Music makes the people dance...

One of the things that Raquel loves best about living in her home, in Rio, is that when we're driving in the car and switch on the radio, it's Brazilian music that greets our ears. So many of those songs she grew up with, those evocative moments that make you melt into nostalgia, drift into the car and she starts singing words to songs I've never heard before.

All of the music you hear on the radio isn't from Brazil. Like most places, there's a mix of American-Canadian-British- Australian top ten hits, past and present. Everytime I've been here, I've noticed how popular 80s club hits are in Brazil. Wham, the Thompson Twins, all of that new wave high hair flourescent makeup stuff hasn't gone out of style. It's curious - I mean, the 80s are making a comeback in the States as those who were adolescent back then start to face middle age. But it's a timing thing and wasn't true five years ago nor will it be true five years from now. But here, the 80s haven't gone out of style.

I finally asked a group of friends about this and they just about knocked me over the head. Hel-lo, Susan, end of military regime, opening of Brazilian culture, move away from third world space to developing world, freedom. According to Marco, Neiva and Elsa, all aged between 32 and 48, the 1980s were a time when the future finally felt possible again, after decades of being stuck and afraid. The 1980s are, for Brazil and particularly for Brazilian leftists (a huge number of mainstream and not so mainstream people) a time of opening and liberation. For me, the 1980s make me think of Reagan and the music makes me want to weep for the 1960s and 70s.

Funny this music thing. With I-Tunes, I've started to download songs that make me do whatever - weep, soar, feel, freak. A friend of mine who was recently visiting from California laughed to realize how much I lean towards angsty white boy music: Nirvana, Kansas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Emminem, and so on. Maybe it's just because I grew up in angsty white boy world or maybe because there is an angsty white boy hiding deep inside me.