i love spanish music. that includes music sung in Spanish but not limited to music that comes from Spain. several years ago, i started listening to spanish top-40 radio. there were a few stations to choose from, and i could enjoy the artists i already loved as well as discover new music.
but all that changed when the national radio corporate monster thought it'd be better to turn the stations i liked into all-reggaeton-all-the-time to appeal to a younger, hipper audience. today, the only options are channels that offer thumping and bumping reggaeton or regurgitated dance hiphop with some spanish sampling thrown in, or the more regional stations. (sorry, rancheras aren't really my cup of tea.) don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a little reggaeton, but after three songs it all starts sounding the same to me. or maybe i'm just getting old.
i was very sad about this because all i had were my old cds and no way to discover new music (i have a dialup connection, so internet radio is out of the question). i guess i could follow the groups i like on the internet and buy their music online, but that requires a lot of keeping track of things, and i can't even remember to feed myself, let along check up on a band.
in true fashion, i forgot all about it. i continued listening to my golden old tracks and didn't think twice. until the day i was out visiting H, and he showed me the magical record store.
they have nearly everything! even more obscure stuff i only heard in Spain. and not just Spanish, but all kinds of crazy music. it was very cool. it definitely beats the selection at Best Buy or Borders and it's not as intimidating as going to the Spanish-only music store where people stare at you and tell you your accent is good. the first time i went there, i discovered that la oreja de van gogh was out with a new cd. the next time we went back, i picked up the latest from julieta venegas and maná. i'm happy and up to date. for now.
p.s. "tesoro" means treasure
I loves obscure music. Well except for The Veronicas of course. But even they seemed obscure to me when I first learned of them, so-- yeah.
ReplyDeleteObscure = appealing.
Time to go roam around the Salzers site.
Spanish music! How cool! I get very irritated when I find something I like and they change it to something stupid! I'm so glad you found that store.
ReplyDeletenice! you can get ANYthing on the internet now-
ReplyDeleteever heard panamenian regaeton? soooo fuuunnyy - it all sounds like ONE big word
I bet the Spanish music is awesome. I like keeping up to date on music, but fall short many times. I need to get with the program!
ReplyDeleteI know you can get pretty much anything you want online, but there's still something to be said for being inside a record store, holding the album in your hands and looking it over... I'll buy stuff online, but I love going to the store too. I'm glad you found a better place to go than Best Buy :)
ReplyDeleteyour right that was confusing, I love salsa, Wish I could dance it.. spanish music is so romantic, es
ReplyDeleteI read the title as "secret torso" and was wondering what you were talking about.
ReplyDeleteeverything's obscure if you don't know about it. like that old NBC tagline about reruns: "it's new to you!"
ReplyDeleteif panamanian reggaeton is anything like french rap, it's gotta be entertaining. even just to hear.
it's always nice just to browse around; i find lots of new stuff at weird places, like the hairdresser or on soundtracks for television shows. i love the internet.
pjibi, salsa is AWESOME. and it's fun. and it's a great form of exercise. i highly recommend it, from going to a club and just winging it or to taking a class. i've done both and it was great.
so i'm glad i put that note at the end, omar. :)
My grouse here is that the music shops here all sell PIRATED music. It upsets me because I think of all the people who are losing income because of the thieves.
ReplyDelete