La Lengua Popular

by Alfonso Goiriz Listeners should be pleased when a musical artist is able to achieve personal happiness along with success, and needless to say a number of artists have been able to accomplish both -- but this does not appear to be the case with Andrés Calamaro, whose inspiration seems derived from deep within his pain. On his 19th studio album, La Lengua Popular, the Argentinean songwriter moved from the aching yet sometimes even deliriously good songs of Honestidad Brutal and El Salmon to the happy-life tunes of La Lengua Popular, an extreme change that apparently reflected his personal life but also might engender some distrust. In any case, Calamaro's serious musical background allowed him to compose the fun and funny songs that comprise this album. "La Espuma de las Orillas," immersed in the cumbia genre, reveals the key to this change of direction: "Ya no tengo espinas en el corazón" (I have no more thorns in my side). Other examples of this less than profound but entertaining transformation are "Mi Gin Tonic" and "Comedor Piquetero." La Lengua Popular also includes songs that bring to mind the "good old days" (not because the past -- with all its pain -- was better, but because the music was better), like "5 Minutos Más (Minibar)" and, in particular, "Los Chicos," which inevitably evokes El Salmon's great rocky "Jugando al Límite." It's a change; it's not as brilliant as his rocker past, but could be viewed as a little altar Andrés Calamaro built for the enjoyment of this music made for his loved ones.