The Rumba Madre – Abuela
There’s a natural instinct to assume that the best and most successful music of the past century was made in the U.S. and the U.K. by pop-rock bands. All of the other hits played at a higher or slower tempo, everything that included very gentle or highly aggressive sounds, and all the songs sung in a language other than English may seem to be anomalies.
But just like Hollywood usually made movies about itself and the people bankrolling them, so did pop music, naturally, tend to reflect the preferences of those paying for the studios, record equipment and promotion. The Rumba Madre, like many other bands, might make you want to reconsider English pop music’s dominance.
The Rumba Madre’s “Abuela” isn’t just a Spanish-sung modern punk record. In truth, it’s meant to represent the whole of Latin America and its people. It’s music meant to swing, spin and push. It’s music that’s not polite, but that’s alive. And, as you listen to the lyrics, it’s also music with plenty of soul and with strong roots. Abuelas may not have always been the richest people in the Americas and may have had to sacrifice. But greatness comes in many forms.
love labor – Truckin’
Listen, people have walked in circles for days trying to get out of a forest and climb down a mountain. Some of them died from hunger or exhaustion. Most of those would’ve never found a way out, no matter how much time they would’ve had to investigate.
The point is that, sadly, not everyone has the flair to find that trickshot, that way out, that great idea. It doesn’t sound like love labor, young American punks with a taste for modern ideas, thought too hard about their music.
But that’s the point. You can’t blame the athlete who naturally outscores or outruns people who’ve been training for years. And you can’t blame the inventor who gets the solution to a riddle that’s been puzzling their peers for years.
Similarly, you shouldn’t think less of love labor for coming up with such a great sound on “Truckin’” so easily. Yes, the song feels like an aggro punk sound meant to accompany some 20-second reel on the internet. But maybe that’s the point. It’s a great, to-the-point sound. And love labor’s attitude and ideas make this all feel brand new. Some musicians just get it. They’re rare. And some of them have worked on this song.
