15 Para los Rumberos

Ruben Blades: Juan Pachanga / Camaleon / Tiburon

Willie Colon: Simon

Hector Lavoe: Periodico De Aller

Afro Cuban Allstars: Maria Caracoles

Grupo Niche - Mi Pueblo Natal

Corrections: I think that should be "Somos Cubanos" not "Cubans." That should also be "Malaguena Salerosa" with a "g" not a "q"! May the gods forgive my editing.

*or whatever year they started.

As with a lot of other things in life, there's a lot of Colombian music that I like, like the more lyric-driven traditional Vallenato (in all it's variations) and there's others that I detest like the more commercial type made by bands like Binomio De Oro (especially after Raphael Orozco got murdered). Papayera is fanfare partymusic and it's fucking irresistable (especially when you're drunk).

Latin music is part of my heritage. And I do like it a lot but it's not a vital part of how I function. In practice I'm more preoccupied with other types of music (check the '12-records'-thread for reference).

You were one of the only people, as I recall, to respond to my previous tentative thread re: salsa.

As with a lot of other things in life, there's a lot of Colombian music that I like, like the more lyric-driven traditional Vallenato (in all it's variations) and there's others that I detest like the more commercial type made by bands like Binomio De Oro (especially after Raphael Orozco got murdered). Papayera is fanfare partymusic and it's fucking irresistable (especially when you're drunk).

I'm not at all familiar with Vallenato or Papayera, though I'd be interested in hearing either. I do plan to study Spanish eventually, but don't see where I have time for it now. Maybe before the year is out I will start taking classes again. I'm sure I miss a lot by not being able to understand lyrics, but on the other hand, there are probably some poppier things I would like less if I could undertand the lyrics. Still, given the amount of time I have spent salsa dancing in the last two or three years, I feel absurd not having some useable Spanish.

Latin music is part of my heritage. And I do like it a lot but it's not a vital part of how I function. In practice I'm more preoccupied with other types of music (check the '12-records'-thread for reference).

It's not part of my heritage (unless you could include the fact that my mom used to listen to salsa on the radio sometimes), but it has precisely become a big part of how I function. Granted, I think I'd be a lot less interested in it if I weren't dancing to it, but dancing to it changes how I listen to it. Speaking of the 12-records thread, I haven't read it recently, so I will take a look.

Gilberto Santa Rosa: El Apartamento

Rey Ruiz: Desde Que No Estas

The first one is Five stars without a question. The second one has what seem to be some flamenco allusions, which is generally a bad thing in a salsa song, but I like it. I remember what it sounds like when I've been at a club for 4 or 5 hours.

I've only developed a taste for it since starting to dance to it. I think dancing to any type of music is likely to reshape the way that you hear it (though it certainly doesn't automatically make me like a particular form of music).

But what do I like about it? I like the fact that rhythmically there is so much going on at the same time. Especially in a club situation, I find this overwhelming in a good sort of way. On the level of sound, I love the sound of timbales and congas. After becoming impatient with the number of rock singers who can't really sing, it's nice to hear a lot of really good singers in salsa. I may be wrong about this, but I would say that salsa singing tends to be a little more rhythmically-oriented than a lot of other types of singing, while remaining unequivocally melodic. I like the fact that improvisation, vocal and percussive, has traditional been important in this music. I like the way salsa songs build. (See "La Cura" or "Malaguena Salerosa" mentioned above, for a good example.) I've read that this is a strength of salsa romantica, which often has some weaknesses to make up for.

I like the fact that the music sounds romantic, or even sentimental at times, but it can also have a hard edge to it ("La Rebelion" "Puerto Rico"). I'd say that this music gives me a feeling closer to what I used to get from 70's Soul and R&B than anything else I hear in contemporary music. This music makes me happy.

At a club a couple weeks ago: leaving the dance floor, feeling that conga slap hitting me hard, knocking me silly. The seductive pull of timbales still sometimes reminds me of the floats with bands on top of them, rolling down the street during Philadelphia's humble Puerto Rico day parade, one of the things that contributed to opening me to this music.

I've got this great comp called 'Freak-Off' on Harmless Records (reissues-label) with tracks on it by Palmieri, Pete Rodriguez, Ismael Quinones, Willie Bobo and Tito Puente

I finally found out who does a song that has been driving me crazy for a while now. I guess I don't recognize Gilberto Santa Rosa's voice, even though I like some of his other songs. (Though I once heard one of his CDs that I hated in its entirety.) It's so romantic. It sounds sad, but ecstatically sad.

Lately I have been staying up late (on weekends) having sex rather than staying up late dancing. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of missing the dancing (not that I can say I regret the sex). If I stay up Friday, I unfortunately don't recover enough to stay out late on Saturday.

("Terminus 3")