Matchbox Twenty - Kody

Si uno escucha ahora a Rob Thomas no parece que haya podido liderar a los Matchbox Twenty. Un grupo nacido en los 90 para los 90 pero que tenía algo especial, un directo que enganchaba, o sea, no se limitaba a reproducir el disco. Transmitía, aunque para mí sólo el primer disco tiene valor, canciones todas unidas por un sentimiento, muy arraigado en esa precisa falta de raíces del americano de la época. La mejor de todas, Kody. Un tema que en manos de cualquier otro grupo hubiera parecido una canción muy pop pero que ellos elevan al american trad rock con ese leve contoneo de la guitarra, y ese me voy pero me quedo de la batería. Simplemente, transmite. Dice.

Kody sat down on the avenue
He tapped his feet, to the humming of the highway
He watched the light shine down on the broken glass and thought
I don't got no reasons, yet
There it is and there it was
It was clear to all of us
We kept this hat of broken dreams
And we pulled them out, when we needed them around

So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now
And please give me direction, I think the hurt sets in
And I don't feel nothing

There's a squeak hinge down on the back gate
It lets us know if he comes around
I don't sleep that good anyway
If you've never heard the silence, it's a God awful sound

So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now
And please give me direction, I think I just caved in
And I don't feel nothing

I don't feel nothing, no I don't feel nothing
There's nothing to feel good about here

Don't much get down to the avenue
I could drive, but it takes so much to get there
Don't get off on all the broken glass, the cadillac scene,
Well
I've seen a lot of good things die and I'm
In an over emotional way

So please hand me the bottle, I think I'm lonely now
And please give me direction, I think the hurt sets in
And I don't feel nothing

Neil Young - Rockin' in the Free World

El músico canadiense rockea, eso es lo que hace. Golpea con una música electrizante y una letra apasionante. Sólo escuchad, lo que dice y lo que transmite cada nota que sale de su guitarra. Ve el vídeo en directo:

There's colors on the street
Red, white and blue
People shufflin' their feet
People sleepin' in their shoes
But there's a warnin' sign
on the road ahead
There's a lot of people sayin'
we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan,
but I am to them
So I try to forget it,
any way I can.

Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world.

I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light
Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away,
and she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life,
and what she's done to it
There's one more kid
that will never go to school
Never get to fall in love,
never get to be cool.

Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world.

We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler,
Machine gun hand
We got department stores
and toilet paper
Got styrofoam boxes
for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people,
says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn,
got roads to drive.

Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world
Keep on rockin' in the free world,
Keep on rockin' in the free world.

John Frusciante - Loss

Simplemente mágica. Todas las escritas y tocadas por el guitarra de Red Hot Chili Peppers lo son, pero especialmente esta es capaz de transmitir toda su garra. Una melodía propicia que es arrastrada a los momentos álgidos por la voz de Frusciante. "I can't be lost..."

We make the music that divides you
It's handed down as a thing to cry to
And all my wars they treat you kindly
There's nothing more important that i see
There was a time when all was empty
Unorganized a clog a death scene
Things opened up and there's so many
Paths to walk ports of entry
Now that I'm gone
Now that i'm long gone
This minute has come and gone
I never said to do anything but forget me
I can't be lost
I've learned everything form loss
For what's gained there's an inner cost
I won't pay it i never would
We left the seasons back in Long Town
There was a hint of sadness going round
We met the brothers who drove arrows
And shot assumptions wide and narrow
I know i mean what i'm forgetting
We give for everything we're getting
A lot that hasn't been put away
It's building up for that fateful someday
Now that i'm gone
Now that i'm long gone
This minute has come and gone
I never said to do anything but forget me
When it seems i'm around
Check again what's up and what's down
Any silences make a sound
before the equation i'm the answer

American Skin (41 Shots)

Madrid, Estadio Olímpico de la Peineta, 35.000 personas (que habían agotado las entradas en tan sólo 5 horas), 3 horas de concierto, focos apagados y mientras Max Weinberg acaricia la batería Danny Federici nos deleita al órgano... 41 shots, 41 shots, 41 shots... ¿Algo que objetar? Ve el vídeo

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots....
and we'll take that ride
'cross this bloody river
to the other side
41 shots... cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret
It ain't no secret
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living
In your American skin

41 shots
Lena gets her son ready for school
She says "on these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you
Promise you'll always be polite,
that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret
It ain't no secret
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living
In your American skin

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it in your heart, is it in your eyes
It ain't no secret

41 shots... and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river
To the other side
41 shots... got my boots caked in this mud
We're baptized in these waters and in each other's blood

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret
It ain't no secret
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living
In your American skin

Not Ready to Make Nice

Perdonar, suena bien. Olvidar, no creo que pudiera. Eso es lo que le contestan las chicas del mítico Dixie (el Sur de la Confederación) a George Bush. Dicen que el tiempo lo cura todo pero yo sigo esperando. Criticaron la ilegal invasión de Irak en su canción Travelin' Soldier, y Bush en tono amenazante las dijo que se limitaran a cantar. Típico. Por aquel momento la opinión pública norteamericana seguía engañada por su presidente y pasaron al ostracismo. Las defendió Bruce Springsteen, y cuando se les dio la razón por fin, contraatacaron. En un vídeo que simboliza el maniqueísmo al que nos limita el señor Bush, blanco negro en continua lucha, en continua mezcla, en un manicomio que es a donde nos lleva también... y esas voces desgarradoras: Ve el vídeo

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and i'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting