Summer 1999

Number One With a Bullet
By Philip Toshio Sudo

I confess, I've been a little slow in catching on to America's newest pop sensation, Ricky Martin. I only heard his hit song, "Livin' La Vida Loca," for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The media buzz about Rickymania had been in full gear for a while, though, so by the time Martin appeared on "The Tonight Show" to sing "Livin' La Vida Loca," my antenna were up and my ears primed for the new sound of young America.

The drums and horns and guitars kicked in. It's got a good beat, you can dance to it, I give it an 85, I thought. Then the song built up to the chorus:

She'll make you take your clothes off
and go dancing in the rain
She'll make you live her crazy life
or she'll take away your pain
Like a bullet to your brain

As he sang, Martin put a finger to his head and mimed his head being blown off. My foot stopped tapping. Was that really necessary? I thought.

Here's a song aimed at the heart of the youth market, a number so catchy you find yourself singing it inside your head against your will. And a key part of that hook goes, like a bullet to your brain. Am I the only one who finds this troublesome?

By definition, pop captures the prevailing cultural mood, so I suppose it's no coincidence that "Livin' La Vida Loca" squeezes in a reference to young people's fascination with gun violence and suicide. Everything about Martin's breakout in the U.S. market has been calculated to maximize hype and sales.

But in the wake of the Littleton tragedy, it's time that we, as artists, make a different calculation: one that factors in our responsibility to the audience. The bullet imagery in "Livin' La Vida Loca" is both insidious and gratuitous. Would a different line have made any dent in record sales? I doubt it.

A couple of weeks after the "Tonight Show," I saw Martin give a concert on NBC's "Today Show." After weeks of watching Katie Couric interview the shellshocked students of Columbine High School, I wondered if she'd bring some of that pain to Martin when she bantered with him between songs. Alas, her attitude was all fun and games. The only thing she asked him was whether he'd teach Matt Lauer a few dance moves.

Maybe now that Martin's achieved his longed-for American breakthrough, he'll look out at his teenage fans and learn the real lesson of "Livin' La Vida Loca":

To take away the pain, all you need is a catchy refrain.

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Philip Toshio Sudo is the author of Zen Guitar and founder of the Zen Guitar Dojo.

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