To cover or not to cover...

I think I mentioned in a post a few years ago how I usually don't like covers because it's very rare that it ends up being better than the original. That being said, there are some situations when covers take a song to the next, much more sublime level. One of those cases is when an artist covers themselves (as in, they record and/or perform a song of theirs in a reworked, new style) and the other one is when a musician writes a song, sells it to someone else but records it himself as well.

Though I am not really a fan of her latest work, there are quite a lot of Madonna songs (especially from the 90s) that I like and listen to from time to time (mostly when they're on the radio) and Don't Tell Me has always been one of them. The story behind it is quite interesting: Joe Henry wrote and recorded the song Stop and then sent it to Madonna, who also recorded it (after some alterations, of course). It wasn't after a few weeks ago that I discovered the original version (confession: I was sitting at Starbucks, heard the song and I knew I had to have it...) and I can't get enough of it. But is it really a cover? After all, he wrote it, he recorded it first... but then again, it came out a year after the Madonna version... Does it even matter? This cover/original/call it whatever you want version of Don't Tell Me is much better (or at least according to my musical taste), much more sensual and - as I said before - simply sublime.

Just Apple.

Nowadays it seems there are two kinds of people: the ones who love Apple and the ones who hate it. Needless to say, I belong to the first category. I find the company more youthful, dynamic and witty than any other IT firm out there, not to mention their impeccable design and the fact that their devices can do anything I can dream of (and many other things I don't even think of).

So when I heard they were about to open a new store in Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya, I was really excited. They already have a store in the city, but it's far from where I live and, since it is situated at a shopping mall, it lacks some of the signature Apple store features (big glass windows and whatnot).

The announcement outside the then opening-soon store made me smile - the classic logo, presented in Barcelona's traditional mosaic style and the tagline: An Apple Store tailored to Barcelona. I knew I just had to take a picture (and so did many others).

However, as I discovered this new store today I had to realize not all inventions of Steve Jobs are for me. Glass stairs for someone with a fear of heights? Thanks but no thanks.

In response to Chavela Vargas's passing.

If you asked me who my favorite male singer was, I would have a rather hard time answering your question - there are so many I love, respect and follow, so many whose words cheer me up, give me hope, make me think or smile. However, if you asked me who my favorite female singer was, I would not hesitate for a second: Chavela Vargas.

She is the only woman whose voice eats itself under my skin, who moves me, makes me think, believe and hope, whose unique way of performing I can not admire enough. Her enormous talent and influence is obvious and she is, without a doubt, one of the most significant artists of the 20th Century. A muse and friend of artists such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera or Pedro Almodóvar, a true icon of Mexican music, she passed away yesterday at age 93.

It goes without saying that she will be greatly missed and never forgotten and her soul will live on forever in her beautiful songs. Because this is why she was so special - if you listen to her, what you hear is not yet another woman singing a love song; it's a soul telling you the story of her life.