Song of the Day #1,910: ‘Poem to a Horse’ – Shakira

laundry_serviceWhen driving I often listen to complete albums, but since I switched from a CD player to a USB drive I’m just as likely to let it play songs in random order. It’s a nice way to hear a broader selection of my music collection, songs I might not reach for otherwise.

It’s also good for blog fodder. The Wallflowers’ ‘One Headlight’ popped up the other day and inspired Monday’s SOTD post. And this morning I was treated to today’s Shakira track.

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Song of the Day #773: ‘Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)’ – Shakira

Following the worldwide success of her first two albums, it certainly wasn’t necessary for Shakira to break into the English-speaking marketplace. But Laundry Service, released at the end of 2001, was designed to do just that.

Nine of its 13 songs were in English, a language still not entirely familiar to Shakira, and lyrically that made for some awkward moments.

The album contains Spanish versions of three singles and each is demonstrably better than its English counterpart. Today’s track is one example, the translated version of ‘Objection (Tango),’ the first song Shakira ever wrote in English.

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