Day 5
I love the structure of "Querido FBI." It reminded me of Frank O'Hara's poem "Having Coke With You" in that at first glance it is a long list of names, places, events, and thoughts. Listening and reading the lyrics, it feels like a rush to get all of his feelings out before someone (FBI) stops him or kills him. The tempo is continuous, mostly steady, but high in tempo while the lyrics continue like a stream of consciences that continues to move until it decides to stop. Throughout, there is a large emphasis on Puerto Rican independence both discretely (mentioning Filiberto Ojeda Rios) and not discretely (bluntly saying For la libra, viva Puerto Rico libre). Calle 13's identity as not only being Puerto Rican but also independence advocates is also very prevalent throughout the song, especially as rationale for their hatred of the U.S. Government's policies as well as the FBI. They use a list of places, foods and people (lines 18-26) as fuel to fight the F.B.I. I tried to google all of these terms but many of them didn't pop up or were very general (shrimp, Trujillo). However, the ones I could find suggest that they would bring up with cultural and communicative memory for their Puerto Rican listeners to whom this is song is for in addition to the F.B.I.
"Latinoamérica" is vastly different than "Querido FBI" in terms of craft. This song has a more traditional structure in that it has a chorus and multiple verses. Each set of verses paints a different picture but creates an image that is specifically Latinx. The first two words of the song are "I am", as in 'I am Latin America." This not only shows Calle 13's identity beyond being Puerto Rican but also a sense of pride in their Latinx identity. I love the lines "My skin is made of leather, that's why it stands any kind of weather" and " the backbone of the planet is my Andes." The first one is tactile, poignant and a relatively universal characteristic of Latin American people. The second one places not only ownership of the Andes but also a sense of importance due to it being the backbone of the planet. Without the backbone, Earth wouldn't be able to support itself. Descriptions of the nature in Latin American, history of sugar cane and imperialism, work ethic, and pride not only make up part of the Latinx identity but also shared collective and cultural memory.
I know I was supposed to pick one song but I couldn't decide so I picked two. The first is "XXX" by Kendrick Lamar and the second is "Reality Check" by Noname feat. Eryn Allen Kane and Akenya.
"Latinoamérica" is vastly different than "Querido FBI" in terms of craft. This song has a more traditional structure in that it has a chorus and multiple verses. Each set of verses paints a different picture but creates an image that is specifically Latinx. The first two words of the song are "I am", as in 'I am Latin America." This not only shows Calle 13's identity beyond being Puerto Rican but also a sense of pride in their Latinx identity. I love the lines "My skin is made of leather, that's why it stands any kind of weather" and " the backbone of the planet is my Andes." The first one is tactile, poignant and a relatively universal characteristic of Latin American people. The second one places not only ownership of the Andes but also a sense of importance due to it being the backbone of the planet. Without the backbone, Earth wouldn't be able to support itself. Descriptions of the nature in Latin American, history of sugar cane and imperialism, work ethic, and pride not only make up part of the Latinx identity but also shared collective and cultural memory.
I know I was supposed to pick one song but I couldn't decide so I picked two. The first is "XXX" by Kendrick Lamar and the second is "Reality Check" by Noname feat. Eryn Allen Kane and Akenya.
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