My jet set footwear fashionista buddy Manolo the Shoeblogger writes:
Hello to the Iowahawk!
Regarding your most amusing blogging at Bolus about the rise of the
International Moptops, the Manolo gives you....The Uruguayan Invasion!!!
Montevideo (where the Manolo will be in December) was the locus for the
beginning of the Latin American Moptop Movement. There are many good videos on
YouTube of the Los Mockers and Los Shakers, the two most influential bands, who
in their own way acted out the Beatles vs. Rolling Stones dynamic in
Spanish.
Also, allow the Manolo to defend Argentine and Uruguayan Rock in general.
It is actually quite good.
Best of the Wishes!
Manolo
Best of the wishes back atcha, Manolo, and congrats on your new gig at the Washington Post!
Here's a couple of videos (Montevideos?) of Los Shakers and Los Mockers back at the height of the fame. Good stuff by any standard.
the Beatlesque Los Shakers:
the Stonesian Los Mockers:
And for good measure, Los Jerks - sort of a mashup between the Kinks and the Beach Boys.
Los Shakers ROCKED!
They were young jazz musicians who jumped on the Beatles bandwagon, but their jazzbo musical chops were so good, they quickly surpassed the Fab 4 in terms of song writing and performance, IMHO.
Their last LP, "La Conferencia Secreta del Toto's Bar", is brilliant. Big Beat in the UK put out a good comp, "Por Favor", (now out of print, but still available used on Amazon) but I'm still waiting for CD reissues of the original LPs.
Posted by: COOP | December 07, 2008 at 11:37 AM