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From album
Ahí vamos
Gustavo Cerati · 2006 · Track 12
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The story behind
«Crimen» begins with a piano playing alone in the darkness, something Gustavo Cerati himself considered unusual for an album like Ahí vamos, where straightforward rock predominated. The song is built on a harmonic foundation oscillating between E major and E minor, with chords ranging from C major to B major, giving it that rock ballad feel where melody and narrative intertwine. What is most surprising is its structure: a minimalist introduction that gradually expands, as if each note were a step closer to an inevitable climax. The track won the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Song in 2006, but its strength lies not only in the award, but in how the lyrics and rhythm seem to tell a story of betrayal and fate without needing words at first.
The recording of Crimen was almost an accident. Cerati composed it under another title —«Celos»— and was about to discard it for Ahí vamos, even going so far as to offer it to Shakira. But producer Tweety González heard it without lyrics and decided it deserved a place on the album. It was recorded in December 2005, becoming the last track added to an album that already had its path set. The video, directed by Joaquín Cambre, plays with 1940s film noir: it starts with a corpse in an office at dawn and rewinds to show how a detective, played by Cerati, ends up murdered by the woman he was investigating. The contrast between light and shadow, the musician’s slicked-back hairstyle, and the soundtrack accompanying each shot reinforce that suspenseful atmosphere where crime is not just an ending, but the thread weaving the entire plot.