European superstar Manu Chao has long gotten by on writing simple repetitive melodies with simple repetitive lyrics, making it, if nothing else, easy for his international audience to sing along, no matter their native language. So it is not particularly surprisingly he follows the same pattern on his fourth studio full-length, Radiolina, recycling not only musical and lyrical phrases throughout the actual album, but also borrowing from his previous work. "Infinita tristeza!" he wails, alluding to an older track of the same name, in "Tristeza Malera" -- sadness being a common theme for Chao alongside government and marijuana -- while "Rainin in Paradize" incorporates the line "This world go crazy, it's an atrocity," substituting the "atrocity" for the "emergency" in "Mr. Marley." Even more overt are the melodic reappearances that occur during Radiolina: "The Bleedin Clown," "Otro Mundo," "13 Diŕs," and "Rainin in Paradize" all appear at least twice in the record, and while this does create a kind of continuity, it also drags the songs down, making everything seem a little trite. It's not that this should be unexpected: this is Chao's modus operandi, so to speak, and it's worked well for him, giving him a recognizable sound and approach that is appreciated by fans worldwide. But ironically, the biggest problem with the album is that it doesn't sound enough like the artist, like he knew he had to offer something different but wasn't exactly sure how to go about it, and so his experiments with bluesy country ("13 Diás," "Besoin de la Lune") and electric guitar-driven polished rock ("Y Ahora Qué," "Rainin in Paradize") seem a little forced and inauthentic. Certainly there are good songs -- "La Vida Tombola," which references Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona and his (in)famous "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, or "Politik Kills," which takes a classic reggae-inspired Chao beat alongside provocative lyrics -- but there's also, at 21 tracks, a lot of filler, filler that gets boring, too much like the artist and too much unlike the artist at the same time, making for an album that, despite its best efforts, can't quite figure itself out.
Manu Chao's music vids consistently capture a beautiful spirit on film. His brand new video for "Politik Kills" off La Radiolina is a prime example. Self-directed with JS Sauvaire co-directing, it's shot from Chao's perspective as he follows a young fella around Monrovia, Liberia. FADER Mag reports that the kid was a soldier during the civil war that ended only a year ago. As I watched this...
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MUSIC: TOP 1501 Goodbye the Band - Sky Tiger LP [download it here, free]Goodbye the Band (download many more of his other albums here, free, as well) is my longtime friend and couple-of-times roommate, the New Jersey-born John Acquadro. He and I have bonded (and occasionally tussled) over the last near-decade about the music we make (among other things), and it is safe to say I've rarely (if ev...
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ALTERNATIVE MUSIC CATEGORIES Best Alternative Music Album Incognito #1: La Radiolina, Manu Chao Carlos: MTV Unplugged, Julieta Venegas Paulo: La Radiolina, Manu Chao Jean: Sino, Café Tacvba Best Alternative Music Song Incognito #1: "Normal", Ximena Sariñana Carlos: "Normal", Ximena Sariñana Paulo: "El Mareo", Bajofondo feat. Gustavo Cerati Jean: "Normal", Ximena Sariñana______________
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damn had to unshuffle to listen to some more manu chao...here's one of my faves from 07's la radiolina
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On my way to post something brief about Manu Chao's La Radiolina, I ran across a post of the new Magnetic Fields album, by one Spencer Owen, that totally nails what's wrong with the album. Check it out over here. I'd really like to see Stephen Merritt pull off an homage to the Jesus and Mary Chain, but if he's going to do it he'll need to dig a bit farther into that imagination of his. Basical...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 13 Días |
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| 2 Tristeza Maleza |
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| 3 Politik Kills |
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| 4 Rainin in Paradize |
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| 5 Besoin de La Lune |
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| 6 El Kitapena |
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| 7 Me Llaman Calle |
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| 8 A Cosa |
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| 9 The Bleedin Clown |
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| 10 Mundo Révčs |
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| 11 El Hoyo |
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| 12 La Vida Tombola |
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| 13 Mala Fama |
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| 14 Panik Panik |
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| 15 Otro Mundo |
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| 16 Piccola Radiolina |
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| 17 Y Ahora Qué? [*] |
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| 18 Mama Cuchara [*] |
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| 19 Siberia [*] |
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| 20 Sońe Otro Mundo [*] |
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| 21 Amalucada Vida [*] |
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| 22 Tévélina [Multimedia Track] |
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 "La Radiolina")
