Posted in Music on 14. Apr, 2010
Fito Páez is the youngest of the four artists that we are profiling in this two-part article on legends of argentine music. He was born in 1963, making him a spring chicken of just 47 in 2010.
Like Charly García, Fito Páez was an early starter, forming his first band at 13 and beginning to play live just a year later. He gained notoriety as a songwriter with his 1984 album Del ’63 and as a result released another album in 1985 and yet another in 1986 in partnership with Luis Alberto Spinetta.
Fito Páez’s most interesting record is his 1987 album (yes, 1984-87 was a busy four years!) Ciudad de Pobres Corazones. It’s a dark, angry and heavily political album that was driven by the event of the assassination of his aunt and grandmother in Rosario. Despite the anger that’s evident in every line, it shows the depths of Páez’s talent as a lyricist.
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Posted in Music on 12. Apr, 2010
If you’ve never heard of Argentine tango singing sensation of yesteryear, Carlos Gardel, then clearly you’ve either been in Buenos Aires for less than a day and a half or you’ve been walking around with your eyes shut and your hands clamped tightly over your ears. El Zorzal Criollo (which means the “Creole Thrush” – no, I have no idea what that means either, it sounds like an STD) is just that famous in Argentina. Hey, he even has a subte station named after him!
That’s Mr. Gardel. You probably already know all about him. But how much do you know about the other legends of Argentine music: people like Charly García, Mercedes Sosa, Fito Páez and the smoldering “Argentine Elvis,” Sandro? Not much? Well don’t worry, because by the end of the second part of this article you’ll know so much that’ll you’ll be able to edit their Wikipedia pages! (*Note: this promise should not be taken seriously. Editing Wikipedia pages is a complex and dangerous business best left to the professionals.)
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Posted in Music on 29. Jan, 2010
Tango is, of course, an obsession in Buenos Aires. If you’re living in San Telmo – the heart of tango territory – it’s not uncommon for locals to start a conversation with you by asking “so, are you here to learn tango?” And it’s not just the dance that’s an obsession, but everything that goes with it as well: the clothes; the milongas, and most of all, the music. Given this obsession, it’s not surprising to find elements of tango have mutated in ways that take them beyond their traditional forms. One of these mutations is ‘tango electronica,’ also known ‘electrotango.’
For the hip BA expat, tango electronica represents a more up-to-date form of tango music, and consequently one that might appeal more than the old-timey versions. If you think it sounds interesting, read on for the best ways to listen to the bleeding edge of tango music.
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