Polly - Nirvana

       Nirvana is an American Grunge band from Seattle Washington.  It was formed in 1987 by lead singer Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) and bassist Krist Novoselik.  With their second album, Nevermind, (where this song is from) in 1991 they had incredible success and popularized Alternative Rock as a whole. Polly is not the typical Nirvana song, especially the insignificance of drums, but it is one of my favorites, and this is the MTV Unplugged version recorded in New York, 1993.  This song is about a 14 year old rape victim from Washington who was abducted in 1987 and tortured with razors and a blowtorch by Gerald Friends, and throughout the song she is portrayed as a caged bird. It's simplicity of chords and lack of electric guitars give a haunting sound to the very dark lyrics.

Violin Concerto: II - Philip Glass

       Philip Morris Glass is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.   He was born in Maryland in 1937 and his interest in music started when he was a child and he played in his father's record store. He grew up studying music in different places with different people, and has since continued to have a very broad career. This is the second movement of his first major orchestral concerto, which he wrote in 1987 for violinist Paul Zukofsky. Glass was known for composing music for opera, film, and dance, and when transferring to this more ordinary genre he wanted to structure it in common terms: three movements as most concertos, and for a conventional sized orchestra. The second movement is my favorite because of the different moods and connotations in the different levels of instruments: the base is full of suspense, yet the lead violin is empowered by melancholy, and the way these two feelings grow together and integrate throughout the movement is both perfect and sensual. 

Vete - Lucybell

       This song is about trying not to fall in love, as a playful warning of what is to come.  This is one of the best songs by Lucybell, from their 1995 album Peces, although I must say, most of the others are excellent as well.  Lucybell is a Chilean band that formed in 1991 by lead singer and guitarist Claudio Valenzuela, and although all other members have changed through the years, he has kept their essence intact and together.