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Post by erik on Mar 24, 2015 9:36:58 GMT -5
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Post by hidalgo on Mar 24, 2015 12:54:32 GMT -5
Nice interview. There is always something new to be taken from each of Linda's interviews.
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Post by Dianna on Mar 24, 2015 17:43:11 GMT -5
Thats funny Linda mentioned "los Tigres del norte. I remember my mother telling me, that band can't go to Mexico because in their songs, they "out" the cartels.. name names.. lol
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Post by SenorLopez on Mar 24, 2015 19:47:37 GMT -5
Los Tigres del Norte Are Making Gay Norteño History
Los Tigres del Norte are making history today. The San Jose, Calif.–based norteño group are receiving a Special Recognition (Spanish Language) award from GLAAD for “Era Diferente,” a song on their newest album, Realidades. The song is about a lesbian teenager who falls in love with her best friend. It's the first song about gay love in the band's 47-year history.
A household name in Spanish-speaking America, Los Tigres have sold more than 37 million albums worldwide, having written some of the most memorable and iconic corridos in the history of norteño music. They have six Grammys and six Latin Grammys and were recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The GLAAD award was unexpected, says lead singer and accordion player Jorge Hernandez, “I thought that no one would notice this song,” he says. “When GLAAD called me, I thought it was very important that we are sending a message to the LGBT community.”
“Era Diferente” translates to “She Was Different,” and is about a young girl who struggles with boys fighting for her attention. “They make bets for her affection,” sings Hernandez, “but none of them win her love ... She was so different from the other girls because she was never interested in a boy’s love.”
This is the first time a norteño group has ever penned a gay love song in the entire history of the genre, says Hernandez, who wrote the song. The impetus for the song came after gay fans began approaching Los Tigres members after performances and asking them, “Why don’t you sing about us?”
“This interaction always stayed with me,” Hernandez says, “and I had the idea that one day I would write a song that would talk about this type of relationship.”
Los Tigres del Norte are known for penning corridos (ballads) about social issues, like “De Paisano a Paisano,” which speaks of the criminalization of immigrants trying to make a living in America. In “Mis Dos Patrias,” Los Tigres sing about the experience of maintaining loyalty to the performers' dual Mexican and American identities.
Many fans grew up watching the five-piece band perform on Spanish-language television in their matching sequined outfits, with cowboy hats (a trademark worn usually by Hernandez), cowboy boots, hand-sewn jackets, and vests. They've lived in the U.S. since the late 1960s, in the quiet suburbs of San Jose, where they first emigrated from Mexico.
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Post by Richard W on Mar 25, 2015 8:31:44 GMT -5
That's pretty awesome, SenorLopez. Thanks for posting.
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Post by PoP80 on Mar 25, 2015 8:56:38 GMT -5
Thanks for enlightening me about Los Tigres de Norte. Interesting comment Linda made about performers relating to their fans. It never occurred to me that she would think she was too hip for the audience, though some other rock stars might have appeared that way.
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Post by erik on Mar 25, 2015 9:19:13 GMT -5
Quote by PoP80:
And I don't think that us fans would have believed that Linda thought she was "too hip" for the audience. Linda may not have been comfortable being onstage, but she always seemed to overcome it with more out-of-the-ballpark performances than most others.
With respect to her comments on how shabbily our country treats immigrants coming up from Latin America (and we don't treat them well at all, to put it mildly), I would have to say that what is going on at the border is largely our fault, and not really the fault of Mexico, though our politicians (including those who lean Right) would like us to believe it to be the other way around. If I were to ask Linda anything political, it would be to what extent she feels our so-called "War On Drugs", and an antagonistic policy towards Left-leaning Latin American governments (which is to say the vast majority of them), is creating this crisis.
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Post by linda on Mar 25, 2015 11:16:28 GMT -5
Thanks for enlightening me about Los Tigres de Norte. Interesting comment Linda made about performers relating to their fans. It never occurred to me that she would think she was too hip for the audience, though some other rock stars might have appeared that way. Nice article. Just to clarify, if I may, Linda said Grace Slick turned her back on the audience, not her. Other than mentioning Grace Slick specifically , I think she was speaking more in general terms regarding the music business at that time. At least, that's how I read it. |
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Post by PoP80 on Mar 25, 2015 11:48:37 GMT -5
Yes, I know she was referring to Grace Slick in that particular context. Linda did say that she felt "ashamed" about it, so I got the impression she was including herself in that category. Hindsight is 20/20 and our perspectives do change as we get older and hopefully wiser.  |
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Post by linda on Mar 25, 2015 13:24:23 GMT -5
Yes, I know she was referring to Grace Slick in that particular context. Linda did say that she felt "ashamed" about it, so I got the impression she was including herself in that category. Hindsight is 20/20 and our perspectives do change as we get older and hopefully wiser. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 and I will use that right now. Sorry, Pop80, I didn't mean to imply ......  |
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Post by Dianna on Mar 25, 2015 21:29:23 GMT -5
Yes, I know she was referring to Grace Slick in that particular context. Linda did say that she felt "ashamed" about it, so I got the impression she was including herself in that category. Hindsight is 20/20 and our perspectives do change as we get older and hopefully wiser. well, I've not seen Los Tigres in concert but I'm sure Linda knows what she is talking about.. that said, there are a lot of American pop/country/rnb artists, even rockers who engage themselves with the audience. I'm sure Los Tigres are not the only ones.. |
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 25, 2015 22:59:41 GMT -5
Yes, I know she was referring to Grace Slick in that particular context. Linda did say that she felt "ashamed" about it, so I got the impression she was including herself in that category. Hindsight is 20/20 and our perspectives do change as we get older and hopefully wiser. The impression I got was that Linda was including herself as well, but as far as being too hip for the audience, I don't know about that. I remember a lot of performers talked about stage fright and the ways they combated the problem. Turning away from the audience was one way they handled it. Another was closing their eyes, which you can see Linda doing in some of the videos on youtube. But, if she felt ashamed about being too hip because she felt that way at the time, maybe that could also provide one reason as to why she dislikes the recordings from that time. The songs are a reminder of who she was and it's a time she'd rather forget. |
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Post by Guest on Mar 26, 2015 1:19:29 GMT -5
Grace is a hoot. Judging from Grace's comments she too felt like rock was for the under 30 crowd and was quite restless doing it so it isn't surprising she turned her back but more on the music than the audience:
antiMUSIC: I know you've said that all rock stars over 50 should retire but do you not feel periods of just wanting to get behind the mike at least and record?
Grace: No because if I do something I do it. All of it. In other words, showing up at the galleries, getting on the planes…I don't like it but that's part of it. If you make a record, you have to do the videos; go on the road to support it; do all the interviews, and I'm not a multi-tasker. Either I'm doing the painting thing, or I'd be doing music. But there's only two forms, one of them's rap and it's not even old enough to have anyone that's old, and the other is rock and roll. And they are young people's things. Now you can do classical music or rhythm and blues till you're 150 but not rock and roll and rap. It pains me to see old people leaping around trying to act like their 25. It's embarrassing. I just think 'Oh, god, honey. You don't have to get out of the music business: become a producer, write songs. But don't leap around and try to look like you're 35.' It's like those women on Hollywood boulevard who are about a million years old and they've got little cinch belts on and their hair beach blond and they're wearing spike heels and a big fancy skirt and you just think 'Oh, Jesus; give it up. You're a million years old and you look like a jerk.' If you're 24 years old and you go back to grammar school and you say 'Hi, can I play jacks with you guys?' The kids would look at you like 'Oh, Jesus', you know? It is harmless and if the Rolling Stones or Fleetwood Mac or whoever want to get up there and play and people want to see them, that's fine with me. I just don't want to do it. I felt like a jerk doing it when I was in my 40s.
Evidently she didn't care for any of her Starship years or music. Linda is not alone in that feeling but the little voice in Linda's head said to "move on Linda, move on" and she did.
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Post by Richard W on Mar 26, 2015 8:15:41 GMT -5
I wonder if Linda is referring to her stage habit of turning her back on the audience during the instrumental portions of her songs. She did that a lot, sometimes sitting down until the mic called her back.
I always interpreted that as Linda simply giving up the spotlight to the musicians.
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Post by PoP80 on Mar 26, 2015 10:13:52 GMT -5
I agree with your take on highlighting the musicians (and a brief rest period) during the shows. I don't think that's what she meant about rockers turning their back to the audience, or being disrespectful. It seems to be a more general attitude of "too cool for school" that some performers projected, along with big egos. Linda has mentioned feeling intimidated by the audience, so that's what surprised me about her comment.
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Post by sliderocker on Mar 26, 2015 22:16:46 GMT -5
I agree with your take on highlighting the musicians (and a brief rest period) during the shows. I don't think that's what she meant about rockers turning their back to the audience, or being disrespectful. It seems to be a more general attitude of "too cool for school" that some performers projected, along with big egos. Linda has mentioned feeling intimidated by the audience, so that's what surprised me about her comment. It's possible she could've felt both intimidated and "too cool" at different times in her career. Intimidated when she was younger and "too cool" when she was older and more assured as a performer. I hate to think Linda would've felt that she was too cool for her audience as that term to me suggests someone who had contempt for the fans. There has always been entertainers - singers, actors and musicians - who felt they got to where they were because of their talent. Their talent got them there but it was the fans who brought them the wealth (if they had that) and the fame. A singer could never have the million selling albums without the fans buying the recordings. And if Linda these days feels ashamed of herself for believing she was too cool for her audience or fans in earlier times, perhaps by seeing how people have reacted to the news of her illness, she has been humbled by the support the fans have for her. Of course, I am probably totally wrong, totally off the wall here but I think it's nice that Linda is more appreciative of her fans. |
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Post by Dianna on Mar 26, 2015 22:47:57 GMT -5
I agree with your take on highlighting the musicians (and a brief rest period) during the shows. I don't think that's what she meant about rockers turning their back to the audience, or being disrespectful. It seems to be a more general attitude of "too cool for school" that some performers projected, along with big egos. Linda has mentioned feeling intimidated by the audience, so that's what surprised me about her comment. It's possible she could've felt both intimidated and "too cool" at different times in her career. Intimidated when she was younger and "too cool" when she was older and more assured as a performer. I hate to think Linda would've felt that she was too cool for her audience as that term to me suggests someone who had contempt for the fans. There has always been entertainers - singers, actors and musicians - who felt they got to where they were because of their talent. Their talent got them there but it was the fans who brought them the wealth (if they had that) and the fame. A singer could never have the million selling albums without the fans buying the recordings. And if Linda these days feels ashamed of herself for believing she was too cool for her audience or fans in earlier times, perhaps by seeing how people have reacted to the news of her illness, she has been humbled by the support the fans have for her. Of course, I am probably totally wrong, totally off the wall here but I think it's nice that Linda is more appreciative of her fans. I know there are some artists who are very outspoken and forever indebted to the fans. they seem very grateful. I may get virtually smacked for saying so but I never got that impression from Linda.. Aside earning a living I just thought she performed as a learning experience and didn't think highly of her achievements and special talent. Because of her outspokenness I never thought of her as a shy person but maybe she did feel uncomfortable in the beginning performing in front of many.. I never got the impression she thought she was "too cool," for the audience because she was always second guessing her talents. one would have to have a big head/ego to come off as too cool. when I have seen Linda in concert she is engaged with the audience and her vibe is warm but not overly i.e. "I love my fans." lol sometimes, IMO, the artists who come off as forever indebted are IMO the bigges hams and in need of attention lol.. they even have nicknames for their fans. Anyway, I relate to Linda, as I'm sure many others do.. she's very grounded and normal and I love that about her. |
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Post by eddiejinnj on Mar 27, 2015 6:28:33 GMT -5
I always thought that Linda didn't think she was a diva/someone to be emulated so she thought her fans shouldn't make such a fuss but even if she had modest goals for herself to make singing a living, you do need some kind of following even if it is a local/regional one to make singing a career. she expressed it thoughtfully on the tonight show during get closer when she was discussing fans say in a restaurant etc. At times fans can impede on her personal life but she did acknowledge it comes with the territory. eddiejinnj
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Post by Richard W on Mar 27, 2015 8:31:55 GMT -5
I agree with you, Dianna and Eddie. My impression, and I've seen her in concert, what, eight times?, is that she doesn't perform to the audience, she performs with the musicians on stage with her. Linda's live performance attitude toward the audience has always been (sez me) a "professional" one: they pay to hear her sing, she sings.
That said, there have been times when the audience has exploded with spontaneous appreciation for her powerful delivery of song or a hair-raising sustain and you could tell that Linda, initially rather surprised at the response, genuinely feels the love of her audience for her, even as she underplays it with smiles and nods at their approval.
Of course, we can't forget that Linda had terrible stage fright and had to come to terms with the fact that her magnificent gift drew crowds to her and she had to stand before them night after night. I imagine that collective mass of faceless humanity out there in those stadiums and arenas was intimidating to someone of Linda's nature, to say the least. I think this caused her to seek refuge in the band.
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Post by erik on Mar 27, 2015 8:59:16 GMT -5
Quote by Richard W:
This, and the fact that knowing she is a modest person makes it even more special for that audience. They know that Linda is the "Real Deal", so to speak; and it's also why a lot of her fans also happen to be her peers too, in my opinion.
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