Crimen

Crimen

Gustavo Cerati

From the album

Ahí vamos (2006)

Written by

Gustavo Cerati

Key:F# minor
Duration:3:52

Listen to the Song

Summary

Released as track 12 on Ahí vamos in 2006, 'Crimen' marked a new sonic chapter for Cerati by opening with piano — something absent from his previous solo work. The track swept major awards the following year, including the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Song and three Carlos Gardel prizes, establishing it as one of the defining Argentine rock ballads of the decade. Its cinematic pull, built around a slow-burning minor-key arrangement and a fatalistic noir narrative, has kept it a fixture on radio and streaming long after release.

Argentine rockrock balladLatin rockpiano balladGustavo Cerati

Musical Analysis

The harmony here is inferred from training knowledge — no transcription data was available for verification. 'Crimen' operates within a natural minor framework common to Argentine rock balladry, but Cerati's arrangement choice — stripping everything back to pi…

Chords

Verse:F#m - D - A - E
Chorus:D - A - E - F#m

History

Gustavo Cerati wrote 'Crimen' for his fourth studio album Ahí vamos, shaping it around a piano intro — a first in his solo catalog. That single structural decision gave the largely rock-oriented album an unexpected emotional anchor and became central to its co…

“The piano intro was unprecedented in Cerati's solo discography — no prior solo album had opened a signature track with piano as the primary texture.”

Full Musical Analysis

The harmony here is inferred from training knowledge — no transcription data was available for verification. 'Crimen' operates within a natural minor framework common to Argentine rock balladry, but Cerati's arrangement choice — stripping everything back to piano at the opening — is where the song's harmonic identity lives. The progression itself is relatively accessible; the emotional complexity comes from texture, pacing, and vocal phrasing rather than chord substitutions or extended harmonies.

Gustavo Cerati wrote 'Crimen' for his fourth studio album Ahí vamos, shaping it around a piano intro — a first in his solo catalog. That single structural decision gave the largely rock-oriented album an unexpected emotional anchor and became central to its commercial success. The song's noir detective framing, with its themes of fatalism and desire, translated directly into the music video concept developed with director Joaquín Cambre.

Released as track 12 on Ahí vamos in 2006, 'Crimen' marked a new sonic chapter for Cerati by opening with piano — something absent from his previous solo work. The track swept major awards the following year, including the Latin Grammy for Best Rock Song and three Carlos Gardel prizes, establishing it as one of the defining Argentine rock ballads of the decade. Its cinematic pull, built around a slow-burning minor-key arrangement and a fatalistic noir narrative, has kept it a fixture on radio and streaming long after release.

Deep Analysis Available

Detailed analysis of this section is not yet available for this song.

Song DNA

Genre

Rock

Era

2000s

Mood

Melancholic

Tempo

Ballad

Key

Minor

Texture

Full Band

Sound

Piano-led

Feel

Straight

Explore More

Listen & Learn

Statistics

2.3M

Plays

219K

Listeners

24K

Genius Views

6

Annotations

100%

Popularity

3:52

Duration

4/4

Time

Credits

Written by

Gustavo Cerati

Produced by

Tweety GonzálezGustavo Cerati

From the album Ahí vamos

Original release

  • Ahí vamos2006

Compilations

  • Infinito2015