The band's strength lies in the semantic power of its lyrics, which discuss different topics such as politics, drugs and women, but always from a philosophical and existential point of view. The band represented a counter-cultural paradigm, reinforced and supported by its truly independent production nature.
The band maintained a no-TV contact policy, a very seldom and sparse contact with the press and sporadic radio interviews. However, its music always had and currently maintains significant airplay in argentine radiowaves. Patricio Rey is a fictional character or group consciousness, and not a real person or member of the group.
It is considered as one of the most important bands of argentine rock, and one of the outstanding acts during the end of 1980s and 1990s. Together with Sumo, Soda Stereo and Seru Giran, Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota is considered one of the most influential rock bands of its time.
The song lyrics are characterised by the use of metaphores and multiple possible interpretation. Musically, they are noticeable for their creative use of instruments - including violin, trumpet, piano, harmonica and percussion - on top of their classic lineup of guitar, bass, sax and drums. They have included several musical styles throughout their career, including rock, hard rock, pop rock, rock 'n' roll and blues. They also experimented with samplers and audio games.
El Indio Solari, the lead singer, embodies the one-man-show mystique followed by his powerful guitar player Skay Beilinson. Other members of the group have left the band and have been replaced (drums: Piojo Abalos; saxophone: Willy Crook; guitar: Tito Fargo D'Aviero). The members of the group were reluctant to do any interviews during their career.
The band broke up one year after the release of Momo Sampler, in 2001, but several former members are still active and pursuing solo careers.
The final line-up of the band was:
Indio Solari - voice
Eduardo Skay Beilinson - guitar
Daniel Semilla Bucciarelli - bass guitar
Walter Sidotti - drums
Sergio Dawi - saxophone
Hernán Aramberri - sampler
Carmen Castro a.k.a. "La Negra Poly" - manager
Ricardo Cohen a.k.a. "Rocambole" - artist (as stated in the official site)
Música para pastillas
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Secas, austeras, soviéticas.
Muchachitas fatales,
En blancos zoquetes chinos.
Son todas joyas
Patricias de amor.
La más hermosa niña del mundo
Música para pastillas
Y mucha cuchillería.
Pagá, mi amor,
Esto está muy Shangai.
Rockeros bonitos, educaditos.
Con grandes gastos, educaditos.
Emboquen el tiro libre
Que los buenos volvieron
Y están rodando
Cine de terror.
The song "Música para pastillas" by Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota speaks about various elements of modern society, particularly the obsession with appearance and the prevalence of violence. The opening lines describe "flacas gimnastas" or skinny gymnasts, who are portrayed as dry, austere and Soviet-esque. The second line continues with an emphasis on appearance - "muchachitas fatales" or fatal girls, who wear white Chinese socks. These girls are said to be "joyas" or jewels of love, indicating that they are the desired prize for men.
The next set of lines speaks about the limitations of even the most beautiful girl in the world. They can only give what they have, and in this case, what they have to offer is "música para pastillas" or music for pills, and "mucha cuchillería" or many knives. This seems to suggest that these beautiful girls are also connected to darker elements such as drug use and violence. The final line of this stanza is "esto está muy Shangai" which can be interpreted as "this is very expensive" or "this is a high-class situation" since the city of Shanghai is often associated with luxury and high prices.
The final lines of the song speak about "rockeros bonitos" or pretty rockers who are "educaditos" or polite and well-educated. These rockers are called to "emboquen el tiro libre" or take the free shot, indicating that they should take advantage of their advantageous position. The final two lines are "que los buenos volvieron / y están rodando cine de terror" which can be interpreted in a few different ways. One interpretation is that the "good guys" have returned and are now creating horror movies or sinister plots. Another interpretation is that the "good guys" have returned in the form of the beautiful girls from the first stanza, and they are the ones now in control, causing chaos and destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Flacas gimnastas de América.
Thin gymnasts from America.
Secas, austeras, soviéticas.
Dry, austere, Soviet.
Muchachitas fatales,
Fatal young girls,
En blancos zoquetes chinos.
In white Chinese socks.
Son todas joyas
They are all jewels
Patricias de amor.
Patricias of love.
La más hermosa niña del mundo
The most beautiful girl in the world
Puede dar sólo lo que tiene para dar.
Can only give what she has to give.
Música para pastillas
Music for pills
Y mucha cuchillería.
And lots of knives.
Pagá, mi amor,
Pay, my love,
Esto está muy Shangai.
This is very Shanghai.
Rockeros bonitos, educaditos.
Pretty, well-educated rockers.
Con grandes gastos, educaditos.
With big expenses, well-educated.
Emboquen el tiro libre
Score the free kick
Que los buenos volvieron
The good ones returned
Y están rodando
And are rolling
Cine de terror.
Horror movie.
Contributed by Aaron O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cristian Ocampo
Es increíble q Los Redondos no sean tan populares a nivel latinoamericano. O sea, si los conocen, pero no al nivel de una banda como Soda por ejemplo. Los Redondos es la mejor banda del rock argentino, pero leeeejooooossss. Saludos desde Colombia 🇨🇴.
Juan Manuel Armesto
@Christian Vuotto totalmente. Hablando de Soda, los "Rockeritos, bonitos y educaditos...", eran ellos?
Gaston Gaston
Es por qué no hacían música comercial ..tocaban lo que querían tenían su propio sello discográfico y además de ser música solo para entendidos .su fama nació del boca a boca ,cero publicidad cero marketing ,en resumen una auténtica y legendaria banda de rock argentina
la kchorra Fernández
Los redondos son solo de Argentina ,las demas bandas comerciales salieron a latam!
Jorge Aranda
sabes x que que otros países de Latinoamérica son rockeros? nadie sólo argentina .
Luchoto
@Lucas Leal aguante soda pero los redondos son superiores
Poyi Enriquez
El saxo de Willy Crook en estos momentos me hace llorar, se te va extrañar genio 😭😭😭
Juan Ignacio Padila
Willy: Te extraño!!!!
The Matrix
@Lucas Fernandez 1983 los ratones no tienen tanto saxo,y fueron influenciados por los rolllings
Ezequiel Burgos
Literal bro