This week I am proposing to you a song by Aterciopelados ("the Velvety Ones"), one of the few decent Colombian bands. (Click here for their official blog, in English.) Indeed, most Colombian artists and groups produce terrible music. Sadly, some of that crap gets recorded and released abroad. Even worse, some of that crap gets popular. Very popular. Indeed, this is how one hears everywhere catchy juxtapositions of noise, sold as songs that are tasteless anthems to black shirts or that deal with issues as meaningful as the honesty of some hips.
I have always liked Aterciopelados because they're authentic. This is something rare nowadays, in which artists get nose jobs and change their ideas and language to get a bigger share of the market. For some reason, Aterciopelados are more famous and recognized in the US than in Colombia. Their lyrics are both simple and meaningful at the same time. One of the things I like the most is that they've dared to evolve along their career. They started in the early 90's as some sort of punk-metal trio and have now evolved into a kind of pop-electronic duo. It seems to me they were more controversial and successful when their music resembled rock. I admit I would like to hear some of the rock spirit they showed in previous albums, but I appreciate they music they are doing right now.
The song I am proposing this week is Rio, from the homonymous album released this year. (You can read a RollingStone.com review here.) Rio is the Spanish word for river. The album deals with a number of topics, including ecologic and political issues. The song tries to increase the awareness on the pollution of the Bogota river. (Aterciopelados is a Bogota-based band. Unlike other most latin "artists" they didn't go to Miami to "develop their art.")
Here's the video. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment