Stuck In My Skull 535 -- "Empire"

Song: "Empire" || Artist: Shakira || http://youtu.be/QapfTGTXbxc ||

Comments: Good morning and happy Wednesday, everyone! To help you get through Hump Day, I've got a song that'll put a smile on your face, a beat in your ear, and get your mind out of a rut. A more rock-influenced song than many of Shakira's recent hits, "Empire" opens with a soft, acoustic section before bringing in some really well-done guitars behind the Columbian singer's powerful vocals. It's got a bit of electronic distortion in the chorus that I think is really well done, up there with the purposeful misuse of autotune in Kanye West's album 808s & Heartbreak. And yes, I just made a Kanye-Shakira comparison, and yes, I'm still torn about how I feel about that. Either way, this song keeps getting stuck in my head, so I figured it was time to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

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ETC #70 "Si Te Vas" and "Escondite Ingles"

Song: "Si Te Vas" ~ Artist: Shakira

~ http://youtu.be/xZ1PoPRIuGk ~

Comments: Hey, everyone. I apologize for the lack of posting on Friday. Things have been crazy for me. And I apologize for any lack of posting this week in advance even though I'm not planning on missing any. I figured I would bring to you some songs by a popular artist, but some of her old music that you may not have heard before. This first song ("If You Leave") is a favourite of mine of Sra. Shakira off her album Donde estan los ladrones. It has an upbeat tempo to lyrics that are not so happy, and it just makes me want to get up and dance. The tune is one that I remember being stuck in my head for days at a time. And furthermore, this live performance, especially at the end, shows off her voice and the power that she really has. Her singing is actually comparable to what she sounds like on the album unlike some other artists who sound absolutely terrible live of who I will not name here. 

Song: "Escondite Ingles" ~ Artist: Shakira

~ http://youtu.be/AQhhFNVu5Xk ~

Comments: The second song "English Hide and Seek" from her album Fijacion Oral is one that starts out slow, but quickly speeds up and the entire way it doesn't necessarily show off the range of her voice, but it certainly does show the power and control she has by quickly switching between sweet and soft to deep and powerful. Unfortunately, neither of these songs have English versions. Usually on Tuesdays I pick songs that aren't in the spotlight for artists and usually the ones that have English versions for Shakira are her singles and that isn't even always true.  Either way, I hope that you all enjoy having a little bit of Shakira to shake up your Tuesday morning and I highly encourage you to listen to some of her late 90s music because it is just as good  and as much pop as her current stuff just more Spanish.  Happy listening!

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Stuck In My Skull 371 -- "Rabiosa"

Song: "Rabiosa" || Artist: Shakira || http://youtu.be/8OO1pOqRJkA [Spanish] http://youtu.be/a5irTX82olg [English] ||

Comments: Hello, all. Sorry about my lack of a post yesterday. Things got a little... hectic. Anyway. Shakira is now a mother, and we are pleased to celebrate the birth of her daughter Milan yesterday. To celebrate, I decided to do a Shakira song for today. I'm actually really surprised I haven't used this previously. Like most of Shakira's hits, this song has both an English version (in this instance, featuring Pitbull, of all people) and a Spanish version (featuring El Cata, which I greatly prefer). So, I'm curious. Since this song is the same beat, Latin-inspired rhythm instrumentation and tune, and same lead vocalist across both English and Spanish versions, which version do you prefer?

Edit: Whooops, sorry about that, and forgive my cultural assumptions. Shakira had a son, not a daughter. My bad!

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Entry 229: Heart Week 2, Part 4-- "Addicted to You"

Heart Week 2, Part 4
Song: "Addicted to You"
Artist: Shakira

http://youtu.be/MntbN1DdEP0
Comments: I have to admit, when I first heard this song, I only understood about a third of it. But from what I did understand, I knew that I had to look up the rest, and I'm glad I did. Con este semana, solamente quiero decirte que te amo. (No, I didn't look that up.) "I'm addicted to you / Porque es un vicio tu piel / Baby I'm addicted to you / Quiero que te dejes querer."

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Entry 17-- "Loca"

Song: "Loca"
Artist: Shakira
http://youtu.be/KewfYKJy8YU (English Version)
http://youtu.be/XAhTt60W7qo (Spanish Version)
Comments: If you are fluent in Spanish, or just don't mind listening to songs in another language, I highly recommend listening to the Spanish version. The English version loses a certain something in translation, like the ability to be euphimistic. "Soy loca con mi tigre" sounds so much better (if slightly less entertaining) than "I'm crazy but you're naked."

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Entry 17-- "Loca"

Song: "Loca"
Artist: Shakira
http://youtu.be/KewfYKJy8YU (English Version)
http://youtu.be/XAhTt60W7qo (Spanish Version)
Comments: If you are fluent in Spanish, or just don't mind listening to songs in another language, I highly recommend listening to the Spanish version. The English version loses a certain something in translation, like the ability to be euphimistic. "Soy loca con mi tigre" sounds so much better (if slightly less entertaining) than "I'm crazy but you're naked."

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