Friday, December 31, 2010

Blip Nation Interview: Meet fulana

Blipper since: January 28, 2009

"With friends, I bring out my Spanish pop
repertoire and do my signature Tetris dance."




Pete Dulin: What part of the world do you live in?

Fulana:  I’m currently in Austin, Texas but I’m originally from the Canary Islands.

Dulin: What does "fulana" mean?

Fulana:  In Spanish, when you don’t know someone’s name, you just call them fulana or fulano.  I guess “so-and-so” is decent translation.

Dulin: Do you remember the first music you ever purchased? What was it? Format (record, tape, CD, mp3)? Why did you buy it?

Fulana:  I remember very well because I saved for weeks.  It was The Real Thing by Faith No More (tape) and I bought it because their music made me feel great at the time.

Dulin: What kind of music bores you?

Fulana:  I don’t think music can ever bore me.  I sometimes hate some music, but I’m too busy hating it to get bored by it.  I hate hair bands, for instance, but I find them very entertaining.

Dulin: What music do you listen to when working on design? When relaxing? With friends?

Fulana:  I usually just let my playlist run.  I like the little moment of suspense in between songs when I don’t know what’s coming on next.  During downtime I gravitate to chamber pop and haunting voices like Caetano Veloso, Cohen, Concha Buika, The Irrepressibles, Scott Matthew, etc.  With friends, I bring out my Spanish pop repertoire and do my signature Tetris dance.

Dulin: What is your most treasured possession or favorite memory? Tell us a little about it.

Fulana:  Stealing figs from my neighbor’s tree and playing in the sand with my canine sidekick.  Also, Pamplona 2005.

Dulin: Where do you learn about and hear new music?

Fulana:  From friends, mostly. But I keep my ears open because some of my favourite music finds have been completely unintentional and come from unlikely sources.  Like the time I first heard My Morning Jacket during a visit to the dentist.  Local anesthesia couldn’t stop me from appreciating Jim James’ vocals.

Dulin: If you could blip one song that could reach everyone on the planet, what would you choose? 

Fulana: Something empowering, like "List of Demands" by Saul Williams.

Dulin: Pick a song by one of your favorite artists/bands. If you were a producer, then who would you pick to cover that song?

Fulana:  I love Caetano Veloso and Ween and if I could ever make one of them cover the other I would pass out.

Dulin: What song or type of music makes you want to dance?

Fulana:  Celia Cruz gets me every time, but I can dance to anything (or attempt to) when I’m in that special mood. 

Dulin: What musician, singer, or band would you most like to meet? Why? 

Fulana:  I’d like to meet Damon Albarn because let’s face it, he’s the man…

Dulin: What song or lyric do you wish you would have written? Why?

Fulana:  I wish I had written "The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields.  Or at least have been the source of inspiration…

Dulin: Do you play any instruments? If not, what would you like to play? 

Fulana: Unfortunately, I can’t play any instrument.  Ironically, I own quite a few.  I’d like to learn to play the accordion.

Dulin: Name 5 songs that would be essential on a road trip mix.

Fulana:

1. Letter Home - Motorama
2. Remember Me – Tame Impala
3. Clandestino – Manu Chao
4. Por la Ventana - Gepe
5. Going on – Gnarls Barkley

Dulin: Share some examples of well-designed album cover art or a music video that appeals to you and explain why.

Fulana:  The interactive video for Arcade Fire’s “We Used to Wait” is pretty amazing.  I appreciate the thought behind it and love the fact that they tried something so different.  Mew’s video for “Special” is also one of my favourites.  Actually, all of Martin De Thurah’s music videos are beautiful.

Dulin: What are your favorite things to do when not listening to music?

Fulana:  I’m into archery so I spend a lot of time practicing out in the range.  I know that’s very Cupid of me but whatever.

Dulin: Do you prefer to focus on only songs by an artist that appeal to you or do you give the whole recording time to grow on you?

Fulana:  It’s easy nowadays to navigate the music spectrum and listen to a ton of music each day.  It’s very addicting.  We play some, skip some, prop some, bookmark some, skip some more…  And to me, that’s just no way to listen to music.  But I digress; I like to give music time to grown on me.  Yes.
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Pete Dulin is the co-publisher and editor of www.presentmagazine.com and writes freelance for magazines, websites, and newspapers. Always looking for the next great song, he can be found in the Blip Nation at http://blip.fm/slipperydistortion. He unleashes profound non sequiturs at Twitter.com/petedulin and publishes creative work at www.petedulin.com.

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