Manu CHao??

It's a guy. I heard him in Italy...he sings in some combination of Spanish, Italian, French, and English and is apparently a controversial figure right now in Italy because his new hit song contains the line "I like marijuana". It's basically world music for kids, not too bad.

French guy, used to be in Mano Negra, has 2 albums in the Quebec top 10 at the moment. I'm not very familiar with his music.

Basically, he does this sort of dub/reggae hybrid that's very pop and very big in Europe right now.

I like his stuff quite a bit. Mano Negra was more punkrock/ska (but in a good way...not much like the North American ska-revival bands of the last 10 years, who I don't like at all, nor like the English ska revival bands of the early 80s, who I don't like all that much, either). Their last LP, Casa Babylon, is probably their best. It's been a regular on my record player for years, and I'm still not tired of it. Manu's solo stuff is more folky/ska (still in a good way, just more low-key) with lots of oddball samples. Singing mostly in Spanish, but with some English, French, Portugese and Arabic. Pretty rabble-rousing stuff, though the lyrics in English aren't as interesting as those in the other languages. I've got most of Manu Chao and Mano Negra's stuff, but have never heard their (or his) version of Light My Fire. "Rock Island Line", yes. Joe King Carrasco's "Pachuko Hop", yes. There are a few good web sites on Mr. Chao: www.manu-chao.com, http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/manonegra, http://clandestino.iespana.es/clandestino/

you could probably ask about cover versions there. There are lots of live MP3s floating about, too.

I got a song by him but ist a woman singing. Maybe it s mislabled.

He's very big in South America too, one of my mates came back from there raving about this bloke(who does use guest vocalsits)who sings in various languages.

He played me a tape, it sounded like the music you hear in east end kebab shops.

Manu's been put on a pedestal by the Belgian critics. If anyone knows where this pedestal (with Chao on top) is located, email me. I'd love to push him off it.Previous artists have been Fun Lovin' Criminals, Andrew Dorff and Nelly Furtado (sp?).

He did a song called "Bongo Bong" that was catchy and one of the few good things on "The Next Best Thing" soundtrack LP. But it was devoid of bongos, as far as I could tell. He recycled the "Bongo Bong" backing track on his new album. He likes to recycle tracks, throw in disparate talking and background noises, does a pan-style everything, from toy pop to flamenco. An expert in miniature beauty and big humor. Reminds me of Arling & Cameron in his playfulness, though he's Caribbean rhythm whereas they're club pop. This year's alb will probably make my top 10.

He was born in Spain, grew up in France I think, but his old band Mano Negro seemed, from the few cuts I've heard, a lot like the Latin American rockeros: ska, rock, punk. There's a Mano Negro track where Manu is singing either "For all the women that I'd never HAD, I sing my song of love and hate" or "For all the women that I'd never HIT, I sing my song of love and hate." I think it's "had," but either way I'm glad he didn't actually try to name or describe all the women, given that even if he were a Wilt Chamberlain or a Mike Tyson the number of women he'd neither had nor hit would run into the billions, even if we limit the number to those alive in his lifetime.

I have an album of it called Proxima Estacion Esperanza and it is the sweetest thing i ever heard. My friend's dad bought it for me while he was in Belgrade.