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CD Review
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www.northjersey.com, CD Review >>
Interestingly enough, Rocket's first intended victim in "City of God" was Knockout Ned, a tall, lethargically handsome ex-boxer who, in the movie's script, traded his gloves to collect bus fares. He was also one of the film's biggest breakout roles, as Knockout Ned was played by Seu Jorge, who in real life is a soul singer who grew up homeless in Rio's favelas. Now he is becoming a bit character in offbeat films.
American filmgoers last saw Seu Jorge in Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," in which he played a troubadour who sang David Bowie songs in Portuguese.
Seu Jorge's new album, "Cru," is the antithesis of funk. Guided almost solely by Seu Jorge's low, smoky voice, his simple guitar arrangements and the occasional percussion, the album is like a quiet, slow moving cloud of music. There may be electronic bursts here and an up-tempo rocker there, but for the most part, the songs of "Cru" float one into the other, broken up only by a second or two of silence between each track.
This comparison may strike some as crude, but in some ways Seu Jorge is reminiscent of the late Haitian pop artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Although Seu Jorge's music is sedate and Basquiat's paintings are manic, both approached the public with the ruffled suave of a crumpled suit. Both also claimed in interviews not to make intellectual art. Appropriately, "Cru" also means raw in English.
Yet both are most popular with the college-educated coffeehouse crowd who feel their art is evocative because it is so grounded in simplicity.
Lastly, like Basquiat, Seu Jorge is also seen as a political artist. Maybe. On a song deep in "Cru," he repeats the line, "A favela é uma problema social." Translation: A favela is a social problem. Looks like everyone feels the same way, despite the musical differences.
-Ed Beeson 11/04/05 >> go there
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