Like most of III, that ingenious choice of cover is suffused with what the Brazilians call saudade, a word that defies literal translation but signifies a bittersweet sense of longing. Saudade gives even the breeziest bossa nova melodies a tinge of melancholy and makes them all the more entrancing. All of the tracks here have smart, sing-along arrangements that will draw you in and undercurrents of wistful feeling that will keep you listening raptly for a long time to come. III, you will discover, is also an engrossing soundtrack to a very real story.
In the fall of 2005, after touring North America with their live band-mates, bassist Mikey Onufrak and drummer Mark Robohm, Juju and Chris decided to escape the approaching New York City winter to spend quality time in the places that had inspired their music. Keyboardist Jon, in demand as an engineer-mixer, stayed behind at his studio. The group had already cut almost an album’s worth of tunes, but felt they weren’t ready to release anything yet. First stop was the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. (Check out Juju and Chris’s photos at www.mosquitosnyc.com.) There they witnessed the November Day of the Dead events. As Juju recalls, “It was a beautiful experience. By celebrating death, everyone was really celebrating life. It was a time to talk to the ones who’d left this world.” Juju wept when she left Mexico, but had reason to be happy too: she and Chris were going to see her family in Rio. That’s where the Mosquitos’ sound was created, in a studio/shack near Ipanema, the setting for the group’s oft-licensed tune, “Boombox.”
Back in Rio, Juju hung out a lot with her mom, Anna Morato, a dressmaker. Anna not only supported Juju’s career, she designed her daughter’s stage outfits, which matched in color, fabric and cut the vivacity of the Mosquitos’ music. Three weeks into Juju’s visit, “after a great sushi dinner where we drank caipirinhas and laughed a lot,” Juju explains, her mother, a relatively young woman who’d experienced a few fainting spells earlier that month, suddenly passed away. “The world became a completely different and surreal place for me on the days following her death,” Juju says, “ full of rich life and deep love and sadness mixed together everywhere. When we got back to New York City a little over a month later, I felt that my mother had come with me.”
An acceptance of fate’s role in one’s life is another aspect of saudade; Juju and Chris felt that destiny had sent them on their journey to South America. The songs they wrote or reworked from those earlier sessions became a sort of diary of the joy and sadness, highs and lows, of the previous months. As Chris put it, “We wanted the music to continue to grow the same way we were growing, as a band and as people. We spent more time and thought nurturing the sounds, the vocal performances, the ideas behind the songs.”
Mosquitos’ work has always been partly autobiographical. Their debut disc cheerfully chronicled Chris’ wooing of Juju across two hemispheres. The material on III is personal in a deeper way, though knowledge of the back-story is not a prerequisite to appreciating these tunes. Songs like “Ele” have the same sort of easy-going bossa nova groove as “Boombox” and “Sunshine Barato”; “Mama’s Belly” accelerates that groove and adds a kooky speed-jazz guitar solo from Mikey, switching from bass. “Soap” is early-sixties pop balladry a la “A Summer Place,” with roller-rink organ and record-album scratches, designed specifically for dancing close and slow. “Just A Touch” channels the Lovin’ Spoonful’s cheerful jug-band sound and even features a kazoo solo.
As Juju learned in Mexico, sometimes the best way to deal with the most difficult moments is to celebrate our most treasured ones. III is a celebration of life, love, sex, music, ephemeral pleasures and enduring feelings. It’s guaranteed to warm your heart throughout our chilliest seasons.
-- Michael Hill
Free as Love
Mosquitos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honesty, honestly, it's for free.
Free as love, that's what I was thinking of. Wasted times, rainbows and sunshine.
Free as love.
I like to see the beauty in everything,
Something in everybody.
The flow of the water and the air we breathe,
Can you feel the seasons? Stars in the sky, high tied,
Being with you, waking up and sleeping.
Free as love.
The lyrics to Mosquito's song Free as Love appear to be a celebration of the simplicity and beauty of life. The opening line, "Free as love, that's what I was thinking of," appears to be an expression of the singer's desire for a life free from complications and stresses, one that is as simple and liberating as love itself. The next line, "Honesty, honestly, it's for free," suggest that this kind of liberated life is also one that is grounded in honesty and authenticity, qualities that are priceless and cannot be bought.
The repeated refrain "Free as love," underscores the theme of liberation and simplicity, and the imagery of "wasted times, rainbows, and sunshine" further emphasize the singer's appreciation for the beauty and mystery of life, with all its complex and seemingly contradictory elements. The second verse continues this celebration of life's beauty, with the singer extolling the value of seeing "the beauty in everything" and "something in everybody," and appreciating the natural world and the basic elements of life that are free, such as water and air.
The final lines of the song bring the focus back to the singer's relationship with a loved one, suggesting that even in the midst of life's complexities and challenges, being with this person brings a sense of liberation and simplicity that is "free as love." Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a life lived in appreciation of the simple things, grounded in honesty and authenticity, and connected to others in love and relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Free as love, that's what I was thinking of.
I aspire to be unconstrained and limitless, like the boundless nature of love.
Honesty, honestly, it's for free.
Truthfulness is inherently free, with no ulterior motives or hidden costs.
Free as love, that's what I was thinking of. Wasted times, rainbows and sunshine.
Freedom is akin to the purest feelings of joy and bliss, even amidst hardships or fleeting moments of beauty.
Free as love.
This refrain emphasizes the overarching theme of seeking and embracing absolute liberty and authenticity.
I like to see the beauty in everything,
My perspective values finding inherent goodness, hope, and inspiration in all aspects of life.
Something in everybody.
Each and every person has unique or admirable qualities, and it is worth acknowledging and learning from them.
The flow of the water and the air we breathe,
The fundamental elements of nature that sustain us are endlessly bountiful and invaluable, yet often taken for granted.
It's free.
This realization underscores the beauty and accessibility of nature, and mirrors the underlying message of the album.
Can you feel the seasons? Stars in the sky, high tied,
The appreciation of nature extends to its cyclical patterns and celestial wonders, evoking a sense of cosmic awe and wonder.
Being with you, waking up and sleeping.
The simple, intimate moments of connection with another person can be just as precious and meaningful as grandiose gestures or experiences.
Free as love.
The final line encapsulates the album's overarching message to embrace freedom, love, and nature in all their forms and depths.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ROOT, SMITH, STULBACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
AgentBenzo
I discovered the most powerful weapon against these bastards by accident last year ... they will:
- disengage bites (if possible),
- expose themselves, and
- run like they're on fire ...
Nothing works like HIGH VOLTAGE STATIC ELECTRIC FIELDS (pulsed, if possible , but anything works).
You can simply test this for yourself with an easily-built homemade apparatus (Vandegraff, Wimshurst, Influence Generators, etc) - but I'm telling you... it works on pretty much every insectoid - arachnid species.
Strangely enough, they seem to LOVE the kind of ALTERNATING CURRENT electric fields that are running in the walls of everyone's house - courtesy of your regional power company.
I Love Iodine
Thanks for the information. This is very interesting and makes sense to me. Frequency. :)
debn n
the trick is to get a diagnosis for any of these
debn n
@I Love Iodinethey are great at putting a medical label on symptoms though...gotta love it🤣
I Love Iodine
That is a true statement. It is quite difficult as most doctor's are not taught.
haku4207
summary?
haku4207
@I Love Iodine ty
I Love Iodine
@haku4207 Will do. I will put that together this week and send you the link. Best!
haku4207
@I Love Iodine hey ty, it doesn't have to be printable, just shorter than this video, in whatever format u like
I Love Iodine
Would you like a printable summary? If so, I can put together. Best!