I felt like such a grownup the day I realized that I was listening to so many international artists. Now I could look down my nose at all those who listened only to music originating from the U.S. or U.K.
Upon discovering this new universe, it blew my naive little mind to realize that the rest of the world was producing music that was also good. Who cares if you have no idea what they are saying - its not like anyone understands the words or their meaning in most the songs they listen to. (In fact, when it comes to Sigur Ros, having no idea what they are saying adds to the allure, and encourages free imagination). So, I would encourage you to give international music a shot, if for no other reason than being able to make people think you are sophisticated when they ask what your favorite band is. For starters, I would suggest anything from Scandinavia or the Indian subcontinent.
This post, however, is about Spanish music. I am indebted to a couple of my close friends for introducing me to la musica: Derek, who downloaded Lynda's "A Mil Por Hora" to my computer in 2002 (hated it then, love it now), and then later fed me Carlos Vives, Jaunes, Los Pericos, Mana, and (most recently) Jarabe de Palo; Ethan, my roommate who constantly played and sang along with "Caraluna" by Bacilos, which became the first Spanish song I actually enjoyed listening to; and Isaac, who told me that a great way to learn Spanish was to listen to Spanish music, and I took his advice. My Spanish still isn't the best, and I am constantly reminded of how intelligent Derek, Ethan and Isaac are for being able to learn this language so effortlessly.
Now the majority of the time in my car is spent listening to VIVA 105.7 "!Tan Latina Como Tu!" The thing you have to understand about most Spanish music is this: it is sort of the equivalent to American country music. Every song is about love or heartbreak and the "lyin, cheatin, two-timin, double-dealin, mean, mistreatin" person causing this heartbreak. (The exception to my over-generalized rule is Reggaeton - Spanish clubbing/booty-music having its birthplace in Puerto Rico in the '90s - whose lyrics are the equivalent to those of Lil John or the Ying Yang Twins.) The simplicity of these songs helps someone like me, who requires a fair amount of thought and dictionary reference work in order to fully understand the meaning of many Spanish songs. It also helps one learn much about Latin culture, a culture where passion is a virtue most revered, but love seems to easily come and go.
Like the majority of the young Spanish-speaking world, the Mexican rock group Mana is my favorite. (More on them and an amazing concert experience in a future post). Recently, though, VIVA 105.7 has introduced me to the "R&B" (also described as "Contemporary Tropical" - whatever that means) group Aventura, a Dominican-American group based in the Bronx. That's right. Sadly they were permanently banned from performing in their home country because of an under-aged girl who got on stage and danced inappropriately (just like Akon).
More posts on Spanish music to follow. Hopefully I will limit my use of parentheses in the future.
Upon discovering this new universe, it blew my naive little mind to realize that the rest of the world was producing music that was also good. Who cares if you have no idea what they are saying - its not like anyone understands the words or their meaning in most the songs they listen to. (In fact, when it comes to Sigur Ros, having no idea what they are saying adds to the allure, and encourages free imagination). So, I would encourage you to give international music a shot, if for no other reason than being able to make people think you are sophisticated when they ask what your favorite band is. For starters, I would suggest anything from Scandinavia or the Indian subcontinent.
This post, however, is about Spanish music. I am indebted to a couple of my close friends for introducing me to la musica: Derek, who downloaded Lynda's "A Mil Por Hora" to my computer in 2002 (hated it then, love it now), and then later fed me Carlos Vives, Jaunes, Los Pericos, Mana, and (most recently) Jarabe de Palo; Ethan, my roommate who constantly played and sang along with "Caraluna" by Bacilos, which became the first Spanish song I actually enjoyed listening to; and Isaac, who told me that a great way to learn Spanish was to listen to Spanish music, and I took his advice. My Spanish still isn't the best, and I am constantly reminded of how intelligent Derek, Ethan and Isaac are for being able to learn this language so effortlessly.
Now the majority of the time in my car is spent listening to VIVA 105.7 "!Tan Latina Como Tu!" The thing you have to understand about most Spanish music is this: it is sort of the equivalent to American country music. Every song is about love or heartbreak and the "lyin, cheatin, two-timin, double-dealin, mean, mistreatin" person causing this heartbreak. (The exception to my over-generalized rule is Reggaeton - Spanish clubbing/booty-music having its birthplace in Puerto Rico in the '90s - whose lyrics are the equivalent to those of Lil John or the Ying Yang Twins.) The simplicity of these songs helps someone like me, who requires a fair amount of thought and dictionary reference work in order to fully understand the meaning of many Spanish songs. It also helps one learn much about Latin culture, a culture where passion is a virtue most revered, but love seems to easily come and go.
Like the majority of the young Spanish-speaking world, the Mexican rock group Mana is my favorite. (More on them and an amazing concert experience in a future post). Recently, though, VIVA 105.7 has introduced me to the "R&B" (also described as "Contemporary Tropical" - whatever that means) group Aventura, a Dominican-American group based in the Bronx. That's right. Sadly they were permanently banned from performing in their home country because of an under-aged girl who got on stage and danced inappropriately (just like Akon).
More posts on Spanish music to follow. Hopefully I will limit my use of parentheses in the future.
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