<![CDATA[EL PAÍS]]>https://english.elpais.comSun, 05 Apr 2026 05:59:56 +0000en1hourly1<![CDATA[Eliades Ochoa, the last great troubadour: ‘People in Cuba have lost their joy’ ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-03-29/eliades-ochoa-the-last-great-troubadour-people-in-cuba-have-lost-their-joy.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-03-29/eliades-ochoa-the-last-great-troubadour-people-in-cuba-have-lost-their-joy.htmlSun, 29 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000Glimpsed through the glass doors, the figure of Eliades Ochoa, 79, stands out from the rest: a burly and charismatic man dressed all in black, with boots and a large, matching cowboy hat. He seems alert to the slightest movement, and gives the sense of an old cowpoke in the middle of a saloon, with the important caveat that the Wild West dive bar in question is actually The Social Hub, one of the most modern hotels and venues in downtown Madrid, located just a few steps from Plaza de España. There are no vaqueros or waiters chewing tobacco here, but rather, tourists of all nationalities and an ample offering of breakfast and brunch menus. The music heard in the background comes not from a player piano, but is piped in from speakers, calming sounds that enhance the tranquil atmosphere of the luxurious space. And yet, Ochoa’s aura is so powerful that under the generous rays of sunlight streaming through the large window on this March morning, he evokes a Western film. “Nice to meet you,” he says, with a firm handshake. “I’m here to do my job,” he adds as he picks up his guitar, which rests in its case on the table as if it were a shotgun waiting to be slung over a shoulder.

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]]>Lupe de la Vallina<![CDATA[John Fogerty, rock legend: ‘I love music. I feel good when I play and it makes me feel good when I see people happy’ ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-08-31/john-fogerty-rock-legend-i-love-music-i-feel-good-when-i-play-and-it-makes-me-feel-good-when-i-see-people-happy.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-08-31/john-fogerty-rock-legend-i-love-music-i-feel-good-when-i-play-and-it-makes-me-feel-good-when-i-see-people-happy.htmlSun, 31 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000Sitting on a sofa, John Fogerty, 80, is waiting in the depths of a hotel conference room. Suddenly, in slow motion, the Berkeley-born singer-songwriter stands up and excuses himself. “Do you mind if I say hello to my granddaughters before we start?” he asks. His tone is polite and almost hurried.

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]]>Manuel Vázquez<![CDATA[Jeff Tweedy: ‘It would be squandering the gift of making music to communicate cynicism, defeat. Fuck that shit. I’m not defeated’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-02-12/jeff-tweedy-it-would-be-squandering-the-gift-of-making-music-to-communicate-cynicism-defeat-fuck-that-shit-im-not-defeated.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-02-12/jeff-tweedy-it-would-be-squandering-the-gift-of-making-music-to-communicate-cynicism-defeat-fuck-that-shit-im-not-defeated.htmlWed, 12 Feb 2025 13:38:00 +0000Jeff Tweedy, 57, is the leader of Wilco, one of the most important American bands of the 21st century. A noted observer of the emotions of the individual either in contact or detached from his environment, Tweedy picks up the phone from his home in Chicago to talk about the collection of rare material and live recordings for the 20th anniversary edition boxset of A Ghost is Born, the album that consolidated them as the luminaries of the international indie scene.

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]]>Chris Pizzello<![CDATA[Chuck Prophet, the old rocker who was saved by cumbia]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-11-29/chuck-prophet-the-old-rocker-who-was-saved-by-cumbia.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-11-29/chuck-prophet-the-old-rocker-who-was-saved-by-cumbia.htmlFri, 29 Nov 2024 20:10:49 +0000During the worst days of his life, as he waited with poisonous uncertainty to find out the severity of his cancer, Chuck Prophet, 61, could only distract himself with the records in his vinyl collection. During those 14 days, the albums by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Clash, The Band and many others from his extensive collection took on a new importance; but, unexpectedly, he also connected with a record of cumbia hits. “I didn’t know anything about this genre,” the singer and composer confesses via video call from his home in California. “Suddenly, my body was hankering for something like that.”

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]]>KORY THIBEAULT<![CDATA[Talking Heads: ‘We were really good... what a shame about the band!’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-03-08/talking-heads-we-were-really-good-what-a-shame-about-the-band.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-03-08/talking-heads-we-were-really-good-what-a-shame-about-the-band.htmlFri, 08 Mar 2024 23:05:00 +0000Released in 1984, Stop Making Sense is still one of the best concert films ever made. The collaboration between Talking Heads and director Jonathan Demme at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood was a key milestone in using a live concert recording to merge cinema and music. The New Hollywood era had reshaped the role of sound in film, with movies like American Graffiti (1973), The Conversation (1974), Blow Out (1981) and Nashville (1974) paving the way. Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz rockumentary about The Band set the stage for capturing live music experiences, and Stop Making Sense, with the Talking Heads’ unique, post-modern aesthetic, became another classic in its own right.

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]]><![CDATA[Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood: The Bonnie and Clyde of pop, a duo that will break your heart ]]>https://english.elpais.com/people/2024-02-19/nancy-sinatra-and-lee-hazlewood-the-bonnie-and-clyde-of-pop-a-duo-that-will-break-your-heart.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/people/2024-02-19/nancy-sinatra-and-lee-hazlewood-the-bonnie-and-clyde-of-pop-a-duo-that-will-break-your-heart.htmlMon, 19 Feb 2024 04:00:00 +0000Picture the following scene: you are driving a convertible, with good company, through Monument Valley. Suddenly, a fabulous path opens up, a straight line all the way to Sunset Boulevard, where the Hollywood Walk of Fame awaits with all the incandescent lights and the night owls of Los Angeles. You take the path, of course; after all, that is why it has magically opened for you. During the trip, you will see the day turn into night as the landscape changes from Western to urban, from open countryside to a city that does not sleep. Now think — what is the soundtrack of that scene? Whatever you choose, I’ll tell you this: it will be almost impossible to find better music than the one that Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood made. With these two, the car that you are driving will fly like a dream.

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]]><![CDATA[Peso Pluma: ‘There are people who see the new generations and the new musical waves and are afraid’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-02-16/peso-pluma-there-are-people-who-see-the-new-generations-and-the-new-musical-waves-and-are-afraid.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-02-16/peso-pluma-there-are-people-who-see-the-new-generations-and-the-new-musical-waves-and-are-afraid.htmlFri, 16 Feb 2024 14:46:33 +0000Four black vans with tinted windows take the Tres Cruces street in Madrid as if a world leader had just arrived. Three burly guys get out of the first vehicle and look concerned about clearing the traffic from the barely six meters that separate the vehicles from the door of the building. The narrow artery of Gran Vía seems, in a matter of seconds, to turn into a scene from a Hollywood thriller. The autumn sun is shining on a Friday in November and a handful of tourists and onlookers stop to stare. “What’s going on?” “Who is it?” Wearing sunglasses and with his hands inside his pants pockets, a thin, pale guy steps out of the car, crowned by a dark cap that almost seems to swallow him. He walks slowly and listlessly behind the bodyguards. He does not smile, does not gesture, does not greet. Under the headgear hides Peso Pluma, the latest Latin music phenomenon. He arrives late — very late — for his guest appearance on a Spanish television show, but he doesn’t seem stressed. He seems to carry no weight and yet everyone is watching his every step.

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]]>Josefina Santos (The New York Times / Contacto)<![CDATA[Residente: ‘The urban genre fights over nonsense. Nobody says anything about Palestine. I don’t want to belong to that scene’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-02-06/residente-the-urban-genre-fights-over-nonsense-nobody-says-anything-about-palestine-i-dont-want-to-belong-to-that-scene.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-02-06/residente-the-urban-genre-fights-over-nonsense-nobody-says-anything-about-palestine-i-dont-want-to-belong-to-that-scene.htmlTue, 06 Feb 2024 15:24:25 +0000Residente’s smile is half-hearted. Something prevents René Pérez Joglar, 45, from being able to smile properly. His sullen eyes accompany the tiredness and expressiveness of his face, which peeks out from under the hood of his wool jacket.

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]]>Jacobo Medrano<![CDATA[The best music albums of 2023]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-12-24/the-best-music-albums-of-2023.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-12-24/the-best-music-albums-of-2023.htmlSun, 24 Dec 2023 16:23:08 +0000No holiday season is complete without some lists, and the one that features the best albums of the last 12 months is essential. I must point out that this ranking is not at all scientific, and it’s very much personal. This particular list does not seek to influence anyone or set any trends. It responds solely and exclusively to my personal tastes, as I try to define what I consider to be the albums that I liked the most in 2023.

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]]><![CDATA[Dylan Leblanc: The survival of the coyote of American music]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-11-17/dylan-leblanc-the-survival-of-the-coyote-of-american-music.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-11-17/dylan-leblanc-the-survival-of-the-coyote-of-american-music.htmlFri, 17 Nov 2023 16:14:53 +0000Dylan Leblanc says that, when he was a kid, he felt his life was threatened by a coyote in Austin. He had just climbed part of a mountain and the intimidating animal emerged from the bushes, ready to confront him. Leblanc was standing next to a cliff and decided to talk before making any suspicious moves. “It’s you and me, so if you attack me, I’ll throw you off the cliff. I will not fall,” he said. There were a few minutes of tension, but the coyote was only trying to survive. He seemed to understand him: he left and there was no confrontation.

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]]><![CDATA[Woody Allen’s superstition and Herbie Hancock’s music]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-10-19/woody-allens-superstition-and-herbie-hancocks-music.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-10-19/woody-allens-superstition-and-herbie-hancocks-music.htmlThu, 19 Oct 2023 18:44:24 +0000When I left the theater, I couldn’t stop thinking about the song — the hypnotic rhythm driving the plot, igniting both body and spirit, making us feel like our broken world isn’t so broken after all. I’m talking about Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island and Woody Allen’s latest film, Coup de Chance (Stroke of Luck), in which Hancock’s jazz standard takes center stage.

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]]>Kike Rincón<![CDATA[Buck Meek: from street musician to indie star]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-08-08/buck-meek-from-street-musician-to-indie-star.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-08-08/buck-meek-from-street-musician-to-indie-star.htmlTue, 08 Aug 2023 18:21:56 +0000Buck Meek, 36, points out the river with his finger. It’s mid-morning, and he has taken the time to sit on the grass on the bank of the Manzanares river outside La Riviera concert hall. Tonight he has a concert in Madrid, and he is in the middle of a soundcheck with his band, Big Thief, when he comes outside to greet the journalist. He looks for a place to chat about his new album, Haunted Mountain, a folk-rock creation that reflects on the fullness of love. “It’s so great to be here!” he exclaims as he fiddles with the grass. He seems like a happy guy.

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]]>Sharon López<![CDATA[Why Woody Guthrie’s guitar was a killer of fascists ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-07-21/why-woody-guthries-guitar-was-a-fascist-killer.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-07-21/why-woody-guthries-guitar-was-a-fascist-killer.htmlFri, 21 Jul 2023 19:12:06 +0000There was a time, not so long ago, when we believed fascism had met its eternal demise. In the 1960s, Donovan, hailed as “the British Bob Dylan,” strummed a guitar with a bold message on it, a tribute to his hero Woody Guthrie. The words read: “This machine kills.” Donovan deliberately chose to omit a single word — “fascists.” Years later, when an interviewer asked why he had altered Guthrie’s iconic message, Donovan replied, “I reckoned fascism had breathed its last.” How wrong he was. How wrong we all were.

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]]>Lester Balog<![CDATA[Keeping it simple: The haunting voice of American folk musician Eilen Jewell]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-07-12/keeping-it-simple-the-haunting-voice-of-american-folk-musician-eilen-jewell.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-07-12/keeping-it-simple-the-haunting-voice-of-american-folk-musician-eilen-jewell.htmlWed, 12 Jul 2023 17:26:45 +0000American roots music can be proud of talents like Eilen Jewell. Her soulful voice speaks through simple yet profound melodies. After nearly 20 years, Jewell has earned her place among the luminaries of the American folk genre.

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]]><![CDATA[Chris Isaak, the beautiful ‘noir’ prince that could have reigned ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-06-22/chris-isaak-the-beautiful-noir-prince-that-could-have-reigned.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-06-22/chris-isaak-the-beautiful-noir-prince-that-could-have-reigned.htmlThu, 22 Jun 2023 19:22:04 +0000The word “crooner” is worn out, and yet Chris Isaak can’t seem to shake it off. He is a classic serenader, but he is also more of a musician than just a dapper suit. With a career spanning more than three decades, Isaak has more than proven that he has the talent to glide through various roots styles of American music and put a quality stamp on everything he plays. And yet, he is the handsome prince who might have reigned, and did.

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]]>David Aguilar<![CDATA[Federico García Lorca, the musician: How the poet elevated flamenco and Spanish folklore]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-06-01/federico-garcia-lorca-the-musician-how-the-poet-elevated-flamenco-and-spanish-folklore.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-06-01/federico-garcia-lorca-the-musician-how-the-poet-elevated-flamenco-and-spanish-folklore.htmlThu, 01 Jun 2023 12:14:04 +0000Federico García Lorca’s genius is so great that, more than a century later, he still resonates in popular culture with the force of rough seas. It doesn’t run out. On the contrary, it keeps growing. There is the genius of Lorca the poet, author of Poema del cante jondo (Poem of the Deep Song), Gypsy Ballads and Poet in New York. There is the genius of the playwright who penned Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba. However, little has been said about the genius of the musician and compiler of folklore. Or, at least, this side of Lorca does not stand out as much compared with his unbeatable and influential lyrical and theatrical work.

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]]><![CDATA[Abuse allegations, cancellations and resurrection: Ryan Adams knows how hell burns ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-26/abuse-allegations-cancellations-and-resurrection-ryan-adams-knows-how-hell-burns.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-26/abuse-allegations-cancellations-and-resurrection-ryan-adams-knows-how-hell-burns.htmlFri, 26 May 2023 01:02:00 +0000Only those who have been to hell know what how hard it is to get out. Ryan Adams, one of the most talented American musicians of the 21st century, has long been trying to climb out of the deep hole he fell into after a devastating report published by The New York Times in February 2019 revealed the accusations of abuse of power, mistreatment and sexual misconduct that had been made against him. After years in ostracism, it seems that now, after a harsh atonement, he is beginning to see the light. A well-received solo tour of the United States and Europe, as well as the reunion with The Cardinals, his old band, with whom he will also be performing on many stages, are signs that the musician, who used to be compared to Bruce Springsteen or Tom Petty, has resurfaced.

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]]><![CDATA[Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer: ‘Reggaeton must have something that I just don’t understand’ ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-16/natalia-lafourcade-mexican-singer-reggaeton-must-have-something-that-i-just-dont-understand.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-16/natalia-lafourcade-mexican-singer-reggaeton-must-have-something-that-i-just-dont-understand.htmlTue, 16 May 2023 22:30:21 +0000That guava tree in their garden wasn’t just an ordinary tree. Natalia Lafourcade’s parents had just split up and her mother needed money urgently. Then, that tropical tree — with its simple, oval leaves — began to bear unusual fruits. “We had little money and the tree kept us going. Every summer, there were enormous quantities of guavas growing… We had to lay out a net to catch them all. Then, my mom made jam, cakes and sweets out of the fruit. And we sold them,” recalls Lafourcade, 39.

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]]><![CDATA[David Simon: ‘They can chew you up, but then they gotta spit you out’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-11/david-simon-they-can-chew-you-up-but-then-they-gotta-spit-you-out.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-11/david-simon-they-can-chew-you-up-but-then-they-gotta-spit-you-out.htmlThu, 11 May 2023 20:15:06 +0000Two boys from the streets play a game of checkers using chess pieces because they don’t know how to play chess. The little figures of kings, queens, rooks, bishops, knights and pawns possessing a repertoire of moves, strategies and possibilities have been turned into much more limited and simpler black and white pieces. It’s a sunny morning and the kids are standing on a Baltimore sidewalk in front of those brown brick buildings, dirty railings and clothes hanging over the street, all so typical of poor American suburbs. Then D’Angelo arrives and explains the game of chess as if he were detailing the workings of the streets and the criminal gangs that rule them. D’Angelo, a small-time boss of the West Baltimore drug trafficking organization, says: “The king is always the king.” And adds: “In this game, pawns are easily killed. They’re out of the game really fast.”

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]]><![CDATA[Christian Nodal, the tattooed mariachi: ‘It became cool to be Mexican’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-06/christian-nodal-the-tattooed-mariachi-it-became-cool-to-be-mexican.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-05-06/christian-nodal-the-tattooed-mariachi-it-became-cool-to-be-mexican.htmlSat, 06 May 2023 01:03:46 +0000Christian Nodal’s grandfather Ramón taught him to write poems. As a boy, he watched the man surrounded by napkins where, pen in hand, he sought inspiration in the Pueblo Viejo plaza in the center of the small Mexican city of Caborca. “He concentrated hard, he tried to analyze life, and I wondered, ‘what is this man doing?’” Nodal remembers today, many years later. One day, the man set his grandson to practicing. “He taught me to write rhymes. We read them out loud and then, when I started to understand, he said, ‘Try to make sure that what you write is always as honest and pure as possible.’” The grandson never forgot that. He started writing like crazy.

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]]><![CDATA[Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner’s tempestuous Spanish love affair]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/25/inenglish/1435226239_810968.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/25/inenglish/1435226239_810968.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2015 06:26:34 +0000As though straight out of a black and white Hollywood movie, one of those that Federico Fellini described as containing “no beginning or end, just the infinite passion of life,” the stormy love affair between Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner played out against an exceptional setting: Franco’s Spain, a place of flamenco stages, late-night drinking dens and bullfights.

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]]><![CDATA[Country music, movies, TV and preachers: How white Evangelicals fractured the United States ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-03-25/country-music-movies-tv-and-preachers-how-white-evangelicals-fractured-the-united-states.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-03-25/country-music-movies-tv-and-preachers-how-white-evangelicals-fractured-the-united-states.htmlSat, 25 Mar 2023 16:28:53 +0000On January 20, 2017, a historic change occurred at the White House. One president — Democrat Barack Obama — was replaced by another, Republican Donald Trump. The two represented antagonistic models: one was the country’s first black president, progressive and open to dialogue; he was replaced by a reactionary, ultraconservative and white supremacist billionaire. How could that happen? This question was repeated nonstop on talk shows and in the press. That question receives an interesting answer in Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, a devastating book written by historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC News.

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]]><![CDATA[Three forgotten gems of ‘deep soul’ music from the American South]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-03-11/three-forgotten-gems-of-deep-soul-music-from-the-american-south.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-03-11/three-forgotten-gems-of-deep-soul-music-from-the-american-south.htmlSat, 11 Mar 2023 22:41:04 +0000Our new Hidden Gems series aims to educate and entertain readers with excellent but obscure music. We begin this month with an exquisite selection of what is known as “deep soul,” the gritty sounds of the southeastern United States, where much of the best soul music was made.

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]]><![CDATA[Big Chief Monk Boudreaux: ‘We would dress up for Mardi Gras and they would throw us in jail’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-01-08/big-chief-monk-boudreaux-we-would-dress-up-and-they-would-throw-us-in-jail.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-01-08/big-chief-monk-boudreaux-we-would-dress-up-and-they-would-throw-us-in-jail.htmlSun, 08 Jan 2023 05:12:40 +0000The Big Chief has spent the night sewing. He emerges in the hall of the hotel and smiles a big, welcoming grin. It is Thursday, November 17, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux is visiting Spain for the first time. At 80 years old, he is ready to explore Santiago de Compostela, the city where he will perform as part of the Outono Códax Festival, a concert series showcasing some of the best jazz, soul, and R&B music from the US and Europe. It will be a historic concert: never before has an old chief from one of the original “Mardis Gras Indian tribes” of New Orleans performed to a Spanish audience. “Take things as they come,” he says. “It never takes too long if you get there in the end.”

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]]>CRIS ANDINA <![CDATA[Why the ‘70s was the best decade for popular music]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-09-24/why-the-70s-was-the-best-decade-for-popular-music.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-09-24/why-the-70s-was-the-best-decade-for-popular-music.htmlSat, 24 Sep 2022 01:01:00 +0000Bar-stool debates about music often go nowhere, but they can sometimes help in making sense of things. I was reminded about one such frequent debate when I heard a recent episode of Sofá Sonoro, the fantastic streaming program directed by Alfonso Cardenal for the Cadena Ser radio network in Spain. This particular episode was about 1970s rock music, and it reminded me of something I have been thinking for a long time: that the 1970s were the best decade for popular music. But before you attack, let me defend that statement.

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]]><![CDATA[Rosalía explains the meaning of her new single ‘Chicken Teriyaki’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-03-03/rosalia-explains-the-meaning-of-her-new-single-chicken-teriyaki.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-03-03/rosalia-explains-the-meaning-of-her-new-single-chicken-teriyaki.htmlThu, 03 Mar 2022 02:50:23 +0000The Spanish artist Rosalía has spoken with EL PAÍS about the meaning of the lyrics of her new single Chicken Teriyaki, which was viewed over two million times on YouTube in the first 24 hours and had racked up 8.9 million views in the first five days. The song is the third single from her new album Motomami, which is due out on March 18.

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]]><![CDATA[Rosalía: ‘If success ends up breaking me, well, that’s life’]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-03-12/rosalia-if-success-ends-up-breaking-me-well-thats-life.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-03-12/rosalia-if-success-ends-up-breaking-me-well-thats-life.htmlSat, 12 Mar 2022 14:52:24 +0000Something is glinting in the middle of Rosalía’s smile. It looks like a red heart, but when you get closer you can see the delicate wings: it’s a butterfly. Rosalía, born 29 years ago in Sant Cugat del Vallès, a town north of Barcelona, smiles spontaneously on this Monday morning in February. She has been home for nearly two weeks, and preparations for the release of her new and long-awaited album Motomami are in full swing ahead of the March 18 release date.

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]]><![CDATA[The keys to Patti Smith and Bob Dylan’s famous friendship: Art, admiration, respect and a great love of music]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-06-23/the-keys-to-patti-smith-and-bob-dylans-famous-friendship-art-admiration-respect-and-a-great-love-of-music.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-06-23/the-keys-to-patti-smith-and-bob-dylans-famous-friendship-art-admiration-respect-and-a-great-love-of-music.htmlThu, 23 Jun 2022 16:39:11 +0000Patti Smith and Bob Dylan have known each other since 1975 and it could be said that their friendship has transcended ordinary life and entered the realms of greatness. Greatness in its original sense and not as a cliché is always complex and, as we know, the complex is often reduced, ridiculed and even vilified in a world driven by capital, post-truth and social media noise. The complex is always the enemy of ignorance.

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]]><![CDATA[Wilco and ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot:’ Paranoia, ashes, love, beauty and 20 years of a masterpiece ]]>https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-04-27/wilco-and-yankee-hotel-foxtrot-paranoia-ashes-love-beauty-and-20-years-of-a-masterpiece.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-04-27/wilco-and-yankee-hotel-foxtrot-paranoia-ashes-love-beauty-and-20-years-of-a-masterpiece.htmlWed, 27 Apr 2022 02:39:17 +0000Some sounds change us forever. A synthesizer travels from right to left, then from left to right again, a thought trapped in a time capsule. A drum throbs insistently, like a beating heart awaking after a long silence. Then they vanish. Bells are heard, the sound of a distant alarm clock in the midst of faint distortions. Then an awakening: the kick drum, that restless heart, returns, now accompanied by luminous bass and guitars. The frank, weathered voice sings: “I’m an American aquarium drinker, avenue killer. I’m hiding in the big city blinking, what was I thinking when I let you go? Welcome to the big flashing city. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is the anthem that awakens its streets. The metropolis may be far away, or it may exist in the very center of our heart. It doesn’t matter much, or worse, everything matters, because both places are the same.

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]]><![CDATA[Billie Holiday: an indomitable spirit up against the US government ]]>https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-05-18/billie-holiday-an-indomitable-spirit-up-against-the-us-government.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-05-18/billie-holiday-an-indomitable-spirit-up-against-the-us-government.htmlTue, 18 May 2021 14:12:35 +0000One of Billie Holiday’s most famous phrases, “sometimes it’s worse to win a fight than to lose,” sums up how her own story ended. The grande dame of jazz lost her battle with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), but in doing so her legend was forged as the voice that sang with the greatest depth and integrity against injustice in a segregated United States, a country wracked with paranoia over the success of a talented, independent, defiant and black woman like her. The Republican government of Dwight D. Eisenhower finally won its fight with Holiday, who was arrested and jailed for possession of narcotics, but it now remains framed for posterity as the persecutor of a star that has never stopped shining.

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]]>Gilles Petard (Redferns / Getty Images)<![CDATA[Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Spanish PM in surprise visit]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/10/26/inenglish/1540537948_018883.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/10/26/inenglish/1540537948_018883.htmlFri, 26 Oct 2018 08:33:14 +0000Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a surprise visit to Spain on Thursday, when he met with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and with Spanish app and game developers. Cook was also there to promote the Spanish launch of the company’s smart speaker HomePod, in a presentation that featured the singer Rosalía.

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]]>VÍCTOR BLANCO<![CDATA[The behind-the-scenes story of Massive Attack canceling their Mad Cool gig]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/16/inenglish/1531739617_522079.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/16/inenglish/1531739617_522079.htmlMon, 16 Jul 2018 14:17:10 +0000It was around 1.30am on Friday, the second night of Mad Cool, when Robert Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall – members of the British group Massive Attack – approached The Loop stage at the festival, where they were due to play 15 minutes later. But on hearing the sound of Franz Ferdinand coming from the opposite stage, they decided they would not be going out to play.

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]]>GAA<![CDATA[Long lines and traffic jams infuriate music fans at Mad Cool festival]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/13/inenglish/1531479538_129466.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/13/inenglish/1531479538_129466.htmlMon, 16 Jul 2018 11:49:30 +0000Intense traffic jams and lines stretching kilometers have dampened the opening of this year’s Mad Cool music festival in Madrid. Many festival-goers complained about the long wait to get into the event, which kicked off Thursday and will run until Saturday. For the first time in its three-year history, the festival – the most popular to date – is being held in the north of Madrid instead of the more central Caja Mágica tennis arena.

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]]><![CDATA[Are the Rolling Stones even mortal?]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/09/28/inenglish/1506596512_227245.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/09/28/inenglish/1506596512_227245.htmlThu, 28 Sep 2017 12:04:54 +0000The Stones are not searching for meaning in what they do because they are the meaning. In fact, who knows what came first: rock and roll or the Rolling Stones.

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]]><![CDATA[The best Spanish music festival you’ve never heard of]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/10/inenglish/1502361202_126543.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/10/inenglish/1502361202_126543.htmlThu, 10 Aug 2017 11:39:15 +0000It may not have the international cachet of the Benicàssim Festival (FIB), Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, or even the new Mad Cool festival in Madrid, but when it comes to providing a showcase for Spanish acts, Sonorama Ribera has few rivals.

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]]>Julián Rojas<![CDATA[Shocked Green Day pay homage to acrobat killed at Mad Cool festival]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/07/09/inenglish/1499582845_693135.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/07/09/inenglish/1499582845_693135.htmlMon, 10 Jul 2017 09:44:02 +0000“If we had known prior to our performance we most likely would not have played at all. We are not heartless people,” said the singer in the statement. The band had been criticized in some quarters for their decision to play after the fatal accident on the second day of the three-day festival, now in its second year.

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]]><![CDATA[The Foo Fighters’ biblical flood]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/07/07/inenglish/1499419854_983082.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/07/07/inenglish/1499419854_983082.htmlFri, 07 Jul 2017 12:07:41 +0000At 10.15pm, with the skies finally clear, the band from Seattle took to the huge main stage at Mad Cool. Dressed in black, singer and songwriter Dave Grohl literally jumped onto the stage, old-school style, as if the performance had already been in full swing for two hours rather than two minutes.

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]]>Kike Para<![CDATA[Paul Simon: “I’m more worried about what Trump is going to do to the planet than to my country”]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/16/inenglish/1479300369_256589.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/11/16/inenglish/1479300369_256589.htmlWed, 16 Nov 2016 15:51:51 +0000Paul Simon is not a man who likes to dwell on the past. He was due to give EL PAÍS an interview the day after Donald Trump’s shock US election win, but cancelled: “devastated” was how his manager described the singer, saying he had stayed in bed. Then, two days on, Simon was back on his feet and looking to the future.

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]]><![CDATA[EL PAÍS and Los 40 to bring Paul McCartney to Madrid]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/14/inenglish/1457949467_243982.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/14/inenglish/1457949467_243982.htmlTue, 15 Mar 2016 08:17:52 +0000More than a decade after his last visit, Paul McCartney is heading back to Spain for a double celebration.

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]]><![CDATA[Rolling Stones to play concert in Cuba for very first time]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/02/inenglish/1456933196_347625.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/02/inenglish/1456933196_347625.htmlWed, 02 Mar 2016 17:34:19 +0000The Rolling Stones will be providing the soundtrack for Cuba’s historic political and cultural liberalization. For years, the communist regime prohibited the sale of the band’s records, considering its music a symbol of capitalism. But now the Raúl Castro administration has opened the door to the greatest rock‘n’roll band in the world. The Rolling Stones will perform on the Caribbean island for the first time on March 25.

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]]><![CDATA[Neil Young to headline new major Madrid festival]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/27/inenglish/1453890142_400434.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/27/inenglish/1453890142_400434.htmlWed, 27 Jan 2016 14:55:57 +0000Madrid is set to get its own major music festival – and Neil Young has been recruited to headline its first edition.

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]]><![CDATA[The sounds of the Spanish summer]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/16/inenglish/1434465378_185097.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/06/16/inenglish/1434465378_185097.htmlWed, 17 Jun 2015 08:44:26 +0000Without music festivals, summer wouldn’t be the same – especially in Spain, a world leader when it comes to organizing them, both in terms of attendance figures and the quality of what’s on offer.

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]]>Cortesía Red Bull<![CDATA[88% of cultural content consumed online in Spain illegal, says industry]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/10/inenglish/1425997747_249854.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/10/inenglish/1425997747_249854.htmlTue, 10 Mar 2015 15:42:14 +0000Spain’s arts and entertainment industry has had the identity of its public enemy number one clear for a long time now: the crisis may by lethal, the government’s 21-percent VAT rate may have left many casualties, but the biggest danger? Piracy.

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]]>Claudio Álvarez<![CDATA[Spain’s music industry still seeking a way out of the jungle]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/25/inenglish/1424880255_595664.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/25/inenglish/1424880255_595664.htmlFri, 27 Feb 2015 18:20:32 +0000Perhaps the song that best sums up the state of the music industry both in Spain and around the world these days is Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 hit Welcome to the Jungle. After the worst decade in its history, during which sales have fallen by more than 50 percent, the Spanish music industry is showing signs of a gradual recovery, albeit thanks largely to sales by a few major artists.

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]]>víctor lerena<![CDATA[Springsteen rages against the crisis]]>https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2012/05/14/inenglish/1337020171_494165.htmlhttps://english.elpais.com/elpais/2012/05/14/inenglish/1337020171_494165.htmlMon, 14 May 2012 18:28:22 +0000In Seville on Sunday night, Bruce Springsteen channeled all his indignation into the roar of his ferocious, raw, rallying rock — the musical heir to the primitive sounds of gospel, R&B and folk. And, just like in his glory days, he made the thousands in the Estadio Olímpico La Cartuja feel like a community. "We'll keep pushin' till it's understood, and these badlands start treating us good," he bellowed out, in a cry adapted to the audience, after taking to the stage with Badlands.

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]]>Juan Ferreras