In the latest edition of the All Things Considered series "What Are You Listening To?" we meet Adam Sarmiento of Norman, Okla. Sarmiento is an organic landscape gardener, a percussion teacher, and a member of the band The Candles.
Sarmiento starts off with Brazilian legend Caetano Veloso's song "Zera a Reza" from the album Noites do Norte. Veloso was one of the founders of a musical style called tropicalia -- or tropicalismo -- that combines Brazilian traditions with pop and rock music.
Sarmiento's next selection is "Bracelet of Fingers" by Pretty Things -- a long-lost psychedelic band who recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios. Their album S.F. Sorrow was recorded around the same time as The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It never received the same attention or success, though it was re-released in 1998.
Next up from Sarmiento is a local selection. The Starlight Mints also hail from Oklahoma. Sarmiento selects their song "Pages" from the album Built on Squares. It features some great syncopated drum beats and great vocals. The Starlight Mints are one of the bands focusing national attention on Oklahoma, along with the Grammy-Award-winning Flaming Lips.
And finally, we hear from Sarmiento's own band, The Candles. The song is Round the World.
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