La Radiolina
Studio album by
Manu Chao
Released30 August 2007
GenreWorldbeat, Latin alternative, reggae, Rock en Español
LabelBecause Music
ProducerManu Chao
Manu Chao chronology
Sibérie m'était contéee
(2004)		 La Radiolina
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
Entertainment WeeklyA− link
The Guardian link
LA Times link
The Observer link
The OnionA− link
Pitchfork Media7.5/10 6Sep2007
Q link
Rolling Stone link
Uncut link

La Radiolina is the fourth studio album by Manu Chao. It was released on 4 September 2007. Italy saw an advance release of the album on 30 August.

"Rainin in Paradize", the first single from the album, was available before its official release for download on his website. The single features a music video directed by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. There is also a video for the song "Me Llaman Calle", featuring Manu Chao performing in a local bar.

Languages and style

The album's title La Radiolina means the small radio in Italian, referring to a small-sized transistor radio. The album is mainly sung in Spanish. "Politik Kills", "Rainin In Paradize", "The Bleedin Clown" and the first two lines of "Siberia" are in English; "Besoin de la Lune" and "Panik Panik" are in French; "A Cosa" is in Italian, a first for Manu Chao; "Amalucada Vida" is in Brazilian Portuguese.

Musically, the album features a trademark of Manu Chao's style in its re-utilizing of the same instrumental backing tracks with different melodies and lyrics:

  • "Rainin In Paradize", "El Kitapena", "Siberia" and "Mama Cuchara" all feature the same backing track, which is slightly heavier and rockier than the usual Manu Chao output, with distorted guitars played by Madjid Fahem.
  • "El Hoyo" and "Panik Panik" are similar in style to the above song, but the chords are slightly different.
  • Other tracks on the album are just coupled by using the same music: "13 Días" and "Besoin de la Lune"; "Politik Kills" and "Mundorévès"; "A Cosa" and "Amalucada Vida"; "The Bleedin Clown" and "Y Ahora Qué?", which at the same time have the same lead guitar melody as "Tristeza Maleza", but on a different chord.
  • "Piccola Radiolina" is an edited instrumental version of "Mala Fama".
  • "Soñé Otro Mundo" is a short instrumental excerpt from "Otro Mundo".
  • "Me Llaman Calle" and "La Vida Tómbola" feature the same chords and the same accompaniment pattern, although the music is not exactly identical.

A similar "recycling" process also affects some of the lyrics. "Tristeza Maleza" features the repeated phrase "Infinita Tristeza", from the album Próxima Estación: Esperanza; the lyrics for "Besoin de la Lune" originally appeared with different music, and in a slightly longer version, on the album Sibérie m'était contéee; that same album also included the original French lyrics of "Sibérie" (again with different music), which Chao partly translated in "Siberia"; the lyrics for "Mama Cuchara" were originally written in Quito, Ecuador, during a rainy Sunday,[1] and originally appeared, with different music, in Chao's short film "Infinita Tristeza", included in the Kikelandia bonus section of the 2002 Babylonia en Guagua DVD (that performance was never officially released). Additionally, "13 Días" and "Otro Mundo" contain phrases appearing several times in Chao's previous output, such as "Me hielo en la habitación / No tengo calefacción" in "13 Días" and "Calavera no llora / Serenata de amor" in "Otro Mundo". The lyrics to the tracks "Panik Panik" and "Politik Kills" are the same as those in the tracks "Camions Sauvages" and "Politic Amagni" respectively on Amadou & Mariam's album Dimanche à Bamako which was produced by Manu Chao.

Track listing

  1. "13 Días"
  2. "Tristeza Maleza"
  3. "Politik Kills"
  4. "Rainin in Paradize (Scheps version)"
  5. "Besoin de la Lune"
  6. "El Kitapena"
  7. "Me Llaman Calle"
  8. "A Cosa"
  9. "The Bleedin Clown (Scheps version)"
  10. "Mundorévès"
  11. "El Hoyo"
  12. "La Vida Tómbola"
  13. "Mala Fama"
  14. "Panik Panik"
  15. "Otro Mundo"
  16. "Piccola Radiolina"
  17. "Y Ahora Qué?"
  18. "Mama Cuchara"
  19. "Siberia"
  20. "Soñe Otro Mundo"
  21. "Amalucada Vida"

Personnel/credits

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[3] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[6] 6
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[7] 20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 10
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 13
French Albums (SNEP)[10] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[12] 2
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[13] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 7
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[15] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[16] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 1
US Billboard 200[19] 71
US Billboard Top Latin Albums[20] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard Top World Albums[21] 14

Sales and certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[22] Gold 20,000^
Belgium (BEA)[23] Gold 15,000*
France — 400,000[24]
Hungary (MAHASZ)[25] Gold 3,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[26] Platinum 30,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold (Latin) 111,000[28]
Summaries
Europe — 500,000[29]
Worldwide — 1,000,000[30]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ from Babylonia en Guagua DVD booklet
  2. ↑ all credits taken from La radiolina CD booklet
  3. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Manu Chao – La Radiolina" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Manu Chao – La Radiolina" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Manu Chao – La Radiolina" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Manu Chao Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Manu Chao – La Radiolina" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Manu Chao: La Radiolina" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  19. ↑ "Manu Chao Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  20. ↑ "Latin Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Top World Albums - La Radiolina". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  22. ↑ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  24. ↑ Cadet, Thierry (1 December 2008). "Manu Chao : une chanson inédite sur les ondes". Chart in France. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  25. ↑ "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2007" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  26. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('La Radiolina')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Manu Chao – La Radiolina". Recording Industry Association of America.
  28. ↑ Phillips, Erica E. (18 September 2012). "Record Company Carves Niche in 'Latin Alternative'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  29. ↑ "Impala Sales Award Winner June 2005 - January 2008" (PDF). Impala. 3 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  30. ↑ "Manu Chao: Live Album/DVD".
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