En La Misma Onda
The 9th Latin Grammys sucked. Bigtime. And for only one reason: Juanes sweeping all five categories he was nominated for - okay, La Vida Es Un Ratico is an okay album, but Album ánd Song of the Year goes a little to far for me. I was also bummed by Tego Calderon losing to Wisin y Yandel and Nigga, even if his latest album wasn't his best he's still miles above the commercialism of those competitors.
Café Tacuba and Julieta Venegas walked away with two awards each, and Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan won in the categories I praised them in last year, so it's not all bad. Still, I guess you know who won't be on my best of 2008 list ;)
Hector 'El Father', who used to be one of my reggaeton idols thanks to the Hector y Tito classic "Baila Morena", just made the worst album of 2008. Juicio Final is a mess of religious nonsense, brainless hiphop and toe-curling ballads. But at least he seems to realize that himself: Hector says farewell to music and devotes his life to God now. At least we won't have to listen anymore! (via Latin Gossip)
The Latin Americanist had a small interview with Aterciopelados' Héctor Buitrago. They discuss politics, fatherhood, and of course the beautiful new album Río.
Rock en las Americas compiled an all-time latin rock & alternative top 20 as the conclusion to his elaborate 'Evolution of Latin Rock & Alternative Music" series (in Spanish). All top quality songs and a great introduction to the previous work of many bands we write about on La Onda!
A highlight from the abundance of latin indie reviews on Club Fonograma this month: No Somos Muchos Pero Somos Machos organize dirty electroclash parties in Mexico DF, but appartently enjoy making a greasy beat of their own as well. The remix they did for Mexican Institute of Sound is fabulous, check it out.
And finally, after the closure of Fat Planet (now replaced by the more 'Western' Discontent) we have to say goodbye to yet another recently discovered blog: Turn That Shit Off got, ahum, turned off. Venezuelan indie popstar Nuuro dedicated a funky song to the team behind the blog. So long, farewell, adiós, y muchísimas gracias!
PS: the layout, image and audio problems should be solved by the end of the week, according to my hosting company. Apologies!
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3 comments:
um... i think he deserved what he won. La Vida Es Un Ratico is a great album with an even greater message. I think one of the reasons why he won is because of the messages that were being sent through that album. Juanes has an incredible talent. Isn't that what the Grammys are about? Rewarding talented musicians?? Then don't say they sucked and just deal with the fact that he is awesome at what he does.
Tego Calderon's music is new and fresh... like you said, "non-commercial".... but Wisin y Yandel are also very, very good despite their high level of commercialism. Their music is catcy and sticky, and that's exactly why they won. It is easier to enjoy one of Wisin y Yandel's songs than it is to enjoy one of Tego Calderon's songs because Tego is so different. But, Tego is very talented nonetheless.
Julieta Venegas can play that accordeon like there's no tomorrow, but as a singer she is terrible. Cafe Tacvba, on the other hand, is absolutely awesome.
I have to disagree. The Grammys are about rewarding the best album or song in a specific field of music, not about talent or not. Example: Thom Yorke is a terrible singer, i.e. not talented, but makes absolutely great music, so he deserves a Grammy nonetheless. The other way around as well: I agree that Juanes is a very talented musician, but frankly La Vida Es Un Ratico just wasn't a very good album: not renewing, not special, mostly bland pop. He deserved to win "Best Male Pop", but not record and song of the year.
No comments on his messages and his charity work though, that's one of the best aspects of this great artist.
Agree with you on Tego, that album wasn't his best work and the catchyness of W&Y is through the roof.
But Julieta Venegas??? Man what are you saying? Such a characterful, emotional voice! I honestly think she has one of the best voices in latin rock, okay maybe her tone of voice can use a little more variation, but the instant melancholy I feel with Julieta is something unique.
lol i think she is terrible. i can't listen to her. but she plays that accordeon so well, i definitely have to give her credit there. that is a difficult instrument to play.
i think Juanes deserved to win. i thought his music was different this time around. i actually listened to this album more than any of his others. but everyone is entitled to his/her opinion
:-). his charity work has actually inspired me to pay more attention to my community and see where i can help. i think we need more artists like that, whether it is a musician, a singer, an actor, or whoever, because we need those kind of people to set an example of a good citizen.
my brother appreciates Tego's uniqueness because he can understand his hidden messages. young people like me don't even know what he's talking about lol... that is why the young crowd goes for Wisin & Yandel before they listen to Tego.
i must say that you do a very awesome job with this blog. though i may not always agree with you, i do appreciate all the time and effort you put into this. more than once i have come here to download some songs. in fact, i check every week to see if there is something new. you just keep me coming back for more lol.
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