Africa - Toto

Toto es una banda estadounidense de Blues, y Rock'n Roll, entre otros; que tuvo éxito comercial en la década de 1980.

1982 fue el año clave para la carrera del grupo; se grabó el tercer sencillo, "Africa", una de las mejores canciones de la historia y todo un clásico. Africa entró entre los tres primeros lugares de las listas de éxitos en Norteamérica e Inglaterra. Vendieron 2 millones de copias. En la 25° entrega de los Grammys en febrero de ese año Toto ganó 6 Grammys.

AFRICA

I hear the drums echoin´ tonight
She hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She´s coming in, twelve thirty flight
Moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me toward salvation

I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say
"Hurry boy, she´s waiting there for you"

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There´s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what´s right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seem to cure what´s deep inside
Frightened of this thing that I´ve become

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There´s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

INSTRUMENTAL

"Hurry boy, she´s waiting there for you"

It´s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There´s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Imagine - John Lennon

Imagine fue publicado en 1971 y constituye el segundo álbum de John Lennon en solitario (dejando aparte su colaboración con la Plastic Ono Band de su esposa Yoko Ono). Tras la declaración de principios de su primer álbum de 1970 (cuya denominación, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band", no contribuye precisamente a evitar la confusión con el grupo paralelo al que antes me referia), este segundo trabajo refleja una mayor melancolía y calma en las composiciones, aunque sin perder su característica bien ácida e inconformista, con ataques a Paul McCartney incluidos (How do you sleep?).

El tema "Imagine" es una canción que se queja de las guerras ("nothing to kill or die for-'nada por qué morir o matar'-"), de las fronteras ("imagine there's no countries-imagina que no existen los países-"), y concluye que deberíamos compartir el mundo ("imagine all the people sharing all the world-imagina toda la gente compartiendo todo el mundo-") y que aunque parezca que en la canción se pide mucho, no sólo Lennon quiere la paz ("you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one'-podrás decir que soy un soñador, pero no soy el único-'").

IMAGINE

Imagine there´s no heaven
It´s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there´s no countries
It isn´t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...


You may say I´m a dreamer
But I´m not the only one
I hope someday you´ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I´m a dreamer
But I´m not the only one
I hope someday you´ll join us
And the world will live as one

Wind Of Change - Scorpions

Scorpions, banda alemana de heavy metal fundada en Hannover en el año 1965. Famosa por canciones como Rock You Like a Hurricane, Still Loving You y Wind of Change.

La banda gozó de un alto grado de éxitos a lo largo de la década de los noventa gracias al álbum Crazy World y el single "Wind of Change." La canción habla de los cambios socio-políticos que entonces estaban ocurriendo en la Europa del Este al final de la Guerra Fría.

WIND OF CHANGE

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change

The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve

The Verve fue una banda británica de Rock Alternativo y Britpop creada en Wigan, Inglaterra en 1989. Formada originalmente por el vocalista Richard Ashcroft, guitarrista Nick McCabe, bajista Simon Jones y batería Peter Salisbury. La banda se disolvió en 1999.

Fueron uno de los grupos británicos más importantes de la década de los 90, resistiendo discusiones, problemas de salud, adicciones a las drogas y diversos pleitos judiciales. En 1997, después de su lanzamiento más exitoso, los problemas creativos entre Ashcroft y McCabe surgieron, los cuales llevaron definitivamente a la banda a separarse en 1999.

Bitter sweet Symphony (en español Sinfonía agridulce) es uno de los singles del albúm Urban Hymns (1997) perteneciente al grupo inglés The Verve. Esta canción fue utilizada en el OST de la película Juegos Sexuales (Cruel Intentions) dirigida por Roger Kumble. Fue alabada por muchos fans del rock por su melodía que combina la estridencia y fuerza característica del dicho género musical con una única partitura de violín riff que perdura desde el inicio al fin de la canción. Algunos pasajes de la canción hablan de la avaricia, de la lujuria y de la necedad de las personas.

BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY

Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Try to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
I can't change
I can't change

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Try to make ends meet
Try to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

You know I can change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mold
no, no, no, no, no,
I can't change
Can't change my body,
no, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you've ever been down?

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson cantante, compositor y bailarín estadounidense de música pop. Es Conocido mundialmente como el Rey del Pop.

Fue, sin embargo, en 1982 cuando publica el álbum Thriller con el cual se transforma en una megaestrella del espectáculo y de los más famosos del mundo siendo el primer artista en obtener dos estrellas en el paseo de la fama en Hollywood. El álbum es desde entonces el más vendido de la historia, con más de 60 millones de copias. En dicho albúm Jackson demuestra sus dotes sobresalientes de bailarín y cantante a la vez.

El éxito se debió en buena parte al videoclip, dando forma a la famosa MTV y así revolucionando la cultura del videoclip como promoción musical. Extraído del single Thriller, un cortometraje de John Landis, de más de 13 minutos de duración en el cual Michael Jackson impacta y maravilla al mundo convirtiéndose en hombre lobo y más tarde en zombie, acompañado de una coreografía y música innovadora y revolucionaria.

THRILLER

It's close to midnight
And something evil's lurkin' in the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream
But terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze
As horror looks you right between the eyes
You're paralyzed

'Cause this is thriller
Thriller night
And no one's gonna save you
From the beast about to strike
You know it's thriller
Thriller night
You're fighting for your life
Inside a killer
Thriller tonight, yeah

You hear the door slam
And realize there's nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand
And wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes
And hope that this is just imagination
Girl, but all the while
You hear a creature creepin' up behind
You're outta time

'Cause this is thriller
Thriller night
There ain't no second chance
Against the thing with the forty eyes, girl
(Thriller)
(Thriller night)
You're fighting for your life
Inside a killer
Thriller tonight

Night creatures call
And the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There's no escaping the jaws of the alien this time
(They're open wide)
This is the end of your life

They're out to get you
There's demons closing in on every side
They will possess you
Unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time
For you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night
I'll save you from the terror on the screen
I'll make you see

That this is thriller
Thriller night
'Cause I can thrill you more
Than any ghost would ever dare try
(Thriller)
(Thriller night)
So let me hold you tight
And share a
(killer, diller, chiller)
(Thriller here tonight)

'Cause this is thriller
Thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more
Than any ghost would ever dare try
(Thriller)
(Thriller night)
So let me hold you tight
And share a
(killer, thriller)

I'm gonna thrill you tonight

[Rap]
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'awl's neighbourhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell

I'm gonna thrill you tonight
(Thriller, thriller)
I'm gonna thrill you tonight
(Thriller night, thriller))
I'm gonna thrill you tonight
Ooh, babe, I'm gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller night, babe

[Rap]
The foolest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

Take On Me - A-Ha

Esta banda noruega de nombre onomatopéyico tuvo su momento de gloria en la primera mitad de los 80's, cuando el éxito de su álbum debut Hunting high and low (1985) y especialmente de su tema “Take on me” los ubicó en los primeros puestos de los charts británicos y estadounidenses. Más allá de su música (un synth pop elaborado y pegadizo), el componente visual estaba de su parte: a partir del histórico clip de “Take on me” (el cual combinaba animación con actores de carne y hueso, todo un elemento vanguardista para la época), el cantante Morten Harket se convirtió en uno de los principales sex symbols de la escena musical.

Aqui les presento el video que los lanzó a la fama!, todo un clásico.

TAKE ON ME

We're talking away
I don't know what
I'm to say I'll say it anyway
Today's another day to find you
Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, OK?

Take on me, take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends
But that's me stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK.
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry

Take on me, take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two

Oh the things that you say
Is it life or
Just a play my worries away
You're all the things I've got to
remember
You're shying away
I'll be coming for you anyway

Take on me, take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two

Hotel California - The Eagles

Eagles son una banda de rock americana que se dio a conocer en Los Angeles, California a principios de los años 70.

En 1976 Eagles publica su mejor álbum y el más vendido. El título era "Hotel California", que terminó de catapultar a los Eagles a la cima de la fama y con el que ganaron un Grammy. En "Hotel California" los Eagles aportan su visión agridulce de la sociedad norteamericana a través de las ventanas de un hotel que representa metafóricamente el mundo de las drogas. "Hotel California" es uno de los discos más vendidos de la historia y su tema estrella y que le da título ha sido reconocida como una de las mejores canciones, y aun hoy en día sigue apareciendo en las listas de las 10 canciones más importantes de la historia de la música. De ese álbum se extrajo una frase que pasó a formar parte del lenguaje popular norteamericano: "vivir en la vía rápida" (Life in the fast lane).

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said,'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,'said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave

YMCA - Village People

Village People fue una innovadora agrupación musical (disco) de finales de los años 1970. Fue famoso tanto por sus peculiares disfraces como por sus canciones pegadizas y letras sugerentes. Los miembros del grupo se disfrazaban de:

• Policía
• Jefe Indio
  
• Albañil
• Marinero
• Hombre de Cuero (vestimenta usada por motorizados)
• Vaquero

Estas personificaciones masculinas no eran sino insinuaciones nada sutiles sobre su presunta homosexualidad acorde con los estereotipos gays de la época.

La YMCA (Young Men's Christian Asociation) como se conoce popularmente es un movimiento social juvenil tradicional extendido por todo el mundo. Por sus actividades se puede identificar como una de las mayores y más antiguas ONG's. El objetivo de la YMCA es el desarrollo integral de los jóvenes desde los ideales cristianos. En los años 70 el grupo musical Village People les dedicó un tema pegadizo con coreografía.

Hoy en día, casi 30 años después del lanzamiento de este hit, se puede ver el característico baile formando las letras una por una con los brazos en bodas, eventos y campamentos escolares. Como anécdota curiosa, en la quinta entrada de todos los partidos de béisbol en el Yankee Stadium, el personal a cargo del campo deja lo que está haciendo y baila mientras suena el "YMCA" mientras el público les anima.

Y.M.C.A

Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.

Young man, there's a place you can go.
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

You can get yourself cleaned, you can have a good meal,
You can do whatever you feel ...

Young man, are you listening to me?
I said, young man, what do you want to be?
I said, young man, you can make real your dreams.
But you got to know this one thing!

No man does it all by himself.
I said, young man, put your pride on the shelf,
And just go there, to the Y-M-C-A.
I'm sure they can help you today.

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

You can get yourself cleaned, you can have a good meal,
You can do whatever you feel ...

Young man, I was once in your shoes.
I said, I was down and out with the blues.
I felt no man cared if I were alive.
I felt the whole world was so tight ...

That's when someone came up to me,
And said, young man, take a walk up the street.
There's a place there called the Y-M-C-A.
They can start you back on your way.

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.
It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

They have everything for you men to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...

Y-M-C-A... you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A.

Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
Young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

Y-M-C-A ... you'll find it at the Y-M-C-A.

Young man, young man, there's no need to feel down.
Young man, young man, get yourself off the ground.

Y-M-C-A ... just go to the Y-M-C-A.

Young man, young man, are you listening to me?
Young man, young man, what do you wanna be?