Rocktrospectiva: The Finest And Succesfully "Crowded House" Turns 40

Released on 1 August 1986 "Crowded House" was the debut studio album by Australian/New Zealand rock band Crowded House, produced by Mitchell Froom, it includes the international hit single "Don't Dream It's Over", as well as the singles "Mean to Me", "World Where You Live", "Now We're Getting Somewhere", and "Something So Strong".

After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984, Neil Finn and drummer Paul Hester decided to form a new band. Bass player Nick Seymour approached Finn during the after party for the Melbourne show of the Split Enz farewell tour and asked if he could try out for the new band. Former Swingers and soon-to-be Midnight Oil bass player Bones Hillman was also a candidate, but it was Seymour's playing on the demo for "That's What I Call Love" that earned him the spot. The group, then named The Mullanes, also included the Reels guitarist Craig Hooper, who left the band before they signed with Capitol Records. 

Capitol rejected the name "The Mullanes", as well as alternatives such as "Largest Living Things". The name "Crowded House" was adopted after the trio flew to Los Angeles to record the album and were provided with a very cramped apartment to live in. Four decades later, the album remained as a breakers moment in Antipodes music history, but while Split Enz had enjoyed major success in Australia and New Zealand, the band’s commercial breakthrough into the United States remained elusive, something this band managed to changed that trajectory. 

Talking about history, we have to go back with Split Enz's final studio album "See Ya 'Round" which arrived in November 1984 following the departure of founding member Tim Finn. Neil Finn suddenly found himself leading a group that had largely been defined by his older brother’s presence. By his own account, he felt uncertain about carrying the band forward. The resulting album was assembled from a limited collection of Neil Finn songs and supplemented by material from other band members. Yet buried within demos from that period were early versions of songs that would eventually become cornerstones of Crowded House. Primitive versions of Something So Strong, I Walk Away and Can’t Carry On were already taking shape as Neil Finn began moving beyond the Split Enz framework.

Recording sessions took place primarily at Capitol Recording Studios and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Producer Mitchell Froom helped shape a sound that retained the melodic sophistication of Split Enz while stripping away many of its theatrical elements. The album's clean arrangements and emphasis on songcraft proved crucial to its appeal. Neil Finn’s songwriting sat at the centre, supported by Seymour’s melodic bass playing and Hester’s dynamic drumming. The breakthrough came with the classic "Don’t Dream It's Over." Released as a single in late 1986, the song reached No. 2 in the United States and became one of the most recognised songs ever written by an Australian or New Zealand artist. "Something So Strong" followed as another major international hit, while "Mean To Me" and "World Where You Live" further established the band’s identity.

The album also carried traces of its Split Enz heritage. I Walk Away, originally the lead single from See Ya ‘Round, was re-recorded for international editions of the album after Capitol recognised that US audiences had never been exposed to the earlier version. The revised recording helped bridge the gap between Finn’s past and future, symbolising the transition from one era to another.

Crowded House was just more than a successful debut and well-received by critics and audiences like-same, it also represented a rare example of a band successfully emerging from the shadow of a beloved predecessor and creating something with an even broader global reach. 

 

Crowded House Track List:  

 

1. Mean To Me

2. World Where You Live

3. Now We're Getting Somewhere

4. Don't Dream It's Over

5. Love You 'Til The Day I Die

6. Something So Strong

7. Hole In The River

8. Can't Carry On

9. I Walk Away

10. Tombstone

11. That's What I Call Love  

The Anniversary: MTV's Twin Channel M2 Was Launched 30 Years Ago.

On this date 30 years ago, MTV officially expanded its music video empire thanks to a commercial-free, second channel: M2 later know as MTV2, the network was created as an all-music-video spin-off to offset its parent channel's shift toward general and reality programming. 

So by 1996, several indie rock and pop outfits were finding their way onto MTV, but ghess what?, it was the days in which the original network started to changed music videos for reality shows. So why launch a second channel focused solely on music videos when the original was seemingly getting the job done?.

The reality shows were already springing up across MTV in the early/mid '90s, and the company wanted to keep fans satisfied with non-stop music videos, decided to go with this new network named at the time M2 -- which would later be rebranded as MTV2 in 1999 -- attempted to reach that goal, and was also used as an opportunity to feature a higher diversity of music videos than MTV was doing at the time. The channel launched via satellite with Beck's "Where It's At", the network inaugural VJs where the 120 Minutes host "Matt Pinfield", Rolling Stones' Jancee Dunn &  radio-industry veteran Kris Kosach, targetting viewers around 23/25 age to up.

Even when we know that MTV betrayed its music video roots for all its reality programming, 30 years ago, believe it or not, critics were having very similar conversations back in the mid-'90s. In fact, when M2 launched in '96, music writer Sean Piccoli wrote "MTV has" put some truth back into the promise of their title: Music Television. And they’ve made it harder to dislike them for all the dreck they pass off as programming on the original channel. Watching the foundling M2, whose start up and first hour were simulcast this week by MTV, it was stunning to see in this new venture how far the parent network has strayed from its roots."

He also highlighted some of the channel's additional programming: “M2’s only nonmusical programming, per se, came in a pair of minute-long segments featuring artists talking about things they love. In the first piece, Porno For Pyros frontman Perry Farrell, grinning like a dope against a backdrop of animated wallpaper, talked about getting hold of a bootleg tape with 20 versions of a little-known Jimi Hendrix song, "Gypsy Boy." In the second piece, Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton reminisced about the heyday of urban break-dancing.” As he noted, M2 played 15 music videos in its first hour of broadcast, including clips from PJ Harvey, Hayden, Gary Young and A Tribe Called Quest,  then M2 is doing part of its job."

M2/MTV2 spent its first decade playing uninterrupted blocks of alternative, rock, and classic music videos, then gradually introduced lifestyle and comedy shows, eventually dropping music videos entirely around 2017.

Today, MTV2 -- much like its predecessor -- is unrecognizable from what it was when it first launched. Reality TV, comedy programs and game shows have taken hold of the channel, with a few music videos sprinkled in for good measure.

The Anniversary: When MTV Launched A New Era In Music 45 Years Ago.

It was exactly on 1 August, 1981, when Music Television—known as MTV—launched its first broadcast with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star,"  ushering in a new era of pop music. It was the best of TV combined with the best of radio, video jockey Mark Goodman told the audience in the wee hours of the night. 

The nerwork turned out to be a potent mix, with video becoming as important as the music itself. Among the first videos shown on MTV were Pat Benetar’s “You Better Run,” Rod Stewart’s "She Won’t Dance with Me," and The Who's "You Better You Bet."

 Although MTV wasn't the pioneer of the music video concept—its origins can be traced back to the 1960s with The Beatles and The Monkeys—and in the late 1970s a show emerged that many consider the direct ancestor of MTV: the famous "PopClips" on Nickelodeon, conceived by former Monkeys member Michael Nesmith. It only lasted one season, but its brief contribution was fundamental to the arrival of MTV. 

Of course, every beginning has its challenges, even for MTV. The debut couldn't even be seen in New York, and many of the producers recount traveling to New Jersey to watch the launch in a bar. There were other places where it was available from the very beginning. The truth is, it's not known for sure who actually saw the channel's debut on August 1, 1981. Many of us remember it and were able to watch it because VH1, for its 30th anniversary, dedicated the first 24 hours to its broadcast, and today at least the first two hours are available on YouTube. After the first clip, everything went silent for a few moments, then Pat Benatar appeared, followed by a brief description of the evolution of human sound, and then more videos, which were scarce at the time, many of them from years earlier. There was even a Rod Stewart video from 1976. 

In those first few hours, viewers could watch REO Speedwagon, The Who, Blondie, Styx, The Pretenders, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, Split Enz, and April. Wine, among others, and then the official presentation of the first VJs: the great Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Nina Blackwood. It's curious how Goodman comments on how quickly time has passed since the channel's launch, and now it reaches its 45 anniversary, unfortunately with more sorrow than glory. 

The network gradually took off until the "I Want My MTV" campaign, promoted by luminaries like Hall & Oates, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Billy Idol, The Police, and others, aimed to get cable distributors to include it in their programming. Little by little, its influence became omnipresent, with virtually no competition. Although programs like "Night Tracks" appeared on NBC over time, it wasn't the same. MTV's success made music videos essential for established artists and newcomers aspiring to success, benefiting the music industry by giving space to Black artists like Michael Jackson. This was also due to pressure from other artists, since initially there were hardly any Black artists on the programming. Then came "Thriller," and everything changed. The massive success of this video, which many consider the best in MTV history (for me, it's "Take On Me"), encouraged the creation of the VMAs in 1984, whose first ceremony was simple yet successful. Setting the course, and then, even though they continue to be delivered, their influence or value is worthless. 

Obviously the network evolved, delivering memorable moments and programs. For example, the famous "The Basement Tapes," the support for indie music in "120 Minutes," the metal in "Head Bangers Ball," the rap segment "Yo MTV Raps," the "Top 20 Countdown," the Spring Break specials, and the famous "MTV Unplugged," which began with XTC's performance and spawned memorable moments like those with Nirvana and R.E.M. Then came the creation of its younger sibling, VH1, MTV Europe, followed by MTV Latino, Alternative Nation, and AMP. Just as the channel was beginning to decline in the mid-90s, MTV2 breathed new life into the channel, recapturing its golden age and remaining on the air until its cancellation in 2003, leaving us with nothing. There were key moments like the famous "Unplugged," whose idea originated from an acoustic show with XTC, but it was Eric who truly made it happen. Clapton, Paul McCartney, R.E.M., and Nirvana showed that the format would reach massive heights. And what can be said about the VMAs, which after 1985 evolved into something unmissable? I remember the ceremony being considered a massive and unmissable event, until it stopped being innovative and enjoyable from the late 90s onwards. 

Unfortunately, little by little, the network content began to fade and replace music videos with trash reality TV, first was "Real World" back in 1992, and from then on it wouldn't stop, without knowing it, we were witnessing the beginning of the end, until everything became unbearable. Unfortunately over the decades, MTV went through many different phases before ultimately fading as cable TV was replaced by the internet—but not without forever leaving its mark on music.

New Music: Ever The Optimist

           

The legendary Scotish band Trashcan Sinatras has just releaed the official music video for "Ever the Optimist". Filmed at the Harbour Arts Center in Irvine, Scotland on June 18th, 2026. The new Trashcan Sinatras album “Ever the Optimist” is also out now. Since then, they’ve survived label turnover, bankruptcy, losing their studio and members now living on both sides of the Atlantic, releasing five more albums, the last of which was 2016’s wild Pendulum.

New Music: Bye Bye Bailando

           

Flans continues celebrating four decades in music industry with the release of their new and fourth single "Bye Bye Bailando," taken from their latest album, "Flans 40 Sin Control." The new track follows the success of the singles "Si Mañana Es Nunca," "Trágico Mágico," and "Por Amarte Así," solidifying a phase in which the singers focus on relatable, everyday stories, accompanied by contemporary sounds and a renewed vocal style that showcases the adaptability and harmony between Ilse and Mimi. Rather than dwelling on the past, the now duo says this anniversary is an opportunity to thank their fans for their support over the past four decades and, at the same time, continue captivating new generations. Video directed by Selma Cervantes. 

New Music: All Falls To Me

           

Jesus Jones shares their new single "All Falls To Me" is the second track to be taken from the upcoming band's new album "Twilight" to be released in September 2026, the visuals are taken from the band's travels, on the world tour they did in 2023/2024. The tune start with a Flamenco intro and the goes into transition to a dancy sound pretty much as Jesus Jones trademark, in the video you can see Mike diving into the idea of Solipsism the tought that the onlu thing which truly exists is oneself. 

Rocktrospectiva: The Absorbing And Uplifting "First Contact" Turns 25

Released on 30 July 2001 "First Contact was the debut studio album by US house producer Roger Sanchezwho after establishing himself as a popular DJ and remixer throughout the 1990s, decided he wanted to create more of his own music and record a studio album, feeling he had "a bit of a story to tell with his life." Conceiving the album to be a very personal "reflection of his life", Sanchez recorded First Contact over a four-year period. Music critics have described the record as a disco house album which displays a disparate array of influences and styles, including garage, Latin and electro. Numerous guest vocalists, including Cooly's Hot Box, N'Dea Davenport and Sharleen Spiteri, contribute vocals to the record. The album spawned four single "I Never Knew", "Another Chance", "You Can't Change Me" & "Nothin' 2 Prove."

Throughout the 1990s, disc jockey Roger Sanchez had been brought to a worldwide audience via his career as a remixer, but he wasn't satisfied. Like many DJs, he wanted to be an artist. And he wanted to be the best and if remixing had taught him one thing, it was how to make records." Sanchez conceived the idea of making an album when he found himself producing enough of his own material. He said of making First Contact: "I think for me what happened was that rather than initially saying 'Oh, I want to do an album', it got to the point that after years of just doing one off singles and remixes, I started producing a couple of my own tracks and I just felt I had a bit of a story to tell with my life."Although Sanchez had released several DJ mix albums and compilation albums in the 1990s and 2000s, including his then-recent Ministry of Sound mix Sessions Eleven: The R-Senal Sessions (2000), First Contact was the DJ's first studio album.

Sanchez said he wanted to create a "very personal" album that gave listeners "a little bit of background about where I'm from and where my mind is at, plus some of my own experiences so people could relate to it and vibe with it." Upon its completion in 2001, the album had drastically changed from its previous form a year and a half earlier: "I just thinned it out, focused it and concentrated it more. I'm very happy with the outcome." The DJ felt the final album "reflects and expands on the sounds that have shaped his life."

Sanchez constructed the album's tracks "like a house." He explained: "Everything has a foundation and the track is a construction. The skeleton frames, the beams are the bassline, and you build it up around that. I often start with the drums, although recently I've started to subvert that, to challenge myself more, and start with, say, a melody. I treat every track as a problem that I have to solve." Production of the song "Another Chance" was initially an issue as Sanchez felt it needed vocals, so he sampled the 1982 song "I Won't Hold You Back" by rock band Toto after he found the Toto IV album lying in the studio. Despite never taking 'blatant' samples, he made an exception for the Toto track as "lyrically it just made the track and hit something I'd gone through." Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger described the production of "Another Chance" as Sanchez "hearing something in the winsome intro of an old Toto hit, cutting it loose, and then letting this tiny scrap of song spin through seven minutes of house music." 

The album composition described by Sanchez as "a reflection of my life", is a lush and soulful house and disco house album, mixing smooth garage styles into a harder sound influenced by "fresh new beats" emerging from the United Kingdom and Europe. The album explored different styles and influences, including garage, electro and Latin music. A brief skit opens the album, in which Sanchez is heard logging on to his computer, which invites him "to select a track". This  was followed by "Computabank", influenced by 1980s electronica acts like Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk, and incorporating styles of electro and industrial music. Julie C of Resident Advisor said the song gives listeners a taste of the style of electronica music "now filtering through their air waves" that had been adopted by Daft Punk. The emotional second track "Another Chance" featured two hooks, namely the repeating vocal, sampled from Toto's "I Won't Hold You Back", and the double drum-hit "that kicks the track up a notch each time it comes."

"Contact" was a deep house track fusing throbbing bass sounds and flanged sampling work. The disco-styled diva house song "You Can't Change Me" was a collaboration with Armand van Helden and vocalist N'Dea Davenport. The lyrics were based on an argument Sanchez had with his ex-girlfriend: "She became my manager and it broke up pretty badly. My career, my music comes first, and I travel all over the world. This is how it is, so if you walk into my life you have to expect it. "The Partee" was a big beat and house track driven by a brassy Latin music groove that highlights Sanchez's Dominican roots. "Ventura" is a 'formless' track based upon a chunky groove, followed by the disco-styled "I Never Knew", which features strings and "lite-funk" vocals from the group Cooly's Hot Box. "Nothing 2 Prove" is a laid-back song featuring vocals from Sharleen Spiteri of the group Texas. The genesis for the song came after Sanchez remixed Texas' hit "In Our Lifetime". Angela Johnson sings on the "electro soul" closing song "Leavin'". 

First Contact was released to general acclaim from music critics by hailing the album as Sanchez's return "to the dance/club scene" and describing it as "undoubtedly one of the best albums released that year." also cited the album in which house music finally had found a new direction, after the genre had been "going round in circles uncertain of which direction to take." An extraordinarily absorbing record" that sounds "at once eerily uplifting and emotional, statuesque and clinical."

 

First Contact Track List: 

 

0. Try

1. Computabank

2. Another Chance

3. Contact

4. You Can't Change Me

5. The Partee

6. Ventura

7. I Never Knew

8. Nothing 2 Prove

9. Leavin 

10. Static  

Rocktrospectiva: The Acclaimed And Influential "Is This It" Turns 25

Released on 30 July 2001 "Is This It" was the debut studio album by US band The Strokes, it was recorded at Transporterraum in New York City with producer Gordon Raphael during March and April 2001. For their debut, the band strived to capture a simple sound that was not significantly enhanced in the studio. The album spawned three singles "Hard To Explain", "Last Nite" & "Someday". 

Formed back in 1998, the Strokes consisted of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Casablancas's stepfather and Moretti's and Fraiture's older brothers introduced the quartet to the music of reggae artist Bob Marley, protopunk group the Velvet Underground, and alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Discussing the formative stages of the group, Moretti noted, "Our music was, like, [the Doors'], but trying to be classical. We all took music classes and tried writing songs, and when we put them together they were this crazy amalgam of insane ideas that we thought was really cool." In 1998, Albert Hammond Jr., whom Casablancas knew from his time at a Swiss boarding school, moved to New York City to attend film school and joined the Strokes as a second guitarist, his arrival provided the catalyst for the band's musical and emotional evolution.

After the deal with RCA, the Strokes started working with Gil Norton, who had produced recordings for alternative rock group Pixies. Although the two parties developed a rapport, the band were unhappy with the results of preliminary sessions which they thought sounded "too clean" and "too pretentious"; the three songs recorded with Norton were scrapped.

Before recording started, the Strokes and Raphael organized a listening session with the musical material Hammond and Casablancas had brought to show the tone and energy they liked. At the meeting, the band said they wanted to go in a different direction than contemporary music. Casablancas wanted Is This It to sound like "a band from the past that took a time trip into the future to make their record". The approach for the album became more studied than that of The Modern Age. The group wanted the majority of songs to sound like them playing live, while they requested a few others to be like "a weird, in-studio production with a drum machine, even though no drum machine was used". The songs of the latter type were done track-by-track and were crafted into non-standard rock arrangements. Raphael's background in industrial music played a large part in the album's conception.

During six weeks in the studio, the Strokes' gritty sound became the emphasis of the sessions. The band usually recorded songs only once, based on Casablancas's preference for "raw efficiency". RAT effects pedals and overdriving amplifiers were used at times, "taking sounds, disintegrating them and then bringing them back". The band wanted things to be only slightly stressed, with no heavy-handedness in terms of studio effects; only distortion and reverse echo were widely used. Throughout the process, Raphael improvised according to the reactions that he got from the group. At one point, he had to cope with the threat of eviction from his Transporterraum studio, but once the Strokes received backing from RCA, time and money were no longer pressing concerns. The label's A&R delegate initially did not like what had been recorded and felt that the album was not going to be professional enough. The producer and the band were given complete control only when Casablancas persuaded the delegate by playing him some of the new material on a boom box. 

Inspired by the Velvet Underground's production and the direct approach of punk rock band Ramones, the miking scheme for the drum kit included only three microphones: one above it, one for the bass drum, and one in the corner of the studio. It was crafted to capture "a compressed, explosive sound". On Moretti's advice, the transfer from the two loud guitars and the rumble of the bass picked up by the drum-kit microphones was not eliminated. The guitars were recorded more simply; Hammond and Valensi both used Fender DeVille amps on opposite sides of the room, while Raphael positioned a mic on each. The sound was then fed directly into a preamp with no equalization. Valensi commented that guitar teacher and mentor Bowersock was invaluable because he was articulating things to the producer that the group could not. While the rest of the Strokes played to a click track, Casablancas sang through a small Peavey practice amp to retain a sense of low fidelity on the album. Raphael mixed as he went along to maintain control of the record until the final mastering stage; the producer aimed to show the Strokes a final product as soon as the band finished performing a track.

The composition of the record reflected on Casablancas's stuff about life and relationships of young people in New York City. Exemplifying this theme, "The Modern Age" is a rant about the oddness of modern life. "Barely Legal" concerns a girl who has just arrived at the age of consent. Discussing its risqué nature, Moretti has stated, "It should be taken the way you interpret it. The lyrics mean different things to different people." "Alone, Together" continues the sexual theme by dropping hints about cunnilingus, while the yelp at the start of "New York City Cops" was created as a pastiche of rock band Aerosmith. "Soma" takes influence from the fictional drug in Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World. Here Casablancas is discussing drug use to fit in with the cool crowd.

The music on the other hand has been described as a garage rock revival, indie rock, and post-punk revival album. All songs on the album were mixed using 11 or fewer audio tracks. According to Valensi, the album contains "no gimmicks, no tricks" to try to get the listener to like the compositions. It opens with the title track, which features a simple, metronomic drum line, a recurring feature in the rest of the record. Containing one of the slowest tempos, "Is This It" is the Strokes' attempt at a ballad. "The Modern Age" follows and includes a guitar riff accompanied by a complementary drum line. Its staccato verse is followed by an upbeat, singalong chorus and a guitar solo. Discussing the album's simplicity and measured approach, Valensi has commented, "We don't put in a guitar solo just to have one." "Soma" incorporates jerky rhythms and starts and ends with the same guitar and drum chimes, while "Barely Legal" contains some of the album's softer guitar melodies inspired by Britpop as well as drumming patterns that evoke the sound of primitive 1980s drum machines. The fifth track on the record, "Someday", is infused with rockabilly elements and interlocking guitar lines, the latter a recurring element of Is This It. "Alone, Together" is driven by a staccato rhythm, and climaxes first with a guitar solo, then a repeat of the central guitar hook. "Last Nite" is also a guitar-driven song, but leans towards pop music influences. At its core, there are reggae-inspired rhythm guitar lines played by Hammond, and studio noise effects. The rhythm section plays simple interlocking notes and beats.  Like "Soma", "Hard to Explain" contains processed drum tracks using dynamic range compression and equalization studio techniques to make them sound like a drum machine.

The album had two cover art, the international cover art of Is This It is by Colin Lane and features a photograph of a woman's rear and hip, with a leather-gloved hand suggestively resting on it. The model was Lane's then-girlfriend, who explained that the photoshoot was spontaneous and happened after she came out of the shower naked. Lane recalled that a stylist had left the glove in his apartment and noted, "We did about 10 shots. There was no real inspiration, I was just trying to take a sexy picture." The result was included in the book The Greatest Album Covers of All Time, in which Grant Scott, one of the editors, noted influences from the works of Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin. 

For the American market and the October 2001 release, the cover art of Is This It was changed to a psychedelic photograph of subatomic particle tracks in a bubble chamber. The image first appeared on new age artist Bruce Becvar's 1988 album The Nature of Things. 

The album received widespread critical acclaim; and described the Strokes as "a great groove band", and noted that "the beats implode, clashing/resolving with punky brevity and gnarly faux simplicity". One of the best debut with a perfect 10 review by a guitar band during the past 20 years. Some reviewers noted that "Is This It" sounded similar to the works of 1970s bands the Velvet Underground, Television and the Feelies. and suggested that, while the work of the Velvet Underground is an obvious inspiration for the Strokes, the band's only similarity to the other groups is the confidence with which they perform. Althought some reviews smashed the record a called it such a bore album who doesn't deserved al the excessive hype it has it. Even thought, the album is considered so influential something like a world-changing moment in mainstream music in the US and the UK.

 

Is This It Track List: 

 

1. Is This It

2. The Modern Age

3. Soma

4. Barely Legal

5. Someday

6. Alone, Together

7. Last Nite 

8. Hard To Explain

9. New York City Cops 

10. Trying Your Luck

11. Take It Or Leave

New Music: Now We Can't Be Friends

          

Bloc Party has premiered a new song called "Now We Can't Be Friends," a track off the band's upcoming album, Anatomy of a Brief Romance. The single marks the third song to be released off Anatomy of a Brief Romance, following "Coming on Strong" and "Love Bomb." the new album it's due out September 11.

Retro: Vanilla Ice En Concierto

Hoy hace 35 años tuvo lugar el llamado "Concierto Del Año" como los medios de aquel entonces se encargaron de llamar al show que Vanilla Ice conocido también como el rapero blanco ó el "Elvis del rap, vino a dar a Guatemala. 

 

Y si efectivamente era todo un suceso por la talla del artista que se trataba y porque era algo raro y bueno todavía lo sigue siendo, que un artista en su prime venga a ofrecer shows por estos lares, generalmente lo hacen cuando ya les paso el momento, y si no, a manera de decir que "peor es nada" la infame moda de traer grupos o artistas tributos para que el público se conforme al menos con eso. 

 

Hubo una vez una división entre el rap comercial y el de las calles, y precisamente Vanilla Ice pertenecía al primera que sin necesidad de entrar en polémicas y enfrentamientos con la industria musical, lograron tener éxito, la llamada época dorada del rap comercial con nombres de la talla de M.C. Hammer, Kid 'n' Play, Tone Loc y por el Iceman que ayudaron a popularizar el género entre finales de los 80s e inicios de los 90s.

 

Por aquel 1991, se barajeo la posibilidad de traer a M.C. Hammer y hasta confirmaron que el malogrado acto C+C Music Factory vendría a ofrecer un show, al final todo se quedo en la nada, pero curiosamente se confirmo la llegada de Vanilla Ice y desde ese momento, se convirtió en el evento del año. Había jingle que decía así: "Coca Cola te trae una noticia que bien te cae es Vanilla Ice es Concierto compra tus entradas en Discos & Cosas a Q. 40.00 y Q. 65.00"  toda una ganga comparando los precios de los shows de hoy en día. 

 

El concierto tuvo lugar en el Teodoro Palacios Flores, pusieron de teloneros a un grupo llamado Stress que la verdad nada que ver con el estilo de Vanilla Ice, pero era lo que había, al final hizo su presencia frente a una 8,000 personas aproximadamente durante unos 90 minutos interpretando los temas de su disco "To The Extreme", aunque por momentos me recordó mucho al "Extremely Live" álbum en directo que por ese entonces también se estaba promocionando. 

 

El show tuvo sentimiento encontrados para muchos fue increíble y para otros no tanto y entonces comenzaron a correr el mensaje que ese no había sido el verdadero Vanilla Ice sino un impostor, ya que no se parecía físicamente, además que no se sabia los pases de baile como en los videos, casi no hubieron bailarines, el sonido estuvo malo (aunque eso siempre ha pasado en los conciertos que se han dado por aquí), al final vino e hizo lo suyo y su show quedo marcado en los anales de eventos musicales destacados en la historia nacional y que hoy 35 años después recordamos como uno de los momentos más icónicos de aquel 1991 y de la década de los 90s.