By Mike Sain't Louis ·
La insignia de artista: are you talent or just a chequebook?
«¿Eres talento o talón?» ("Are you talent or a cheque?") «¿Eres revolucionario o eres talonario?» ("Are you a revolutionary or a chequebook?") With those two questions the central character of La insignia de artista (The Artist's Badge) introduces himself, and I think they portray him better than any description.
He's someone fairly important, with contacts in the music world. The lyrics keep adding layers to that importance in an increasingly absurd way: contacts in production, in pleading, in exhaustion. I find that escalation hilarious, because it's exactly the feeling you get when you knock on the industry's doors: you don't know whether you're talking to an expert or to someone who manages other people's exhaustion.
The chorus is his verdict. If your music has no heart, no soul, and isn't different, there's the door, out of my sight. You don't deserve the artist's badge. And he rounds it off with a line that could be embroidered on an office cushion: I'm not a fatalist, I'm a realist, me in first class and you in economy. The song puts those words in his mouth so they sound as ridiculous as they are, with that nightclub-bouncer tone of someone deciding who gets in and who doesn't.
In the middle, Vega appears, with a very tender memory: her songs have been there for a whole lifetime, and for the narrator she's a diva. That moment breaks the jury's coldness and brings in some real admiration, the fan who also wants to be accepted by the people he's always listened to.
And the ending, «creo que ya me rindo» ("I think I give up now"), seems to me the best move. It's a fake surrender, delivered with a theatrical sigh, because the song exists and it's right here. Someone who really gives up doesn't release it.
For me it's about the gatekeepers, the people who hand out artist cards as if they owned them. I dedicate it to anyone who's been told «you're not enough» by someone with an office and who, even so, keeps doing their thing. Put it on before an important meeting and walk in with your chin up.
The full lyrics are below. Listen on Spotify
Lyrics · LA INSIGNIA DE ARTISTA
Alguien bastante importantecon contactos en el mundo de la música,y de la producción,de la súplica,de la extenuación,alguien bastante importante con contactos en el mundo de la música,y de la producción,de la pregunta¿Eres talento o talón?¿Eres revolucionario o eres talonario?
Si tu música es un algoritmoentonces no corazónSi tu música es un algoritmoentonces no almaSi tu música es un algoritmoentonces no distintoNi corazón, ni alma, ni distintoahí tienes la puerta, fuera de mi vistaNo mereces la insignia de artistaNo soy fatalista, soy realistaYo en primera clase y tú en turista
Ya lo dijo una vez Vegasus canciones me han acompañado toda mi vida,para mí es una diva,tal vez no le guste que use IA
No sé,creo que ya me rindo
Si tu música es un algoritmoentonces no corazónSi tu música es un algoritmoentonces no almaSi tu música es un algoritmoentonces no distintoNi corazón, ni alma, ni distintoahí tienes la puerta, fuera de mi vistaNo mereces la insignia de artistaNo soy fatalista, soy realistaYo en primera clase y tú en turista
No sé,creo que ya me rindo
Lyrics as published with the official music video, on the MIKE SAIN'T LOUIS label.