Thursday, June 09, 2016

"That's The Way It's Gonna Be!" La Lupe Wolfs Down Phil Ochs

"ALLEZ LUPE!" as we say in French.

Let's have some International women today. First up, the loopy Lupe, followed by a Swedish girl named Siw, and a South Korean Joo.

Ill Folks gives you Phil Ochs...via the Latina legend, La Lupe.

"That's The Way It's Gonna Be" is an unusual choice for her, and it's a kind of schizoid song; gloomy minor key clouds keep breaking for a resolute melody line that forces optimism. Phil co-wrote it with Bob Gibson. One wonders who was the McCartney optimist and who was the Lennon pessimist ("got to admit it's getting better...can't get no worse!")

The song darkly acknowledges pessimism, but breaks into a chorus of hope. As for La Lupe, in her bizarre Latin twist, it seems like she relishes the evil aspects, and adds some witchy laughter. You get the idea that she's happy to be dancing on the road to hell and simply enjoying the ride. If she's walking with her "heh hell hi" (head held high) it's just because you can see every gruesome detail that way.

La Lupe usually sang in Spanish, and as the photo shows, she was such a legend that a Spanish Harlem street was eventually named for her. Sizzling to the point of becoming a charred Charo, she somehow creates an interpretation that is both amusing and riveting, kind of funny but also fierce.

That's The Way it's Gonna Be Wait and See.

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