Dia de Saudade

I happened to look up saudade on Wikipedia and discovered that today is Dia da Saudade in Brazil.

The famous saudade of the Portuguese is a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness.

A holiday for an emotion like that transcends memorial day, because it doesn't just focus on things which are no more, but things which could have been or even could yet be. Like many complex emotions, many languages describe something like it. But it's often easier to understand by observing a person than reading a definition, so watch a video of Cesaria Evora singing "Sodade", her most famous song.

What makes you feel saudade?

Captain Beefheart Special

Last week, some of the old Captain Beefheart fans at KGNU put together a three-hour Captain Beefheart special. You can listen at that link for the next week or so, so if my post eulogizing him last month piqued your interest, check it out. It's got a bunch of tunes I hadn't heard before.