September 29, 201014 yr Author MTV video review: Sep 29 2010 2:31 PM EDT Shakira Goes 'Loca' In New Guerrilla-Style Video The Colombian star roller-skates, hip-shakes and fountain-dives for crazy clip. By James Montgomery (@positivnegativ) For nearly two decades now, either due to her multinational leanings (the Colombian's music is as indebted to Latin American rhythms as it is to Arabic dance, Euro disco and red-white-and-blue rock) or because she is sort of insane (see last year's She Wolf album), Shakira has managed to carve out her own, rather indefinable niche in pop music. On Wednesday (September 29), she premiered the video for "Loca," the first single off her upcoming Sale el Sol album (due October 19). And while it's not exactly a unique artistic endeavor — it echoes sentiments already expressed by the likes of Matt & Kim (in their "Lessons Learned" clip) and Erykah Badu (in her firestormy "Window Seat" vid) — it's still undoubtedly her ... mostly because none of her high-gloss pop contemporaries would ever dare attempt something like it. Shot run-and-gun style in Barcelona, "Loca" follows Shakira and her crew — which includes a few cameramen and, somewhat improbably, British rapper Dizzee Rascal — on a madcap adventure that includes roller-skating, public wardrobe changes, motorcycle cruising, an illicit hop in a public fountain (a move that landed her in hot, uh, water with local authorities) and, of course, plenty of hip shaking. It's a decidedly guerrilla endeavor that appears to have been done on a budget hovering around zero (aside from a performance scene, the entire thing appears to have been shot on handheld cameras). The Britneys, Beyoncés and Gagas would probably never make something like this ... and yet, here it works, mostly because, well, it just sort of seems like the kind of thing Shakira would do. For that alone, she deserves to be praised. Because unlike Matt & Kim (or Erykah Badu, really), Shakira has plenty to lose. Her albums are big events, things that resonate across continents, and it would be rather easy (or, at least, expected) for her to come out of the gate with a big-budget, glossy pop video. Instead, we get "Loca," which is none of those things, and is probably better because of that. And though it features some near-nudity and some illegal activity, the thing that resonates most about the "Loca" video is that none of that bad behavior is played up for shock value. Instead, it all helps match the kinetic, herky-jerky energy of the song itself. "Loca" is the rare video that doesn't attempt to outshine the song it's based on. Instead, it complements it. This is a very lively song, after all, so what better way to capture that than with a very lively video? There's a calculated madness to the "Loca" video, a vibrant, unchained energy, the kind very few artists can conjure up, no matter how big the budget. And, come to think of it, that's a pretty accurate way of summing up Shakira's entire career. It's called synergy, people.
October 1, 201014 yr Author You can listen to the Freemasons Remix here: http://mosuniverse.com/blogs/taj/2010/10/r...eemasons-remix/ Hopefully this means Radio1 will playlist now.
October 2, 201014 yr Aw cute video. Sources say that Loca is out on November 29th in the UK. Edited October 2, 201014 yr by Kieran.
October 2, 201014 yr The same week as the album if I'm not mistaken :drama: Soooo long to wait. I still think it will be a smash with Dizzee involved.
October 2, 201014 yr That is RIDICULOUSLY far off. It needs to come forward at least three weeks. Jesus.
October 6, 201014 yr pV7lKUjdHj0 Adore this remix :wub: Definitely her best single since Don't Bother imo.
October 6, 201014 yr Amazeballs :wub: Didn't rate Don't Bother, but this is possibly her best since La Tortura :o
October 6, 201014 yr I'm not as much a fan as everyone else :( It's easily my least favourite lead single of hers, I far preferred She Wolf and Waka Waka (I know that was a one off, not a lead), Whenever, Wherever, Don't Bother, La Tortura and all of the other Spanish leads... Maybe it just needs time to grow, they do tend to click eventually with me. Waka Waka took absolutely ages. Hips Don't Lie though is one of my three favourite songs of all time.
October 7, 201014 yr I think the video should have been her going crazy around barcelong and none of the gold clothing dancing... that wrecks it, should have all looked hand held camera ish
October 8, 201014 yr I'm not as much a fan as everyone else :( It's easily my least favourite lead single of hers, I far preferred She Wolf and Waka Waka (I know that was a one off, not a lead), Whenever, Wherever, Don't Bother, La Tortura and all of the other Spanish leads... Maybe it just needs time to grow, they do tend to click eventually with me. Waka Waka took absolutely ages. Hips Don't Lie though is one of my three favourite songs of all time. Agreed. Loca is Shakira by numbers, I don't rate this or Waka Waka very highly actually... I don't care if She Wolf wasn't "Shakira enough" or whatever, no one else could do a song like that and she was clearly progressing, taking risks. This all just seems a bit more of the same, an homage to her best work. Disappointing.
October 9, 201014 yr Author Agreed. Loca is Shakira by numbers, I don't rate this or Waka Waka very highly actually... I don't care if She Wolf wasn't "Shakira enough" or whatever, no one else could do a song like that and she was clearly progressing, taking risks. This all just seems a bit more of the same, an homage to her best work. Disappointing. Exactly. I love Loca - it's insanely catchy and the production is amazing (love when the synths and the beat drops in the "you're the one for me" bit), but it is a regression for Shakira musically. The whole album sounds like that to be honest. I'd much prefer her advancing with the She Wolf sound and doing something that no one else has done before. She Wolf was great because it was like while everyone is paying homage to Euro dance music and chordal synths, Shakira comes out with a weird Italo Disco number. Loca just sounds like she's retreading old ground for a sure-fire hit.
October 10, 201014 yr But it would have been hard to make another song with the She Wolf sound without it sounding like she hasn't come up with any new ideas! I do agree that She Wolf was a masterpiece, it just annoys me that her albums and follow up singles are never all there... If Shakira is going to want to make an impact in the UK, she is going to have to fix this... good albums, but just that, she needs a 12 track 'able to be singles' album, which is cutting edge, and like nothing else out there... and i don't really agree with the comments above, i think Loca would sit perfectly on a shakira powerhouse album, it isn't a step backwards, it's an improvement of her work.
October 10, 201014 yr Author But it would have been hard to make another song with the She Wolf sound without it sounding like she hasn't come up with any new ideas! I do agree that She Wolf was a masterpiece, it just annoys me that her albums and follow up singles are never all there... If Shakira is going to want to make an impact in the UK, she is going to have to fix this... good albums, but just that, she needs a 12 track 'able to be singles' album, which is cutting edge, and like nothing else out there... and i don't really agree with the comments above, i think Loca would sit perfectly on a shakira powerhouse album, it isn't a step backwards, it's an improvement of her work. I don't mean she should make another song like She Wolf, but she should develop from that sound. I think She Wolf had so many potential singles, she just didn't release any of them! Releasing Did It Again and Gypsy was such a mistake. It should've been MITT and Good Stuff.
October 10, 201014 yr I don't agree. She Wolf is a brilliant album which still sounds every bit as great today as a year ago but there were signs of bowing to label pressure for a more saleable popstar - the urban fodder like Why Wait (which is a reasonably decent song but hardly very 'Shakira') and Long Time. And of course Give It Up To Me was a misguided monstrosity. Sale El Sol sounds like a very natural and organic album going by the clips with less emphasis on giving America what they want (or what the label thinks America wants).
October 10, 201014 yr Author I don't agree. She Wolf is a brilliant album which still sounds every bit as great today as a year ago but there were signs of bowing to label pressure for a more saleable popstar - the urban fodder like Why Wait (which is a reasonably decent song but hardly very 'Shakira') and Long Time. And of course Give It Up To Me was a misguided monstrosity. Sale El Sol sounds like a very natural and organic album going by the clips with less emphasis on giving America what they want (or what the label thinks America wants). I always thought Why Wait was classic Shakira, full on fusion. Long Time definitely sounded like "label pressure" though, trying to make an "American" sound. Other than Gypsy and Long Time though, I did feel like Shakira was progressing with her sound on She Wolf. Even the more urban songs, I felt like she was taking that genre and twisting it in her own way, adding her own influences to make something that was still undeniably Shakira. Sale El Sol to me sounds like someone looking at all their hit albums after they've had a flop. "Ok, so my biggest hit was a latin cover, featuring a well known rapper, so I'll record Loca." "My fans always prefer my rock side, so I'll record Devocion." "I haven't had a good piano ballad since FO1 and they always go down well, so I'll record Lo Que Mas." From the previews, it sounded like there were a few duds on this album and when you're only putting 10 songs on there, you can't afford any duds. I will reassess this judgement obviously when the album is released.
October 12, 201014 yr This has finally clicked with me. It's amazing! My favourite Shakira single in an absolute age! Probably since 'Don't Bother' actually.
Create an account or sign in to comment