By Mike Sain't Louis ·
We don't like La Oreja de Van Gogh any more, but we do like Amaia and Leire
Let the record show, first of all: I grew up with Amaia Montero. And I also screamed my lungs out to Leire Martínez's songs. They're both divas, two enormous voices that are part of the history of Spanish-language pop and, along the way, of mine. So the title of this song isn't about what it seems.
Ya no nos gusta La Oreja de Van Gogh (We Don't Like La Oreja de Van Gogh Any More) comes from a contradictory feeling I think many people of my generation share. We still like them, the two women. What no longer thrills us is the packaging, that tamed version the industry gradually made of a band that was once pure emotion, the kind you belted out with your Walkman on and your heart in your hand.
It's an ironic song, and irony always carries affection inside. There's no hatred here. There's love for music, nostalgia for when pop caught you off guard and left you trembling, and an honest criticism of how that pop lost its truth along the way. Adding humour to that seemed the best way to say it without bitterness.
Almost a premonition
There's a detail that still makes me laugh. I wrote it before Amaia's return to the group was announced. It was almost premonitory, as if the PLANETA GAYFOLK universe sensed that something was about to move, that nostalgia was about to be resurrected. And suddenly, the song took on a new meaning.
For me the underlying idea is simple: the divas are still shining, the problem is the system that no longer thrills. It's what many people think and few say out loud, especially when it comes to bands that were the soundtrack of our teenage years.
So this song is also a thank-you. Amaia, Leire, thank you for the songs. Two eternal voices, two different eras and the same need for pop to feel again.
I'd dedicate it to anyone who has a La Oreja album in some drawer and knows more of the lyrics by heart than they admit. Listen to it with your oldest friends, the ones from secondary school, and then open the debate. I know there'll be opinions.