:39
56. Juan D'Arienzo - Hector Maure  "Cicatrices" 1942 2:23
57. Juan D'Arienzo - Héctor Mauré  "Nunca más (fast)" 1941-07-14 3:02
58.   "Oblaka, chto vy mchites' Cortina"  0:39
A DJ challenge here, there is only one vals with Lita Morales, and this is the one I fell for. But the 3rd track is subpar IMHO. It sort of worked in the high-energy end of the milonga though, what do you think?
59. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Lita  "Noches de invierno" 1937 2:47
60. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Alberto Gomez  "Amor cobarde" 1933, 1933 2:33
61. Orquesta Tipica Victor - Instr  "Missouri" 1929 2:48
62. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
Are these "too slow for an average dancer to keep balance?" Obviously I went for Invierno - what else with a snowstorm predicted for the night, huh?
63. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Mai  "Mano a mano" 1938 3:06
64. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Mai Francisco Canaro Roberto Maida "Ojos negros que fascinan" 1935 2:51
65. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida Francisco Canaro Roberto Maida "Condena (S.O.S.)" 1937-11-08 2:39
66. Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida Francisco Canaro Roberto Maida "Invierno" 1937-08-19 3:26
67. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
68. Angel D'Agostino, Angel Vargas  "Una Peña" 1994 2:55
69. Ángel D'Agostino  "Ángel D'Agostino - Ángel Vargas / Tres Esquinas" 1992 3:08
70. Angel D'Agostino Angel Vargas "Caricias"  2:50
71. Angel D'agostino Angel Vargas "Ninguna"  2:57
72.   "Oblaka, chto vy mchites' Cortina"  0:39
3rd milonga is quite a bit faster, may be a problem. My partner told me that it was an OK transition, but...
73. Francisco Canaro Ernesto Famá y Angel Ramos "Milonga sentimental" 1933 3:12
74. Francisco Canaro - Ernesto Fama  "Milonga del 900" 1933-05-08 2:55
75. Francisco Canaro  "Francisco Canaro - Roberto Maida / Milonga Brava" 1999 2:35
76. Goran Bregovic  "Old Home Movie" 1993 0:25
77. Anibal Troilo Fiorentino "El Bulin De La Calle Ayacucho"  2:30
78. Anibal Troilo Francisco Fiorentino "En Esta Tarde Gris" 1941 3:14
79. Anibal Troilo Fiorentino "Tinta Roja"  3:02
80. Juan D'Arienzo - Instrumental  "La cumparsita" 1951-09-12 3:49
The post-Cumparsita track is supposedly to move furniture around, but it's not like people didn't enjoy dancing to it in between folding chairs :)
81. Leonard Cohen  "Dance Me To The End Of Love (Live)" 2002 6:06
(81 total)

Tango links and lists introduced

For the last couple years, I've been posting occasional general-interest entries about tango in a wonderful, and wonderfully multilingual and multi-voiced, Poesia del Rio Wang blog, which at first caught my attention with Studiolum's posts about poetry and culture of tango - but which has much, much more fascinating stuff to read.
But many of the things tango I would like to share & to discuss are much more narrow in scope, perhaps of little interest to non-tangueros, perhaps even of no interest to all but a a few fellow local afficionados ... yet it feels silly to delegate them to the usual facebook channels, where everything is quickly swept out of view by the torrent of ever-flowing newsfeed. So I hope to save the pages and the discussion threads here, and maybe even to add a sister blog for poetry translations.
Wish me luck :)