I've grown tired of downloading free brasilian music off Kazaa or buying pricey imports off amazon, et. al. and would like to buy some stuff from the $.99 download sites. Anyone have any info as to the best one to buy brasilian stuff(mpb, rock, bossa, etc.)?

I've already checked ITunes and found only the usual Tom Jobim and Caetano stuff.

Seaman:

In my (albeit extremely limited and purely experimental) experience, Kazaa has just about anything you could possibly want in the realm of Brazilian music. Not that I'm looking, right, RIAA? Anyway, what you need to do is expand your horizons of what you're looking for. Try going to Amazon or BN.com and see what brazilian musicthey offer and then check it out with Kazaa. Better yet,go to the music section of uol.com.br or try usinadosom.com.br. Both are pay sites nowadays, but will still let you browse (and aren't a bad deal at all to subscribe to, someting like 5 bucks a month). Specifically try this URL: http://cliquemusic.uol.com.br/br/home/home.asp, they have lists of artist by genre.

Assuing you like MPB/Bossa, have you checked out Rosa Passos, Maysa, Luciana Souza, Alceu Valença, Kid Abelha, Fernanda Porto, Tribalistas, Jussara Silveira, and especially Maria Rita (Elis Regina's daughter)? There are lots of good "Collections" that have come out recently too - "A ONDA QUE SE ERGUEU NO MAR" is a favorite of mine.

BTW, don't use spyware-loaded (and RIAA-vulnerable) Kazaa, use kazaa-lite!

Enjoy!

BS

With the weak dollar, buying CD's is cheaper online at amazon than in Rio or Sao Paulo.
I listen mostly to bossa nova.
Not an expert but I like Bebel Gilberto, Djavan, Vanessa da Matta.
Just purchased Helena, Suba. Bossa nova collections are great buys as well. Skank is popular currently in Rio.

In Sao Paulo, CD stores like Neto (and even FNAC) have many fine CDs for around R$10 TO R$15. Most of the new stuff is more, but after maybe a year many if not most of the CDs are reduced to the lower price. Generally, Brazilian music ages well so this is not much of a problem.

During my visits to Brazil I have collected more than 500 CDs (I just can't help myself) and love Brazilian music.

Right now, my favorite is Jorge Ben Jor (formerly Jorge Ben until he discovered George Benson was getting many of his royalties, and therefore changed his name--or so the story goes). If any of you can find it, I highly highly highly recommend Sound plus Vision Collection: Jorge Ben Jor, which includes two CDs and an absolutely great DVD. It costs anywhere from R$50 to R$70, depending on where you buy it. For some reason, it's not easy to find but some of the branches of Virtual Music in SP presently stock it at R$50. The only problem is after listening to the songs on the DVD, you risk having some of his tunes continously go through your head for weeks on end!

Incidentally, while Jorge Ben Jor's songwriting skills come through in his early stuff, his more recent performances are much funkier and IMHO better. For reference, in the sixties Gilberto Gil apparently talked about how pointless it was for him to write and perform music since he felt he never could be as good as Jorge Ben (as reported in Caetano Veloso's book about that period in Brazilian music).

The last time I flew into Rio (AA from MIA, June 2005) Jorge Ben Jor was seated two rows in front of me in BC. No one made a fuss or even said anything to him, including me. He's a short guy and seemed to be down to earth and unassuming. When I went to take a pee next to the duty free shop before Customs -- there he was peeing. I was next and was tempted to exclaim, while peeing, "Que maravilha!" I know -- more than you ever wanted to know. I enjoy his music and already had the "acusticio" dvd he did with MTV. You can't read his name on the cover. It's in white letters over his white shirt -- genius. I think I'll go play it right now.

Good story. The acustico DVD with MTV is the DVD included in the Sound + Vision collection. For those who have neither, it is cheaper to buy it packaged in the collection than separately; essentially you'll pay the same price as for the DVD alone (at least if you buy it in Brazil) and have 2 CDs thrown in along with the DVD.

Another exceptional cd/dvd combo you should consider is Gilberto Gil's "Electracustico" recording. It's exceptional stuff from a master. I saw his show in Porto Alegre last month, and the musicianship in his small band is amazing.

I, too, have fallen under the spell of Brasilian music, and will get dinged by customs if they check my baggage next week and see how many CDs and DVDs I have. I heard a ethnomusicologist giving a talk a couple of years ago and he argued that the three countries with the most vital musical cultures are Brasil, Cuba and the US.

BTW, I bought a ton of CDs in BA because they were so much cheaper there. Many relatively recent Brasilian releases were 20 pesos.

For whatever reason, one thing that really bugs me is that whenever you ask a termas woman, who or what group is singing the song that is playing (because I want to buy the cd), 80% of the time they don't know. They go running to the dj. They hear these songs daily. They've heard then so often they know them by heart and can sing along. Plus, they hear them at the discos and on the radio. But when you ask them who is singing, they don't know. It just bugs me.

In there defense, if you listen to radio in Brasil (and often in the States), the fucking DJs don't say who the song was by or even the name of the song. I've had the very same experience (asking the garotas and getting a "não sei" response) but I think they don't know because they never are told the name of the artist.

Part of what bugs me is they don't seem to have the curiosity to find out. I've met only one woman who could answer me every time. So, I know it's possible for them to know.

Well, on the positive side, at least they care enough to ask the DJ (in my experience as well). If we had similar places in the U.S., I'm sure the providers would leave it at "I dunno."

Here's a question for you. What is the actual definition of MPB? Many of my favorite artists fall into this category. Is it a label? A radio station? Who decides who can be in MPB and who cannot?

BT: You may already know this, but the initials stand for Musica Popular Brasileira, or some such thing. As to a more precise definition, I don't really know. It does confuse me sometimes because the CD stores seem to have an MPB section, a nacional rock section, a samba section, an axe section, regional sections, and so forth. Some of the artists seem to fall on the margins and I'm sometimes not sure where to look for a particular artist, although most I am interested in also can usually be found in the MFB category.

Anyone have a more precise or informative answer?

(Message edited by LAguy on July 25, 2005)

MPB=Musica Popular Brasiliero=Brazilian Popular Music, and is basically any "pop" music that isn't categorized into the other main categories (forró, hip-hop, rock, funk, samba, pagode) but generally includes bossa nova, axé and a few other distinctive traditions. The term MPB has been around for at least 20 years.

Many of my favorite artists are there. Kid Abelha, Ana Carolina. But others such as Barao Vermelho are not. I would classify all of them as rock in the United States.

Also my satellite has a MPB station, and while listening to the radio that they said it was MPB. Perhaps it is some sort of super label?

BT: No.. Bwana has it right. MPB is simply "Pop" music, but Brazilian Pop (and therefore a lot less synthesized, homogenized, and crapolized than US Pop). Not that MPB doesn't have it's share of crap (anything sung by Wanessa Camargo, for instance), but in general you can't go wrong.

BS

In the stores in POA, Ana Carolina is in the rock section. Kid Abelha as well (along with Barão Vermelha). Obviously the classification system is far from perfect. The lines between what is lighter rock and what is MPB are pretty fuzzy in my mind as well.

Kid Abelha is in the rock section at FNAC (probably the largest CD store in SP). Ana Carolina is in the MPB section. It gets confusing.

I always buy all of my CD's at the big book store on the 3rd floor of Rio Sul. They also sell DVD's and lots of books in English.

I think that we have proved that the term MPB is more arbitrary than anything. At one point, I thought they were a record label, it seems that it is just a convenient way to categorize thingsthat can change depending on the categorizer.

(Message edited by bluestraveller on July 26, 2005)

There is an excellent cd/dvd store in Copa on Barata Ribeiro near Santa Clara -- between Santa Clara and Figueirdo Magahales. This one doesn't just sell the recent stuff like Lojas Americanas.

Soccer-
That's "Modern Sound" and is the place I do all my music shopping in Rio. They also have live jazz music in their cafe every day except Sunday (I believe). They also have a very good selection of DVDs.

Anybody know a good bit torrent site for Brazilian music?

I just downloaded "Jorge Ben - Spyro Gyro País Tropical" from limewire....great music.

Thanks for the tip.

After noticing a post in SA chat asking for information about a Brazilian musician, I thought it might be helpful to post that www.allmusic.com has write-ups of most of the significant Brazilian musicians, including their bios, discographies (usually incomplete though), ratings of some of their albums, and links to similar artists. Most of my information about Brazilian musicians has come from this website (which also can be used to learn about musicians worldwide, including from the U.S.)

To expand on the MPB thread, MPB can described very broadly. May be some direction on famous artists who are MPB: Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Jorge Benjor (formerly Jorge Ben), Djavan, MIlton Nascimento, etc. MPB can and often does cross over with other rootsy forms of Brazilian music, such as samba reggae, Afoxe, Baiao, Forro, Pagode, samba, samba cancao, maracatu and other regional variations. Bossa Nova tends to sometimes be lumped with MPB because it itself is a hybrid of samba, samba cancao and some north american influences. Axe is a recent musical trend that takes a wide variety of carnaval music of bahia and creates an (IMHO) highly and unbearable commercialized sound.

Some artist who are not MPB are Marcelo D2 (rap/hip hop), O Rappa (rock national), Cidade Negra (reggae), titas (rock national ).

Some artists that crossover include Elba Ramalho (with Baiao, Forro, Rojao, etc.). Alceu Valenca (maracatu, embolada, frevo), Chico Buarque (samba, samba cancao, bossa nova), Caetano and Gil (samba reggae, afoxe).

Guys, some of the best music in brasil is in Rio and unfortunately some of you do not realize that there are some great venues to close to your hotels/apartments in centro and zona norte. Check it out well worth the effort.

Right on, Got2brio. Great live music abounds. The big acts often will show up at Claro Hall or Canecão, but lots of good acts can be found in the smaller clubs in places like Lapa. I doubt that too many of our brothers are ambitious enough to head up to the Zona Norte to catch a show, but Via Show has some good concerts from time to time.

Some of the best local music venues are in Lapa, Santa Teresa, Vila Isabel, Catumbi, etc. ten to 15 minutes away from Copa. Also some nice non pros around that are willing to dance with two left footed foreigners. Worked well for in the past for me.

One of the best music stores is the Livraria da Travessa chain (Ipanema and Centro). They actually let you listen to the CD's before you buy. They have some excellent people manning the counters. Also try Tracks in Gavea. Saraiva in the centro has a good selection as well.

For online buying try somlivre.com.br or lojaamericana.com.br.

Got2brio is right about Saraiva, which is close to 4x4 and a good place to go on the way there. It has listening stations, where you can sample some of the more popular or current cds.

If you are walking to 4x4 on Rio Branco from the Metro, it is two blocks short of 4x4, turn right on Rua Ouvidor, and you'll see its yellow sign in the middle of the block on the left hand side of the street. The second floor has a decent selection of cds and dvds but not as good as Modern Sound in Copacabana. The first floor is a book store with a popular coffee/pastry area -- Borders style.



(Message edited by maracana on August 04, 2005)

In Sao Paulo I usually do my CD test drives at FNAC, where they have listening stations with barcode scanners that will let you sample almost every CD (although only about 20 seconds per song). Similar to Saraiva, but I believe less expensive and a bit more extensive (hey, that rhymmes); they also have books, electronic goods (but who would want to buy electronics in Brazil unless you live there??), and a coffee shop. Unfortunately for the Rio hands, while there are two FNAC's in Sao Paulo the only one in Rio is out of the way (I haven't visited it but assume it is set up the same way as the two SP stores):

LOJA BARRASHOPPING, Av. das Américas - BARRA DA TIJUCA - RIO DE JANEIRO - RJ .

If you are in the area, its a good store to visit. They sometimes have musicians (some of whom you may have heard of) come by to perform for free (they have a schedule of performances they will give you).

For the Sao Paulo addresses, or the new Brasilia store address, check out www.FNAC.com.br.

(Message edited by LAguy on August 04, 2005)