August 27th, 1984. In an underground fast food restaurant in Buenos Aires, an Argentinian trio is releasing its music to the world, and in doing so, making history.
Soda Stereo – formed by Gustavo Cerati (guitar and voice), Zeta Bosio (bass), and Charly Alberti (drums) – was at the beginning of a long and extraordinary career that would shift the music scene in Latin America and the world. Their debut and homonymous album, released at the end of a military dictatorship, was proof that local music was shifting towards new horizons, moved by the idea of a reconquered freedom after nearly a decade of military repression. Bands like Virus, Los Abuelos de la Nada, G.I.T, and artists like Charly García and Fito Paez completed the musical scene, representing the voices of a young generation facing a new perspective of things.
In this context, Soda Stereo found its place in the Argentinian public through its lyrics, filled with humoristic tones and subtle but sharp references to the military coup.
Background
The 80s in Argentina were marked by the Falklands War in 1982 and the end of the military dictatorship (that had begun in 1976) in 1983. At the time, music, as well as the rest of the arts, was marked by extreme censorship politics. However, this didn’t stop artists from expressing the cruel context the nation was facing; a lot of music, in a well-disguised way, was sharply reactionary against the military government.
By 1981, Soda Stereo was at a very early stage of its career, offering shows in some of the most iconic venues in Buenos Aires, following the footsteps of bands like Sumo. It was in one of these shows where the group got to perform in front of Rodríguez Ares (a music producer for CBS) and Federico, Marcelo, and Julio Moura from Virus (a very successful group that Ares was producing at the time). Since the beginning of the decade, Virus had become one of the bands leading the process of renovation that Argentine music was going through – a process that would reach its peak with the return of democracy.
With a little help from the Moura brothers, Ares saw a lot of potential in the new trio and offered them a contract with CBS. When the band agreed, the plans to record their debut album began. After many shows opening for other artists and months of work with Federico Moura as the producer of the record, ‘Soda Stereo’ saw the light in the underground of a fast food restaurant in Buenos Aires. With 15,000 copies sold, soon came the interviews and a national tour.
British Influence
British music, especially from the end of the 70s and the 80s, was a huge influence on the Argentinian group. The trio formation, for its arguable likeness to The Police, was criticised at the time. However, Soda Stereo would go on to prove that, although their influences were very strong, their music had an original stamp.
New Wave, Post-Punk and Ska music became the biggest inspirations for the group’s debut album. From their looks to their humorous and agitated pop sound, the band soon positioned itself in the likes of Virus and Sueter.
Towards 1985, and approaching the release of their second album ‘Nada Personal’, the group was shifting into a more The Cure-like appearance and its music was shaping into an even more distinctive and particular style.
¿Por qué no puedo ser del Jet Set?: A look into the lyrics and music from ‘Soda Stereo’
‘Soda Stereo’ is marked by its humorous tone and very particular sound. The album opens with ‘Por qué no puedo ser del Jet Set?’ a song that criticises the elite life with sharp irony and a Ska beat that reminds listeners of The Specials.
‘Tratame Suavemente’ – the third song in the album and one of their most iconic ones – is, interestingly enough, a cover. Composed by Daniel Melero and originally performed by Los Encargados, Federico Moura first thought of including it on ‘Relax’, his upcoming album with Virus. Eventually, he thought it would work best in Soda’s album since it would add a bit of a tone and sound change to the record. The song, a soft rock ballad, may sound like a letter to a lover: the person singing seems to be reproaching something to someone they love. A further look into its lyrics and the comments Melero made on them, reveal that the song is actually meant to be about dictator Leopoldo Galtieri and his declaration of war to Great Britain over the Falkland Islands. In this sense, the lyrics “quiero que me trates suavemente” (“I want you to treat me softly”), represent the cry of a nation that endured a decade of cruelty and violence.
The following song in the album is ‘Dietético’. What seemingly starts as an ironic statement of the band itself turns into a satire that criticises the beauty standard of the 80s. Lines like “somos un grupo dietético (...) canciones de amor con sacarina” (“we are a dietetic group (...) love songs with saccharine”), seem to be defining the band’s style and mocking advertisements of dietetic products. But what’s more interesting is the twist the song takes towards the end. The lines “el régimen se acabó” (“the regime is over”) take a whole different meaning when paralleled with the end of the military government and, again, the band manages to address the historical, social, and political context in which it was situated.
The album ends with ‘Mi novia tiene bíceps’ a Ska song that defines the fun and humorous overall style of the early Soda Stereo music. “Un misil en mi placard” and “Te hacen falta vitaminas” add up to the iconic songs that made this album a statement of the new musical panorama from post-dictatorship Argentina: satirical, reactionary, fun, and clever.
A Latin American hit
Soda Stereo quickly became one of Argentina’s most followed and beloved bands. With a platinum disc in its home country and a double platinum in Peru and Chile, Soda Stereo’s growing popularity and reception from the public was evidently beyond borders. Going further, the group achieved such a level of recognition that one of their last performances took them from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles.
The trio’s career inspired the creation of many bands that followed. No wonder why the death of frontman Gustavo Cerati in 2014 was mourned across the entire continent.
Soda Stereo left a long-lasting musical legacy that will continue to transcend generational, geographic, and language barriers.
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