I've been waiting for the new Gravel album for some time now. (My previous posts about this group: 15 March and 31 March.) And then yesterday I saw an ad saying something about getting the album free from Delfi, a Lithuanian news website. I clicked on the ad and was taken to an article whose headline I had seen before but ignored. One reason I ignored it was that it appeared on April 1, and the news media here always feature some stories that shouldn't be taken seriously on that day. The other reason was that I didn't understand the Lithuanian word for download (atsisiųsti), which I don't remember having heard used before. I think most people just use a Lithuanianized version of download (daunlodinti--my spelling). For example, I quizzed my wife and she didn't know the word. But anyway, in my effort not to be fooled, I passed over this story. Regardless of whether the head of the band was serious or not, it is possible to download their new album free. Here's the link: http://whatson.delfi.lt/archive/article.php?id=16525959.
My recommendation: definitely download the album. It's worth it. If you're skeptical, first download Foreign Policy and Little Things (tracks 2 and 4)--in fact download tracks 2-4--and listen to those songs first. I think you'll end up downloading the entire album.
And here's my translation of the main part of that article:
Gravel Decides to Stop Performing and Give New Album to DELFI Readers (Download!)
Gravel is giving away its new album, Dirty Beauty, to internet users. That's not an April Fool's trick. According to Tomas Sinickis [also spelled Tomasz Sinicki since he's an ethnic Pole], the leader of the group, the decision to do this was made for the good of Lithuania. "If you try to spread certain ideas and you want to say that you're doing something for the good of Lithuania, then you shouldn't ask 30 litas [the cost of a CD] for those ideas", Sinickis, who is giving away his album on DELFI, said. The leader of Gravel said that the group's second album, Dirty Beauty, will be the group's last album. (The first--Pockets Full of Fun--was released in 2006.)
"When losers like us leave the stage, that can only be for the good of Lithuania. I don't think it's bad. We can see that it would be better for us to stop polluting the airwaves", Sinickis said.
When asked about his future plans, Sinickis said that he intends to become a politician and serve the people of Lithuania.
Names of songs in Lithuanian:
1. Where Mothers Are Looking, Where Fathers Are Looking [Sorry, maybe I'm missing something here. I can't really understand the lyrics of the song either.]
10. Oh, My Love
4 comments:
Glad you liked "Foreign Policy". Tomas Sinicki
Tomas:
I bought your first album for several friends in the U.S.A. and also made copies of your second album for them. So far, I've heard only positive comments. It's good to hear an alternative (and a good one) to the other junk/stuff out there.
Foreign Policy is definitely one of my favorites--cool lyrics and music.
The song's very personal. Not many people manage to understand. And obviously in our case not many bothered to even listen because of our image :), let alone translate it. It's difficult to get into people's minds in our country, as you may have noticed. But on the other hand... it is not, if you want to rob them. We failed at both :).
I suppose only you can say whether you accomplished what you wanted with Gravel, but I have no doubt that you earned respect from many people for your music. I would certainly like to know when you play again.
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