De Música Ligera
"De Música Ligera" is a song by the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released as a promotional single for their fifth studio album Canción Animal. Widely considered to be Soda Stereo's most popular song. It has become an anthem of rock en español and one of the most recognized compositions of Argentine rock. The single was the last song performed at their farewell concert "El Último Concierto" in 1997.
Composition
Music
The title and spirit of the song was taken from some albums Gustavo Cerati's parents had, which were named "Light Classics of all Times".Gustavo said, "The idea was to create instrumentation like that, very classical, of a band, and at the same time that had a light spirit."
Like the lyrics, the music is deceptive: simple and complex simultaneously. The whole song is built from the riff and supported by the sequence carried out by the guitar. Four chords, emphasize the progression from G to D, where the power of the song is concentrated. The complexity of the harmony stems from the fact that the drop from D to G occurs in the middle of each verse, and not the beginning or end as the effect could suggest at first glance. And it is exactly this lack of coordination between the singing and harmony which gives rise to the irresistible attraction that has become one of the most successful songs in the history of Latin rock.
Cerati has said that "De Música Ligera is one of the most instant hits that I did with Soda Stereo."
Charly remembered that:
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song consist of a total of twelve lines; a first verse, a chorus, a second verse, and a final chorus. Effectively it is his desire for and disdain of a pop music hit analogized as a relationship with a woman. The word choice leads to meanings that are cryptic and intentionally ambiguous: "musica ligera" means both "Light music" as in easy listening, as well as "fast music" as in pop music. "Masas" was late 80's to early 90's Argentine slang for a rhythmic pounding, both in sexual intercourse and as a physical altercation.Cerati recalls this love of "musica ligera" as something completely obsessive, and also permanent.
In the first two verses, Cerati sings "ella durmió al calor de las masas, y yo desperté queriendo soñarla". The expression is both beautiful and complex: it expresses a clash of states that are worlds apart, but also the desire to dream of that which has awakened him, to be reunited with her in his own dream. It also expresses her in sated post pounding slumber, contraposed with his lucidity, he cannot help seeing things and her as they sordidly are.
Then he sings "algún tiempo atrás pensé en escribirle" "Que nunca sorteé las trampas del amor". The lyrics then conclude telling everyone that he will not send "cenizas de rosas", and "ni pienso evitar un roce secreto", confirming the duality of "de aquel amor de música ligera".
Regarding the theme and the lyrics, Gustavo Cerati once said:
The names are in reference to the most used sequence of notes in all rock & pop, inherited from '20s jazz.
This sequence is utilized to teach bass, and has been widely played by hundreds of bands, in different octaves and variations.