ya estamos volviendo

postal (en construcción)

Jóvenes leyendo una carta, Francisco de Goya.

1. Letter to Memphis. The Pixies.

2. Letter to Bowie Knife. Calexico.

3. Another Day Another Letter. Boz Scaggs.

4. Carte Postal. George Pringle.

5. Letter Never Sent. REM

6. Letter from an Occupant. The New Pornographers.

7. Dr. Buck's Letter. The Fall

8. Chain Letter. Todd Rundgren.

9. Letter from Belgium. The Mountain Goats.

10. A Letter to Lulu Mae. Jay Jay Johansson.

11. Give me a Letter. Ocean Colour Scene.

12. Letter from Huntsville. Micah P. Hinson.

13. Letter Bomb. Circle Jerks.

14. The Letter. The Mekons.

15. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis. Tom Waits.

16. Fan Mail. Blondie.

17. Letter from Tina. Ike & Tina Turner.

18. Another the Letter. Wire.

19. A Letter To Elise. The Cure.

20. Letter from Spain. Electric Light Orchestra.

room service

1. Hotel Yorba. White Stripes
2. Looking Over My Hotel Window. Yoko Ono
3. Broadway Hotel. Al Stewart
4. Glass Hotel. Robyn Hitchcock
5. She Was A Hotel Detective. They Might Be Giants
6. NY Hotel. The Knife
7. L’Hotel Particulier. Serge Gainsbourg
8. Hotel Daniels. Lalo Schifrin
9. Hotel Arizona. Wilco
10. Hotel illness. Black Crowes
11. Hotel expressionism. The streets
12. Hotel Tell. The Sea and The Cake.
13. Lonely Hotel Room. Dragstrip 77
14. Clifton Grange Hotel. Thin Lizzy
15. Hotel Hell. Eric Burdon and the Animals
16. Heartbreak Hotel. Buddy Love
17. Hotel Chambermaid. Graham Parker
18. Hotel Room. Richard Hawley
19. Sri Lanka Sex Hotel. Dead Milkmen
20. Paper Thin Hotel. Leonard Cohen

1. Hotel Yorba. White Stripes. El Hotel Yorba existe. Por si alguien pasa está el sureste de Detroit, la ciudad de los White Stripes, como quien va a Canadá por la I-75. Ahora es un complejo de viviendas del gobierno. La banda dice haber grabado la canción en la habitación 206.

Well its 1 2 3 4/take the elevator/ at the Hotel Yorba/ I'll be glad to see you later/ all they got inside is vacancy.

2. Looking over my Hotel Window. Yoko Ono. La mejor Beatle enfrentaba, en 1973, la crisis de los 40 ante una encrucijada: saltar desde la ventana de su hotel o echarse una siestita con John Lennon. Eligió la menos peligrosa. O quizás no.

Age 39, looking over from my hotel window,
Blue dots and red dots skating away in the park.
I used to be there twenty years ago,
Huffing over a mug hot chocolate drink.

Age 39, looking over from my hotel window,
Wondering if one should jump off or go to sleep.
People tell you up is better than down,
But they never tell you which is up and which is down.

Age 39, looking over from my hotel window,

95 pound bundle but it's trouble when there's nowhere to leave.

People say stardust and golddust are it,

But they never tell you it chokes you just as sawdust do.

Age 39, feeling pretty suicidal,

The weight gets heavier when you've bled thirty years.

Show me your blood, john, and I'll show you mine,

They say it's running even when you're asleep.

No trace of resentment, no trace of regrets,

One blood's thinner but both look red and fresh.

If I ever die, please go to my daughter

And tell her that she used to haunt me in my dreams.

(that's saying a lot for a neurotic like me.)

Age 39, looking over from my hotel window,

Trying to tackle away with heart of clay.

The weight gets lighter when there's nowhere to turn,

God's little dandruff floating in the air.

Age 39, looking over the world,

Age 39, floating over the world,

Age 39,...mm-mm...floating along.

3. Broadway Hotel. Al Stewart. Un botones solícito, filósofo y melancólico cumple con el servicio de habitación y da algún consejo sobre el amor. Y así se convierte en el único amigo capaz de entendernos y atendernos como lo merecemos.

4. Glass Hotel. Robyn Hitchcock. Quizás sea una metáfora de la vida misma de lo expuestos que estamos, o quizás sea una historia de fantasmas en los pasillos de un viejo hotel, o apenas una canción sobre un lugar en el que salen geranios de los teléfonos. Es Robyn Hitchcock.

seems like you were in a glass hotel/seems like, it seems like/seems like there was someone else as well/ it seems like, it seems

5. She Was a Hotel Detective. They Might Be Giants.

6. NY Hotel. The Knife. Suecos expatriados con el corazón roto en la ciudad que nunca duerme pero está llena de hoteles.

This is our last goodbye

Now you should be holding me

Punkrock t-shirt, black cap and tatoo

The first things I noticed about you

Now you should be holding me

Now you should be holding me

7. L'Hotel Particulier. Serge Gainsbourg. Una visita al "Corrientes 3-4-8" del erotómano francés. Un poco recargado de bronces barrocos y estatuas de afroditas y Salomé, para ahí se lleva a Melody, su novia con una edad que está al borde del delito. Es la habitación 44 y siempre conviene golpear antes de entrar.

Au cinquante-six, sept, huit, peu importe

De la rue X, si vous frappez à la porte

D'abord un coup, puis trois autres, on vous laisse entrer

Seul et parfois même accompagné.

Une servante, sans vous dire un mot, vous précède

Des escaliers, dess couloirs sans fin se succèdent

Décorés de bronzes baroques, d'anges dorés,

D'aphrodites et de Salomés.

S'il est libre, dites que vous voulez le quarante-quatre

C'est la chambre qu'ils appellent ici de Cléopâtre

Dont les colonnes du lit de style rococo

Sont des nègres portant des flambeaux.

Entre ces esclaves nus taillés dans l'ébène

Qui seront les témoins muets de cette scène

Tandis que là-haut un miroir nous réfléchit,

Lentement j'enlace Melody.

8. Hotel Daniels. Lalo Schifrin. Bullit, OST. Un argentino, un amigo.

Hotel in Arizona made us all wanna feel like stars/ Rental cars and tinted windows, leave another number for me/ Even if I make it through/ That's just something that I have to get used to

10. Hotel Illness. The Black Crowes. La difícil tarea de vivir la decadencia del mito rockero con cierta elegancia y sin que los demás lo noten.

11. Hotel Expressionism. The Streets. La expresión a la que recurre Mike Skinner es a esa forma de arte que consiste en dejar la habitación del hotel hecha un verdadero desastre y tener el temple como para justificarlo como una necesidad artística.

The fine art of hotel expressionism/ And the sentiment with the kettle and condiments/ Compose your mood using the soap and a shoe / The minibar can be part of the art

12. Hotel Tell. The Sea And The Cake.

13. Lonely hotel room. Dragstrip 77. Nada peor que un rockero con el corazón roto. Rejunta tres o cuatro tópicos como el tequila, la habitación de hotel y el recuerdo de esa mala mujer, lo adorna con una slide y allá va, derechito al olvido.

14. Clifton Grange Hotel. Thin Lizzy. Con ustedes, los mejores bigotes del rock: ¡Mr. Phil Lynott! Un par de mostachos de esos como para evitar en una pensión de mala muerte. Y más cuando manda una invitación del tipo "come with me/ where they'll treat you well".

15. Hotel Hell. Eric Burdon and the Animals. El petiso de Newcastle llega a San Francisco con sus animales a cuestas, se emborracha, abraza el misticismo hippie, escucha a Love y cuando es despertado por un auténtico rayo de sol californiano extraña su frío y lejano hogar.

16. Heartbreak Hotel. Buddy Love.

17. Hotel Chambermaid. Graham Parker. El venerado Graham y su medicina para los momentos de ánimo escaso: una escapadita furtiva a ver la chica que, sumisa y cariñosa, no hace preguntas y al amanecer le lleva el café a la cama con esa sonrisa cómplice. ¡Y pobre del botones si habla!

Bob y Graham, songwriter's style en 1978.

18. Hotel Room. Richard Hawley

19. Sri Lanka sex hotel. Dead Milkmen. Toda la promiscuidad asiática que una agencia de viajes puede conseguir.

Let´s have sex with strangers in the men´s room
We could do it and not get caught
Burn down the house where the metal kids live
All the Hendrix posters going up in flames
Let´s have sex without birth control
Sell our offspring to some dirty old men
Let´s play Big Black at 3 AM
And tell the neighbors they can all get fucked

20. Paper Thin Hotel. Leonard Cohen.

The walls of this hotel are paper-thin
Last night I heard you making love to him
The struggle mouth to mouth and limb to limb
The grunt of unity when he came in
I stood there with my ear against the wall
I was not seized by jealousy at all
In fact a burden lifted from my soul
I heard that love was out of my control
A heavy burden lifted from my soul
I heard that love was out of my control

I listened to your kisses at the door
I never heard the world so clear before
You ran your bath and you began to sing
I felt so good I couldn't feel a thing

I stood there with my ear against the wall ...

And I can't wait to tell you to your face
And I can't wait for you to take my place
You are The Naked Angel In My Heart
You are The Woman With Her Legs Apart
It's written on the walls of this hotel
You go to heaven once you've been to hell

A heavy burden lifted from my soul
I heard that love was out of my control

AM/FM

1. H.A.P.P.Y. Radio (fragmento) Edwin Starr
2. Why Modern Radio is AOK with Me. Roman Candle
3. Radio Song. Felice Brothers
4. Left of the Dial. Replacements.
5. Radio Radio. Elvis Costello
6. Radio Clash. The Clash
7. Dance to the Radio. Jimmy Webb
8. Video Killed the Radio Star. The Presidents of the United States of America
9. Heartbeat Radio. Sondre Lerche
10. Radio Silents. Young Marble Giants.
11. Radio Song. REM
12. How to Kill A Radio Consultant. Public Enemy.
13. Satellite Radio. Steve Earle.
14. Mexican Radio. Wall of Voodoo
15. Border Radio. Dave Alvin
16. Radio Retaliation. Thievery corporation
17. Golden Age of Radio. Josh Ritter (incompleta)
18. On your radio. Joe Jackson
19. Radio Sweetheart. Elvis Costello
20. Roadrunner. Jonathan Richman

1. H.A.P.P.Y. Radio. Edwin Starr (fragmento)

2. Why Modern Radio is A-OK. Roman Candle
I was down at my favorite watering hole
with a buddy of mine that was out on parole
and we were flipping through the jukebox,
talking how we’d been and how we are.

He’d got a library card and he’d pierced his tongue
and a buddy in prison had turned him onto Neil Young
and he thought that it’d be best to play some for the entire bar.

Now he didn’t know, but while he was in jail,
I’d had my heart broken by a woman to wondrous to tell
and we‘d fallen in love to half the songs that jukebox played.

So when he flattened his dollar on the side of the machine
and I saw “Comes a Time” come on the karaoke screen
I knew there was a couple things I had forgot to say:

Don’t play Neil Young
Don’t play Van Morrison
Just let some high school emo band start versing and chorusing
Because there’s no way it will break my heart as far as I can see
and that’s why modern radio is A OK with me.

He said a pop song used to be a powerful thing,
you could turn on the a.m. and John Lennon would sing
or Frank Sinatra would be talking to all of the girls.

And you could think like a hawk or think like a dove
or think of a winter afternoon when you fell in love
and ten songs on a record sounded like a string of pearls.

Now my buddy rattled on till an hour'd gone by
and I thought to spit a mouthful of beam in his eye,
maybe leave him for dead, but a friend is a friend to stay.

So I listened to him talk about Johnny and June
And how "I don't know where I stand" is a true love tune
I bought another round just in time to hear him say:

They don’t play Sam Cooke
They don’t play Merle Watson
They just trade some Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham for a broke-down Datsun.
And there’s no way it'll break my heart as far as I can see –
And that’s why modern radio is a sack of monkeys to me.

He said it makes me so mad I want to get up and shout it
and I smiled and said I hadn’t thought that much about it
We walked out the street and parted ways.

I might‘ve gone to a movie, but my money was spent
so I went straight home, and Lord knows where he went
but I wrote myself a letter to all modern dj’s:

Don’t play Bob Dylan
Don’t play "Loose Ends"
Don’t play anybody that’s ever read Sir Patrick Spens
Because there’s no way it'll break my heart as far as I can see –
And that’s why modern radio is a-ok with me.

3. Radio Song. Felice Brothers.

4. Left of the Dial. The Replacements. A la izquierda del dial, lo más alejado del centro, ahí se escondía la música college, lo que luego se conocería como alternativo para morir en la orilla, hoy convertido en indie.

(En la foto The Replacements circa 1980. Paul Westerberger canta, Tommy Stintson, aún lejos de Guns N' Roses y del Estadio Centenario, salta con su guitarra)

5. Radio Radio. Elvis Costello. Cuando decía cosas como "I wanna bite the hand that feeds me" ("quiero morder la mano que me da de comer"), Elvis Costello estaba lejos de ser el músico respetable que no se queda en ningún género: era el rebelde muchacho gafoso que aprendimos a querer.

Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio.

6.This is Radio Clash. The Clash

7. Dance to the Radio. Jimmy Webb. Casi nada: Jimmy Webb es el tipo que escribió By the Time I Get To Phoenix, aquella que hizo Nick Cave en Kicking Against the Pricks. Webb es uno de los grandes compositores estadounidenses. Esta canción está incluida en su disco El Mirage de 1977.

8. Video Killed The Radio Star. The Presidents of the United States of America. La canción original (de los Buggles) habrá sido muy visionaria pero se puso vieja y fea. Incluso esta versión, incluida en la película The Wedding Singer y de una banda con bastante poca gracia, la mejora bastante.

9. Heartbeat Radio. Sondre Lerche. Lerche es noruego, así que si el se queja de que "la FM se volvió automática" que deja para la monónota sucesión de las mismas voces, las mismas canciones, la misma nostalgia de la frecuencia modulada nacional. También se pregunta si el "disc-jockey se ahogó en un mar de reverb y compresión", lo que es una buena pregunta. El tema, igual, refiere a asuntos más cercanos a una historia de amor.

We laugh and cry but don't ask why
My poor heart still beats for you
Oh my heartbeat radio
My darling waves can be replaced
But I will remember youI'd sell my soul
And you'll adore
Still I'm not receiving you
On my heartbeat radio

10. Radio Silents. Young Marble Giants. Hermetismo y minimalismo, las razones por las que YMG fueron todo lo grandes que pudieron llegar a ser.

Be polite/Tonight/Just for one time/Be polite/Tonight/You know a smile when you see one/Just for once/Tonight/You say it's better if we don't write/Radio silents/Tonight/Be polite.

11. Radio Song. REM

12. How to Kill A Radio Consultant. Public Enemy. Esto estaba en Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Back. "The afternoon is FM in the PM", dicen y se permiten hacerle sugerencias para la playlist del disc-jockey (al que acaban de espetarle "Only one black radio station in the city/Programmed by a sucker in a suit)

Can I kick it
Who the hell is on the radio
Or who's behind
Do you really think they'll mind
To play the funky jams
That everybody wit'
Some Def Jef or Ice T
Show they rollin' wit' the syndicate
Or can dey get funky
Wit' the underground
Master ace get a taste
Bomb squad gettin' hard
Marley marl makin' hipper
Trax for Jack The Ripper
Pumpin' Eric B or Papa San
Still rollin' wit' run
Did you think that ever
In fact you thought that never
Control of your soul
Is by a suit and tie
Then U wonder why why U never hear a rhyme
I say we do 'im
Till it's done

13. Satellite radio. Steve Earle. Debe saber de qué está hablando porque Earle, el más bolche de los country men, trabaja en Sirius Satellite Radio, la misma que aloja al programa de rock de garage de Little Steven. El nombre del show de Earle, lo define bien: Hardcore Troubadour.

14. Mexican Radio. Wall of Voodoo. Stan Ridgway y Marc Moreland escribieron y Richard Mazda produjo esta canción sobre las AM de la frontera. Tienen el extraño honor de que el video apareciera en un capítulo de Beavis and Butthead. Es la razón por la que la gente anda diciendo que WOV es un one hit wonder. ¿Cómo alguien puede llegar a pensar eso?

(En la foto, Wall of Voodo en Los Angeles en 1979. De izq. a der. Chas T. Gray, Marc Moreland, Joe Nanini, Bruce Moreland y en trance frontman, Stan Ridgway)

15. Border Radio. Dave Alvin. Originalmente incluida en el primer disco de The Blasters, su banda, Dave Alvin la recicló seis años después, en 1987 para su primer trabajo en solitario, Every Night About This Time. Habla de una mujer que llama a una especie de Aquí está su disco fronterizo para pedir una canción que la acompañe en sus noches de mujer abandonada.

She calls toll-free and requests an old song

Something they used to know

She prays to herself that wherever he is,

He's listening to the Border Radio

16. Radio Retaliation. Thievery Corporation.

17. Golden Age of Radio. Josh Ritter. ¿Para qué sirve una radio si no es para convocar al fantasma de Patsy Cline?

Oh when I've got a worried mind I know

I hear the ghost of Patsy Cline

On the Grand Old Opry Show

18. On your radio. Joe Jackson. Una oda al rencor y la revancha personal. Jackson convoca a todos (ex amigos, ex amantes, enemigos, jefes injustos, maestros y a los compañeros que lo prepoteaban en el patio escolar) a que escuchen su canción en la radio. La venganza es un plato que se come frío.

Don’t you know you can’t get near me/You can only hope to hear me on your radio.

19. Radio Sweetheart. Elvis Costello.

(Elvis y sus atracciones en 1977)

20. Roadrunner. Jonathan Richman. ¿Cómo no quererlo cuando dice cosas así?

Well now/Roadrunner, roadrunner/Going faster miles an hour/Gonna drive to the Stop 'n' Shop/With the radio on at night/And me in love with modern moonlight/Me in love with modern rock & roll/Modern girls and modern rock & roll/Don't feel so alone, got the radio on/Like the roadrunner/O.K., now you sing Modern Lovers.

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