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Mexican alterna-pop singer Julieta Venegas had finally heard enough from me and the rest of the music critics. After I implied for the thousandth time that her musical aesthetic had changed between the Latin alternative classic “Bueninvento,” released in 2000, and her pop triumph, “Si,” which debuted in 2003, she proceeded to dismiss me like she was Simon Cowell.
“The post-‘Si’ era, is that what we call it?” she smiled, sweetly sarcastic. “I don’t see any conflict between the two phases of my career. ‘Bueninvento’ was too cerebral, too busy. That’s why I had to make ‘Si’ stripped down of everything, to make songs that were much more direct. Now I write in the same way that I speak, without trying to say too much.”
So it’s no wonder that Venegas chose only one song from “Bueninvento” to appear on her new, wonderfully produced CD/DVD, “MTV Unplugged” (Sony Norte). It’s “Seria Feliz,” the second song in the show, and Venegas doesn’t hesitate to pull out her accordion to supplement the impressive array of acoustic instruments her band is equipped with.
“For me, the tuba was my favorite,” Venegas said. “When you get into the acoustic world, you discover that all the folkloric music of the world has super-beautiful instruments. So I chose a Mexican vihuela, the Brazilian cavaquinho, and a friend of mine who had been in the Canary Islands brought a timple.”
Venegas’ 14-piece backing band includes such Mexican talents as Natalia Fourcade and Ceci Bastidas, and string and wind quartets under the direction of cellist Jacques Morelenbaum, a famous collaborator of Caetano Veloso. “MTV Unplugged” also features guest appearances by Spanish rapper La Mala Rodriguez, Brazilian singer Marisa Monte and producer-movie soundtrack wiz Gustavo Santaolalla on banjo.
There are four previously unreleased songs, as well as one of my favorite old tunes, “Esta Vez,” from her debut album, “Aqui.” Cryptic and emotionally pretty, it’s also a song I keep pestering her about.
“Yes, it’s a bit of a puzzle, that song,” she said. “I didn’t write lyrics in that point of my life, so I’d ask friends to give me poems they were writing and I’d sing them. The guy who wrote it isn’t a writer anymore. I think I had a crush on him.”
The last time I interviewed Venegas I asked her what she was listening to, and she mentioned that while in Spain she became fascinated with Bebo and Cigala’s “Lagrimas Negras,” which went on to become an instant classic when released worldwide the following year. So what was she listening to now?
“Sam Amidon’s album is like a beautiful landscape with all those strings, and I’ve been listening to Monocordio, a Mexican band. Then there’s Animal Collective, and Santo Gold, she’s amazing.”
Venegas’ lasting charm is her selfless praise of her influences and lack of pretension. But “MTV Unplugged” is clearly an album by an artist at the peak of her career, and she got there by doing what’s most important, listening to herself.
