Viernes, 3 AM

The first time you listen to Viernes, 3 AM, it’s likely to hit you with its atmosphere. The song immerses you in a darkness that ranges from anguish to the idea of the end, with very strong imagery, such as that of someone pointing a gun at themselves and pulling the trigger. This harshness led, at the time, the Junta Militar governing Argentina in 1976 to ban its broadcast, arguing that it “encouraged suicide.”

What’s interesting about this composition by Charly García, included on the album La grasa de las capitales from 1979, is that it came together almost in one go. García wrote it in his apartment in San Telmo, first the lyrics and then the music. It was a quick process, but the result is a song that, according to accounts, even Luis Alberto Spinetta, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney would have wished they had composed. For the original recording of this track, which lasts 4 minutes and 25 seconds, David Lebón was not present, not even for the backing vocals, which was unusual for the band.

The album La grasa de las capitales, released in August of 1979, marked a turning point for Serú Girán. For this second record, the group opted for a more direct sound, leaving behind the orchestra they had used in their previous work. The album’s presentation took place at the Auditorio Buenos Aires (formerly Ex Kraft), and the record was later recognized, in 1994, as one of the best in the history of Argentine rock by Rolling Stone magazine. Over the years, Charly García revisited Viernes, 3 AM in his concerts, even performing an acoustic version for his Hello! MTV Unplugged album from 1995, where he even forgot the lyrics. Other artists also put their own stamp on it: the Brazilian trio Paralamas recorded it in Portuguese for their Hey Na Na album from 1998, and the Mar del Plata band Altocamet did their own version for a compilation in 2000.