Chances are that you are one of the 20.829.525 (and counting) people that saw this video. It’s about a girl singing an acoustic version of Adele’s song ‘Rolling in the Deep’. I saw it some time ago and immediately loved it. I then showed it to my kids. They loved it even more. And my wife almost had to cry, she too was swept off her feet. And so our family is responsible for at least 15 of that astonishing total of 20.829.525 views. Why did we love it so much? Because here’s a girl that obviously is aware of the camera, but she is also just herself. Overly excited to do it right. Not flawless in her singing, but so enthusiastic she just makes your heart melt. Now, I come from the world of television format development and I’ve witnessed the worldwide uprise of the talent show formula at very close range. In fact, I’ve been a part of the creation process of many. Many spin offs that is. Because once an idea proves to be a commercial success, it’s creative potential is quickly drained by television makers all over the world. And so audiences worldwide see one talent show after another. And although I’m amazed by all the talent out there, many talent shows are more about show than about talent. Immense studio’s, crowds that go wild, visual effects, fancy camera movements, fast editing, clever storytelling – sure – a show it is. And that’s all fine with me. I post this film to show that the simple setup of a guy with a guitar and a young girl on a couch, can be more than enough to entertain you, move you and make you feel good. Or how a small show can have a huge effect.

Welcome to Paris on a warm afternoon somewhere in September. You’ll be accompanied by singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas. As she takes you through the crowded streets, her soulful soothing voice and gentle guitar play, really are an oasis of peace. Watching this video will make you feel as if you’re actually there. It’s a blissful afternoon tune, perfect for a sunday. The song she’s playing is called ‘No Room for Doubt’ and the video is shot as a part of the great Take Away Shows by La Blogothèque. More Take Away Shows that featured on focusNjoy.com, click here and here.

How a simple tone, a single chord or a solid sound, can hit you like magic, is just incredible. It can give you a feeling of homesickness to a time and place where you’ve never been. I just came across a band called ‘Snowmine’. I never heard of them before, but man, they seem really cool. In the sense that they seem truly aligned with each other as people (in the first place), as musicians with different talents (second) and with creating multiple layered sounds (third). That not only sounds really nice, it also looks very nice. And that’s what congruency is all about. Congruency, in human behavior, means that what you say, corresponds with what you show (or do). It means you’re aligned. And it’s actually quite hard to be congruent yourself, let alone being in a band. Yet these guys, have a band. They are a band. I sure do like to hear more of them. If you like, download their song ‘Curfews’ (it’s what you hear in the beginning of the video) for free. I did, and I hope you enjoy it as much I do.

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the worlds greatest composers of all time. He’s certainly my favorite classical hero. Regarded as the master of harmony and counterpoint, Bach excelled not only as a composer, but also as an organist, violist and harpsichordist. About making music he said: “It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself”. I really like looking at things that way. Making anything complicated simple. Like: “It’s easy to run a 100 meters in 9.58 seconds: all you have to do is run really fast”. The Chinese philosopher Confucius said: “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”. So, here’s a nice ‘simple’ tune from Bach, perfect for a sunday morning. Played on piano by Francesco Tristano, Filmed at Théâtre de l’Atelier, Paris. More Blogotheque? Click here.

I love lullabies. Yesterday I stumbled upon this one, by My Brightest Diamond. It’s a wonderful song and video, filmed during a music festival in Berlin, august 2011. The filmmaker: “After the concert I finally dared to ask her what I wanted to ask her that morning, to sing us this lullaby that struck me down. It’s Sunday morning, a morning of hangovers. The whole hotel seems suspended in the air. We ask her to get to the bar, to make it sing for her, to sing for her son (for whom she had written this song). We erase ourselves. She, she doesn’t. After we’re done filming, I cry. She cries too.”

I always thought The Beatles song ‘Help!’ was a love song. You know: “Help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody…” and then I stopped listening to the lyrics, believing I got the message. Until I came across this video. It’s a beautifully made animation, kind of adorable actually and it made me understand and appreciate the song better. It’s really about getting older, changing times and things becoming more complicated. For instance the line: “When I was younger, so much younger than today… I never needed anybody’s help in any way”, reminded me of my childhood when life was clear and problems didn’t seem to exist. But then of course times change, as they do in the song.

Some days I really feel like dancing and I throw myself on that floor to make some confident moves. There are also days I prefer to stay in the background, making just a little step, or two. I’ve had days where at first I wanted to be invisible, finding myself transformed an hour and a half later, making the craziest moves. There are days I just don’t catch the rhythm, no matter how hard I try. And there are days I really don’t want to dance, but I’m forced to anyway. And then there is style. Dancing comes in all kinds of styles, just like living. One style isn’t better then the other, it’s what makes you feel good that counts. And watching these people dance, reminded me of just that.