Songs for an endless summer #6

Dear reader, if it is hot: I hate it. Summer is the worst time of the year for it’s sticky, sweaty, climate and general lackadaisical atmosphere. Nothing happens in summer because it’s ostensibly a break for the world. Not entirely true since I still regularly go to work and the world continues to be in constant unrest. The more I think about it, this project, “Songs for an endless summer,” is a fight against time and resist the realities of labor and injustice. Escapism cranked up to 11 during these exceedingly bad times. I remind myself that this series is a respite from the struggle. We mustn’t drown ourselves in distractions when our attention is needed to pressing matters. Any how, here’s José and Vincente.

“Cautela” from the Chilean duo José Vincentes is an innocuous song about a person not being able to pick up romantic cues and awkwardly stumbling with their dance partner. Softly spoken lyrics like “qué torpeza tan bonita la de les dos” (what beautiful clumsiness of the two) accentuate the paint-chipped idea of slow dancing with your lover but one (if not both) of them are oblivious to each their body’s language. What can only be offered is cautela (caution) to the notion of being close, suggesting the narrator is unfamiliar with the suggestions of intimacy. As relatable as this sensation is to folks early in their adulthood, what’s so tangible in this song is its sound.

“Cautela” adds to the canon of bolero (romantic music originating from Cuba) in that it’s lyrics are delightfully poetic to illustrate a sepia-saturated image of a candle lit dance party. The quality of this sound carries the burden to drive that image home. José Tomás Puga and Vicente Larroulet both play guitar and sing on the track (Puga additionally plays some accordion) with Rosario Arcuch complimenting their rifts with various percussion instruments. In a reading of John Dewey’s Art as Experience, beauty comes from harmony understood as “the feeling that accompanies agreement of experience with the self’s ideal nature.” The harmony of “Cautela” comes from the glimpse of the candle lit dance party set against to the beautiful guitar strumming, some call this “counter-aesthetics.”

Like in the works of Yanagi Sōetsu (The Beauty of Everyday Things) or Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (In Praise of Shadows), what is aesthetically pleasing is the imperfection of human creation. Tanizaki argues that Japanese people “content [themselves] with things as they are” by comparing the richly suggestive oil lamp over the neutering shine of electric bulbs. Sōetsu praises the automatic creation seen in the craftsmanship of everyday utensils (teapots, silverware, clothing) to single out the defining quality of their human creators unmediated art making, further exceptional as these artisans don’t consider their work in the tradition of art.

José Vincentes have created a tune to signify summer’s faultiness, how it deflates under the pressure of our awkward incompetence. You can hear this as they play the song straightforward, without flashiness or overly distinctive production. It’s a measured reassurance that dancing is an expression of people, and prompted by the haze of romance we will struggle to keep with rhythm.

Cheers.