MARCH 20TH UPDATE: Kanopy, the new film streaming service that’s free for universities, does have a copy of the film. Here is the link: You may need to sign in with your CWL to get access to it.
Hey guys
Before we get into this week’s lessons. Is there any of you who did not get your Transculturation Essays back? I have had a few people who didn’t receive the files. Please e-mail me and let me know.
This week we looked at the Rock Nacional movement and listened to some great 70s and 80s music. We also looked more in depth at the Dirty War and watched the first half of the film La historia oficial. I do not have an online streamed copy to send to you, so you might need to dig around the internet and/or Netflix and find a copy if you haven’t watched it yet.
Here are the class notes for today. I will post the music links from Tuesday below.
The Dirty War
The Official Story
Here is the link to Julio Strassera’s closing arguments during the Trial of the Juntas.
For the blog, choose a Rock Nacional song we listened to and discuss it in detail. What did you find interesting about the lyrics, composition or context of the music?
Please remember that to get the full 20% mark for the blog posts all of them need to be done. I will allow you until the day of the final exam to complete them.
Here’s what we listened to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjjxoas-uNU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73cKa0KpcI4
While listening to Rock National Songs, the song, Post Crucifixion by Pescado Rabioso stood out to be the most because of its distinct sound. Initially, listening to it, it’s poetic profundity wasn’t apparent to me. Its continuous sound can easily be placed as background noise. However, when analysing the lyrics, the song gained a new meaning. The title itself, “Post Crucifixion,” hints at the theme of the song and its religious references. The chorus, “Abrazame madre de dolor,” (hug me, mother of pain) can be a reference to Nuestra Senora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrow) who was biblically given that name due to the pain she experienced in her life. When the phrase: “nunca estuve tan lejos de mi cuerpo,” (I’ve never been as far from my body) can be seen as an out-of-body experience inflicted my immense pain. Which can be a politically reference to the hidden torture many people experienced. Throughout the song, there is sentiment of resignation and the desire to seek comfort, in either religion or in death.
My favourite song was El Fantasma de Canterville because it is more similar to my type of music than any other of the songs. However, I also think this is a very interesting song because the sound seems to be quite different than the others. While the music changed with the time, I think this song is the one that differs the most. What strikes me about the lyrics is that, unlike many other songs we’ve listened to, there does not seem to be a critique to the regime, or to society. Or at least not that obvious. Although the song does seem to have a deeper meaning, it’s not as harsh of a critique. In plain sight, it just seems to be about a guy who is in love. He talks about how dumb he was and about being dead, which I think is interesting because it seems to express a change of mind regarding the situation during that time. However, I think the fact that the meaning of the lyrics is not that obvious is also interesting and tricky because it might be more difficult for people to realize what the artist meant, and the message might simply go unnoticed, which was not the point.
For the blog, choose a Rock Nacional song we listened to and discuss it in detail. What did you find interesting about the lyrics, composition or context of the music?
Charly Garcias’ ‘Los Dinosaurios’ is interesting since it is very open about and direct about its opposition to the status quo. In the song, Charly Garcias fearlessly talks about people disappearing. The only confusing bit is understanding who exactly the dinosaurs are supposed to be but even then, the topic of the song, the disappearance of many should give us a hint. This song in particular directly talks about disappearances which makes it quite surprising that he or his music was only slightly persecuted by the regime.
The song itself
My favourite song that we listened to this week was ‘Los Dinosaurios’ by Charly Garcia. This is was a song that I literally grew up to hearing my father singing in the kitchen, in his office, in his car. It is precisely the melody of the song that almost masks the lyrics, making it so much less explicit than ‘a song about disappearances’. Considering this song was not banned on the national airwaves, it is really impressive that Charly Garcia felt courageous enough to write these lyrics, because they transfer the fear that people felt during the dictatorship. One day, you woke up with your partner in your bed, you tried to lead a normal life, but you just didn’t know if you were going to make it back home…and that is a tough subject to unpack and to take on.
Rock Nacional song we listened to and discuss it in detail. What did you find interesting about the lyrics, composition or context of the music?
My favourite song that we listened to this week was “Soda Stereo Sobredosis De TV”
I found that the explicit meaning of the lyrics do not depict anything about the dictatorship or the disappearances. But the rhythm and the instruments do create a feeling of rebellion. Maybe its just the rock theme talking. But non the less the song does talk about how the artist cant take it anymore. Even though he is talking about a girl, that feeling could also directly transfer to the feeling people had against the government.
The song I enjoyed most was, “Sobredosis de TV, “ by Soda Stereo. I liked this song not only because of its disco-rock sound but as well its overall rhythm. I found it interesting how some of the lyrics repeated over and over as a way to emphasize the meaning of the lyrics. Although this particular song does not seem to directly address the regime, it still incorporates contradictory phrases such as, “acuéstate,” and “levántete.” These contradictory phrases alongside others, may be pointing to an unknown underlying message towards the public or to the regime. That being said the music produced by soda stereo was seen as a part of the rock music renewal in Argentina and the return to democracy. By venturing away from traditional music, Soda Stereo was able to create new expressions and identities for the Argentine people.
I liked all the songs we listened this week, but my favorite was “Los Dinosaurios” by Charly Garcia. I’ve heard latino music my whole life but this is the first time I’m listening music from those countries in that time. It is interesting to know how music can have an impact in people’s life and also how the people can relate to the lyrics. Another thing that amazed me is how the artist had the courage to make those songs even when they were living in a not so liberal country, a lot of songs were banned and who knows what could have happened to them. I like the songs that also have social context because it makes you understand how things were back there and how people felt about the things that were happening in their country.
As the others said, my favorite was also “Lost Dinosaurios” by Charly Garcia. Still, Rock music and Latin American musics are very new and unfamiliar with me, but I think those songs are very attractive. I liked most of the songs with their melodies and rhymes they have in the lyrics. Also, it is always surprising there are people like Garcia, who have courage to write lyrics, poems and other artistic works even under control. They are in danger if they write those kind of protestant music and artistic works, but they do it for their belief. If I were them, I think I would not be able to act so since I am a coward. The lyrics were very courageous and rhythmic, and went well with the melodies.
Personally, I liked “Sobredosis de T.V.” by Soda Stereo the most, as I think the melody is very infectious and loud. I think that the production is really good and it still sounds fresh. The song references the generational dependance to the television. It approaches it like it’s talking about the relationship with a woman. I think the song was definitely a hit on the dance floors at a time, and it was one of the first hits for the band. It is written by the leading vocalist and the creator of the band, Gustavo Cerati. who went on to produce multiple hits for himself and for others. The song also talks about how technology is starting to influence the generation in every place they go.
The song I found most interesting was probably the Charly Garcia song about dinosaurs. I seems to be an attempt to see just how far he can go, how explicit he can be about what he really wants to talk about in his music without having the junta arrest him. He does this quite efficiently, i believe, since he makes music critical of the situation in Argentina, develops an Argentine style of rock, and still gets invited to perform at huge festivals organized by the junta such as the Festival de la Solidaridad Latinoamericana which took place in 1982. This leads to the question of whether the junta was really unable to arrest Garcia because of the level of fame he had achieved, or if they simply did not view his music as a threat, or finally if the junta held the development of Argentine music in higher regards than its mission to hide its abuses of power from the Argentine population.
My favourite song of this week was Charly Garcia’s Los Dinosaurios. I love the 70’s American rock influence in his music but more importantly, I think his lyrics demonstrate the effect the disappearances had on people, communities and the entire country. For me, it is unimaginable to live through a situation like the Dirty Wars in Argentina, trying to understand the emotions and fear that must have run rampant through the communities as no one, not friends, not family, and not famous people were safe. When he speaks of the weight of the world he’s living in pulling him down and his need to feel light again, he can only begin to describe the toll this dark time had on him. I think the hollowness of his voice and the piano as the prominent instrument really help to bring attention to the loneliness and solitude of these times as the government’s actions bred distrust and fear.
I think the song “Los dinosaurios” by Charly García is a really interesting piece. Some of the things I particular is the motif of talking about disappearances. The song starts off by saying that “Friends of the neighborhood can disappear
Radio singers can disappear
Those in the newspapers can disappear” but goes on to say “The friends of the neighborhood can disappear, but the dinosaurs will disappear. ” While others are mention by direct identifiers, the dinosaurs is a thinly veiled allusion to the old, social conservative government. I think that there is a super important distinction in the language García uses to describe the fate of each category of people. Ordinary, innocent people; the neighbours, radio singers, friends, *can* all disappear, meaning that they are at risk of being disappeared by the government, but the dinosaurs, the enemy of García and the people, *will* disappear. This song, while slightly sad, gives a strong message of hope and speaks of a better future, one without authoritarian rule.
Los Dinosaurios is a song that means a lot to me and brings a lot of nostalgia. As an Argentine, my dad would play this song and many other Garcia songs when I was growing up so it’s almost like a lullaby to me. I did not know what the song really meant, but I could sense that subtle frustration and emptiness in Garcia while also seeming very light-hearted and expressive. After to listening to these songs today I went home and told my parents all about it and we played all the songs once again. My dad’s avid passion for 70s rock music is now transferring to me and is much more cathartic for me in contrast to the rap and dance music I listen to when I don’t want to think anymore.
My favorite song was Sobredosis de T.V.” by Soda Stereo. I genuinely thought that listening to the music from that time would be boring and not my taste. Most of the songs I really didn’t like the tunes of (I can only judge by tunes because I don’t speak Spanish). But this one WAS GREAT! I loved it! I actually put it on my playlist when I got home. The beat and melody are both so fun! When the lyrics are translated, there isn’t any explicit political rebellion happening; the song is just about a girl, but if you dig deeper and examine the socio-political context, you can see the rebellion then. On the surface though, the song still has some excellent political rebellion in the form of its music. The repetition and chanting-style applied at the course really lends itself to being something you could yell and chant to vent your anger at the government, even though the lyrics wouldn’t mean much. I guess that the lyrics he sings about a girl could also be applied to the government and that would be potent, especially when paired with the rhythm and melody.
My favourite song of the ones we listened to was Leon Gieco’s El fantasma de Canterville. I really enjoyed the musical style Gieco chose to use in the song, almost sounding like a Spanish speaking Neil Young. You can really here the Western musical styles influencing the song, the American country music sound. I don’t speak Spanish but I did look at the lyrics through Google Translate and I found it very interesting when he talked about how he was like a ghost. Even while alive nobody noticed him and could walk around unseen.
Since I do not speak Spanish, it was a little difficult for me to feel the impact of the lyrics in the songs we listened to, but based purely on the music itself, I found that I really liked Los Dinosaurios. It has such a sweet sound and even though I cannot totally understand what is being said I can still feel the frustration that is being so strongly conveyed. But even with the frustration, there is an expressiveness that is almost soothing. I really like the duality between the lyrics, which are revolutionary and a call to action, and the soft melody of the music that almost feels like it is a folk song or lullaby. I can also feel the courage Garcia must have had in order to write a song like this, about disappearances in a time when it could have gotten him the same fate.
My favourite Rock National song we listened to was Charly Garcia’s Los Dinosaurios. I found the message of the song to be very powerful. I found the lyrics had a certain way of depicting a story which particularly intrigued me. I found the idea of disappearance in the song to be especially interesting, as it was a very common theme throughout the song, it shows the fears that many Argentinian people must have been living through during this time. Even though I could not completely understand the lyrics in the song Los Dinosaurs I still found not only the message to be enjoyable but the melody and the sound to be easy to listen to. I believe thats what I enjoyed most about the song is that as I listen to it I slowly felt I was was becoming more educated on the topic and learning more even though I could barely understand it I still felt I could understand the message of the song in a way. After listening to this song I found it so interesting I wanted to do further research on google to learn more about it and was even more interested about the topic. From listening to the the song Los Dinosaurs i find myself listening to more Charly Garcia today.
My favourite song out of the many was Charly Garcia’s song, Los Dinosaurious a song about dinosaurs. The song to me seems to be an attempt to see how far he can stretch his boundaries and how explicit he can be, and talk about what he wants without having the junta arrest him. He does it quite effectively I believe he makes music critical to the situation he is in Argentina. He begins to kinda adapt to an Argentinian style of rock and still gets invited by the junta to perform at huge festivals they have organized. Festivals such as Festival de Solidaridad Latinoamericana which took place in 1982. This made me wonder what the junta wanted out of Garcia. I wondered where they too scared to arrest him because of all the fame he had generated or was it because they did not feel his music was a threat. Maybe the junta held the development of music in higher regards than its mission, to hide all the abuse of power the government of Argentina used against its people.
Almendra’s song, Color Humano is a moving composition. Musically, and dynamically, it rises slowly, giving a hint as to a meaning beyond the words that explodes from the music, as the song develops. Lyrically, Color Humano speaks about humanity, its nature, drawing on important ideas of humanism. It is both an embodied experience –– un ser humano, vida y sangre sin ardor –– as well as something more, something spiritual and politically significant –– […] sublimandonos, despertandonos. The lines between the two are blurred, however, where we all see colour, do we all see it the same way? In this sense, how can community and collective consciousness be reconciled with the individual nature of our respective positions and perspectives? Almendra asks us these questions, especially in the context of recovering memory and trauma from the Dirty Wars that so shook Argentina’s cultural landscape.
“Sobredosis de T.V.”, about a man who’s convinced that he’s watching too many addictive shows and wants to destroy his telly, was my favourite of the songs and the one which spoke most deeply to myself (I’d say “apagalo, enciendalo, no puedo seguir asi” did it for me). As I grew older, my reliance on T.V. for entertainment diminished gradually and it got to a point where Game of Thrones and Sherlock, plus films, were as much as I needed to fix my craving; but coming to university forced me to painfully quit it all and I’m glad of it. Never going back, ever.
I am not too familiar with spanish, so some of the lyrics were hard to listen to but I believe I was able to understand the bulk of most songs. My favorite of the many, was Charlie Garcia, and his song Los Dinosaurios. I enjoyed how the song had several musical elements and even adapted some Argentinian sounds. Moreover, the song appeared to be an attempt at how far the artist could push the boundaries of the regime (or junta). The overall message of the song and melody was also nice to listen to, even for an English speaker. Slowly, by listening to song over and over I felt that I was learning more, and was able to understand more…allowing me to learn more about the repressive tactics used by the regime in Chile.
I really enjoyed listening to the song “Lost Dinosaurios” by Charlie Garcia. I liked it because its not the typical type of music that I listen too and it made me think. The melody was really catchy yet I liked how the song didn’t hold back. I like how Charlie Garcia could talk about the missing and the disappeared within the lyrics. The emotions within the lyrics were meaningful and I like how dinosaurs were a focal point to allude from the obvious. I feel like this was a good comparison because like the missing and the disappeared, no one really knew what happened to the dinosaurs. Yet there was hope within the lyrics and I overall thought it was a good song to listen too and was a monumental song for what was happening during that time.
In listening to the rock national songs, I particularly enjoyed “Los Dinosaurios” by Charly Garcia. Although I’ve never heard any of these songs before taking this course and could not understand them, I particularly enjoyed the music. Los dinosaurs immidentatly gained my attention when first played. The first thing that came into my mind was the band Queen. Although not able to understand any of the lyrics, the music itself was very professional and well done. To be honest it sounded alike to what an American or British rock artist would sound like which surprised me at first, but as they’re playing the same genre this should probably be expected. Although not understanding of the words, when we discussed in class I found it very interesting how the rock musicians would sometimes become subtly involved with politics.
Soda Stero’s Sobredosis de T.V is 5/5 fire emojis!! ????????????????????The name Soda Stereo gave this song a soda pop feel which was totally in tune with this ode to pop culture addiction. The title of the song refers to an addiction to television which was the number one time waster back in the eighties. I think its the cellphone today. This song had a really fun vibe with wavy synths and jangly guitar. This song is a great reflection of the power of pop culture on youth culture and society.
My favorite song out of the selection was Color Humano by Almendra. Musically, it sounds magnificent. The band makes great use of the instrumentation to create an overall heavy and grimey acid-rock sound, which is notably found in late 60s bands such as the Doors, the Rolling Stones and Cream. Lyrically, the song employs an existential and contemplative mood for the listener. The lyrics “We are human beings
without knowing what it is today, a human being…We are all colors without knowing what it is today, a color” are perhaps reflective of the general confusion prevailing in society as a result of the global political climate at the time, including the Cold War.
I really enjoyed listening to the song “Lost Dinosaurios” by Charlie Garcia. I liked it because its not the typical type of music that I listen too and it made me think. The melody was really catchy yet I liked how the song didn’t hold back. I like how Charlie Garcia could talk about the missing and the disappeared within the lyrics. The emotions within the lyrics were meaningful and I like how dinosaurs were a focal point to allude from the obvious. I feel like this was a good comparison because like the missing and the disappeared, no one really knew what happened to the dinosaurs. Yet there was hope within the lyrics and I overall thought it was a good song to listen too and was a monumental song for what was happening during that time.
It’s really fascinating how a lot of these songs are really up-beat and a little pop. It serves as an interesting contrast to the subjects sung about. Ruin, disappointment, disillusion, oppression, exasperation. These are all common emotions expressed in the lyrics. “El fantasma de Canterville’ is by far the most haunting of the songs listed, having a music video filled with graphic images of body horror interspersed with images of political disarray. It’s a really interesting metaphor about how living under the regime felt like being placed into an operating table, being injected with chemicals and being torn apart, only to reveal machinery underneath, as if to say “we are robots that could be either truly suffering or we are robots that are so numb we could be pretending to suffer”. Really gritty stuff.
I think one song that I found interesting was ‘El Fantasma de Canterville’. This is an interesting song as it seemed to be quite different to the other Rock Nacional songs. What else is interesting is the fact that this song doesn’t really have direct critiques of the regime. By looking at the lyrics or listening to the song for the first time, it just sounds like a man being in love but how dumb he was. Looking into the lyrics one can see that there was a deeper meaning to the song- the change in heart could indicate the change in mind with the political situation of the time, or something alike. The mere fact of the lyrics having somewhat ‘hidden’ messages is really interesting as people could have been able to listen to it without realising the meaning behind it. This would have been against what the musician would have intended as surely they would have wanted the message to be heard and spread. This is why this song seemed to stand out as it was very different and in a way discrete to other Rock Nacional songs.
While I enjoyed listening to all the songs, my favourite was “Los Dinosaurios”. I liked this song because it reminds me of an italian song that my grandmother used to play with similar style the lyrics and rhythm of the song. You can truly feel the emotion in the song and how the singer has put so much of himself into this song and it reminds me of the passion of the artist from the song my grandmother would play for me. For me this song is freedom and shows the artist truly expressed themselves, even in a time where the country was feeling contained and stuck. The music is distinct from any other Latin American song and really allows the listener to connect with the times.