Pato Fu

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We close today’s program with Brazilian rock. This is the band Pato Fu.

Pato Fu is one of Brazil’s best loved groups. They got their start in 1992, and quickly drew comparisons to the 1960s Tropicalia innovators Os Mutantes.

The vibe is similar: fun, poppy, almost childlike at times.

Two of the three founding members, Fernanda Takai and John Ulhoa, are married. In 2003 they had a daughter, Nina. Fortunately, being parents did not alter the playfulness of Pato Fu. In fact, it may have increased it.

Case in point: we’d like to leave you today with a recent Pato Fu experiment in which daughter Nina gets to join in the musical fun.

Listen up, here comes Nina’s part Mux: live_let_die

OK, not perfect, but she’s 6 after all. That’s mom, Fernanda Takai, on lead vocals. Now consider this: in their version of Live and Let die, the members of Pato Fu are all playing toy instruments.

A toy piano, tiny drum kit, a baby-scale electric guitar, a plastic synth-keyboard with two octaves. It’s part of a music video genre loosely known as VideoSong. The rules for videosongs can be summed up as what you hear is what you get: the sounds MUST be seen in the video, no lip-syncing allowed. And in Pato Fu’s VideoSong, they nail the Paul McCartney and Wings classic.

As with all VideoSongs, it really pays to see the video as well. We’ve got Pato Fu’s version of Live and Let Die there. Check it out, it’s a lot of fun.