Damn, there's some pretty good Spanish-language pop, synthpop and New Wave. Why the hell haven't I dipped into this well before?! Was it because of the sour taste left in my mouth by Timbiriche's cover of "99 Luftballons" in 1984 (or so)?Actually I have blog reader José Viruete to thank. See, back a few months ago when I posted about a Las Mexican Go-G-- er, I mean, Flans, José dropped me a link to a video of a Spanish New Wave band performing on Italian TV.
I was hooked.
And it's not just because the singer had such nice legs; I liked the song. I liked the song A LOT. I've visited that link a ton of times; I even played the song for my daughter.
It was only a matter of time before I said to myself, "Okay, so...what else?" Thus I started myself a Pandora station for the stuff, aaaaand...
...wow.
So it looks like there was a New Wave-esque movement in Madrid back in the late 70's/early 80's, born out of the sudden freedom from Franco's regime. It's much deeper a thing than I have summarized here (click the link and you'll get a better taste), but the bottom line is this: It produced a ton of synthpop I'd never heard of, and to me, that's like suddenly getting a millionh dollars in gold from a team of laser-powered dancing bears.And it's not just out of Spain. There's been some pretty good stuff from all over Latin America, too -- Mexico produced a modern act called Belanova, which I've approved on my Pandora station, and there's stuff from Argentina and all over the place. I'm just getting started.
And the best part?
I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
Que tal, Alaska...bien, bien, y tu?
