The following is the second in a four-part series examining the lasting impact of Carlos Santanaās electrifying album Supernatural, released in 1999. Part one gave a broad overview of the album, pointing a microscope at the first track ā(Da Le) Yaleo.ā And now, part two.
Close your eyes. Clench them tight. Block out even the slightest hint of daylight. Iām going to put words in your head. Dynamism. Passion. The Spanish-American War. Ciudad JuĆ”rez. Heart strings. Guitar strings. Liars. Thieves. Fools.
Now open your eyes. Who do you see? Dave Matthews, right? No? Well guess what, you fucking chump, thatās who Carlos Santana saw. On the second track of the album, āLove of My Life,ā the Guitar Witch of Northern California has drafted Sir David of Matthews to aid him in serenading the love of someoneās life. At one point Dave says, āfrom your lips, all the heavens pour outāāwhich is both lazy songwriting, and also an absolutely horrifying picture. Just some woman, unhinging her horrible jaw, as billions of righteous ghosts come screaming past her teeth. Harps, angels, clouds, the Judeo-Christian God. Everything. Not even Godās finest angel himself, Carlos Santana, can rescue me from this horrible image or this horrible song. So we must move forward.
At this point in the album, only two songs in, you think to yourself, āWhoa. Carlos is a man in love. His heart is on fire, and youāre a fucking idiot if you think he isnāt going to talk about it.ā Nobody would blame you for thinking that. Youāre wrong, though. Because track three isnāt about love. Itās about light... and a monster, and I think the monster is a metaphor, but itās impossible to tell what itās supposed to symbolize.
The song is called āPut Your Lights Onā and it features House of Pain frontman, Everlast. While I donāt know exactly what the song is about, I can tell you with 100 percent certainty who itās for: guys who drink a lot of Monster Energy and are going through a divorce. It sounds like a Staind song on spring break in Mexico. However, this is the connective tissue between Carlos Santana and Limp Bizkit. Everlast was in House of Pain with DJ Lethal, who was Limp Bizkitās DJ. Somehow this didnāt lead to Fred Durst guesting on a Santana song, and I will never be whole.
The next song on the album is called āAfrica Bamba,ā which I think translates to āAfrica Bomb.ā Also the whole song is in Spanish, and I barely speak Spanish. Iām not going to translate the song, either. If you want Spanish translated, go buy a fucking book. This is a free newspaper. How dare you come at us with your hands cupped, begging for more than the already generous portions we give you WITHOUT EVEN A SECOND THOUGHT AS TO HOW WEāRE GOING TO PAY THE FUCKING RENT.
Listen, this song is really boring. It has horns in it, but like, boring horns. This song should be called āBoring Horns (Unremarkable).ā No matter. The next song is all that matters here. Itās called āSmooth.ā And one week from today, we open the kimono on that shit.