El Mundo Pequeno (The small world)

Que quieres, que quieres
(What do you want, what do you want)

cuando el mundo
(when the world)

es tan grande
(is so big)

y tan pequeño al mismo tiempo
(and so small at the same time)

Que quieres, que quieres
(What do you want, what do you want)

cuando el mundo
(when the world)

es tan grande
(is so big)

y tan pequeño al mismo tiempo
(and so small at the same time)

Que puedo hacer por ti
(What can I do for you)

que tienes todo
(that have everything)

solo te puedo amar
(I can only love you)

Y por ti que no tienes nada
(and for you that don´t have anything)

solo te puedo amar
(I can only love you)

Cuando los dias hayan pasado
(when the days have passed)

ya la noche haya empezado
(and the night has begun)

y las estrellas empiezan a caer del cielo,
(and the stars start to fall from the sky)

solo te puedo amar
(I can only love you)

Cuando el sol y la lluvia
(when the sun and the rain)

se juntan para crear el arco iris
(get together to create the rainbow)

solo te puedo amar
(I can only love you)

Cuando el sol y la lluvia
(when the sun and the rain)

se juntan para crear el arco iris
(get together to create the rainbow)

Lyrics by:
Brown / Dunnery

Available on:
Music Of The Spheres (4.01)

Details:
El Mundo Pequeno, a beautiful song recorded entirely in Spanish, bears the influence of Madonna, who has recorded material in Spanish (such as 'What It Feels Like For A Girl').

The undisputed king and queen of pop.

With Ian Brown being one to set his sights high ("Aim for the stars and you're gonna hit the ceiling" ... "We want to be the first band to play on the moon" ... "Don't be grateful, be great"), it is unsurprising to note that two of the major influences on his solo career are the king and queen of pop, Michael Jackson and Madonna; indeed, as early as 1990, he had his eye on one of these figures: "We want to be massive. How massive ? Well New Order aren't massive. Michael Jackson, that's massive. That's what we're aiming for." At an Ian Brown solo performance that I attended in Derry, Northern Ireland, he was heavily critical of Oasis and Kylie Minogue, one after the other. Other artists to voice such an opinion at this time include David Bowie who, in 2002, described Kylie as "cruise ship entertainment", and Noel Gallagher in 2003: "I don't hate Kylie but I hate her music with a passion - it's just unbridled filth, it's disgusting." One would imagine that Ian identifies himself and Madonna (see below) as progenitors of their trade, with Kylie little more than an insipid imitator. Kylie (along with Elton John) was to become a regular source of ire for Ian; speaking to the NME in May 2005, he expressed annoyance at being scheduled to perform at the same time as Kylie at that year's Glastonbury festival, questioning her relevance to the occasion: "What's Kylie doing playing Glastonbury - the last bastion of alternative against the mainstream ?" (Ian Brown speaking to the Irish Star, 12th May 2005). Soon after, Kylie was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to pull out of all musical commitments. Ian apologised for the sentiment of his comments, but two years later, in October 2007, reiterated this criticism. Ian was collecting a 'Q Legend' award, while Kylie - in the audience - had earlier been the recipient of a 'Q Idol' award. He was scathing of Kylie in his acceptance speech, describing her music as "rubbish", suited to little kids. He went on to tell BBC Radio Five Live: "I don't know what Kylie's doing at a music awards to be honest. I don't think she's cute. I don't think she's good-looking. I think she's a little devil doll. She looks like a horse ! Her music's rubbish - she makes music for little kids. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm putting her down, but there's a lot of great minds out there making music and she's not one of them." Ian may well see himself as protecting music's intrinsic values with this outburst, but his bickering rather detracts focus from what is the main problem with modern music awards ceremonies. The spate of spuriously defined gongs on offer have rendered them effectiveley meaningless, and Ian's gleeful acceptance of such ludicrous titles as 'Godlike Genius' (NME, 2006) and 'Legend' (Q magazine, October 2007) is only contributing to the cycle. Ian Brown is no more a 'Godlike Genius' than Kylie Minogue is an 'Idol.'

Just as Ian Brown has influenced a generation of frontmen, the Mother of Reinvention has spawned a new heiress to match every one of her personas: a) Boy Toy. While Madonna orchestrated her next move with an iron fist, Britney has never been quite able to extract herself from the grip of the 'Boy Toy' image. b) Material Girl. Gwen Stefani adopted Madonna's Marilyn look and has made many varied fashion statements, going through her own Japanese and Hindu phases. c) Media Provocateur. Many pop stars since have provoked the flesh-hungry media, and while none have done it quite as well or as consistently as Madonna, Christina Aguilera best embodies this Madonna. Aguilera has also nailed the image of Hollywood's Golden Age best since Madonna. d) Post-Disco Diva. When Madonna goes gallivanting in other directions, her contemporary Kylie keeps the dance floors (and the bridge between the club and pop worlds) warm for her. e) Camp Queen. Lady Gaga has been the most devoted exponent of this image.

Further evidence to support Madonna's influence on Ian can be found in Q Magazine in May 2008, when he submitted a question to Madonna, only to be given very short shrift in this chastening response:

Madonna: [Sarcastically] I loved every minute of it. [Biggest laugh of the afternoon] Oh, but it was all rubbish ! Who wants to be criticised for saving someone's life ? The criticism went on a bit ? Yeah. It did. That's a stupid question. [Q ventures it's a bit late to be complaining about stupid questions] Just ask me good ones. That was an obvious one.
(Madonna speaking to Q Magazine, May 2008)

Left: Colonialism with a big white hat ? During her Confessions tour, Madonna traveled to Malawi to help fund an orphanage as part of the Raising Malawi initiative. On 10th October 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale (left) from the orphanage. He was renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. The adoption raised strong public reaction because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting. The effort was highly publicized and culminated in legal disputes. Bono defended her by saying, "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable." The adoption was finalized on 28th May 2008. Without wishing to be presumptuous, if for example, Elton John* or Bono had been in Madonna's position, one could not imagine Ian being so vocally supportive of such an action. Ian slated Bono for hugging a black lady at Live Aid, describing it as being akin to "colonialist times with a big white hat." I would argue that Ian's support of this controversial move by Madonna is influenced more so by his admiration for the adopter as a person and entertainer, as opposed to the action per se. Adoption of a foreign child became the must-have celebrity accessory of the decade. Pacesetters were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who adopted children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Following hard on the heels of Brad & Angelina was Madonna who, in 2009, returned to Malawi to adopt a second child, Mercy (right), despite protests. This trend reached a predictable apex in October 2010, when Dragon's Den entrepreneur, James Caan bunglingly attempted to buy a baby in Pakistan, in the wake of devastating floods. The list of celebrity child adopters became a lengthy one during the course of the decade, with some celebrities seemingly confusing the adoption of an African child with solving the plight of the continent. Speaking in 2008 about the prospect of adopting, Gwyneth Paltrow mused, "I do feel we're so fortunate, and we kind of owe it to humanity. We have a lot of love to give and a lot of resources." Given Ian Brown's fierce criticism in the past of such condescending colonialist attitudes, one would have expected him to have been firmly set against this burgeoning celebrity trend. It would be interesting to ascertain whether Ian is comfortable with this hike in celebrity adoption, or - as is suggested above - is this unqualified support somewhat attributable to the identity of the adopter in question.

* In September 2009, Elton John was unsuccessful in his attempt to adopt a 14-month-old Ukranian baby.

Back To Ian Brown Songs

Back To Music Of The Spheres