Such a sad land. For most of the century Argentina has flirted with strong men at the left and the right. Whereas, rock music is America s hymn to disorder, rock is democracy on speed, do your own thing. To that extent rock music is anti-political and necessarily skeptical of the established order. When Elvis Presley visited Richard Nixon s White House, the two men seemed from different planets.
Rock music is less about saying something than about unsaying it.
Country music, by contrast, even thuggish rap music communicates with narrative. The most interesting idea I ve ever heard Madonna express was a necessity of striking a pose. Eva Peron became a genuine populist heroine. She was of the poor, and they, she grandly insisted, were of her. She had no ideas.