Song Recommendation: “Esperanza” by Hermanos Gutiérrez (2021)
I have an as-yet private playlist that I call “Is this the best song ever written?!” that, well, is exactly what it says on the tin. Or maybe I still should elaborate because I shouldn’t expect you to peek into the recesses of my addled brain. I get this sense, sometimes, when listening to a song that sinks deeper than feeling. Deeper than what my brain is able to consciously suss forth, one that invokes a sense in me that all matter is energy, all energy is matter and all time is relative. Thus the “?!” part of the name. It’s something that I realize is inherently subjective rather than objective (and I really don’t have time for critical handwringing about the differences between the two or the unrealistic and misguided goal of pursuing the later so I won’t belabor it) but it is a feeling often as frustrating as it is euphoric because of how unquantifiable and often unrepeatable a feeling it is. And music is usually where I most often experience this still relatively rare occurrence. And yes, a song is tied up in this post (I’m getting to the point I promise) but when watching episode seven of last year’s excellent new Vince Gilligan-led TV show Pluribus that I caught that feeling for an episode of TV. I think a lot of the joy in the series as a whole (which, given the nature of this blog, yes, I highly recommend it) is not knowing anything of the premise and discovering the plot alongside the characters so I won’t go into any detail except to state that midway though the episode, a certain character takes a prolonged (nearly) solitary roadtrip with this song, “Esperanza” by guitar masterminds Hermanos Gutiérrez, serving as the elegiac music bed. It plays in full, a rarity in any filmed media, but especially the usually time-economical world of television, allowing for a full contemplation of the downbeat, but propulsive tune. “Is this the best episode of TV I’ve ever seen?” I thought while watching. And maybe not, but during those 5 minutes while this song plays, it really might be. The song predates the show by a fair piece and was originally accompanied by a spectacular piece of understated psychedelic animation.