Actual English 09 05 Music Review 15c

Music Review
Calle 13: a reggaeton revolution
If you had to label its music, you'd call it reggaeton. But the hottest new group to emerge from the Puerto Rican
genre that's exploding among both Latinos and Anglos stateside is the most radical reggaeton yet.
The music industry crowd, jaded types usually intent on cocktail politicking, was cheering and pulsing
along with them. "Atrevete!" Residente howled, in Calle 13's anthem to get real and get down. "I dare you! Get
hyper! You're on fire!" Hard to tell whether heads or hips were spinning faster. Led by two step-brothers,
rapper/lyricist/frontman Rene "Residente" Perez and composer/bandleader Eduardo "Visitante" Martinez, Calle
13 is pushing the boundaries of reggaeton to encompass a different set of music and ideas.
"They're different," says Raymond Delgado, a reggaeton producer, at the Pawn Shop for Calle 13's
performance. "Reggaeton always has the same beat and style. They're an artistic evolution." Or maybe a
revolution. It's a fusion of funk, hip-hop, reggae, salsa, jazz, Brazilian and more. Their lyrics, full of irony,
wordplay and cultural politics as well as sex, Calle 13 is an electric jolt to a genre that, for all its explosive
success, is already dragging with mechanical boom-chi beats and formulaic booty-mami choruses. Even who
they are breaks with the hardcore barrio cliché: they're white, middle-class, with art school educations. The step-
brothers make no apologies for being who they are. "The middle class in Puerto Rico is as messed up as the
lower classes. Everyone just lives to work and that's it," Residente says.
The Queen of Disco
She is still going strong at age 59. Her groundbreaking disco anthems have provided the soundtrack for
countless gyrating hedonists on the dance floor.
Donna Summer took time to talk -from her secret hideaway somewhere on the Gulf Coast- about her shows,
taking up painting, and the notorious orgasmic moaning on her 1975 hit.
Q: Which of your songs tends to get the best audience response?

A: Different songs get different responses. They usually like "She Works Hard for the Money", "MacArthur
Park", "On the Radio", "Last Dance", "Bad Girls".
Q: When did you begin to get serious about painting?
A: All my life it's been my hobby, but art is the reverse of singing for me. When I paint I can only paint when
I'm happy or content, which makes me know that it's not my first talent.
Q: Do you think there could ever be another musical movement like disco in the `70s?
A: I'm sure there could be. Hip-hop in its own way was a musical movement that's held its own. I think we just
keep changing, morphing, doing new things and we'll stumble upon the next movement.
Q: "Love To Love You Baby" was a ticket to stardom for you, but weren't you uncomfortable with its sexuality,
specifically the orgasmic moans?
A: Oh, yeah, coming from a nice Christian home my parents were like, "Uhhhhh, this can't be my daughter."
We were goofing around in the studio. Then someone played the song while they were making love and thought
it should be longer, so we extended it to 18 minutes. And it was banned, you couldn't play it during the day. I
couldn't go anywhere: people were drooling on me. It doesn't bother me now, but having that as the first single,
people didn't think I could sing beyond whispering, so that was a challenge.
Music Review
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Music Review

Calle 13: a reggaeton revolution

The Queen of Disco

Q: Which of your songs tends to get the best audience response?

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