¡Hola amigos!
To lift your spirits after yesterday's deep thought, I have decided today to extoll the virtues of a band I have recently discovered through my Spanish course. They are La Oreja de Van Gogh, which literally translates as "Van Gogh's Ear". Random, I know, but no worse than the "Arctic Monkeys" or "Bowling For Soup". The lead singer used to be a pretty awesome woman called Amaia Montero (Think Daphne from Heroes with slightly longer hair and a good singing voice, wearing a skirt), but she recently left to be replaced by Leire Martinez, whose quality has yet to be tested. They released their fifth album in September, and I'm seriously considering downloading it after I'm done writing this.
So enough facts, let's get down to the big question: Will you like them? Well, let me see...If you can imagine a Spanish Abba, and then add a little of Avril Lavigne's second album, a heavy dollop of Hook Me Up, and a pinch of Paramore, you should be pretty close. If I had to pin them into one genre....Rock. But they do branch out into some dance, some ballad and some pop. They have brilliant melodies, and always use the Magic Chord which never fails to send shivers up my spine (It's hard to express the chord in a simple term, but playing an A C# E chord after some other chords usually produces the desired effect), and also some brilliant lyrics when they're translated into English.
I sell a worn-out camera that used to capture the look
that I will record in my life
I sell two expired tickets that were for the second row
that I will tear in my life
I sell two armchairs reserved centuries ago and now my spirit drops
because I sat in my life
I sell even the poster which announces the première
of the moment that I will live in my life
Even if they don't quite make sense, they sound nice. You can find the complete lyrics and translation for that particular song, Dulce Locura, at http://www.ooltra.net/Lyrics.php?a=LaOrejaDeVanGogh&s=DulceLocura. And a lot of their other songs are very similar. If I was going to buy one of their albums, I would get first their Greatest Hits, because pretty much every song is awesome on that disc.
My favourite track, as you might have gathered, is Dulce Locuar, or Sweet Madness, which is slightly more in the realm of Evanescence (if only for the massive dress she wears in the video), but there a load more truly epic songs out there, as well as some happy sunny stuff. To be honest, there's not much left I can say to convince you, so I'll let the music speak for itself.
OK, this is my first time doing this, but with a little luck...
No, it won't work. I was hoping there was a way I could embed the video, but it's the wrong type. In that case, head on over to http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=o6MCFcy5HQE To experience the awesomeness that is Dulce Locura. Trust me, you won't regret it...much.
The point I'm trying to make here, as well as trying to sell a brilliant band to you, is to show you that good music does indeed exist outside of Britain and America. Recently a friend introduced me to a band I'd previously only heard mentioned: Sigur Ros, a fantastic band from Iceland. At the same time, the Swedish 'Asteroids Tour of the Galaxy' have blasted into my life with their genius Around the Bend on the new iTouch adverts. The music world doesn't have to stop with Rhianna and Scouting For Girls and Coldplay and Girls Aloud and all the things we feel comfortable with - Why not be adventurous for a change? You might just be surprised!
Hasta luego,
Jack.
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