Information about Sui Generis

Sui Generis is one of the most important rock and roll (or folk rock) bands in Argentine history, enjoying enormous success and popularity during the first half of the 1970s and a following that has lasted to the present. Although long since disbanded, Sui Generis reunited in 2000 for a concert in Boca Juniors’ stadium in Buenos Aires.

Hello Sui Generis

Sui Generis was formed in 1969 by the merging of two bands: "To Walk Spanish", originally led by Carlos Alberto "Charly" García Moreno and "The Century Indignation", originally led by Carlos Alberto "Nito" Mestre. The newly-formed band's member list consisted of, Charly (piano), Nito (flute) Alberto Rodríguez (drums), Alejandro Correa (bass) (later replaced by Rolando Fortich), Juan Carlos Bellia (guitar) and Carlos Piégari (guitar and vocals).

In its early life, Sui Generis experimented with psychedelic music but would eventually refine and change its sound and is generally now classified as folk-rock. Infamously, at Sui Generis' first big performance, none of the members but Charly and Nito, appeared. Despite the poor showing, they went ahead with the show, Garcia playing the piano, with Nito accompanying on the flute. Amazingly, the audience still loved them. García’s simple songs of adolescence contained substantial poetic elements that showed through the limited instrumentation. After this they decided to continue as a duet with Charly composing songs and playing the piano, Nito playing the flute and both at vocals.

Soon after Sui Generis started to gain fame, García, then 20 years old, had to take a hiatus from the band to fulfill a stint in Argentina's mandatory military service. Unhappy in the service, he pulled outrageous stunts, such as reportedly taking a corpse in a wheelchair for a walk in the sun because "he was too pale." Eventually, García ingested a large dosage of amphetamines and faked a heart attack, in an apparent attempt to cut his military service short. Garcia wound up in the hospital, and it was there that he composed two of the band more famous songs: "Botas Locas" ("Crazy boots"), censored when first released, and "Canción para mi muerte" ("Song for my death"). Garcia was released from the military due to "mental health problems."

In 1972, Sui Generis released its first LP, Vida (Life), which became instantly popular, especially among Argentine teenagers. Confesiones de invierno (Winter Confessions), their second LP, was released in 1973. This album showcased higher production values and better studio equipment, and was also a huge commercial success.

Innocence Lost

1974 was a turning point for Sui Generis: Charlie was sick of "the piano and the flute" sound, and decided that Sui Generis needed a change. He pursued a more traditional rock sound, with bass and drums, for which purpose he recruited Rinaldo Rafanelli and Juan Rodríguez respectively. The new album was originally titled Instituciones (Institutions), but Sui Generis' producer suggested they change the name to Pequeñas anécdotas sobre las instituciones (Little anecdotes about the Institutions), reflecting the unstable nature of Argentine social and political institutions at the time. Charlie's initial concept was to write a song for every influential traditional institution: the Catholic Church, the government, the family, the judicial system, the police, the Army, and so on. However, two songs, "Juan Represión" ("John Repression") about the police, and "Botas locas" ("Crazy Boots") about the army, were eliminated from the album by the music label, afraid of the growing political violence of the time. Two more had to be partly changed, "Las increíbles aventuras del Señor Tijeras" ("The incredible adventures of Mr. Scissors") and "¿Para quién canto yo entonces?" ("Who am I singing for, then?"), both about censorship itself. While Charlie achieved a different, more mature sound with Instituciones, the public rejected the change. They preferred the old sound, and the album sold poorly.

In these years, Charlie met María Rosa Yorio, who later bore his son, Miguel García. Miguel released a solo album in December, 2005 as Migue García.

Has been: the LP that wasn’t

García kept composing songs, and during 1975, he prepared for Sui Generis' Ha sido (Has been) album. The name is a pun on ácido (acid), a reference to LSD. Later, Charlie would say that the LP definitely referenced LSD, because the songs spoke about going to the sea and looking at the colorful fishes – that is, an acid trip.

In 1975, Sui Generis' members began to have conflicts. "Nito" Mestre wasn't enthusiastic about the new style and project, the new members weren't accepted by the public and Charlie was tired of Sui Generis' old style, which the fans and producers wanted. The Ha sido LP was never recorded, but some of the songs were included in the band's farewell live album, such as "Bubulina" and "Eiti Leda".

Goodbye, Sui Generis

Finally, on September 9, 1975, Sui Generis said goodbye, in the Luna Park Stadium, with two shows for 20 thousand people, the biggest in the history of Argentine rock at the time. Many years later, Charlie said that before the show he was going around the stadium, intimidated by the huge crowd. He claimed to have smoked 24 joints to calm his nerves. "In the 70's, weed was like a religious thing", he later commented. A double LP was released that year, recording the live shows Adiós Sui Generis, volumes I, II and III (Goodbye Sui Generis).

In 1976, Sui Generis also recorded an LP with Argentine musicians León Gieco and Raúl Porchetto (whose music resembled Gieco's in a softer pop version) as well as María Rosa Yorio. The LP was called "Porsuigieco" (Mix of Raúl PORchetto, SUI Generis, León GIECO)

Discography

1. Vida (1972)
2. Confesiones de invierno (1973)
3. Pequeñas anécdotas sobre las instituciones (1974)
4. Adiós Sui Generis (1975)
5. Adiós Sui Generis, Parte III (1995)
6. Antología de Sui Generis (1992)
7. Sinfonías para Adolescentes (2000)
8. Sí (2001)

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Sui generis is a (post) Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. ^[1] The expression was effectively created by scholastic philosophy to indicate an idea, an entity or a reality that cannot be included in a wider concept. In the structure "genus → species" a species that heads its own genus is sui generis. The phrase is pronounced "SOO-ee GEN-er-ihs."

Legal applications

In law, it is a term of art used to identify a legal classification that exists independently of other categorizations because of its uniqueness or due to the specific creation of an entitlement or obligation. Courts have used the term in describing cooperative apartment corporations, mostly because this form of housing is considered real property for some purposes and personal property for other purposes. In intellectual property there are rights which are known as being sui generis to owners of a small class of works, such as intellectual property rights in mask works, ship hull designs, databases, or plant species.

Statutory

In statutory interpretation, it refers to the problem of giving meaning to groups of words where one of the words is ambiguous or inherently unclear. For example, in criminal law, a statute might require a mens rea element of "unlawful and malicious" intent. Whereas the word "malicious" is well-understood, the word "unlawful" in this context is less clear. Hence, it must be given a meaning of the "same kind" as the word of established meaning.

This is particularly the case when the two or more words are conjoined, linked by the word "and", as opposed to placed in a disjunctive relationship, linked by the word "or". The interpretation of the two or more words might be different depending on the circumstances. Courts sometimes have to attribute a conjunctive (X and Y) intention to the legislature even though the list is disjunctive (X or Y) because, otherwise, no overall interpretation of the law in question would make sense.

Town planning

In British town planning law, certain uses of land are labeled sui generis to indicate that they are not covered by a 'Use Class' – effectively in a class of their own. Change of use of land within a Use Class does not require planning permission; however, changing between Use Classes, or any change of use of sui generis land, requires planning permission. Examples of sui generis use (identified in the Use Classes Order 1987) include theatres, amusement arcades, laundrettes, taxi or vehicle hire businesses, petrol filling stations, scrapyards, nightclubs, motor car showrooms, retail warehouses, clubs and hostels.

Aboriginal law

The term has also been used in the context of Canadian aboriginal law to describe the nature of aboriginal title.

Political science

In political science, the unparalleled development of the European Union as compared to other international organizations has led to its designation as a sui generis geopolitical entity. The EU has often been described as "somewhere in between a confederation and a federation".

A similar case which has led to the use of the label sui generis is the unique relationship between France and New Caledonia, since the legal status of New Caledonia can aptly be said to lie "somewhere between an overseas collectivity and a sovereign nation". Whereas there are perhaps other examples of such a status for other disputed or dependent territories, this arrangement is certainly unique within the French Republic.

The old Holy Roman Empire may also fit under this category for its unique organization and place in European history.

Kosovo has been considered a sui generis for the fact that its eventual independence may not serve as a precedent to other breakaway territories.

Sociology

In the sociology of Emile Durkheim, sui generis is used to illustrate his theories on social existence. He maintains that society, as it was there before any living individual was born, is independent of all individuals. His sui generis (its closest English meaning in this sense being 'independent') society will furthermore continue its existence after the individual ceases to interact with it.

Examples in media

Meryl Streep was praised in a Wall Street Journal review of The Devil Wears Prada: "(her) pitch-perfect portrayal of Miranda is sui generis, with a dramatic existence of its own, as unique and memorable as, say, a Bette Davis character."^[2]

Martin Kettle in The Guardian said about hung parliaments: "Each is sui generis, dependent on the particular parliamentary arithmetic, inter-party momentum and surrounding political circumstances."^[3]

Slate has used the term several times; one article discussed the unique variations of French Rose Champagne: "Grower Champagnes are wines made by small farmers in the Champagne region who, bucking convention, choose to craft their own wines rather than sell their grapes to the major Champagne houses. Typical of farmer fizzes, the grower rosés are utterly sui generis—in a few cases almost freakishly so."^[4]

A CNN The Marquee post said about James Brown, "I can't even begin to talk about his importance. He was sui generis."^[5]

Political commentator Dick Morris referred to the intense public interest in the 2008 US Presidential race as "clearly sui generis, and anything can happen."^[6]

See also

• Judicial activism

References

External links

• Changes of Use of Buildings and Land (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)