Mister Trend's Random 10

Cartola was one of Brazil's greatest samba writers, and his story parallels that of so many of America's greatest bluesmen (Skip James, Son House, and Mississippi John Hurt, among others). From the favela of Mangueira, he was one of the most famous samba composers of the 1930s. However, as was typical of the times, he would write songs that record companies would record with other artists, yet he would never see any of the royalties. After the 1930s, he faded into a normal routine in Mangueira, one of Rio's oldest and most famous favelas. "Re-discovered" washing cars in the late-1950s, Cartola returned to the public eye, opening a samba club that served as a launching point for some of Brazil's greatest artists (Paulinho da Viola being the most famous but not the only example), and even recording material again in the 1970s. While he did see at least some profit from these songs, he continued to be fairly poor, and still lived in Mangueira when he died in 1980. Since then, he has practically become a national hero, acknowledged as one of the greatest sambistas ever, and his songs are widely sung and re-interpreted to this day. For anybody who wants to know anything about Brazilian music, there are few better places to start than Cartola.

1. "Sing Me Out the Window" - Múm
2. "Backyards" - Broken Social Scene
3. "Motherfucker = Redeemer (Part One)" - Godspeed You Black Emperor!
4. "Tremor Christ" - Pearl Jam
5. "Little Demon" - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
6. "Something in the Night" - Bruce Springsteen
7. "Grande Deus" - Cartola
8. "Fewer Words" - Badly Drawn Boy
9. "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" - The Beatles
10. "Havana Moon" - Chuck Berry