I have a confession to make, people.
When I was a teenager, I...
...
...I liked Shakira's music a lot.
*dodges tomatoes*
But of course, the idea of Shakira as a musician is weird
now, that she became some sort of hybrid between Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera. You have to understand something, and it's the fact she used to be a
good artist before she sang in English. In the old times, when she was only famous in Latin America, she used to compose and play her own songs with the acustic guitar and sometimes harmonica solos. It was good pop music, splashed with some other genre influences (rock, ballad, reggae, Arabian, tropical, mariachi) in between. And her lyrics were amazing! Most of her songs were obviously about love, but they were original with nice combinations of words. The rest of them were actually meaningful, trying to send a message about humanity.
The point is, when I was in high school she rarely mentioned her hips, and only shaked her ass in one song. I swear to God.
It's so sad she sold out. And she looked soooo much prettier with black, straight hair.
To show my point, I'll plug some of her old videos. Most of you won't understand the lyrics, but I can guarantee you they're good. You can try to watch them anyway, not only for curiosity but also because the clips are conceptual and artistic in their own crazy way.
Pies descalzos (Bare feet) First video ever saw of her. The song is about human nature, from Eden to cavemen to modern society. The lyrics are so interesting. Check the rocker look she sported and the batshitness of the imagery, so fitting.
Dónde estás corazón (Where are you dear) Catchy song about wondering where her loved one is now and how she looked for him in every place she could think up. The lyrics were so much fun to memorize.
Un poco de amor (A little bit of love) Yay pseudo-reggae! :D
Se quiere, se mata (You love, you kill) The story of a very young couple who messed up. A song about abortion.
Ciega sordomuda (Blind, deaf, mute) About dumbness and stubborness of love. The video is just insane and makes no sense, but it's so much fun.
No creo (I don't believe) Another love song with somehow intellectual concepts. She doesn't believe in Marx, Sartre, whatever. Her only faith is her love. The video is pretty cool.
Inevitable I love this song. About silly confessions, and admitting she can't stop loving him. There's something so Lenny Kravitz about this video.
Ojos así (Eyes like those) Arabian song! Actually, Shakira is half Libanese (I think, or some other Middle-East country), so that explains this song. This is the only video pre-English of her in which you'll find her shaking her ass, and that's because she's belly dancing. Also, lol red hair.
So there you have it. Decadency of singers who were cool makes me a sad panda.