Album of the Week: Gal Costa

I tried to get Record Club alumni to choose the album of the week, but unlike Real Estate, the band PUP stiffed me and didn't answer my question during their AMA last week. It probably didn't help—karmically at least—that literally every statement that I made in my comment was a lie. My friends and I have a Record Club, not Album of the Week Club (I dunno, it's more concise to call it that to a stranger because it requires less explanation). We did not listen to and discuss the most recent album, we listened to and wrote about Morbid Stuff three years ago (saying so would've required an additional explanation about the No Repeats rule). And we can't have had a really good time if it didn't happen.

Anyways, sucks to be PUP, and congrats to RC, for now having to endure an obscure artist from a different continent. "Endure"? I don't know. Maybe you'll like it. I haven't listened to it yet. Hopefully it's great. Good or bad, you're getting another pin drop on the RC map. You can check out the archives and the goals too. Most importantly, let me know if you want to write!

WEEK 167 — April 10-16, 2022

What we're listening to this week (Joe's pick):

ALBUM: Gal Costa

ARTIST: Gal Costa

RELEASED: 1969 (unknown date)

LOCATION: Salvador, Brazil

WHAT GENRE IS THIS: Tropicália and psychedelic pop

WHY JOE PICKED IT: As with most of these "fill in the map" picks, this one was born from making a custom chart on RYM. At first glance, Gal Costa was the only female artist in the Top 20 Brazilian Albums All Time, though I didn't do much of a deep dive into all of the albums, and a lot of them aren't in English, so it's tough to say.

TRACKLIST:

1. Não Identificado
2. Sebastiana
3. Lost in the Paradise
4. Namorinho de Portão
5. Saudosismo
6. Se Você Pensa
7. Vou Recomeçar
8. Divino, Maravilhoso
9. Que Pena (Ele Já Não Gosta Mais de Mim)
10. Baby
11. A Coisa Mais Linda Que Existe
12. Deus é o Amor

LENGTH: 39:12

WHERE TO LISTEN FOR FREE: YouTube

READING SOME SHIT: Gal Costa is still kicking around in Brazil and gave this interview right before the pandemic in 2020. At one point, she's asked if there are any new Brazilian artists that she likes, and she basically just says "No." Which is pretty funny, but also says to me that maybe the correct Brazilian artist was chosen today for the purposes of this exercise.

PREVIOUSLY ON RECORD CLUB: Congrats to Gal Costa—with her song "Baby," she now joins the ranks of Record Club artists who included a song with the word "baby" in the title. Her "Baby" is in the company of Lake Street Dive's "Baby, Don't Leave Me Alone with My Thoughts," Johnny Nash's "Ooh Baby You've Been Good to Me," Lizzo's "Crybaby," Hozier's "Wasteland, Baby!", MUNA's "It's Gonna Be Okay, Baby," Fall Out Boy's "Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner," lizard person Demi Lovato's "Cry Baby," Sophistafunk's "Tell My Baby," and Kelly Clarkson's "Merry Christmas Baby" AND "Santa Baby." (There's also the WPPR episode about all the babies, but that's not in the Record Club Canon.)

Happy listening, fam! Have a great week!