Their first album, Rotomusic de Liquidificapum, was released in 1993. Since then, they have released another eight: Gol de Quem?, Tem Mas Acabou, Televisão de Cachorro, Isopor, Ruído Rosa, MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Toda Cura para Todo Mal and Daqui pro Futuro.
The band's popularity began to increase along with two other groups from Belo Horizonte, Jota Quest and Skank. The band plays pop-rock but frequently resorts to electronic music elements as well. Pato Fu is often said to be influenced by Os Mutantes, a famous Brazilian tropicalist group from the 1960s, probably because of the experimentalism found in both bands' songs. One can find in Pato Fu musical influences by Devo, The Cure, Radiohead, Pizzicato Five, Super Furry Animals and also MPB, among various others.
With the release of Ruído Rosa, Pato Fu was nominated as one of the best bands of the world by Time Magazine in 2001. The band's 10th anniversary in 2002 was celebrated with the release of MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha, a live performance with some of their most famous songs. As of 2005, popular hits include:
* Sobre o Tempo (Gol de Quem?)
* Pinga (Gol de Quem?, about alcoholism)
* Canção pra Você Viver Mais (Televisão de Cachorro)
* Um Dia, Um Ladrão (Televisão de Cachorro)
* Made in Japan (Isopor; the song is almost entirely in Japanese. It was written in Portuguese by John and translated by a Japanese teacher. Its video clip is a tribute to old Japanese Sci-Fi movies and a satire against Americanization which won a VMB (the Brazilian VMA)). The song chorus is from the song Manah Manah '(see the External links section)'.
* Depois (Isopor)
* Imperfeito (Isopor)
* Perdendo Dentes (Isopor)
* Eu (Ruído Rosa)
* Ando Meio Desligado (Ruído Rosa)
* Por Perto (MTV Ao Vivo (Museu de Arte da Pampulha))
* Não Mais (MTV Ao Vivo (Museu de Arte da Pampulha))
* Uh Uh Uh, Lá Lá Lá, Ié Ié! (Toda Cura para Todo Mal)
* Anormal (Toda Cura para Todo Mal)
Fernanda Takai and John are married and had a daughter, Nina, in 2003.
The name of the band was taken from a Garfield comic strip where Garfield attacked a mailman with his "Cat Fu" techniques. The band liked the wordplay, but decided to replace Gato (cat) with Pato (duck). Coincidentally or not, the expression had also previously appeared in the Brazilian translation of the Howard the Duck movie; in it, Howard says he knows "Pato Fu" (Quack Fu in the original).
Licitação
Pato Fu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quero ver quem que dá conta
De contar como se conta
O dinheirão que vai pro saco!
Fazer pirâmide, jardim, não é problema
Bota o nome do Ayrton Senna
Põe na entrada do buraco
Vamos errar português
Vamos eleger um bundão
Vamos votar em quem roubou mas fez
Pena de morte para os linchadores, ou não?
(Ou não?)
Já que a polícia não faz nada
O menininho da calçada
De dia dou moedinha
De noite eu dou porrada!
Vamos inventar uma nova dancinha
Sucatear o samba e maltratar o carnaval
Vamos dar um jeito de arrumar a vida
Então vamos morrer de uma vez, tá legal?
(Tá legal?)
Cole o seu pneu aqui!
The lyrics to Pato Fu's song "Licitação" criticize corruption and the misuse of public funds. The singer questions who will be able to keep track of all the money that will "go down the drain" once the project is finished. They suggest that building a pyramid or a garden with the name of a famous person like Ayrton Senna won't solve the issue of wasting public money. The phrase "Põe na entrada do buraco" (Put it at the entrance of the hole) reinforces the sense of throwing money away with no real benefit.
The lyrics also express a sense of frustration and disillusionment with the political system in Brazil. The singer suggests that people should vote for those who have stolen money but have done something useful with it. They also question the effectiveness of the police and suggest taking matters into their own hands, as seen in the line "De noite eu dou porrada!" (At night I beat him up!). The call for a "new dance" and to "scrap the samba" could be interpreted as a critique of the cultural complacency that sometimes allows corruption to go unchecked.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando essa joça ficar pronta
When this mess is finished
Quero ver quem que dá conta
I want to see who can handle it
De contar como se conta
Of counting how to count
O dinheirão que vai pro saco!
The big bucks that go down the drain!
Fazer pirâmide, jardim, não é problema
To make a pyramid, a garden, it's no problem
Bota o nome do Ayrton Senna
Put Ayrton Senna's name on it
Põe na entrada do buraco
Put it at the entrance of the hole
Vamos errar português
Let's make mistakes in Portuguese
Vamos eleger um bundão
Let's elect an idiot
Vamos votar em quem roubou mas fez
Let's vote for someone who stole but did something
Pena de morte para os linchadores, ou não?
Death penalty for lynchers, or not?
(Ou não?)
(Or not?)
Já que a polícia não faz nada
Since the police do nothing
O menininho da calçada
The little kid on the sidewalk
De dia dou moedinha
During the day I give a coin
De noite eu dou porrada!
At night I give a beating!
Vamos inventar uma nova dancinha
Let's invent a new dance
Sucatear o samba e maltratar o carnaval
To ruin samba and mistreat Carnival
Vamos dar um jeito de arrumar a vida
Let's find a way to fix life
Então vamos morrer de uma vez, tá legal?
So let's die once and for all, okay?
(Tá legal?)
(Okay?)
Cole o seu pneu aqui!
Stick your tire here!
Contributed by Hannah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.