Beauty and melancholy

May 2nd, 2023

Beauty and melancholy go hand in hand, especially when both are intertwined in a syncopated rhythm — like in bossa nova or tropicalia. A deep mutual fulfillment ends up in sensory perfection when beauty and longing are the same with just a touch of sadness and acceptance. And the natural songfulness and soulfulness and fluidity of the Portuguese language only add to this experience

I was already quite mature in my connoisseurship of music when I discovered bossa nova and Brazilian music in general. And it is surprising that I even remember how it happened — and that memory is one of the very few ones from my early twenties. It was a Saturday evening I was spending at home, for reasons no longer clear or relevant, and I was moving a dial on a radio trying to find some music to listen to. That was in the mid-1990s and the internet wasn’t a thing back then and we had to find our own entertainment. And then a song came on the radio on one of the jazz stations I usually would skip. The few notes and the rhythm I heard were so different from my usual brand of music that I was struck and allowed myself a longer listen:

It was a radio program dedicated to Brazilian music aimed at the Brazilian diaspora in North New Jersey and other fans of that music of course. It was on the air on Saturday evenings and for a while I gave up on going out during that time, which was unusual, and was met with derision from my “friends” or rather as I can say today — drinking companions. No matter — I spend my Saturdays listening to this radio station and taking notes of names of artists and songs and soon I was building a good knowledge of that music. And soon after that — with the ascent of the internet (starting with the irreplaceable Napster) I could really explore the whole genre in-depth and wide-scoped.

All my knowledge of Portuguese is limited to words that make up the titles of songs. I never went any further with learning that language, but I feel that is enough for the appreciation and I still have time if I decide to do it in some undermined future time. I still go on the listening binges of bossa nova and other types of Brazilian music — and those are the only binges I still participate in and there is no regret or wastefulness in them. Just a harmonious interwoven beauty and melancholy that fills me with calmness and joy. And escape from the noise and rush and disorder that surrounds me.