Suomirokki

Suomirokki refers to rock produced in Finland, usually sung in Finnish but successful as of late in English as well.

As was the case in other countries, in the beginning in the 50's performers would sing covers or translations of international hits, but this later changed. In my experience, Finnish rock gravitates towards glam rock, blues, pop or variatos of heavy metal, which is the genre that might be most familiar to listeners abroad, with bands such as Apocalyptica, Nightwish, the 69 Eyes, Children of Bodom and others.

Currently however, the three most popular Finnish bands abroad are The Rasmus, HIM and Lordi.

I'll profile many of these bands in future posts.

I believe in miracles

Yes I do. Oh I believe in miracles.

I believe in a better world for me and you...



I just love this Ramones cover by Pearl Jam. I guess my iPod's shuffle function is starting to recognise my mood.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Another post in the Rock en Español series.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is a group of Argentina that became very famous in the 90's with their eclectic mix of rock, ska, jazz, tango, samba and big band. They had many members, but their singer and co-leader was Vicentico, who has since gone solo, the other leader being Sr. Flavio. They released many albums, but reached continental notoriety through their single Matador (Vasos Vacíos, 1993), whose video is below.


Other videos available in YouTube are:
Strawberry Fields Forever (Rey Azúcar, 1995) A cover on The Beatles.
Mal Bicho (Rey Azúcar, 1995)
Calaveras y Diablitos (Fabulosos Calavera, 1997)
La Vida (La Marcha del Golazo Solitario, 1999) This is a great video, and a great spoof.

More information, as usual, from Wikipedia.

El Tri

Another post in the Rock en Español series

El Tri (originally known as "Three Souls in my mind") is a hard rock/blues old school group from Mexico City, that has been active since the 1960's. They have an active following accross Latin America and many of their songs are considered real classics. Below some videos.

Virgen Morena


Niño sin amor
Chismes de Lavadero & A.D.O.
Las Piedras rodantes
Triste canción de amor (MTV Unplugged)

Bersuit Vergarabat

Another post in the Rock en Español series.

Bersuit Vergarabat is a band from Argentina, famous for their fusion of Rock, cumbia, chacarera and other Latin American rythms with very potent protest lyrics Even though they had released LPs since the beginning of the 90's, they became famous in Latin America in 1998 with their song Sr. Cobranza, which was a very good reflection of the anti-governmental mood in youth at the time (this was just before the Argentine crisis). A very interesting band.

Yo tomo (Libertinaje, 1998)


Sr. Cobranza (Libertinaje, 1998)
La Argentinidad al Palo (La Argentinidad al Palo, 2004)
Madre hay una sola (Testosterona, 2005)

On kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

by J. Karjalainen

Oli aika kuuma kesä tää
nyt on jo vähän viileempää
Tulee paljon omenaa
kohta mehua taas saa
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Vielä lienee lammet paikoillaan
täytyis vissiin lähtä katsomaan
Yhden vanhan virvelin
aamulla mä putsasin
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Eräs leikki traktoreillaan
se tykkää niistä aina vaan
Minä laulujani teen
putoo riimit paikoilleen
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Keväällä jälleen lähdetään
tämä Suomi kiertämään
Ehkä mennään Turkkuseen
kaadetaan viinaa kurkkuseen
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Mä tykkään tästä juuri näin
soitella kanssa ystäväin
San Francisco kuuskytyhdeksän
äkkiä kaiken ymmärrän
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Pilvet on kuin laivoja
ne taivaanrannassa odottaa
Kerran kotiin minut vie
tämä röpelöinen tie
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Lasissa viini vähenee
vaikka pyydän: älä mee
No vielä toiset ostetaan
suulle malja nostetaan
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

No vielä toiset ostetaan
suulle malja nostetaan
on kaikki niinkuin ennenkin

Kaikille suomalaisille ystäville.

Illya Kuriaki and the Valderramas

Another post in the Series of Rock en Español.

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas was an Argentine duet that mix hip-hop, funk, rock and traditional Latin American rythms. They published 8 albums and enjoyed moderate success throughout the region, before separating in 2001. Some of their songs below:

Coolo (Leche, 1999)


Abarajame (Chaco, 1995)
Jennifer del Estero (Leche, 1999)

Aterciopelados

Another post in the series of "Rock en Español".

Aterciopelados is a band from Colombia who has enjoyed success accross Latin America for the past 15 years. As is the trend for Rock en Español acts, they fuse Colombian music with rock and hip hop to astounding success. They have even been nominated by TIME as one of the 10 best bands in the world, and the same magazine has also just published a review of their latest album, "Oye".

Below some videos.

Bolero Falaz (El Dorado, 1994)


Florecita Rockera (El Dorado, 1994)
El Estuche (Caribe Atómico, 1998)
Maligno (Caribe Atómico, 1998)
El Álbum (Gozo Poderoso, 2000)
Luz Azul (Gozo Poderoso, 2000)

More information from Wikipedia or the Official Site.

Soda Stereo

Another in the series of posts on Rock en Español.
No anthology of Rock en Español could approach something resembling completeness without mentioning this legendary Argentine band. Soda Stereo was one of the groups that defined the sound of Rock en Español, and they were one ofthe first to prove that Spanish-speaking rock acts could also have success beyong their countries of origin. From their first album in 1982 to their disbanding in 1997 (after a farewell tour that took them across Latin America to sold-out venues) they were one of the most recognised bands in the scene, and are still a big influence in the music heard today. Singer Gustavo Cerati still has a certain success with his solo carreer.

Some videos below.

De Música Ligera (El Último Concierto, 1997)



Cuando pase el temblor (Nada Personal, 1985)
Zoom (Sueño Stereo, 1995)
La Ciudad de la Furia (Comfort y Música para Volar, 1996)
Ella usó mi Cabeza como un Revólver (Comfort y Música para Volar, 1996)
Persiana Americana (El Último Concierto, 1997)

For more information you can check Wikipedia or the Official Site.

Plastilina Mosh

Another post in the series of Rock en Español. Plastilina Mosh is a duet from the northern city of Monterrey in Mexico. Their style has been described as alternative rock (I think it's anything but) and they tend to mix Spanish, English and other languages in the same song. They are usually associated with the "Nintendo generation" as that is how both band members met. I bought one of their CDs in Japan, of all places. Some examples of their music below.

Peligroso Pop (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)


Mr. P Mosh (Aquamosh, 1998)
Afroman (Aquamosh, 1998)
Monster Truck (Aquamosh, 1998)
Te lo juro por Madonna (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)
Los Oxidados (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)
Millionaire (Tasty, 2006)

More information from Wikipedia or the official site.

Caifanes/Jaguares

Continuing with the series of posts of Spanish-Language Rock, Caifanes was the band that revived Rock in Mexico in the late 80's. They started as a sort of Mexican The Cure but started bringing in some influences from traditional music, which are noticeable in some of their songs. After a series of hits, they disbanded in 1995 because of some problems between the Saúl Hernández, the lead singer, and Alejandro Marcovich, the lead guitar. However, Hernández continued and created a band called Jaguares. Some videos below:

Afuera (El Nervio del Volcán, 1994) Notice the prehispanic influence in the guitar solo


Mátenme porque me muero (Caifanes, 1988)
La Negra Tomasa (Caifanes, 1988)
La célula que explota (El diablito, 1990) Notice the mix of rock with mariachi
Nubes (El Silencio, 1992)
No dejes que (El Silencio, 1992)
La llorona (El Nervio del Volcán, 1994)
Aquí no es así (El Nervio del Volcán, 1994)
Quisiera ser alcohol (El Nervio del Volcán, 1994)
Dime Jaguar (El Equilibrio de los Jaguares, 1996)
Detrás de los Cerros (El Equilibrio de los Jaguares, 1996)
Fin (Bajo el Azul de tu Misterio, 1999)
Tú (Bajo el Azul de tu Misterio, 1999)
Como Tú (Cuando la Sangre Galopa, 2001)
La Vida no es igual (Cuando la Sangre Galopa, 2001)
Te lo pido por favor (El Primer Instinto, 2002) Originally a ballad by Juan Gabriel

More information here and here.

Molotov

Continuing with my series of posts on Spanish-language rock, here's something about Molotov.

Molotov is a band originating from Mexico City, that mixes rock with hip hop and English with Spanish, with very strong (sometimes offensive) lyrics and a amusing, deeper message. They have raised a lot of controversy and at the beginning of their carreer were censored from the radio, but became very popular in most of the Spanish-speaking world and some other countries nevertheless (I've heard their songs in the U.S., but bought one of their CDs in Russia). The band members are 3 Mexicans and an American.

They are not for the conservative, and even though sometimes I don't agree with their views either, I quite like their music. You have been warned.

Some of their videos below.

Here comes the mayo (Y tu mamá también soundtrack, 2001)


Puto (¿Dónde Jugarán Las Niñas?, 1997)
Gimme the Power (¿Dónde Jugarán Las Niñas?, 1997)
Que no te haga bobo Jacobo (¿Dónde Jugarán Las Niñas?, 1997)
Voto Latino (¿Dónde Jugarán Las Niñas?, 1997)
Rap Soda y Bohemia (Live, Tribute to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen)
Carnal de las Estrellas (Molomix, 1998)
El Mundo (Apocalypshit, 1999)
Rastamandita this video was censored. Not difficult to see why.(Apocalypshit, 1999)
Frijolero (Dance and Dense Denso, 2003)
Here we Kum (Dance and Dense Denso, 2003)
Hit Me (Gimme the Power 2) (Dance and Dense Denso, 2003)
DADADA Pepsi ad for the World Cup 2006 (Con todo respeto, 2004)
Marciano (Con todo respeto, 2004)

More information from Wikipedia or their official site.

"Las Flores" por Café Tacuba

Ay...
Ven y dime todas esas cosas,
invítame a sentarme junto a ti.
Escucharé todos tus sueños
en mi oido.

Y déjame estrechar tus manos,
y regalarte unas pocas de ilusiones.
Ay, ven y cuéntame una historia
que me haga sentir bien.

Yo te escucharé
con todo el silencio del planeta,
y miraré tus ojos
como si fueran los últimos de este país.

Ay...
Déjame ver cómo es que floreces
con cinco pétalos te absorberé,
cinco sentidos que te roban
sólo un poco de tu ser.

Y seis veces para vivirte
debajo de una misma luna,
y otras nueve pasarán
para sentir que nuevas flores nacerán.

Y que cada estrella
fuese una flor,
y así regalarte
todo un racimo de estrellas.

No dejes que amanezca,
no dejes que la noche caiga,
no dejes que el sol salga,
sólo dejame estar junto a tí.

Cafe Tacuba

One of my favourite bands and arguably one of the most popular in Latin America, Cafe Tacuba was formed in the late 80's in Ciudad Satelite, Naucalpan, Estado de Mexico (a suburb of Mexico City very close to where I grew up). Their music is very eclectic with influences from rock, ska, norteña, hip hop, ballad, metal, tango, ranchera, etc., and cannot be rigidly classified as Rock en Español (it is said that not two of their songs are in the same genre). Even though they sing entirely in Spanish, they also have a loyal anglophone following. In their tours they have filled stadiums and other concert venues around Spanish-speaking Latin America, one of the most notorious was packing over 120,000 people in the Zocalo (main square) of Mexico City. Below you can find examples of their music:

Puntos Cardinales (Cuatro Caminos, 2003)


Other videos available:
Rarotonga (Cafe Tacuba, 1992)
Ingrata (Re, 1994)
El Ciclon, (Re, 1994)
Las Flores (Re, 1994)
Alarmala de Tos (Avalancha de Exitos, 1996)
Chilanga Banda (Avalancha de Exitos, 1996)
Como te Extraño (Avalancha de Exitos, 1996)
Dos Niños (Reves/Yo Soy, 1999)
El Ave (Reves/Yo Soy, 1999)
Dejate Caer (Vale Callampa EP, 2002)
Eres (Cuatro Caminos, 2003)

More information in Wikipedia or at their official site.

Rock en Español

Taken from Wikipedia:

"Spanish language rock and roll (Spanish: Rock en Español) borrows heavily from American, British, Irish, and Australian rock and roll music and from traditional and popular music of Spanish-speaking cultures (cumbia, ranchera, rumba, tango, etc) and has evolved from a cult-like music movement to a more well established music genre. Today, rock en español includes bands from all over Latin America (with especially strong rock scenes in Mexico and Argentina), France, Spain, and the United States."

During the next few posts I'll try to give an introduction to Rock en Español for the uninitiated.